France off the beaten track: little-known destinations

France off the beaten track is made of medieval villages in the Aveyron and the Perigord, villages of the Auvergne among extinct volcanoes, the wild coasts of Brittany and the trails of the Cevennes. Far from crowded Paris and the French Riviera, here village markets, silent castles and untouched nature await you. Set off to discover them.

29 guides in Francia · 🛏 Dove dormire in Francia

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Instead of Montmartre: Lyon's Croix-Rousse, Traboules and Silk (Lyon, France)

Responsible travel

Instead of Montmartre: Lyon's Croix-Rousse, Traboules and Silk

The Croix-Rousse hill in Lyon is the bohemian quarter Montmartre used to be: secret passageways, artists' studios and genuinely local street life.

Pérouges, the Medieval Walled Borgo That Looks Like a Film Set, Just Outside Lyon (Pérouges, France)

Pérouges, France

Pérouges, the Medieval Walled Borgo That Looks Like a Film Set, Just Outside Lyon

Pérouges is a walled medieval borgo thirty minutes from Lyon: polished cobblestones, watchtowers and the celebrated butter galette.

Salers, Where Lava Stone Meets the Volcanic Pastures of the Cantal (Salers, France)

Salers, Where Lava Stone Meets the Volcanic Pastures of the Cantal

Salers is a lava-stone borgo deep in the Auvergne volcanoes: medieval towers, mountain-pasture cheese and an ancient silence.

Beyond Paris: Annecy, the Venice of the French Alps (Annecy, Haute-Savoie, France)

Annecy, Haute-Savoie, France

Beyond Paris: Annecy, the Venice of the French Alps

An emerald alpine lake, flower-strewn canals, and mountains mirrored in the water. Annecy is France at its most romantic — without the Parisian crowds.

Instead of Paris: Lyon, the Gastronomic Capital That Lives for Pleasure, Not Pretence (Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France)

Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

Instead of Paris: Lyon, the Gastronomic Capital That Lives for Pleasure, Not Pretence

Two rivers, a UNESCO Renaissance quarter and the most celebrated cuisine in France. Lyon is grandeur without the tourist arrogance of Paris.

Gorges de la Truyère: the Secret Canyon of the Cantal (Cantal (Auvergne), France)

Cantal (Auvergne), France

Gorges de la Truyère: the Secret Canyon of the Cantal

In the wild heart of the Auvergne, the Gorges de la Truyère are green, winding gorges of water, viaducts and silence, in the Cantal.

Bretagna

Dinan, the Breton Medieval City Overlooking the Rance (Dinan, France)

Dinan, the Breton Medieval City Overlooking the Rance

Dinan is a living medieval Breton city with half-timbered houses, walkable ramparts and a river port on the Rance — Brittany at its most authentic.

Locronan, the Granite Borgo Where Time Stopped in Brittany (Locronan, France)

Locronan, France

Locronan, the Granite Borgo Where Time Stopped in Brittany

Locronan is a granite Breton borgo frozen at the Renaissance: a perfect square, sailcloth weavers and a ready-made film set.

Centro

Loire à Vélo Off the Beaten Track: The Forgotten Châteaux No One Visits (Loire Valley, France)

Loire Valley, France

Guides and itineraries

Loire à Vélo Off the Beaten Track: The Forgotten Châteaux No One Visits

Beyond Chambord and Chenonceau, the Loire Valley hides dozens of châteaux with no queues or entry fees. A cycling itinerary for those seeking secret France.

Corsica

The GR20 of Corsica: Europe's Toughest Trek, One Hour from Italy (Corsica, France)

Corsica, France

The GR20 of Corsica: Europe's Toughest Trek, One Hour from Italy

180 km and 13,000 metres of ascent along Corsica's mountain spine: the GR20 is legendary, but the southern half is within reach of any fit walker.

Grande Est

Instead of Paris: Strasbourg, Where France Meets Germany and the Result Is Magnificent (Strasbourg, Alsace, France)

Strasbourg, Alsace, France

Instead of Paris: Strasbourg, Where France Meets Germany and the Result Is Magnificent

The UNESCO Grande Île, half-timbered houses, the European Parliament and winstub where Riesling flows freely. Alsace is a world apart.

Isola di Francia

Instead of the Eiffel Tower: the hidden Paris that few tourists see (Italy)

Guides and itineraries

Instead of the Eiffel Tower: the hidden Paris that few tourists see

What to see in Paris instead of the Eiffel Tower: Roman amphitheatres, cast-iron churches, flowery lanes and corners of France with no queues.

Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile: the coloured cast-iron church hidden off the Grands Boulevards in Paris (Grands Boulevards (9th arrondissement), Paris, France)

Grands Boulevards (9th arrondissement), Paris, France

Churches and cathedrals

Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile: the coloured cast-iron church hidden off the Grands Boulevards in Paris

In Paris, in the 9th arrondissement, a neo-Gothic church with 44 blue, red and green cast-iron columns and no bell tower. History, stained glass, how to get there.

The Cité Florale of Paris: six flower-named lanes in the 13th arrondissement (Butte-aux-Cailles, Paris, France)

Butte-aux-Cailles, Paris, France

The Cité Florale of Paris: six flower-named lanes in the 13th arrondissement

In the 13th arrondissement of Paris, the Cité Florale: six flower-named lanes, Art Deco cottages and wisteria, born in 1928 on a marsh of the Bièvre.

