France

Exclusive guide to the best holiday destinations in France, independent reviews from award-winning travel writers

Strasbourg

Guide to Strasbourg. Unmissable hidden gems to discover.

Little more than two hours from Paris by TGV, Strasbourg is an inspiring city with an age-old centre, a go-ahead culture, chic boutiques, High Street stores, and a wealth of fine dining and high-end restaurants serving imaginative offerings of regional and international dishes.

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Terry Marsh offers us his guide to Sarlat. A Dordogne gem of a town. 015 4593

Discover Sensational Sarlat. A Dordogne Gem of a town.

At the hub of Périgord Noir, the vintage town of Sarlat lies in a depression surrounded by a protective arrangement of wooded hills, a medieval settlement that evolved around an abbey with Carolingian roots.

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Our test family The Bakers review Eurocamp Les Ecureuiles camping accommodation.

Eurocamp Les Ecureuiles. Luxury mobile homes in the Loire.

After a reading a staggering statistic which showed the number of camping holiday nights booked in 2013 in Europe totalled over 360 million, with nearly half of those taken in static mobile homes, I admit I felt my view of outdoor leisure living needed a rethink. It was time to test out these impressive statistics, and after getting a family of four teamed up with Eurocamp, a provider of camping and mobile home holidays for over 34 years we tested out a week at Eurocamp Les Ecureuiles in Vendee.

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Samoens. The French Alps’ beautiful little secret

Mention the French Alps and a few famous names spring to mind; Chamonix, Val d’Isere and Courchevel perhaps, but there is one village tucked away in the Giffre Valley which has been a firm favourite with those in the know for many years, in both winter and summer. Yes, Samoens is the French Alps little secret.

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6 secret Paris treats

6 secret Paris treats for an unforgettable visit to the French Capital.

Even if guided tours don’t appeal, there are secret treats for those prepared to hop a Metro to less-travelled parts of the city or bag a perch offering a ringside view of the most famous landmark in the world. Here are six secret ways to get the most out of la belle Paris:

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Chamonix for Non Skiers

It is not often the French thank the English for anything, but in the case of Chamonix for non skiers and good skiers alike, they cannot thank us enough. It was a bunch of intrepid Englishmen in the 1800s, men like Whymper, Kennedy, Ball, Wills and Tyndall, who, armed with precious little equipment, first explored the Alps and Mont Blanc in particular. They formed The Alpine Club and returned many times to climb the peaks.

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