With its facades made of strident coloured tubing, the Pompidou Centre is like a gigantic ship posed in the heart of one of the oldest parts ofParis, halfway between the Forum des Halles and the Marais.
Archive for the "Places to visit in France" Category
What remains of the Bastille, the famous state prison, taken over on July 14, 1789? There remains little in material terms but a great deal in human terms, for behind the Bastille it was a matter of a whole quarter, that of the Bastoche, of which the revolutionary tradition is well known.
You come to a large square with a bronze cylinder in the centre, evoking the chimneys of the concentration camps. At the far end on a high impenetrable wall there is the Star of David.
One of the finest pavilions of the Place desVosgesto visit is the Hôtel de Rohan-Guéménée which, since 1903, has housed a museum dedicated to Victor Hugo (1802 to 1885). In 1832, the romantic writer, in full glory, rented a large apartment on the second floor of this hotel where he lived until 1848.
This is one of the oldest quarters ofParis, with narrow cobbled streets, passages, courtyards and shady squares, as well as stately homes, palaces and the superb Place desVosgeswhich is a model of harmony and elegance. King Henry IV was the designer of this splendour.
The top of its spire can be seen from the right or left banks of the Seine, but once in front of the Palais de Justice (courthouse) it seems to have disappeared as if by magic! Yet it is on this Ile de la Cité (CityIsland) thatSaint Louisbuilt,
It is one of the strongest symbols of the capital to be admired from the Quai de la Toumelle (Toumelle Quay), where the view of its chevet, with dramatic flying buttresses and grey-green copper spire, is beautiful. The Notre Dame Cathedral stands as an imposing silhouette at the eastern end of the Ile de la Cité (CityIsland).
Normandy is the perfect place for food-loving ramblers! Stretching from Dieppe and Rouen in the east across to Cherbourg and St-Lô in the west, Normandy encompasses the regions of Seine-Maritime, Eure, Calvados, Orne and Manche.
It is an enchanting region flanked to the north by its chalk cliffs and the English Channel, yet encompasses the beautiful Seine Valley, the famous horse country of Orne and the apple orchards of Calvados.
With countless small towns and villages of flint or half-timbered houses, multi-arched bridges over lazy rivers and fields of wild flowers, it is the perfect area to explore on foot, by bicycle or in an open-topped car!
France, like most countries in Europe, has a rich and varied history. In this beautiful country you’ll see some of the oldest buildings, the best architecture, and the most amazing castles in Europe. Perhaps even in the world. In a country with such a storied past, you’ll always find skeletons in the closet, and a sordid past. This vast country has many stories to tell and some very dark secrets indeed.
If you ever get tired of the sights, bored with the world-class shopping and fancy a real fright, why not take a trip to some of the most haunted and scariest places in France. You’ll find a number of old, and even some new spots on the map that have gruesome and terrifying tales to tell. And you’ll get to see a side of France that most tourists never have the chance to experience.
If you love things that go bump in the night, then France is the place for you. Perhaps you are even familiar with some of the popular “haunted” spots like the Loire Valley castles or the gloomy Conciergerie prison in Paris, but we’ll tell you about strange places in France you didn’t know before.
Some of these sights are not for the faint hearted. So, if you’re not into scary ghost stories, haunted houses or cemeteries, then this list of the top ten scariest places to visit in France is certainly not for you.
Prepare to be scared, here are the spookiest spots France has to offer…
