The world's leading tourist destination since the 1980s, France welcomes nearly 90 million visitors a year and holds 53 UNESCO sites, third in the world after Italy and China: Mont-Saint-Michel (1979), Versailles (1979) and its Hall of Mirrors, the Loire Castles (2000) — Chambord, Chenonceau, Amboise where Leonardo has rested since 1519 —, the Avignon Popes Palace (1995), Carcassonne (1997), Strasbourg Grande-Île (1988), the Canal du Midi (1996), Lascaux (1979) and the Santiago de Compostela routes (1998). Paris, capital since Hugues Capet in 987 and reshaped by Haussmann (1853-1870), holds the world's most visited monuments: the Eiffel Tower (1889), the Louvre and its 38,000 works including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo under I.M. Pei's pyramid, and Notre-Dame, reopened December 8, 2024 after the 2019 fire following a €700 million restoration that mobilized 2,000 craftsmen. Down south, Provence unfurls its Luberon lavender, the Cassis calanques and the MUCEM; the French Riviera brings together the Cannes Film Festival, Saint-Tropez, the Picasso Museum in Antibes and Nice's Promenade des Anglais. In the northwest, the D-Day beaches and the Brocéliande forest. On the lifestyle side: 17 PDO wine regions (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Loire, Alsace, Rhône) and 30 three-star Michelin chefs, the French gastronomic meal inscribed on the UNESCO heritage list in 2010. We design your regional itinerary in a private driver-guide car or 1st-class TGV.
Duration : 8 days
Route : Paris flight → PARIS (4 nights, Ritz Paris or Le Bristol palace + Eiffel Tower + Louvre + 2024 reopened Notre-Dame + Champs-Élysées + Marais) → VERSAILLES (day excursion, Hall of Mirrors + 800-ha Le Nôtre gardens) → UNESCO 2000 LOIRE CASTLES (3 nights, Domaine Les Hauts de Loire Relais & Châteaux + François I Chambord + Chenonceau + Amboise Leonardo da Vinci + Villandry gardens) → return Paris flight
Duration : 12 days
Route : Paris flight → PARIS (4 nights, palaces + Eiffel Tower + Louvre + Notre-Dame + Versailles) → Paris-Avignon TGV 2 h 40 → PROVENCE Luberon (3 nights, 5★ Bastide de Gordes + Sault-Valensole-Albion Plateau lavender fields June-August + Gordes + Roussillon + Ménerbes villages + Aix-Saint-Rémy markets) → Avignon-Cannes TGV 4 h or coastal road → FRENCH RIVIERA (3 nights, Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc Antibes or Negresco Nice + May Cannes Festival + Saint-Tropez Bardot + Antibes Picasso + Nice Promenade des Anglais) → Nice-Paris TGV 6 h or return flight
Duration : 16 days
Route : Paris flight → PARIS (4 nights + Versailles) → UNESCO LOIRE CASTLES (3 nights, Chambord + Chenonceau + Amboise) → Tours-Bordeaux TGV 2 h → BORDEAUX (2 nights, Saint-Émilion AOC vineyards + 1855 Médoc Grand Cru Classé + 2016 Cité du Vin museum + Château Margaux or Lafite tasting) → DORDOGNE-PÉRIGORD (2 nights, Château de la Treyne + Sarlat-la-Canéda + UNESCO Lascaux IV prehistoric cave + foie gras-black truffle-duck confit) → Bordeaux-Avignon TGV 5 h → PROVENCE (2 nights Luberon) → FRENCH RIVIERA (3 nights Cap d'Antibes or Saint-Tropez) → Nice-Paris TGV 6 h or flight
