Along the way, you'll also find suggestions for nearby day trips and smaller destinations that pair beautifully with the cities featured in the guide. These recommendations are not meant to add pressure or fill every moment of your itinerary, but rather to offer opportunities to dive a little deeper into a region's history, culture, landscapes, and stories. Whether you choose to visit one, several, or none at all, think of them as optional adventures that can help shape a journey that feels uniquely your own.
Giverny
Claude Monet's gravesite
(Église Saine-Radegonde)
Auvers-sur-oise
Vincent Van Gogh's Grave (Église Saine-Radegonde)
Chartres
Rue des Écuyers
(timber frame houses)
Escalier de la Reine Berthe
(Queen Bertha's Staircase)
Chantilly
The Great Stables
Les Grandes Écuries
Taste Chantilly Cream
Château Chambord
French formal Gardens
Electric boat rentals
Wildlife & nature tours
Horse & Birds of Prey Show (buy advance tickets)
Château
d'Azay-le-Rideau
Sally the Salamander game booklet for kids
Lascaux Caves
Visit the prehistoric caves
Check out Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère
Château de Losse
Pont du Gard
Swimming by the river
(left bank)
La plage rive gauche
Hiking trails :
-Mémoires de Garrigues (easy)
-Le Sentier des Vestiges de l'Aqueduc (easy-moderate)
-La Boucle des Belvédères
(moderate)
(left bank)
Ludo Space for kids in the Welcome Complex
Uzès
Walk through medieval streets & have lunch
La Grotte de la Salamande (40 mins North)
Gordes
Abbaye Notre Dame de Sénanque & its lavender fields
Village des Bories
Moulin des Bouillons
Caves du palais St-Firmin
Avignon
Palais des Papes
Pont Saint-Bénézet
(Pont d'Avignon)
Medieval Ramparts
Vence
Chapelle du Rosaire
Explore the Medieval Old Town
Flavign-sur-Ozerain
Stoll the Place d'Eglise ~ where the film Chocolat
(with Johnny Depp & Juliette Binoche) was filmed
See the fortified gates
Millau Viaduct
The World's tallest bridge
Monaco
The changing of the guards at the Prince's Palace
Saint Nicholas Cathedral