Destination: France

LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION

Itinerary: A Whirlwind Romance

Paris to Provence – 2000km-odd in all – in a whirlwind week is a love affair with old-fashioned romance. But it’s not all red roses and fairy-tale castles. Thrills abound for those with a passion for the unconventional.



France’s soulful capital seduces: the Eiffel Tower vies with no other spot on earth in the romance department. If the vampire inside you longs to be free, pop the question Gothic-style between neck bites in Hôtel St-Merry. Otherwise, the area around Pont St-Louis and Pont Louis Philippe personifies romance.

Love affair with Paris done, nip north to chink champagne glasses between vines on Champagne’s wine route, or motor west to the Loire Valley with its orgy of fairy-tale chateaux: see tender, tragic and fickle love blossoming at Villandry; a regal drama of passion, betrayal and revenge unfold at Chenonceau; or meet your lover at the top of Chambord’s romantic double-helix staircase.

Don’t miss Brittany’s hauntingly beautiful Île d’Ouessant. Lovers note: oysters, for which Cancale is famed, are an aphrodisiac. Tempting to both lonely hearts and entangled lovers is Belle Île with its seductive rock formations, caves and beaches steeped in Breton legend. Throwing your hat in the air and shouting yes from the top of a huge sand dune or in the surf on the Atlantic Coast is not a bad idea. Or how about huddling and cuddling in whistling wind atop Mont Aigoual or paragliding as a pair above the rounded top of Puy de Dôme.

Provence and the Côte d’Azur is love at first sight. Tying the knot aboard a St-Tropez yacht or in a lavender field near Mont Ventoux is far too old hat. Try in a Matisse chapel or Van Gogh landscape; between kite-surfs; or overlooking the Med on promenade des Anglais in Nice.

Travelling to France?
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