France is visited year-round depending on regions. APRIL-JUNE (our favorite period): perfect 15-25 °C climate, blooming gardens (Versailles + Giverny Monet), Mont-Saint-Michel crowded in high season to avoid (prefer May), Cannes Film Festival May, Roland-Garros tennis late May-early June. JUNE-AUGUST: PROVENCE LAVENDER blooming (peak mid-July most photogenic), FRENCH RIVIERA (hot 28-32 °C, ideal swimming, Saint-Tropez crowds), Paris crowded August (climate 25-28 °C). SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER (our 2nd favorite period): Bordeaux-Burgundy-Champagne-Loire-Alsace HARVESTS (estate visits + tastings), Périgord BLACK TRUFFLES (October-March, Lalbenque + Sarlat markets), autumn colors in Auvergne + Vosges + Alps, perfect 18-22 °C climate, fewer crowds. NOVEMBER-MARCH: magical winter Paris (Christmas markets + skating rinks), Loire Castles (without crowds + reduced rates), Alsace Europe's most iconic Christmas markets (Strasbourg + Colmar + Riquewihr November-December), Riviera still mild (15-17 °C, 300 sun days/year), SKIING in the ALPS (Chamonix + Megève + Courchevel + Val d'Isère December-April). Essential festivals: CANNES FILM FESTIVAL May (world's most prestigious cinema festival, Palme d'Or) + ROLAND-GARROS late May-early June (tennis Grand Slam) + AVIGNON FESTIVAL July (theater) + INTERLUDES FESTIVAL (baroque music) + MARCIAC JAZZ August + ORANGE CHORÉGIES ancient opera + LYON FOURVIÈRE NIGHTS + LYON CONTEMPORARY ART BIENNIAL October + BASTILLE DAY JULY 14 (Champs-Élysées parade + Eiffel Tower fireworks) + LYON FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS December 8 + ALSATIAN CHRISTMAS MARKETS Strasbourg November-December.
France is very safe for tourists (reinforced VIGIPIRATE alert level since 2015, visible police + military presence in tourist zones + transport + stations). No visa for Europeans (Schengen 1985 founding member, historic agreement signed on the Moselle at the Luxembourg village of Schengen on June 14, 1985) — French ID card or European passport sufficient. For non-EU travelers, Schengen visa required. No mandatory vaccines, up-to-date DTP recommended. Tap water drinkable everywhere. Visa/Mastercard accepted everywhere (€), ATMs everywhere. Customary tip: 5-10% in restaurants (15% service included by law, tip is voluntary supplement). Excellent mobile coverage (Orange + SFR + Bouygues + Free, Holafly eSIM), 4G/5G everywhere. Right-hand drive, toll highways with electronic Liber-t toll (€25/year tag). PARIS PICKPOCKET VIGILANCE: Metro lines 1 + 4 + 9 (Bastille to Châtelet pickpocket #1 axis), Eiffel Tower + Trocadéro + Champs-Élysées + Sacré-Cœur + Louvre + Gare du Nord (fake « deaf-mute » petitions + shell game scam + bag opening under pretext of fold — sign nothing, give nothing). Covered attire in cathedrals (Notre-Dame + Sainte-Chapelle + Reims + Strasbourg). Photos ALLOWED everywhere except flashes in museums (Louvre + Orsay + Versailles + Lascaux forbidden) + drones forbidden over Paris and all UNESCO sites. NOTRE-DAME 2024: mandatory free online booking notredamedeparis.fr 6 months in advance, max 30,000 visitors/day. LOIRE CASTLES: Chambord-Chenonceau-Amboise booking recommended 1 month in advance in high season. VERSAILLES: morning time slot recommended (8 AM-10 AM for Hall of Mirrors without crowds).
Essential France (Paris + Loire): 7 nights. With Provence + Riviera: 12 nights. With Normandy + Brittany: 14 nights. Complete France (all regions): 21+ nights.
Comfort: €2,990-3,800/person (4★ hotels). Premium (Ritz Paris + Domaine Chaumont Loire + Bastide Gordes Provence): €5,200-7,500. Excellence (suites + 3★ starred chefs): €9,500+.
No for French obviously, and Europeans (1985 Schengen, founding member). ID card.
Yes, December 8, 2024 reopening after 5 years spectacular €700 million restoration + 2,000 craftsmen. Frame + spire identically rebuilt in medieval oak. Mandatory free online booking.
BLOOMING June-August, PEAK mid-July (intense violet-blue fields, 6am sunrise for photos). HARVESTS late July-mid August (combine harvesters). Avoid September (cut fields).