France
Our experts are totally smitten by all things French, and together they have many years’ experience of travelling from north to south, from the Pyrenees to Alps, sampling the best food, wine and places to stay, so they can create that perfect, tailor-made itinerary to France for you. France is the perfect destination for a luxury holiday.
Paris
Paris, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. For centuries Paris has been one of the world’s most important and famous cities. It is appreciated for its culture, for entertainment, and it is famous for its art, for architecture, for gastronomy, for haute couture, for literature, for cinema, for aviation, the list goes on and on, enjoying an enviable reputation.
It is known as the “City of Light” earned during the Enlightenment, remains appropriate. A city that is always evolving, everyone who visits Paris, loves it, as much for its boulevards, café life and romantic atmosphere as for the more famous sights such as the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame Cathedral.
Come and see for yourself !
Alsace
Alsace is a lovely and fascinating region of eastern France to explore, with impressive cities such as Strasbourg and Colmar, the Alsace wine route to follow, historical castles set on isolated hilltops, pretty villages sitting quietly in the vineyards and forests with scenic countryside.
Alsace is found in eastern France, on the border with Germany. It is the smallest region in France and very pretty in its location between the Vosges Mountains and the River Rhine.
Why visit Alsace?
The principal attractions that bring visitors to Alsace include
the attractive villages with streets of half-timbered houses overflowing with geraniums
the historic city of Strasbourg
the attractive mountain scenery of the Vosges and the Natural regional parks
the castles, many in ruins, that bear witness to the conflict ridden past in Alsace
the popular Wine Route (‘Route des Vins’) that explores the vineyards and villages
Basque Country
The Basque Country straddles southern France and northern Spain, bordering the Pyrénées Mountains which soar high above the Atlantic. In France it’s known as the Pays Basque. The people of the Basque country have a unique culture, language and traditions. Although flavoured with the culture of their Spanish and French neighbours there are many differences and the locals are fiercely proud of their heritage.
The Basque Country is famous for its beaches and architecture. Surfing is a major sport, and chillis feature big time in their cuisine. The main cities to visit are Biarritz and St Jean de Luz.
Bordeaux
Bordeaux, hub of the famed wine-growing region, is a port city on the Garonne River in southwestern France. It’s known for its Gothic Cathédrale Saint-André, 18th- to 19th-century mansions and notable art museums such as the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux and Cité du Vin. The grand Place de la Bourse, centered on the Three Graces fountain, overlooks the Miroir d’Eau reflecting pool, is unique and so beautiful.
The city is nestled in verdant wine country and on the edge of leading oyster-producing areas, with the TGV (the high-speed rail service), it is only 2 hours from Paris
Brittany
Brittany is a region of north-west of France, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean with the English Channel to the north and the Bay of Biscay to the south. The capital of the region is Rennes. The region is visited for its quaint fishing villages as well as the chance to explore the islands off the coast. It is very rugged and wild !
Le Mont Saint-Michel, one of France's most iconic landmarks, is a magical destination that adds a touch of medieval mystique to any visit to Brittany. This UNESCO World Heritage site, perched on a rocky island, is a marvel of medieval architecture, with its towering abbey, winding streets, and quaint stone houses. As you cross the causeway that links the mainland to the island, you’ll feel as though you’ve stepped back in time.
Burgundy
The Burgundy region has a fascinating mix of unspoiled countryside, historical towns and monuments and is also well known for the exceptional Burgundy wines.
Among the reasons that people visit the region are the numerous historical towns and villages, and the interesting abbeys and other important monuments. The two main cities are Beaune and Dijon.
Wine enthusiasts will recognise the wines of Chablis, Beaune, Macon and Nuits-Saint-Georges, just to name a few.
Champagne
It is not hard to guess why the Champagne region is famous, since the world’s most celebrated party drink the world over is from here. Some names you will know are:
Billecart – Salmon; Bollinger; De Castellane, Krug; Lanson; Laurent-Perrier; Mercier; Moet & Chandon; Mumm; Piper-Heidsieck; Pommery; Louis Roederer; Ruinart; Taittinger; Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin.
Reims is the unofficial capital of the Champagne wine-growing region, and many of the champagne houses headquartered there offer private or group tastings and cellar tours. For more than 1,000 years, French kings were crowned at its Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims. This grand cathedral is known for its stained-glass windows and Gothic carved portals, including the Smiling Angel.
Corsica
Some of the world’s finest beaches, spectacular mountain scenery and fascinating towns and marinas are found in Corsica. These are just some of the reasons why the sun-kissed ‘Isle of Beauty’, as Corsica is known, is such a popular destination.
