{"id":356651,"date":"2025-08-19T11:19:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T11:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/356651\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T11:19:21","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T11:19:21","slug":"ive-lived-in-france-for-years-and-explored-every-corner-of-the-country-this-is-why-its-time-to-ditch-overrated-paris-and-the-incredible-places-you-should-visit-instead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/356651\/","title":{"rendered":"I’ve lived in France for years and explored every corner of the country. This is why it’s time to ditch overrated Paris… and the incredible places you should visit instead"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a psychological reason why you shouldn\u2019t just visit Paris. Really. The sense of disappointment that people often get from visiting the French capital is called Paris Syndrome, a term coined by a Japanese psychiatrist in the 80s. I\u2019ve lived in Paris, and I still go most months. While I\u2019ve never fallen victim to Paris Syndrome, I can\u2019t help feeling the 50 million-odd visitors each year are missing a trick.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere are hundreds of islands with white sand beaches fragmenting the Breton coast, 100m gorges with turquoise water snaking through the middle, the highest mountain in Europe (okay, it\u2019s shared with Switzerland and Italy<\/a>, but technicalities).<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve lived in France<\/a> for years and worked on dozens of guidebooks, so there are few corners of the country I\u2019m yet to explore. I\u2019d skip Paris for the following places any day.<\/p>\n

Marseille<\/p>\n

Marseille is cool. Not an understated cool, but the in-your-face, look-at-me kind. Several of the districts, including the city\u2019s oldest quartier Le Panier, and restaurant and thrift-shop lined Cours Julien, are so caked in street art you can barely see the original buildings. There\u2019s always something to discover: parties and exhibitions in a multi-storey car park turned events space (Friche la Belle de Mai), an old hospice transformed into an art gallery, reproductions of subaquatic caves covered in prehistoric drawings\u2026 the list goes on. This is a place to live it up \u2013 not for rest and relaxation.<\/p>\n

\"Marseille <\/p>\n

Marseille is cool. Not an understated cool, but the in-your-face, look-at-me kind. Pictured: The Panier district<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss: Freediving down to see the underwater museum just offshore at city beach Plage des Catalans.<\/p>\n

Where to stay: Grand H\u00f4tel Beauvau, right on the seafront beside the Vieux Port, has doubles from \u00a3130.<\/p>\n

How to get there: British Airways has direct flights from London Heathrow, taking under two hours.<\/p>\n

Les Gets, Alps<\/p>\n

This little alpine town bursts at the seams in winter, when skiers come to whoosh down the slopes of the Portes du Soleil station (with reason, there\u2019s a whopping 600km of runs!), but it\u2019s when the mountains have shed their winter coat that visitors get both the best value and variety. In summer, luxury chalets are a fraction of the price, and it\u2019s an outdoor sport paradise. Trail running, mountain biking, hiking or paddleboarding on Lac de Montriond \u2014 there\u2019s no need for a gym when nature\u2019s own fitness centre is all around you.<\/p>\n

\"Try <\/p>\n

Try trail running, mountain biking, hiking or paddleboarding on Lac de Montriond \u2014 there\u2019s no need for a gym when nature\u2019s own fitness centre is all around you<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss: A trip to the farm shop at Ch\u00e8vrerie des F\u00e9lires, where you can meet the goats that have produced your cheese.<\/p>\n

Where to stay: Chalets 1066 has a huge variety of self-catered accommodation. Rates start from \u00a3600\/week for 4.<\/p>\n

How to get there: Geneva is the closest airport (Easyjet flies from various UK cities). From here, hire a car or take the bus, changing in Morzine (approx. three hours total).<\/p>\n

Le Pont-de-Montvert, Cevennes<\/p>\n

Never heard of the C\u00e9vennes? It\u2019s a little remote, and even now there are small villages where residents live entirely off-grid, with no WiFi, and not even refrigerators. Outside of these little pockets, you\u2019ll find all the comforts you need, but its inaccessibility means the landscape has changed little for hundreds of years. Craggy hills, cobblestone villages, and in spring, carpets of colourful flowers. This is a place that attracts adventurers and lovers of the great outdoors: motorcyclists enjoying the sweeping bends in the roads, hikers and\u2026 donkeys. The Stevenson Trail cuts through here, which Robert Louis Stevenson famously hiked with a donkey.<\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

