Golf

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...

With the golf season is now in full swing, we select some of France’s most beautiful and welcoming courses. 1. Les Bordes This beauty deep in the Loiret department tops many golf course ‘best of’ lists...

1. Faire la fête The south of France is blessed with a glorious summer climate and the locals make the most of it, at festivals which are spread throughout the season. Arts and theatre aficionados are...

France does not readily spring to mind as one of the premier golfing nations. Who remembers Arnaud Massy, the former sardine fisherman from Biarritz who back in 1907 became the only Frenchman to win...

1. HIT THE BIKE TRAILS With five mountain ranges and some of the world’s most varied terrain, France can’t be beaten for mountain biking and downhill cycling. Les Deux Alpes has over 100km of marked biking...

As anyone familiar with golf will already know, there is a whole world of vocabulary associated with it. Fortunately, some of it will still sound familiar in French. From the various clubs de golf to...

Home to the largest nature reserve in France, the Vercors's dramatic rockscape and patchwork of rugged valleys are ripe to be explored on foot or by bike – unless you fancy a canter? HIT THE...

As the Ryder Cup heads to France for the first time in the competition’s history, Dominic Bliss takes a look at the nation's love-hate relationship with golf "He’s surely not going to climb down in...

Indulge yourself from the beaches to the mountainous interior, via the great cities of Bayonne and Biarritz Markets There are great Halles marketplaces in the town centres of both Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Bayonne. Open until lunchtime every day of...

With beaches stretching as far as the eye can see and oodles of historic landmarks, the jewel of the Opal Coast makes a picturesque getaway HOLY CRYPT Rising imperiously over Boulogne-sur-Mer, the Basilique Notre-Dame was built...