Good food, fine wine and excellent champagne are usually the first 3 things that spring to mind when thinking of France. In fact, the country produces some of the best wine in the world and the Bordeaux region in particular produces around 960 million bottles of wine each year.
I’ve been a frequent visitor to the country over the years and very much enjoyed the time I’ve spent there. The south of the country has become my preferred destination due to the warmer more Mediterranean climate, and due to the simply beautiful verdant landscape dotted with vineyards and wine producing châteaux’s. I’ve often spent many an afternoon at small family run vineyards sampling the excellent wines they produce and buying the odd bottle or two with which to top up my collection back home.
You’ll find that both the Languedoc and Bordeaux regions are particularly scenic and there’s plenty to keep your camera happy, from the charming scenery to the pretty little picturesque villages dotted around the landscape.
If you fancy yourself as a bit of an amatuer archaeologist then you’ll also find plenty of evidence of the Roman’s who once called this land home during the height of the Roman Empire, from the excellent ampitheatre in Arles to the magnificently preserved temple in Nîmes and a host of other Roman treasures throughout the country.
It could quite literally take you years to explore everything this amazing country has to offer (but I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself in the process) and visiting Paris is a must, even if you only get to spend a couple of days there (don’t forget to take a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower).
If you want to experience the best of France, but don’t have long to spend exploring, here are my top 5 highlights:
The French Alps
Winter sports fanatics will be well aware that France is an excellent destination for finding plenty of the white stuff and the Mont Blanc Mountain (White Mountain in French) in the French Alps makes for a particularly excellent location for skiing or snowboarding with slopes for those of all experience levels (interesting fact: it’s actually the highest mountain in Western Europe reaching 4808 metres at it’s peak).
Even if winter sports aren’t your thing, a visit to the French Alps is still highly reccomended as the scenery is absolutely stunning. You’ll get plenty of opportunities to snap away with your camera thanks to the beautiful valleys, sparkling lakes and abundance of flora and fauna to be found here (and pictures just do not do this postcard perfect place justice).
Paris
It would be simply criminal to travel to France and miss out on Paris, even if you only get to visit the most popular attractions such as; the Louvre Museum, spectacular Notre Dame Cathedral and of course the iconic Eiffel tower, it’ll be well worth the visit (you should aim to spend at least a few of days here if you really want to experience the best that this romantic city with its chic and trendy inhabitants has to offer).
Don’t forget to take a stroll along the Seine River (immortalised in the Abba song ‘Our Last Summer’ recently made popular again by the blockbuster musical movie ‘Mamma Mia’) or take a night time cruise if you’re feeling particularly romantic and want to woo your significant other (the Eiffel Tower looks particularly pretty at night time).
Bordeaux
If you want to taste some of the superb wine that France has to offer, what better place to visit than Bordeaux with its abundance of vineyards and laid back culture. You’ll find plenty of examples of lovely labels that just don’t appear on the shelves in the supermarkets back in the UK and the city of Bordeaux also makes for an excellent place to do some shopping.
Bordeuax has a rich cultural heritage and could certainly be considered the musical capital of France with it’s wealth of concert venues and plenty of great places to dance the night away. You’ll also find an excellent public transport system with an enviromentally friendly electric bus, 3 tramlines and over 580km of cycle tracks (there are plenty of place to rent bicycles from if you fancy some exercise). The Bordelais are very relaxed and laid back in many ways, but just don’t mention their dislike of Parisians…
Arles
A firm favourite with me because of the spectacular Roman ampitheatre (made world famous by the film ‘Ronin’ in which a dramatic gun fight takes place there). It was also once home to the renowned painter, Vincent Van Gogh for a short while and he stayed in the hospital there after cutting off his left earlobe. There are still plenty of traces of him left behind and the hospital garden (now a museum to Van Gogh) has been restored to how it would have looked when he painted it during the 19th century. For the more macabre of you out there, you can also visit the memorial to him in one of Arles’ parks which is said to be made from a deathmask after he’d shot himself.
You’ll find plenty more by way of Roman ruins here including a well preserved stretch of aqueduct, a water mill and an impressive Roman villa which would have been home to one of the Roman leaders who lived there during the height of the Roman Empire.
Pyrénées National Park
If you travel down to the Spanish border you’ll find the beautiful Pyrénées National Park which has 6 stunning valleys with more of that mountain and lakeside scenery that’ll keep your camera happy. There’s even a ‘Tiny Railway’ which you’ll find at an altitude of 6,000ft (and reached by cable car) travelling along a 6 mile stretch with panoramic views over the surrounding mountains and valleys.
If you’re lucky, you might spot one of the few remaining brown bears that call the area home and there are over 70 species of animals in the park to keep your camera happy. You’ll also find there are plenty of opportunities to go skiing, climbing or hiking here in what has to be some of France’s most spectacular scenery.
I’m sure you’ll be smitten with France if you get the opportunity to visit, and you’ll probably plan to return many more times. Before you head off though, make sure you book one of the many charming hotels in France to give you peace of mind that nothing will ruin your holiday, and don’t forget to check out the many France travel guides to be found on en.relaisdusilence.com for more tips on what to see and do whilst you’re there.
