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What's New featuretaps into cultural trends and helps you find fresh ideas and cool new areas our writers have uncovered Originally built between 1898 and 1901 as a second home for Prince Victor d’Essling, the grandson of one of Napoléon's favorite generals, Maréchal André Massena, this sumptuous belle-époque villa now houses a engrossing museum dedicated to the history of Nice and the Riviera. Different autoroutes charge different amounts per kilometer (you can calculate fees at autoroutes.fr). Note that you need to choose the right lane when you exit the motorway – some lanes are automated, others have attendants, and some are reserved for frequent users with automated Liber-T passes. Don’t enter one of the lanes marked by a big orange ‘T’ unless you have a pass; look out for green arrows, or a picture of cash or a credit card, and you should be okay. Car parking in France From strolling along its legendary Promenade des Anglais and exploring every corner of its picturesque old town to delving into its rich art history or sampling top Niçoise cuisine, here are the best experiences in Nice. Stroll along the Promenade des Anglais Part of the Chaîne des Puys, a 40km (25-mile) string of craters, cinder cones and lava domes now cloaked in beech and spruce forest, the pinnacle, Puy de Dôme, rises 1465m (4806ft). Climbing the dormant volcano to the grassy summit rewards you with swooping bird's-eye views. Two routes, the steep Chemin des Muletiers (45 to 90 minutes) and longer but steadier Chemin des Chèvres (two-and-a-half hours) make the ascent.
Parking in French towns and cities can be a real pain. Assuming you manage to find a space, you will nearly always have to pay for on-street parking – look out for white markings on the street that say payant. There is usually a parking meter nearby that accepts cash and sometimes credit cards. Chargeable hours are generally 9am to noon and 2pm to 5pm or 6pm, but this does vary (times will be indicated on the parking meter).
On this drive through Normandy, you’ll explore the events of D-Day, when Allied troops stormed ashore to liberate Europe from Nazi occupation in 1944. From war museums to landing beaches, it’s a fascinating and sobering experience. Before you hop in the car, spend some time at the Caen-Normandie Mémorial to get a full D-Day overview. If you’re just hopping between cities and large towns: France’s excellent rail network, including TGV fast trains, can be the cheapest, easiest way to go ( seat61 is a handy primer). Beneath Épernay’s elegant streets, a staggering 200 million bottles of bubbly are aged in a maze of more than 110km (68 miles) of chilly chalk cellars. Delve below ground on tours of famous Champagne houses, including Mercier, Moët & Chandon and De Castellane. The coastline of choice for Hollywood A-listers, pop stars, royalty and anyone who owns a super yacht – can there be a more glamorous stretch of coast on Earth than the Côte d'Azur's Gulf of St-Tropez? The region’s châteaux and defensive walls remain – most distinctive of all are bastide towns such as Monpazier, encircled by fortified walls and protected by sturdy ramparts. Each village has a central market square, so if you time your drive right, you can hit a weekly market and sample the local specialties.
Tipping isn’t part of French culture – the restaurant industry is a time-honored profession, and a service charge is included (though diners usually leave a few extra euros). Asking a waiter’s advice on the menu is appreciated. Requesting swap-out ingredients or items in the kitchen’s meticulously crafted dishes, however, is not. Despite its forbidding nature, Île d’Ouessant is an ideal place to rent a bicycle and peddle down country lanes, past fields full of sheep to hidden coves. Although Plage de Corz is a safe, sandy and stunning beach, you might not want to actually swim in the often icy, rip-strewn waters, but just sit quietly and meditate – on the waves crashing and smashing ashore, and seals playing in the swells. 7. Bassin d’ArcachonVarious bus and coach companies compete with the SNCF's rail services, offering cheaper but much slower services between large towns and cities. These include FlixBus and the cross-Europe coach network run by EuroLines. The stops along the way are fabled destinations unto themselves: legendary Saint-Tropez, made famous by an unknown Brigitte Bardot; Cannes, with its star-studded legacy; Monaco, home of the Grimaldi royals; and Nice, with its intoxicating mix of world-class museums and legendary beaches. But there are lesser-traveled places as well, including gorgeous Èze Plage, with its medieval village perched impossibly high a nearby peak, and down-to-earth Menton. Get out, explore, take in some sun – and catch the next train onward later. The TGV runs from Geneva to Paris in a little over 4 hours. How to get from Germany to France by train Planning tip: Maps of the D-Day beaches are widely available, and local tourist offices have created a helpful e-booklet outlining it all. 7. Breton coast loop
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