1,000 Places to See Before You Die

by Patricia Schultz

  In the Footsteps of Toulouse-Lautrec

  ALBI

  Languedoc-Roussillon, France

  Historians know the well-preserved market town of Albi as the stronghold of the Cathars, an ascetic religious movement wiped out in a vicious inquisition by the Catholic Church in the 12th and 13th centuries. But to the general public, Albi is the birthplace of artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, famous interpreter of bohemian life in and around Montmartre, in Paris, at the turn of the 20th century.

  Born in 1864 to an aristocratic family and suffering from a genetic bone deficiency that stunted his growth, the tormented Toulouse-Lautrec fled to Paris at 18 and died at 37, leaving a vast body of work and the legacy of having created poster art. The world’s most important collection of his drawings of dancers, prostitutes, and café and cabaret life is on display at Albi’s impressive Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, in the austere Palais de la Berbie, a former fortress built in 1265 as a bishops’ residence. Its geometric gardens were designed by André Le Nôtre, known for his gardens at the Château de Versailles (see previous page).

  This small town’s massive Cathédrale Ste-Cécile, built as a symbol of Catholic power after the crusade against the Cathars, houses the largest collection of Italian Renaissance paintings in a French church. The Hostellerie St-Antoine was converted from a monastery to a hotel in 1734, and work by Toulouse-Lautrec hangs on the walls, a gift from the artist to his friend the great-grandfather of the current owners. The same family runs the rural La Réserve, on the northern outskirts of town, an elegant Mediterranean-style villa overlooking the Tarn river. A short drive through countryside dotted with medieval and classical châteaux takes you to the fortified hill town of Cordes-sur-Ciel, built in the early 13th century. Isolated and picture-perfect, the tiny village appears to hover in the air on a misty day.

  Nearby Toulouse, one of the fastest-growing towns in France, offers some big city energy. Nicknamed “La Ville Rose” because of its ubiquitous red brick, Toulouse was one of medieval Europe’s great artistic and literary capitals. The Dominican order was formed here, and many historic churches remain in the medieval quarter; the magnificent 11th-century Basilique St-Sernin, with its multi-arched Italianate bell tower, is Europe’s largest Romanesque church. Toulouse’s universities and the headquarters of France’s aeronautical industry have generated a vibrant café and restaurant scene. One of the more stylish choices is the celebrated Chez Michel Sarran, serving a refined interpretation of the region’s hearty cuisine that respects traditional flavors.

  ALBI: 47 miles/76 km northeast of Toulouse. MUSÉE DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC: Tel 33/5-63-494870; www.albi-tourisme.fr. HOSTELLERIE ST-ANTOINE: Tel 33/5-63-540404; www.hotel-saint-antoine-albi.com. Cost: from $145 (off-peak), from $220 (peak). LA RÉSERVE: Tel 33/5-63-608080; in the U.S., 800-735-2478; www.lareservealbi.com. Cost: $245. When: closed Nov–Apr. CHEZ MICHEL SARRAN: Tel 33/5-61-123232; www.michel-sarran.com. Cost: dinner $125. BEST TIMES: in Albi: Jul–Aug for classical concerts in the cathedral; Jul for guitar festival. In Toulouse: Apr for flamenco festival; Jul for contemporary dance festival; Aug for music festival.

  Medieval Military Might and Serious Cassoulet

  CARCASSONNE

  Languedoc-Roussillon, France

  Carcassonne is both a storybook medieval town and an extraordinary example of early military architecture. Built in the 6th century on Roman foundations and fortified in the 12th and 13th centuries, the city was virtually impenetrable for centuries. Restored in the 1800s, Carcassonne is surrounded by Europe’s longest walls—nearly 2 miles of turrets, battlements, drawbridges, and more than 50 watchtowers.

  Today, Carcassonne’s streets teem with tourists in summer months. Spend the night at the elegant Hôtel de la Cité to enjoy the town during the quiet evening hours, when its walls are illuminated. A former episcopal palace built into the ancient ramparts and incorporating one of the stone watchtowers, the ivy-covered hotel has soaring ceilings, tapestries, wood paneling, and an elegant restaurant, La Barbacane, along with the more casual Chez Saskia. To escape the high-season congestion in Carcassonne’s fortified upper town, known as La Cité, enjoy views of the fortress from the outdoor terrace of the tasteful, family-run Hôtel du Château, just outside the walls in the lower, newer city, the Ville Basse.

  Languedoc is famous for cassoulet, a dense, hearty stew blending white beans, carrots, onions, and breadcrumbs with cubes of tender mutton (other cassoulets may use pork, sausage, or duck), then baked until perfectly crusty on top. Try it at the Château St-Martin Trencavel, just outside of Carcassonne—chef Jean-Claude Rodriguez takes the dish so seriously he founded the good-humored “Universal Academy of Cassoulet” to honor it. The academy’s Cassoulet Trail encourages aficionados to sample different versions at restaurants and inns between Carcassonne and Toulouse (see p. 119).

  An idyllic way to explore the region is by barge, along the picturesque Canal du Midi. This tranquil 149-mile man-made waterway, constructed in the late 19th century, passes through Carcassonne on its way to Toulouse or Sète. Barges glide through the region’s back door, past pretty villages, vineyards, and magnificent châteaux and through nearly 100 canal locks.

  La Cité overhoks the countryside from a 1,500-foot hilltop.

