1,000 Places to See Before You Die

by Patricia Schultz

  Among the hundreds of Romanesque churches or abbeys in Burgundy, the Abbaye de Fontenay, near Montbard, founded in 1118 by St. Bernard, is the best preserved. The abbey in the nearby town of Cluny, built in 812 and once the largest Christian building in the world, was destroyed during the French Revolution and reconstructed in the 18th century. Not content to spend a few hours in the abbeys’ hallowed halls? Spend the night in the exquisitely restored 12th-century Abbaye de la Bussière and enjoy inspiring views and a contemplative atmosphere.

  In Dijon’s highly walkable historic core, the restored half-timbered houses date from the 12th through 15th centuries.

  WHERE: Dijon is 164 miles/264 km southeast of Paris. MA CUISINE: Tel 33/3-80-223022. Cost: dinner $44. HÔTEL LE CEP: Tel 33/3-80-223548; www.hotel-cep-beaune.com. Cost: from $250. RELAIS AND BISTRO BERNARD LOISEAU: Tel 33/3-80-905353; in the U.S., tel 800-735-2478; www.bernard-loiseau.com. Cost: from $210 (off-peak), from $365 (peak); dinner $205. L’ESPÉRANCE: Tel 33/3-86-333910; in the U.S., 800-735-2478. Cost: dinner $185. CHTEAU DE VAULT-DE-LUGNY: Tel 33/3-86-340786; www.lugny.fr. Cost: from $340. When: closed mid-Nov–Mar. ABBAYE DE LA BUSSIÈRE: Tel 33/3-80-490229; www.abbaye-dela-bussiere.com. Cost: from $260 (off-peak), from $325 (peak). BEST TIMES: May–Oct for nice weather; late Sep for wine harvest; mid–late Nov in Beaune for wine festival; Nov for Gastronomic Fair in Dijon.

  Cathedrals and Bubbly Wine

  CHAMPAGNE

  Champagne-Ardennes, France

  Sparkling wine can come from anywhere, but Champagne with a capital “C” comes only from Champagne, a region of 75,000 vine-laden acres that produces more than 200 million bottles of the coveted bubbly each year. Anchoring the region’s rolling countryside, vineyards, and chalky plains is Reims, with its remarkable Cathédrale Notre-Dame, a graceful masterpiece of Gothic art where nearly all French kings were crowned for a thousand years beginning in 815. Visitors come to admire its richly sculpted façade and beautiful stained-glass windows by Marc Chagall.

  Wine lovers head underground to the miles of caves, or wine cellars, carved out by the Romans to obtain chalk for construction and more recently used as makeshift hospital wards, schools, and bomb shelters during the two world wars. In Épernay, world-class names such as Moët et Chandon, Taittinger, Mumm, and Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin tend to their bottles (as does Pommery in Reims). They blend wine from a choice of 60 varieties, putting it through the double-fermentation process that creates Champagne and turning bottles daily for 15 months to three years to dislodge sediment.

  Of the 100-plus Champagne houses here, the most famous offer guided tours and tastings. Drive or bike along the scenic Route du Champagne through vineyards and wine-producing villages such as Bouzy, Verzy, and Rilly-la-Montagne. To see more examples of the stunning Gothic cathedrals for which the region is also renowned, detour to nearby Amiens, Loan, or Soissons, all in Picardy.

  The ultimate in Champagne luxury requires a stay at the world-famous Les Crayères hotel (named after the centuries-old chalk cellars) and restaurant, located just outside Reims on the 7-acre former estate of the Princess de Polignac. One of the finest château-hotels in northern France, it features high ceilings, luxurious furnishings, and impeccable grounds. Its star attraction is the gourmet restaurant Le Parc, which offers exquisite dining under the guidance of the talented young chef Philippe Mille, along with, of course, a dizzying selection of Champagnes. Or come for lunch in the more casual brasserie, Le Jardin, located in the beautiful gardens of the château.

  WHERE: Reims is 90 miles/145 km east of Paris. VISITOR INFO: www.reims-tourisme.com. LES CRAYÈRES: Tel 33/3-26-828080; in the U.S., 800-735-2478; www.lescrayeres.com. Cost: from $490 (off-peak), from $540 (peak); dinner at Le Parc $140; lunch at Le Jardin $40. BEST TIMES: May–Oct for best weather; late Jun–early Aug for Les Flâneries Musicales festival in Reims; late Jul for the Champagne Route Festival, with vintners opening cellars to visitors.