In Cevennes you\u2019ll find all the comforts you need, but its inaccessibility means the landscape has changed little for hundreds of years<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss: Canyoning in the nature-made playground that marks the source of the Tarn River, before it turns into a vast canyon some 500m deep.<\/p>\n

Where to stay: Auberge des C\u00e9vennes has doubles from \u00a363.<\/p>\n

How to get there: Catch the TGV (high speed) train to Avignon (2 hrs 40 mins), and hire a motorbike from Good Motors to explore the region.<\/p>\n

Beaujolais<\/p>\n

The invention of Beaujolais Nouveau, a young wine drunk the same year as it\u2019s harvested, for better or for worse sealed Beaujolais\u2019 reputation. Cheap, poor quality wine, but an excellent place to party (particularly during the third weekend of November when that year\u2019s vintage is uncorked) is how the rest of the world sees it. In a quiet revolution, it\u2019s become one of the best places for up-and-coming winemakers producing organic and natural vintages at rock bottom prices. Tastings are often free, or rarely more than \u20ac5 (\u00a34.35).<\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

In a quiet revolution, Beaujolais has become one of the best places for up-and-coming winemakers producing organic and natural vintages at rock bottom prices<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss: Booking a m\u00e2chon, Beaujolais\u2019 answer to bottomless brunch, in the vines. Traditionally it\u2019s served at 9am, but many wineries such as Domaine Passot organise it at more civilised times if you don\u2019t fancy washing down your pain au chocolat with a carafe of gamay.<\/p>\n

Where to stay: Ch\u00e2teau de Pizay has doubles from \u00a3200.<\/p>\n

How to get there: Easyjet has direct flights from London Gatwick and Luton. Hire a car from SIXT at the airport.<\/p>\n

Saumur<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the colour of the buildings that makes me drool over Saumur. They\u2019re the colour of a really flavourful vanilla ice cream, and they\u2019re so clean looking, like someone took a giant pressure washer to the whole town. This is the heart of ch\u00e2teau country, and Saumur has a spectacular one of its own, the Ch\u00e2teau de Saumur, which began life in the 10th century (albeit it looks pretty different today), and the vanilla stone is tuffeau, a kind of limestone typical to the Loire.<\/p>\n

\"This <\/p>\n

This is the heart of ch\u00e2teau country, and Saumur has a spectacular one of its own (centre), the Ch\u00e2teau de Saumur, which began life in the 10th century<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss: Fontevraud-l\u2019Abbaye, the largest monastic settlement in Europe, which has worn many habits, including being a prison in the 19th century, just 20 minutes from Saumur.<\/p>\n

Where to stay: Glamp it up at Huttopia Saumur, which has Canadian-style trapper tents sleeping 5 for just \u00a3330\/week.<\/p>\n

How to get there: High-speed trains link Paris Austerlitz and Saumur (2h40) multiple times per day. Book via SNCF Connect.<\/p>\n

Sassignac, Dordogne<\/p>\n

The Dordogne fills me with nostalgia for childhood camping trips, and it\u2019s a place where time spent between four walls is time wasted, because it\u2019s so delightfully green. Saussignac is my latest coup de c\u0153ur (favourite), a picture-perfect town encircled by vineyards in the hills just behind the Dordogne River. Days are (naturally) made for languidly sipping wine; hire an e-bike to explore further afield, no one\u2019s going to want to be the designated driver here.<\/p>\n

\"Saussignac <\/p>\n

Saussignac is my latest coup de c\u0153ur (favourite), a picture-perfect town encircled by vineyards in the hills just behind the Dordogne River<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss: Taking a one day yoga retreat at Ch\u00e2teau Feely, before ruining all your zen with an organic wine tasting on-site.<\/p>\n

Where to stay: Le 1500 has doubles from \u00a3125\/night.<\/p>\n

How to get there: Ryanair has direct flights from multiple UK airports to Bergerac, including Bournemouth, Bristol and Liverpool. From Bergerac it\u2019s a 20-minute drive.<\/p>\n

