Beaches

If you're looking for the quintessential Côte d'Azur beach experience, you can test the deep blue Mediterranean waters in splendidly contrasting landscapes that stretch from Monaco to Cannes. There's no need to rough it—some...

The natural beauty of Étretat has long attracted artists such as Claude Monet and Gustave Courbet, whose paintings entice even more visitors to this special place. (Monet painted a series of canvases depicting les falaises à Étretat, the dramatic coastal cliffs.) Located...

1. La Grande Plage, Biarritz It’s no wonder that Biarritz rhymes with glitz. Souvenirs of its illustrious history remain in the Art Deco and Belle Époque architecture which lines La Grande Plage, its largest, chicest beach....

Folklore has it that in 1235, an Irishman (or Scotsman, depending on which version you believe) named Patrick Walton was shipwrecked in the Bay de l'Aiguillon in the Charente region of France. Accustomed to trapping seabirds...

Nestling between Cap Canaille and the calanques, Cassis is a picturesque fishing port with a busy harbor, inviting beaches, colourful buildings and plentiful greenery. Located in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, about 12 miles east of Marseille on...

As I walked down the hillside into the backstreets of Cassis, there was no sign of the autumn mists and torrential rains which had struck Provence during the previous days. In the distance, the...

France is a huge country, many times bigger than each individual part of the UK, and as a result it is sometimes difficult to pinpoint exact locations where the family can have a great deal of fun without spending...

By 1763, the French had lost the Seven Years’ War, and it was time for the British to make their territorial claims in the New World. They had two real options: they could claim Canada, where France still ruled vast...

If you’re looking for your next seaside retreat, plan a unique long weekend in the South-West of France in the spring or the summer. The Bassin d’Arcachon is one of the most beautiful regions...

I sat in a Chicago sidewalk café this week with my face tilted up to bake in the unusually warm October sunshine and felt a pang for the Côte d'Azur I had experienced just a...