  The Rugged Beauty of Corsica’s Cliffs and Beaches

  LES CALANCHES

  Gulf of Porto, Corsica, France

  To the ancient Greeks, the mountainous Mediterranean island of Corsica (Corse) was Kallisté, meaning “the most beautiful.” The French still call it l’Île de Beauté, and for good reason. Corsica’s rugged coastline is dotted with sun-drenched white and gold sand beaches and picturesque coastal towns; in its wild and sparsely inhabited interior, mountainous villages are linked by roads with stunning vistas and hairpin turns.

  Though a fiercely independent people proud of living in Napoleon Bonaparte’s birthplace, nationalist tempers have calmed since a 2003 referendum rejected greater autonomy. Today, the island’s greatest drama lies in its astonishing natural beauty, such as the outstanding cliff and rock formations of Les Calanches on the west coast at the Gulf of Porto. The hues of the weathered granite pinnacles and phantasmagorical rock outcroppings shift from orange to pink to vermilion as the light changes, contrasting with the sparkling indigo sea 3,000 feet below. Terraces of the romantic if gently worn Hôtel Roches Rouges, built in 1912, afford magnificent views. Come for acclaimed food, or stay in the pretty village of Piana overlooking the rocks.

  To explore the area, take the narrow road that weaves around and past the Calanches or head into the craggy interior on a winding road to the university town of Corte, sitting between two snowcapped peaks. The town’s steep, cobblestone streets are lined with cafés where you’ll hear the Corsican dialect; the plunging cliffs, jagged summits, and glacial lakes surrounding the town make for exhilarating day hikes. The refurbished Hôtel Duc de Padoue, a 19th-century building on Corte’s central square, is a simple but pleasant place to stay.

  Corsica is a hiker’s paradise, and one of the most visually arresting trails in Europe is the challenging two-week, 112-mile GR20 (for grande randonnée, “great hike”), a network of paths that crosses the island diagonally from the chic resort town of Calvi on the northwest coast. A more easygoing option is the Tra Mare e Monti (Across Sea and Mountains) route, running from Cargèse, south of Les Calanches, to Moriani, on the east coast. For plain old relaxation, put your feet up at the rustic and stylish beachside hotel Le Maquis, on the Gulf of Ajaccio south of the capital, named for the thick underbrush of thyme, lavender, and sage that gives Corsica yet another nickname: “the perfumed isle.”

  Explore Les Calanches, which jut into the Mediterranean, by hiking, by car, or on a boat tour.

  WHERE: 50 miles/80 km north of Ajaccio. VISITOR INFO: www.visit-corsica.com. HÔTEL ROCHES ROUGES: Tel 33/4-95-278181; www.lesrochesrouges.com. Cost: from $165. HÔTEL DUC DE PADOUE: Tel 33/4-95-460137; www.ducdepadoue.com. Cost: from $120. LE MAQUIS: Tel 33/4-95-250555; in the U.S., 800-745-8883; www.lemaquis.com. Cost: $260 (off-peak), $685 (peak). HOW: U.S.-based Distant Journeys offers a 12-day “Tra Mare e Monti” walking tour. Tel 888-845-5781 or 207-236-9788; www.distantjourneys.com. Cost: $3,195, inclusive. Originates in Ajaccio. When: May. BEST TIMES: May–Jun and Sep–Oct for fine weather and no crowds; Apr–May for wildflowers.

  From Giverny to Rouen and Honfleur

  IMPRESSIONIST NORMANDY

  Haute-Normandie, France

  In the 1860s, young artists such as Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pissarro rode the new train lines from Paris north to the pretty towns and striking coastline of Normandy. Dubbed the Impressionists, after Monet’s early Impression, Soleil Levant (Impression, Sunrise), they strove to capture the beauty and changing light en plein air (“in the open air”) of this picturesque landscape, and their radical work altered the course of 19th- and 20th-century art.

  An Impressionist pilgrimage in Normandy should start in Giverny, at the home of Claude Monet. He lived and worked here from 1883 until his death in 1926, capturing the beauty of his gardens in paintings, including his famous Water Lily series. You can tour his house, now a museum, and view the still-splendid lily ponds. Works by other artists are on display at the new Museum of Impressionisms.

  Nearby Rouen, whe
re Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431, is now a bustling port city. The elaborate façade of its grand cathedral inspired more than 30 of Monet’s paintings, and a few hang in the city’s Fine Arts Museum, along with works by Pissarro, Renoir, and Sisley, who all spent time here.

