In the unlikely event that you need to find an excuse to visit France, here are a few beautiful places and their local cultural highlights, to time your trip around or simply put at the top of your list. Explore everything from the newly remodelled maritime museum in Paris to the markets of Biarritz, a celebration of Breton music and food and a centre dedicated to the joys and intricacies (counting above 20, anyone?) of the French language.
Carnival time, Côte d’Azur
In its Victorian heyday, the French Riviera was a winter destination, offering much needed sunshine in the depths of British gloom. February is a great month to visit, as the region is in full party mode with both the Nice Carnival (9-17 Feb) followed by the Menton lemon festival (17 Feb – 3 March). The Nice Carnival sees huge floats coverd in dancers parade down the street, with flowers thrown to the crowd. Meanwhile, the Menton lemon festival sees its floats adorned with oranges and lemons, and giant sculptures made with citrus fruits in the gardens in the town centre.
After all the frivolity, you’ll need somewhere comfortable to retreat to, so book a stay at Villa le Calme, with room for six in three bedrooms.
Museum trails, Paris
The capital’s new Musée National de la Marine reopened in late 2023 after six years of closure and a €7.2million overhaul. Visitors will get to learn all about the sea through fifty audiovisual, interactive and hands-on exhibits that take you on a voyage of your own through 250 years of French maritime and naval stories. It has one of the best views in Paris, as it’s housed in Palais de Chaillot, part of the Trocadéro overlooking the River Seine and Eiffel Tower.
You can stay almost directly opposite at the Hotel Eiffel Trocadéro, where many of the rooms have a super view of the Iron Lady.
Learn about the lingo, Villers-Cotterêts
The brand new centre dedicated to the joys and intricacies of the French language, the Cité de la Langue Française, opened in November 2023. It is set in the Château de Villers-Cotterêts, in Picardy east of Paris, in a former royal residence built by François I on the edge of the forest of Retz. The centre gives visitors the chance to learn about the richness of the French language through a variety of interactive puzzles and exhibits.
Stay at the cosy B&B Le Clos de la Rose in Saint-Cyr-sur-Morin just under an hour away, which is also in easy reach of the champagne vineyards and the attractive town of Provins nearby.
Châteaux galore, Loire Valley
The spring is the perfect time to explore the châteaux of the Loire Valley, as the gardens burst into life in a rainbow of colour. Wherever you choose to stay along the famous river, you’re spoiled for choice on the stately royal residences to visit.
If you choose the cosy Le Manoir, a manor house that sleeps six and has its own pool, you’ll be close to such châteaux as the bijou Azay-le-Rideau, and a little further away is the Château de Villandry, which offers one of the region’s most impressive gardens.
Breton culture, Finistère
Brittany is home to one of the world’s most fascinating Celtic cultures, and each July the town of Quimper in southern Finistère celebrates in style with its Festival Cornouaille.
There is music galore, much of it from bands from other Celtic cultures around the world. There are costumed parades where the women don the traditional tall lace bonnet, you can join in with traditional dances known as Fest-Noz, and tuck into the local speciality buckwheat crêpes from the various stalls.
Stay in the amazing Sémaphore de Lervily near Audierne, a holiday home like no other, set in a former semaphore station on the remote south-west coast.
Photo festival, La Gacilly
The Brittany town of La Gacilly, set in rolling countryside south-west of Rennes, makes a great destination in October when the photography festival showcases top photographers with 20 open-air galleries set throughout the town. The town also makes a great place to visit; the Yves Rocher botanical garden honours the cosmetics entrepreneur who was born and lived there.
Stay 20 minutes away at the Manoir du Vau d’Arz in Malansac, a beautiful B&B set in a 15th-century manor house. It makes a good base for exploring this area of southern Brittany, which is in easy reach of the Gulf of Morbihan.
Braderie street markets, Biarritz
Shopaholics will love the Braderie in Biarritz. The autumn edition of this twice-yearly event takes place on the third weekend of September and sees the town’s shops set out stalls on the street to sell off their summer stock. Bargain-hunters can choose from clothes and shoes as well as homewares including the colourful striped Basque linen. The event also welcomes musicians playing in the streets, and locals soak up the atmosphere from bars and restaurants.
Stay at the B&B Villa etchiBri in Anglet, just ten minutes away. It has a beautiful swimming pool and four stylish guest rooms.
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Christopher Wilson-Elmes
Sawday's Expert
Chris is our in-house copywriter, with a flair for turning rough notes and travel tales into enticing articles. Raised in a tiny Wiltshire village, he was desperate to travel and has backpacked all over the world. Closer to home, he finds himself happiest in the most remote and rural places he can find, preferably with a host of animals to speak to, some waves to be smashed about in and the promise of a good pint somewhere in his future.
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