Destination: France
LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION
Itinerary: Treasure Trove
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France flaunts 30 World Heritage Sites:
including the banks of the Seine in Paris and royal palaces at Versailles, Fontainebleau and Chambord. The cathedral in Chartres makes a fine foray from the capital, as does the Unesco-hallmarked chunk of the Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes.
Burgundy boasts a medieval Cistercian abbey in Fontenay and Romanesque basilica in Vézelay, the fortified village from where pilgrims head to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Their paths are world heritage.
Northern jewels include Strasbourg’s Grande Île; a trio of public squares in Nancy and buildings in Reims; Amiens cathedral; and ode to post-WWII architecture at Le Havre Sea-splashed Mont St-Michel and its bay are priceless.
Southbound, drink Bordeaux reds from listed vineyards in St-Émilion and rub shoulders with prehistory in the Vézère Valley. History oozes out of fortified Carcassonne; Roman Pont du Gard, Arles and Orange; papal Avignon and silk-weaving Lyon. Sailing a slow boat along the Canal du Midi is a fine way to whittle away time; as is hiking around Corsica’s capes.
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