

Five days on Corsica — Bonifacio at the southern tip, the white beaches of the south coast, and a drive up the western side to the red cliffs of the Calanques de Piana.

Three days in Marseille — bouillabaisse on the Vieux-Port, a hike up to Notre-Dame de la Garde, and a boat trip into the Calanques National Park just outside the city.

A three-day Burgundy itinerary — the medieval city of Beaune and its tile-roofed Hospices, the Côte d’Or vineyards, and the long lunches that the region is built around.

A five-day Brittany itinerary — the granite walls of Saint-Malo, a ferry to Belle-Île, the prehistoric standing stones at Carnac, and the salt-aired villages in between.

Five days in Chamonix — the Aiguille du Midi cable car to 3,842m, the Mer de Glace glacier, alpine valley walks, and the village under Mont Blanc.

Three days in Lyon — Vieux Lyon’s Renaissance streets and traboules, the Fourvière hill with Roman ruins and a basilica, and the city’s legendary bouchon dinners.

Four days in Alsace — Strasbourg’s Petite France quarter, the painted half-timbered streets of Colmar, the Wine Route villages, and the warming food of the borderlands.

Two days in Champagne — Reims and its Gothic cathedral, the great houses (Veuve Clicquot, Taittinger, Pommery) in their underground cellars, and the vineyard drive to Épernay.

Three days in Bordeaux — the city itself (lovelier than its reputation), and a day trip out to the medieval wine village of Saint-Émilion. Cellars, châteaux and a long lunch.

A five-day Normandy itinerary — Mont Saint-Michel at sunrise, the D-Day beaches and American cemetery, the white chalk cliffs at Étretat, and the slow cider country in between.

Four days in the Loire Valley — the great royal châteaux at Chambord and Chenonceau, the smaller hidden ones, and the cycle paths along the river that connect them all.

Five days on the French Riviera — Nice as the base, the medieval cliff village of Èze, the impossibly photogenic Villefranche-sur-Mer, and the millionaire bays of the Côte d’Azur.

A week in Provence — Valensole lavender at sunrise, hilltop villages of the Luberon, market days, vineyards, and the kind of long slow lunches that ruin you for ordinary holidays.

Five days in Paris — the Eiffel Tower at dawn, a slow morning at Notre Dame, the Louvre done properly, dinner in the Marais, and the Montmartre afternoon you’ll keep telling people about.











