Highlights
Paris is number one for culture, with the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe and soaring Eiffel Tower, plus intriguing newcomers, like the Musée du Quai Branly's display of primitive art set in a Jean Nouvel building.
Leave Paris behind to find a colossal art collection (and fewer crowds) at Lille's Palais des Beaux Arts (France's second collection), the intriguing Toulouse Lautrec Museum in the artist's hometown of Albi, and Picasso, Chagall and Matisse museums dotting Provence and the Côte d'Azur. Relive history in two dimensions with the Bayeux Tapestry.
Rouen, Strasbourg and Chartres cathedrals are as statuesque as the Parisian Notre Dame. Seek out Lyon's Renaissance Old Town, a UNESCO heritage site, or the villages of Rocamadour and Saint Michel, which rise from the rocks like a vision. Fall for the wild, natural beauty of the Calanques cliffs in Marseille.
Take the kids to themeparks, from fairytale Disneyland Paris to cartoon crazy Parc Astérix in Picardy, nature-loving Bioscope in Alsace (from June 2006), or Futuroscope near Perpignan which suits nerds in the making. Picnic beneath the Pont du Garde Roman aqueduct in Nîmes, swim in the cool waters of the Dordogne River or snorkel in the warm Mediterranean Sea.
Time a trip to France with May's Nuits des Musées (Museum Nights) or September's Journées du Patrimoine (heritage days), when private spaces open to the public for free.
Before clubbing in the city: Kelly Watch The Stars by Air, in a cosy little café: La Vie en Rose by Edith Piaff, on the motorway: classic French hip-hop – Les Bad Boys de Marseille by Fonky Family.