The Pink Granite Coast, Brittany<\/p>\n

France has its own Salt Path, the 2,000km coastal hiking trail (GR34) that runs around the whole Breton coastline. It\u2019s all incredibly scenic, but nowhere beats the Pink Granite Coast, a section where cliffs plummet into the English Channel, losing igloo-sized boulders along the way. Lighthouses, sheltered coves, white sand beaches only accessible on foot and dozens of little islands, it\u2019s enough to make you forget that the C\u00f4te d\u2019Azur even exists.<\/p>\n

\"France <\/p>\n

France has its own Salt Path, the 2,000km coastal hiking trail (GR34) that runs around the whole Breton coastline<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss: A day trip to the Sept-\u00celes (seven islands) to marvel at the bird life.<\/p>\n

Where to stay: Spa hotel Roz Marine Thalasso in Perros-Guirec has doubles from \u00a3164.<\/p>\n

How to get there: Brittany Ferries crosses from Plymouth to Roscoff most days (often overnight), or from Portsmouth to Saint-Malo, from Apr\u2013Nov. It\u2019s just over an hour\u2019s drive from either.<\/p>\n

Cap Corse<\/p>\n

I could have recommended ten different places in Corsica in all sincerity, but if you only visit one place, make it Cap Corse, the historic heartland. The old manor houses, now semi-dilapitated with an air of faded grandeur, tell a tale of the wealthy merchants that used to live here, but nothing leaves your jaw on the ground like the contrast of near-vertical mountains peppered with vineyards plunging down to meet beaches in all shades of grey and gold. The roads to access them have more spirals than a slinky.<\/p>\n

\"I <\/p>\n

I could have recommended ten different places in Corsica in all sincerity, but if you only visit one place, make it Cap Corse, the historic heartland<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss: Hiking the Sentier des Douaniers (Customs Trail) all around the northern headland.<\/p>\n

Where to stay: Ultra-cool design hotel Aethos (doubles from \u00a3250), in a 17th-century manor house at the foot of the peninsula.<\/p>\n

How to get there: Easyjet has seasonal direct flights between London Gatwick and Bastia.<\/p>\n

Lille<\/p>\n

Besides the fact that you can get here in just 90 minutes from central London (plenty of people have a commute longer than that), this northern city has soul. Beer, rather than wine, is the name of the game, with craft breweries every which way you look, plenty of red brick and opulently carved Flemish architecture. The art galleries are exceptional, and it\u2019s worth the schlep into the suburbs to visit La Piscine in Roubaix, a gallery inside an old swimming pool.Don\u2019t miss: Eating chips soaked in maroilles cheese sauce at Bierbuik.<\/p>\n

\"Lille <\/p>\n

Lille contains\u00a0plenty of red brick and opulently carved Flemish architecture<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss: Eating chips soaked in maroilles cheese sauce at Bierbuik.<\/p>\n

Where to stay: Colourful Mama Shelter (doubles from \u00a3139).<\/p>\n

How to get there: Eurostar has nine trains per day between London St Pancras and Lille Europe, taking under 90 minutes.<\/p>\n

Drome Provencale<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure I\u2019ve ever met a Brit in Dr\u00f4me Proven\u00e7ale. Perhaps that\u2019s because it\u2019s pretty complicated to get to, or maybe it\u2019s France\u2019s best kept secret. Visit between mid June and mid July and you can see the lavender in full bloom, without worrying you\u2019ll lose an eye to someone\u2019s selfie stick as you would in Luberon. Outside of lavender season, there are epic limestone gorges, vineyards producing the region\u2019s sparkling wine Clairette de Die and villages clinging to the hillside, all framed by the immense limestone Vercors Massif.<\/p>\n

\"Visit <\/p>\n

Visit Drome Provencale between mid June and mid July and you can see the lavender in full bloom<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss: Feet-in-the-water hiking at Gorges du Toulourenc; take dry bags, at some points the water is more than waist high.<\/p>\n

Where to stay: Get back to basics with a yurt stay at Dr\u00f4me Esprit Nature, from \u00a3173 for two.<\/p>\n

How to get there: Drive it \u2013 it\u2019s not well connected! Take Le Shuttle under the Channel, and then road trip down (roughly nine hours).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a psychological reason why you shouldn\u2019t just visit Paris. Really. The sense of disappointment that people often…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356652,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[92,2000,299,36,1411,183],"class_list":{"0":"post-356651","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-eu","10":"tag-europe","11":"tag-france","12":"tag-paris","13":"tag-travel"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115055163244707772","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}