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FRANCE
Top Things To See
(provided by worldtravelguide.net)
As the world’s most popular tourist destination, France
manages to be all things to all people. Any list of French
attractions is, by virtue of the country’s rich and
eclectic nature, bound to be incomplete.
Fall under the romantic charm of Paris famous for its Eiffel
Tower (website: www.tour-eiffel.fr), the Notre Dame Cathedral
on Ile de la Cité (website: http://www.cathedraledeparis.com/FR/0.asp),
the Panthéon, the Arc de Triomphe (website: www.monum.fr)
leading to Champs Elysées, famous for its cafés,
commercial art galleries and sumptuous shops, the Sacré Coeur
in the heart of Montmartre and the Louvres Pyramid (website:
http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=crt_frm_rs&langue=fr&initCritere=true),
the most controversial addition to the Palais du Louvre.
For a more modern feel, head for the business quarter of
La Défense and enjoy wonderful views from its Grande
Arche.
Go back in time at the Château de Versailles and enjoy
magnificent fireworks in the summer months (website: .
Visit one of the numerous Loire valley châteaux (castles)
including Blois, Chambord, Chenonceaux, Azay le Rideau and
Chinon.
Mind the tide when visiting Mont St Michel in Brittanny (website:
www.mont-saint-michel.net).
Enjoy the rugged and unspoilt atmosphere of Corsica, a French
island, made up of two French departments, with the picturesque
towns of Bastia and Ajaccio, famous for its Napoleonic memorabilia.
Discover the recently built Millau bridge, over the Tarn
Gorges, designed by British Architect, Norman Foster (website:
www.viaducdemillau.com).
Slightly older, the 2000-year-old Pont de Gard is one of
humanity’s greatest architectural accomplishments and
also merits a special trip.
Head south and discover magnificent Roman (and some Gallic)
ruins in the Languedoc-Roussillon region; the Maison Carré,
Diana’s Temple and the Roman Arena in Nîmes,
the Rome of the Gauls, are among the finest examples of Greco-Roman
architecture to be found today.
See traces of the Greek and Roman domination in Provence
where many monuments from that period are still scattered
across the countryside. They include walled hill towns, triumphal
arches, theatres, colosseums, arenas, bridges and aqueducts.
Christianity brought the Palace of the Popes in Avignon,
many churches and hundreds of roadside shrines or ‘oratories’ which
have given the name oradour to many communities along the
Rhône. Near Avignon is Orange with its stunning Roman
ampitheatre and Roman ruins.
In Marseille, France’s most important commercial port
on the Mediterranean, there are many sites of interest – the
old port, the hilltop church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, several
museums, Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation,
the Hospice de la Vieille Charité and, of course,
the Château d’If, one of the most notorious of
France’s historic island fortresses.
Visit France’s numerous cathedrals including the cathedral
of Rheims, where Clovis, the first French King was baptized,
the cathedral of Chartres and the cathedral of Tours. |
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