France

France rarely fits into a single trip. You have already picked the country, and now you need to settle the specifics: how many days to give Paris, whether to add the Loire or Provence, where to stay and which tickets to buy in advance. Those are the questions that bring readers to this section.

Most of the articles are about Paris. We cover the main sights one by one: the Eiffel Tower, the Palace of Versailles, the Opéra Garnier, Les Invalides, the Paris Catacombs, Disneyland. Each of these pieces deals with tickets, opening hours and how to get inside without a long wait. Alongside them you will find walking routes through Montmartre and the Latin Quarter, three-day and five-day plans, and roundups of viewpoints, parks and places to go with children. There are pieces of another kind too: city rules that visitors learn about too late, and a breakdown of a weekend budget.

The second large part is devoted to the regions. It includes the Loire châteaux and a day trip from Paris to the Loire Valley, Mont-Saint-Michel with its tides and the way to the abbey, Alsace in the fall, the lavender fields of Provence and the Luberon by car. The southwest is represented by Bordeaux, Saint-Émilion and Biarritz, the French Riviera by walking routes around Nice and Cannes. For active travelers, there is a description of the Loire à Vélo cycle route from Tours to the Atlantic. If wine is your interest, the piece on tastings with family winemakers in the Marne Valley will be useful. There are distant destinations as well: Corsica in two weeks, Réunion, Saint-Barth.

Articles on accommodation and getting around are grouped separately. We explain which neighborhood to stay in when visiting Paris, Bordeaux, Biarritz and Chamonix, and offer selections of hotels in the center of the capital and with a view of the Eiffel Tower. Two pieces cover the journey from the airport to central Paris, including a detailed look at the RER B line from Charles de Gaulle Airport. Seasonal articles tell you what to expect from Paris in January and November.

Every article opens with a short answer to the main question. Practical sections follow: how to get there, how much time to allow, what to buy in advance. For prices and timetables we state the source and the date we checked them. We are direct about the downsides: if a place is closed, the line is long or the tower cannot actually be seen from the hotel window, the text will say so.

The section is meant for people who plan their own trip and want clear answers on timing, neighborhoods and tickets. It works for a first visit to Paris as well as for a route through the regions by car, train or bike. If you are looking for historical essays or a ready-made escorted tour, it is unlikely to help. We write travel guides, we do not organize trips.

It is easiest to start with an overall plan: the piece on Paris in three days or on five days on foot, if you are heading to the capital. Then choose a neighborhood and a hotel, and after that read about the journey from the airport. The articles on individual sights are best opened last, once your dates are fixed. For a trip through the regions the order is different: season and route first, overnight stops second.

Everything related to the capital is gathered in the "Paris" subsection. The section itself belongs to "Europe", which in turn sits within the general "Destinations" section. If you are combining France with neighboring countries, take a look at "Belgium", "Germany", "Andorra" and "England". Other countries on the same level, such as "Denmark" or "Georgia", are organized in the same way.

Ticket prices, timetables and visiting rules change often. We go back to published articles, check the details against the official websites of museums and transport operators, and update the date of the check. New pieces appear as we cover further regions and cities. Before you travel, do open the official website of the place you need: that way you will see any changes from the last few days. As for the trip plan, you can put it together right now from the articles in this section.