  Though the pretty port town of Honfleur, where the sea and the river Seine meet, attracted artists long before the Impressionists, in the 1860s it was base camp for the burgeoning movement. Monet, Boudin, Courbet, Corot, Sisley, and Renoir would head to the St-Siméon Farm to paint the Seine and its surroundings; some of those works, considered the forerunner to Impressionism, are displayed in Honfleur’s Eugène Boudin Museum. Today La Ferme St-Siméon is a rustic yet elegant hotel and spa. Its restaurant serves Normandy specialties such as mussels and oysters and calvados (apple brandy). In the center of Honfleur, stay at the romantic, handsomely renovated La Petite Folie, a short stroll from the picturesque harbor.

  Impressionists Degas, Matisse, and Courbet would travel from Honfleur along the coast to Étretat, painting its dramatic white cliffs and tall rock archways along the shoreline known as the Alabaster Coast. Artists also found inspiration along La Côte Fleurie, the 30 miles of coastline linking Honfleur and more than a dozen small towns and resorts. Trouville, the oldest seaside resort in France, has a subdued, family atmosphere, while its glamorous neighbor Deauville offers casinos, racetracks, expensive shops, and a beautiful boardwalk. Hollywood camps out at the elegant Grande Normandy Barrière and Royal Barrière hotels during the annual American Film Festival in early September. To steep yourself in local atmosphere, stay at the Hôtel Villa Joséphine, a Tudor-style country home about a block from the water, built in the late 1800s as the home of Deauville’s mayor.

  The bridge and water lilies of Monet’s home in Giverny were famously captured in his paintings.

  WHERE: Giverny is 50 miles/80 km northwest of Paris. HOUSE OF CLAUDE MONET: Tel 33/2-32-512821; www.giverny.org. MUSÉE DES IMPRESSIONNISMES GIVERNY: Tel 33/2-32- 519465; www.museedesimpressionnismesgiverny.com. When: closed Nov–Mar. MUSÉE DES BEAUX-ARTS DE ROUEN: Tel 33/2-35-712840; www.rouen-musees.com. LA FERME ST-SIMÉON: Tel 33/2-31-817800; www.fermesaintsimeon.fr. Cost: from $260; prix-fixe dinner $200. LA PETITE FOLIE: Tel 33/6-74-394646; www.lapetitefolie-honfleur.com. Cost: $200. HÔTEL VILLA JOSÉPHINE: Tel 33/2-31-141800; www.villajosephine.fr. Cost: from $170. BEST TIMES: in Giverny: May–Aug for flowers in Monet’s gardens; late Aug for International Chamber Music Festival. In Rouen: last Sun in May for Joan of Arc Festival. In Honfleur: May for Sailor’s Festival; mid-Sep for Shrimp Festival. In Deauville: early Sep for American Film Festival.

  A Gothic Wonder Surrounded by Galloping Tides

  MONT ST-MICHEL

  Haute-Normandie, France

  The fortified island-village of Mont St-Michel ranks among the wonders of the Western world, drawing more than 3 million visitors a year—second in France only to the Eiffel Tower. The ancient abbey and town, on the summit of a dramatic granite outcropping rising from a flat seabed, are a marvel of engineering and sheer audacity.

  Originally the site of a small oratory, built in 708 after a bishop reported a sighting of St. Michael, over several centuries the island became a complex of churches, Benedictine monasteries, ramparts, and a village. Once a pilgrimage site, an unassailable fortification, even a prison after the French Revolution, it now stands as a tribute to French medieval architecture.

  Much has been made of the dangerous “galloping” tides—the highest in Europe—which can rush in as high as 45 feet, then rush out again just as quickly (the highest tide occurs 36 to 48 hours after a full moon). Many medieval pilgrims lost their lives sinking into dangerous quicksand when picking their way across the bay; a half-mile-long causeway was finally built in 1879. Over the years, silt buildup has inexorably joined Mont St-Michel to the mainland; a new dam and an elevated bridge replacing the causeway let tides circulate naturally and will return the monument to its true island state by 2015.

  Avoid the crush of tourists by visiting off-season, or enjoy the silent magic of a near-deserted Mont St-Michel in late evening by dining or staying at La Mère Poulard. They’ve been putting up pilgrims and tourists since 1888, serving their soufflélike omelets made from a secret recipe. At the rustic Ferme Saint-Michel on the mainland, you can enjoy a menu highlighted with Normandy specialties—seafood, camembert, or Calvados brandy—with a view of Mont St-Michel illuminated at night.

  WHERE: 200 miles/322 km northwest of Paris, 30 miles/48 km east of St-Malo. LA MÈRE POULARD: Tel 33/2-33-896868; www.merepoulard.com. Cost: from $220; dinner $75. LA FERME SAINT-MICHEL: Tel 33/2-33-584679; www.restaurant-ferme-saint-michel.com. Cost: dinner $38. BEST TIMES: May–Jun and Sep–Oct for nice weather and fewer crowds; Nov–Feb for moody, dramatic weather and to have the place to yourself.