Ary Scheffer's Garden: The Musée de la Vie Romantique in Pigalle (Nouvelle Athènes, Paris, France)

Nouvelle Athènes, Paris, France

Castles, palaces and monuments

Ary Scheffer's Garden: The Musée de la Vie Romantique in Pigalle

At 16 rue Chaptal, Ary Scheffer's hôtel with its courtyard and garden. George Sand mementoes, a free collection and a tea room in Pigalle.

Arènes de Lutèce: The Roman Amphitheatre Hidden Behind Rue Monge in Paris (Latin Quarter (5th), Paris, France)

Latin Quarter (5th), Paris, France

Archaeological sites

Arènes de Lutèce: The Roman Amphitheatre Hidden Behind Rue Monge in Paris

The Gallo-Roman amphitheatre of the 1st century, Paris's oldest monument, behind an entranceway at 49 rue Monge. Free admission.

Normandia

Instead of Mont Saint-Michel: spectacular, uncrowded abbeys and islands (Italy)

Guides and itineraries

Instead of Mont Saint-Michel: spectacular, uncrowded abbeys and islands

Looking for an alternative to Mont Saint-Michel? Abbeys on islands, cliffs and gorges, with the same drama and none of the summer crush.

Nuova Aquitania

Collonges-la-Rouge: the Scarlet Village of the Corrèze (Collonges-la-Rouge, France)

Collonges-la-Rouge, France

Collonges-la-Rouge: the Scarlet Village of the Corrèze

Collonges-la-Rouge is built entirely in red sandstone — a blazing borgo set against the green countryside of the Corrèze.

Occitania

Instead of the Cinque Terre: Collioure, the Village of Light and Colour (Collioure, France)

Collioure, France

Responsible travel

Instead of the Cinque Terre: Collioure, the Village of Light and Colour

Collioure is the Mediterranean borgo that Matisse and Derain painted for its extraordinary light: coloured houses, anchovies and sea without the Cinque Terre crush.

Cordes-sur-Ciel: the Gothic Bastide Suspended Among the Clouds of the Tarn (Cordes-sur-Ciel, France)

Cordes-sur-Ciel, France

Cordes-sur-Ciel: the Gothic Bastide Suspended Among the Clouds of the Tarn

Cordes-sur-Ciel is a Gothic bastide that seems to float above the Tarn mists: a perfect alternative to Rocamadour, steeped in medieval craft.

Najac, the Ridge-Top Fortress That Commands the Aveyron Gorges (Najac, France)

Najac, the Ridge-Top Fortress That Commands the Aveyron Gorges

Najac stretches along a rocky ridge above the Aveyron gorges: a royal fortress, stone houses and a silence that feels truly medieval.

Villefranche-de-Conflent: la fortezza Vauban tra i Pirenei (Villefranche-de-Conflent, France)

Villefranche-de-Conflent, France

Villefranche-de-Conflent: la fortezza Vauban tra i Pirenei

Una cittadella UNESCO firmata Vauban incastrata tra le vette catalane: vie in marmo rosa, bastioni percorribili e un borgo medievale ancora abitato.

Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, the Hérault Gorges and the Abbey of Gellone (Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, France)

Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, France

Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, the Hérault Gorges and the Abbey of Gellone

Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert hides in the Hérault gorges: a Benedictine abbey, turquoise waters and a stage on the Way of Saint James.

Lagrasse, the Abbey Among the Corbières Vineyards (Lagrasse, France)

Lagrasse, France

Lagrasse, the Abbey Among the Corbières Vineyards

Lagrasse is a medieval borgo in the Corbières with a Carolingian abbey, a humpback bridge and bold red wines waiting to be discovered.

Eus: France's Sunniest Village at the Foot of Mount Canigou (Eus, France)

Eus: France's Sunniest Village at the Foot of Mount Canigou

Eus, perched beneath the Canigou in the Eastern Pyrenees, is France's sunniest municipality: golden stone, Catalan silence and 300 days of sun a year.

Saint-Cirq-Lapopie: an Eagle's Nest Above the Lot Valley (Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, France)

Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, France

Saint-Cirq-Lapopie: an Eagle's Nest Above the Lot Valley

Saint-Cirq-Lapopie commands the Lot from a vertiginous cliff: artisan workshops, medieval houses and silence in the heart of the Quercy.

Conques: the Romanesque Jewel on the Way to Santiago That Time Has Kept Safe (Conques, France)

Conques, France

Conques: the Romanesque Jewel on the Way to Santiago That Time Has Kept Safe

Conques guards a perfect Romanesque abbey and the treasure of Sainte-Foy among the hills of the Aveyron, far from the tourist crowds.

Provenza-Alpi-Costa Azzurra

Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, the Faïence Borgo Suspended Between the Verdon Cliffs (Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, France)

Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, France

Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, the Faïence Borgo Suspended Between the Verdon Cliffs

Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is nestled between two cliffs with a star hanging in the void: fine ceramics, the Verdon and Provençal lavender.

Roussillon: The Ochre Village in Provence's Luberon (Roussillon, France)

Roussillon, France

Roussillon: The Ochre Village in Provence's Luberon

Roussillon blazes red and orange amid the Luberon lavender fields: ochre quarries, incandescent façades and a real alternative to Gordes.

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