France
France, in Western Europe, is home to over 64 million people and encompasses medieval cities, alpine villages and beautiful beaches. Paris, its capital, is famed for its fashion houses, iconic monuments like the Eiffel Tower, and is the country's primary economic, financial, and political hub. The country is also renowned for its sophisticated cuisine, rich history, and impressive natural landscapes. Today, we'll be exploring some of France's most beautiful and iconic sights in depth as we take a trek across the country.
Our trip to France begins with one of the country's most iconic landmarks - Mont Saint-Michel. Perched on a rocky islet in the midst of vast sandbanks exposed to large tides between Normandy and Brittany stand this beautiful Gothic-style Benedictine abbey dedicated to the archangel St Michael, and the village that grew up in the shadow of its walls. Built between the 11th and 16th centuries, the abbey is a technical and artistic tour de force, having had to adapt to the problems posed by this unique natural site.
After exploring the abbey, we head south and start to visit a few of the country's most famous cities, starting with Nantes. Nantes, a city on the Loire River in the Upper Brittany region of western France, has a long history as a port and industrial center. It's home to the restored, medieval Château des Ducs de Bretagne, where the Dukes of Brittany once lived. The city's sheer variety of artistic and architectural wonders make Nantes one of France's most popular destinations.
Our next stop is Paris - a major European city and a global center for art, fashion, gastronomy and culture. It's truly an iconic, timeless city - Paris' 19th-century cityscape is crisscrossed by wide boulevards and the River Seine, and is known for its cafe culture and designer boutiques along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. One of the best ways to see Paris' iconic cityscape is with a trip to the famous Eiffel Tower's observation deck - the views from the top are truly impressive.
After our stay in Paris, we head out to explore the wonders of France's interior - a region that's home to hundreds of impressive Châteaus - manor houses that were once home to French nobility, centuries ago. The Château de Chenonceau is one of the most beautiful, and is well known for spanning the River Cher, near the small village of Chenonceaux in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France.
We travel further south, eventually reaching the town of Millau - which is where you'll find one of the world's most impressive man-made wonders. The Millau Viaduct is a multi-span cable-stayed bridge completed in 2004 across the gorge valley of the Tarn - designed by the French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux and English architect Norman Foster, the viaduct is the tallest bridge structure in the world with a pier and mast, rising a lofty 1,100 feet above the ground.
The next stop in our tour across rural southern France is Bordeaux - a western region of France that's well known for its iconic vineyards. This region produces some of the world's most famous wines and many of these fields have an impressive, stately home - or Château - on their lands, which is usually where the wine gets its name.
Lavender is another one of France's most famous crops - and there's no better place to go to check them out than in Provence. These mesmerizing, fragrant fields can be seen popping up everywhere during the summer - and are important for their uses in oils, perfumes, and soaps.
Provence is also home to another one of France's most recognizable natural landmarks - the Verdon Gorge. Often referred to as the "Grand Canyon of France", it's renown for its beautiful turquoise blue waters and stunning sheer linestone walls, making it a popular destination for rock climbing, hiking, and canoeing.
After exploring some of mainland France's most iconic sights, we catch a ferry for a quick look around Corsica - France's iconic mountainous island, situated some 100 miles southeast of the mainland. The entire island is dotted with charming villages like the one below hugging the rugged hillsides - and the entire island is truly one of France's most beautiful gems.
We make our way back towards the mainland, and travel a bit north to explore the wonders of Nîmes. Nîmes is a city in the Occitanie region of southern France, and was an important outpost of the Roman Empire. It’s known for well-preserved Roman monuments such as the Arena of Nîmes, a double-tiered circa-70 A.D. amphitheater still in use for concerts and bullfights.
The Pont du Gard is another one of the city's most iconic landmarks - this large aqueduct was built over 2,000 years ago and carried water into the city. The Pont du Gard is the highest of all Roman aqueduct bridges, and one of the best preserved.
Not far from the Pont du Gard is the massive Rhône Valley - a hub of wine culture since ancient times and is just as popular today. These farmlands are well known for their distinctive look from above - large rows of cypress tree barriers are planted to protect the farmers' crops from the mistral - a strong, cold, northwesterly wind that blows across the landscape.
As we travel further east, the landscape quickly becomes much more mountainous - we've now reached the foothills of the mighty French Alps. Small, quaint alpine villages dot the landscape - and make for a great destination to restock and stay the night. Tomorrow, we'll be exploring the best of what these mountains have to offer.
Our tour concludes with a look at France's highest peak - majestic Mount Blanc. Mt. Blanc is the second-highest mountain in Europe after Mount Elbrus - and the highest mountain in the Alps mountain system. Rising 15,771 feet above sea level, it's also the eleventh-most prominent peak in the world and is truly a sight to behold.
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-korver
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