Best Places to Eat
¨ Le Musée (p403)
¨ Café Saint Régis (p376)
¨ Restaurant Le Pim’pi (p411)
¨ Le Genty-Magre (p413)
¨ Le Café des Épices (p417)
Best Places for History
¨ Grotte de Lascaux (p407)
¨ D-Day beaches (p387)
¨ The Somme (p384)
¨ Pont du Gard (p415)
¨ Musée Carnavalet (p372)
When to Go
Dec–Mar Christ-mas markets in Alsace, snow action in the Alps and truffles in the south.
Apr–Jun France is at its springtime best, with good weather and no crowds.
Sep Cooling temperatures, abundant local produce and the vendange (grape harvest).
F DNOSAJJMAMJ
Paris°C/°F Temp Rainfall Inches/mm
0
5/125
6/150
2/50
3/75
4/100
1/25
10/50
0/32
-10/14
30/86
40/104
20/68
FranceWhy Go?France has so much to entice travellers – renowned gas-tronomy, iconic sights, splendid art heritage, a fabulous outdoors. You could sample it all in a week, but you’ll in-variably feel as though you’ve only scratched the surface of this big country.
Visiting France is certainly about seeing the big sights, but it’s just as much about savouring life’s little pleasures: a stroll through an elegant city square, a coffee on a sunny pavement terrace, a meal that lasts well into the afternoon or night, a scenic drive punctuated with photo stops and impromptu farm or vineyard visits. The French are big on their art de vivre (art of living) and you should embrace it, too.
Includes ¨Paris ...........................364Versailles .................... 382Giverny .......................383Lyon ............................400Chamonix ...................405Bordeaux ....................408Marseille..................... 416Nice .............................421Cannes ....................... 424St-Tropez .................... 425Monaco ......................426Bonifacio ....................430
©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd
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ENGLAND
SPAIN
Valléed'Azun
Îled'Ouessant
English Channel(La Manche)
Bay ofBiscay
Atlantic Ocean
ATLANTICOCEAN
THEDORDOGNE
NORMANDY
BRITTANY
Vila
ine
Pau
Adour
Vien
ne
Lot
Garonne
Vignemale(3298m) Monte Perdido
(3355m)
Sarlat-la-Canéda
Montaigu
La Rochelle
Pau
PaimpolRoscoff
Josselin
CherbourgLe Havre
Bayeux
Morlaix
Le Mans
Tours
Concarneau
Carhaix-Plouguer
Vannes
BrestSt-Malo
Quimper
Pamplona
Zaragoza
CognacSoulac-sur-Mer
Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil
Moissac
Poitiers
Lourdes
Amboise
Biarritz
Vitoria
Bordeaux
Plymouth
Caen
Nantes
Rennes
Alençon
St-Étiennede Baïgorry
St-Lô
Carnac
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Presqu'îlede Crozon
BelleÎle
#2
MontSt-Michel
#4
Loire Valley
France Highlights1 Gorge on the iconic sights and sophistication of europe’s most hopelessly romantic city, Paris (p364).
2 relive the French renaissance with extraordinary chateaux built by kings and queens in the Loire Valley (p395).
3 Do a Bond and swoosh down slopes in the shadow of Mont Blanc in Chamonix (p405).
4 Dodge tides, stroll moonlit sand and immerse yourself in legend at island abbey Mont St-Michel (p387).
5 Savour ancient ruins, modern art, markets, lavender and hilltop villages in slow-paced Provence (p415).
6 Taste bubbly in ancient caves (cellars) in Épernay (p391), the heart of Champagne.
7 Tuck into France’s halest piggy-driven cuisine in a traditional bouchon in Lyon (p400).
8 Hit the big time at Monaco’s sumptuous Casino de Monte Carlo (p427).