  Where the Liberation of Europe Began

  NORMANDY’S D-DAY BEACHES

  Haute-Normandie, France

  On June 6, 1944, the Allied Forces launched Operation Overlord, the largest seaborne invasion in history. More than 6,900 ships and landing craft, 54,000 vehicles, and nearly 11,600 planes set off from the British coast through thick fog to cross the rough waters of the English Channel. Destination: the shores of Normandy, in Nazi-occupied northern France, chosen because they were less defended by the Germans than sites farther east. Although the Allies successfully caught the Nazis off-guard, the battle was bloody and the cost of human life high on the beaches code-named Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno, and Sword—it’s estimated that nearly 4,500 Allied soldiers died on the first day alone. Casualties on both sides exceeded 400,000 for the campaign, which ran through the end of August and launched the successful Allied march across Europe that helped to end Adolf Hitler’s dream of world domination.

  Time has erased most of World War II’s scars from this quiet coast, except for the dramatic reminder of rows and rows of stark white crosses and Stars of David marking the resting places of 9,387 American soldiers at Colleville-sur-Mer’s American Cemetery. Nearly 5,000 British, Canadian, Australian, and South African troops rest at the British Cemetery at Bayeux. Near the town of Néville-sur-Mer, pieces of wrecked German bunkers and barbed wire overlook the beach, and at Arromanches, just off Gold Beach, sit the remains of the floating Mulberry Harbor, an artificial port built to receive supplies during the landing.

  Several museums detail the D-day invasion, the most important and comprehensive being the Musée du Débarquement (D-day Museum) at the site of the Mulberry Harbor and the moving and informative Caen Memorial—A Center for History and Peace, about 30 miles to the south. The latter gives an overview of the invasion, set in a city that was 80 percent destroyed by Nazi bombing.

  Germans manned the Longues-sur-Mer battery on D-day.

  WHERE: 170–185 miles/274–298 km northwest of Paris. VISITOR INFO: www.normandie-tourisme.fr or www.normandiememoire.com. MUSÉE DU DÉBARQUEMENT: Tel 33/2-31-223431; www.musee-arromanches.fr. CAEN MEMORIAL: Tel 33/2-31-060645; www.memorial-caen.fr. BEST TIMES: May–Jun and Sep–Oct for nice weather and fewer crowds; Jun 6 for remembrance ceremonies.

  “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”—ERNEST HEMINGWAY

  PARIS

  Île-de-France, France

  It’s impossible to be objective about Paris, possibly the most beautiful and romantic city in the world. The architecture, manicured green spaces, bridges over Seine, café life, and joie de vivre of its soigné citizens all conspire to make the City of Light an elegant and timelessly exciting place to visit. See the key sights first, then wander down its backstreets and discover your own Paris, the birthplace of style and savoir vivre, where everything is magic and anything can happen.

  TOP ATTRACTIONS

  ARC DE TRIOMPHE—The largest triumphal arch in the world (163 feet high and 147 feet wide) was erected by Napoleon in 1806 to commemorate his imperial army’s victorie
s. During World War II, both the invading Germans and the liberating Allied forces passed beneath it. It’s the site of France’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and at the top it has a viewing platform and multimedia exhibit allowing you to inspect the arch’s glorious sculptures and friezes up close. INFO: Tel 33/1-55-377377; www.monuments-nationaux.fr.

  The Arc de Triomphe stands at the western end of the Champs-Élysées.

  BASILIQUE DU SACRÉ-COEUR—Planned as a votive offering after France’s humiliating defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the ensuing uprising of the Paris Commune, Sacré-Coeur was built between 1876 and 1914 in an ornate Romanesque-Byzantine style. A perpetual prayer cycle that began at the basilica’s consecration in 1919 continues round-the-clock to this day. Gleaming white and with a 272-foot-high central dome, the outside of the cathedral is almost confectionary. Inside is one of the world’s largest mosaics, depicting Christ with outstretched arms. The view from the dome is breathtaking; on a clear day you can see for almost 20 miles. INFO: Tel 33/1-53-418900; www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com.

  CENTRE GEORGES POMPIDOU—Looking like a building turned inside out so that all its brightly painted pipes and ductwork show, the bold Centre Pompidou was the original bad boy of museums when it opened in 1977 as a center for modern art. Its futurism is a bit dated today, but a late-’90s restoration freshened things up, adding 5,000 feet of exhibition space, a number of new auditoriums, and improved dining options. Attractions include the National Museum of Modern Art, with about 1,350 works on display from its massive collection. INFO: Tel 33/1-44-781233; www.centrepompidou.fr.