France Travel Guide

From Brittany in the far north down to the Spanish border, western France is a fascinating strip of ever-changing Atlantic coastline. The Brittany peninsula - jutting out from the northwest side of France - is a rugged region with its own special atmosphere. Though it is the seaside that makes it such a popular destination, Brittany's sights are must-sees too. Like the Abbey of Mont-St-Michel standing on a tiny granite island just off the coast, connected to the mainland by a thin tidal causeway, the extraordinary walled town of St. Malo, or the mysterious standing stones at Carnac. South of Brittany is Bordeaux county, the most famous of France's wine growing regions where over 70 million gallons are produced each year. Towards the Spanish border, in the Pays Basque, the green fields stretch up to the mountains of the Pyrenees and downwards towards the Atlantic, where visitors come and the elegant resorts of St-Jean-de-Luz or Biarritz.

Burgundy lies at the gastronomic heart of France. Acclaimed worldwide both for its fine reds and its whites, exploring Burgundy is like travelling through a wine list as you tour the vineyards and wine districts of the Cote D'Or, divided into the Cote de Nuits and Nuit Saint Georges, the Cote de Beaune and Chablis. Find time, too, to indulge in some of France's most appetising culinary wonders. Further south is the region of Auvergne where the architectural treasures and the landscape - including the Auvergne National Park - are among the most breathtaking in France.

Languedoc-Roussillon stretches 150 miles along the spectacular coastline of the Mediterranean Sea from the foothills of the Pyrenees on the Spanish border to the mouth of the River Rhone. The mix of family holiday resorts, health spas and ancient fishing villages that cluster along the shore include destinations such as the seaside towns of Frontignan, famous for its Muscat wine, the picture postcard Palavas-les-Flots and Banyuls sur Mer, among them some of the finest of all French beaches. The unhurried pace of life doesn't seem to have changed for centuries and the Catalan heritage of Languedoc-Roussillion is evident in the popularity of the flamenco, paella, sangria and bull fighting festivals. Back from the coast, the hinterland is a region of incredible diversity, from the knife-edge summits of the Pyrenees, to the untouched beauty of the Camargue, and the rocks, forest and valleys of the Cevennes.