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean to the south-east of France, with a coast surrounded by beaches and a spectacular mountain interiors. Given its relatively small size the island combines an extraordinary amount of highlights. Apart from the coast and beaches for which the island is best known (there are 1,000 kilometres of coastline and more than 200 beaches) there are ancient hill villages and bustling port towns, and some of the most stunning coastal and mountain scenery to be found in Europe.
Corsica has very good weather for most of the year with spring and autumn being especially lovely times to visit.
You will also find numerous historic monuments, some dating from prehistoric times with numerous megalithic sites, there are also more monuments from the ancient Greek and Roman periods, and many fortified towers and citadels built when the Genoese controlled the island. And for Napoleon Bonaparte fans, he was born on the island of Corsica.
Dordogne
The Dordogne, an area of stunning medieval castles, historical villages and towns, is famous for its prehistoric caves, listed under UNESCO. The Lascaux Caves is a network of caves near the village of Montignac. It has over 600 wall paintings that cover the interior walls and ceilings of the caves. Food wise it is also known for foie gras, truffles, Bergerac wines, strawberries, walnuts and cep mushrooms.
In Perigord Noir you will find many of the most famous castles, towns and villages of the Dordogne region, many in spectacular locations, and with fascinating histories to tell. Sarlat is the ‘medieval capital of the Dordogne’ and perhaps the loveliest town in the region and is in the heart of Perigord Noir.
Perigord Purple, south-west Dordogne is known for its medieval towns such as Bergerac, on the Dordogne river and with a lovely historic centre.
Perigord Vert and Perigord Blanc – the northern part of Dordogne are less visited than the southern parts of the Dordogne, the north also has its share of market towns and castles, beautiful scenery and picturesque villages, including Perigueux, ‘capital’ of the Dordogne.
Normandy
Normandy has many charms, from the beautiful countryside and the lovely local architecture to the historic highlights such as the town of Rouen, from the attractive cliffs and beaches along the coast to the village of Giverny where Claude Monet painted his water lillies collection.
See important sights such as the Normandy landing beaches and the Bayeux Tapestry are also very popular and Normandy is truly a region with something for everyone. Not to mention Camembert cheese and Calvados brandy !
Loire Valley
Many of the most famous chateaux in France are in the Loire Valley, and for many people that is reason enough to visit.
We suggest you visit some castles, of course, but don’t overlook the chance to explore the villages and countryside, to take a boat trip along the Loire river, or hire a bike to spend a day exploring the quiet lanes of the region.
You will also find some of the most famous abbeys and cathedrals in France in the Centre region, and lots of gardens classified as ‘remarkable gardens’, troglodytes worth discovering and wine worth tasting.
Provence
When I think of Provence, I think of colour. For me its mostly, yellows for the sun, blues for the sky and greens for the leaves. They’re the 3 colours I think of when I think of Provence. And colour is after all what brought the Impressionist painters to this region to paint. The colour here is exquisite.
With many of the most beautiful places to visit in France, Provence has scenery to satisfy the most discerning visitor. With unspoiled medieval villages clustered among the olive groves and hilltop villages with windy roads to discover, Provence is magnificent.
There is truly something for everyone to discover in Provence – whether it is your first visit, or you are one of the many visitors who return every year, and many do, Provence is one of the most visited regions of France.
French Riviera
The Riviera, also known as the Côte d’Azur is certainly the most glamorous region of France. This is where you’ll find legendary towns of St Tropez and Cannes, where each year is held the film festival, the Principality of Monaco and Nice, the gateway to the region.
The Riviera boasts more sunshine than any other region of mainland France, and is usually warm or hot from March to October, so is a popular destination for most of the year and has less of a ‘closed’ season than most parts of France.
The Cote d’Azur (or French Riviera) has long been one of the great attractions for visitors to France, for the sunshine, for its beaches and for its sophistication of resorts. It’s the place to people watch and to be seen.
Rhône-Alpes
The Rhône-Alpes region borders Italy and Switzerland to the east, Provence to the south, and Burgundy to the north. It is a wild and a very beautiful part of France. Visitors are attracted by the scenery and the chance to enjoy outdoor activities in the mountains and around the lakes.
Your starting city is Lyon, the capital of the Rhone-Alpes region, and an important French city. It is the third largest city in France and an important cultural and historical center.
One of the highlights to any visitor to the region is Annecy, situated on scenic Lake Annecy, a must see to the region. And of course any visitor to this region are the alpine towns of Chamonix and Megève.