  WHERE: 55 miles/88 km southeast of Toulouse. HÔTEL DE LA CITÉ: Tel 33/4-8-714285; in the U.S., 800-237-1236; www.hoteldelacite.com. Cost: from $420; dinner at La Barbacane $115. When: closed late Jan–mid-Mar. HÔTEL DU CHTEAU: Tel 33/4-68-113838; www.hotelduchateau-carcassonne.com. Cost: from $165. CHTEAU ST-MARTIN TRENCAVEL: Tel 33/4-68-710953; www.chateau saintmartin.net. Cost: dinner $60. HOW: For barge cruises accommodating 4–10 passengers, contact U.S.-based Bargelady. Tel 800-880-0071 or 312-245-0900; www.bargeladycruises.com. Cost: 7-day cruise from $3,690, inclusive. When: Mar–Nov. BEST TIMES: Jul 14 for Bastille Day fireworks over the ramparts; mid-Jun–Aug for the Festival de Carcassonne of music and theater.

  Where Rococo and Art Nouveau Flourished

  NANCY

  Lorraine, France

  The capital of the Lorraine region, Nancy is one of the loveliest cities in Europe, an urban center where art and culture have long flourished. Its centerpiece is the Place Stanislas, considered France’s most beautiful square. It was named for Stanisław Leszczyński, twice king of Poland and father-in-law to King Louis XV, who appointed Leszczyński Nancy’s ruling Duke of Lorraine when the Duchy of Lorraine was folded back into France after many centuries as an independent enclave. Passionate about architecture and urban design, Leszczyński oversaw construction of the square from 1751–60 and turned Nancy into one of Europe’s most elegant cities. Place Stanislas is the epitome of Rococo delicacy, with gilded wrought-iron gates and decorative gold railings. It integrates the classic French architecture of the surrounding buildings, including the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall), an arc de triomphe, and what is today the Grand Hôtel de la Reine, a splendid 18th-century mansion with many guest rooms overlooking the square.

  Also on the Place Stanislas is the outstanding Musée des Beaux-Arts, with works by Delacroix, Modigliani, and Rubens. Nearby, the Musée Lorrain, housed in the Renaissance Palais Ducal, is devoted to the art and history of the Lorraine region, whereas the Musée de l’École de Nancy showcases the Belle Époque style of Art Nouveau, one of the city’s major legacies. The Nancy School, formed here in 1901, played a key role in spreading Art Nouveau worldwide, bringing together artists, artisans, and manufacturers who promoted and nurtured the new decorative style known for its use of natural shapes, flowers, vines, mythical beasts, and even insects. Art Nouveau architecture and details abound in Nancy—the city’s top restaurant of note, Le Capucin Gourmand, is a fine example, with its giant chandelier and glowing mushroom lights gracing the tables. At the more casual Brasserie Excelsior, built in 1911, sensational stained glass and high ceilings complement a menu of elegantly prepared French classics, including another regional specialty—quiche Lorraine.

  WHERE: 175 miles/285 km southeast of Paris. VI
SITOR INFO: www.ot-nancy.fr. GRAND HÔTEL DE LA REINE: Tel 33/3-83-350301; www.hoteldelareine.com. Cost: from $130. MUSÉE DES BEAUX-ARTS: Tel 33/3-83-853072; www.ecole-de-nancy.com. MUSÉE LORRAIN: Tel 33/3-83-321874; www.ot-nancy.fr/musees/lorrain.php. MUSÉE DE L’ÉCOLE DE NANCY: Tel 33/3-83-401486; www.ecole-de-nancy.com. LE CAPUCIN GOURMAND: Tel 33/3-83-352698; www.lecapu.com. Cost: dinner $95. BRASSERIE EXCELSIOR: Tel 33/3-83-352457; www.brasserie-excelsior.com. Cost: dinner $50. BEST TIMES: Jul 14 for Bastille Day parade; mid-Jul–early Aug for jazz festival; first 2 weeks of Oct for classical music festival.

  Pilgrimage to Mystical Waters

  LOURDES

  Midi-Pyrénées, France

  Every year, 6 million pilgrims and visitors flock to this small town perched on the lower slopes of the Pyrenees mountains to stand where, in 1858, a local 14-year-old peasant girl named Bernadette had 18 visions of the Virgin Mary in a riverside grotto.

  Lourdes is France’s most visited city after Paris and the second most popular Christian pilgrimage site after St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome (see p. 184). It accommodates as many as 25,000 people a day in high season while somehow maintaining a benevolent sanctity that disarms even the most skeptical. Despite dormitory-like hotels and tawdry souvenir shops selling dashboard Virgins, Lourdes can still be a moving experience, particularly during evening candlelight processions to the neo-Byzantine Basilique du Rosaire, a church built beneath the Basilique Supérieure.

  The faithful and devout from around the world come to drink and bathe in the water they believe to have miraculous healing powers. After one of the Virgin Mary’s apparitions (seen by no one other than Bernadette), a spring apparently welled up in the grotto and has been flowing ever since. Of some 2,500 “unexplained healings,” the church has officially recognized 67 physical cures since Bernadette’s death in 1879. (She was canonized in 1933.)

  WHERE: 78 miles/126 km east of Biarritz. VISITOR INFO: www.lourdes-infotourisme.com. WHEN: 6 official pilgrimage dates between Easter and late Oct are the busiest; the most important is Aug 15. WHERE TO STAY: The 19th-century Grand Hôtel Moderne has old-world charm and is a 10-min walk from the basilica. Tel 33/5-62-941232; grandhotelmoderne.com. Cost: from $180. When: closed Nov–Mar. BEST TIME: 9 P.M. Apr–Oct for the daily candlelight procession.

  The Playground of Kings

  LOIRE VALLEY

  Pays de la Loire, France

  The lush, fertile valley created by the winding Loire River has captured travelers’ hearts and imaginations for centuries. Hundreds of châteaux line France’s “Royal River,” the highest concentration of castles in the world, each a concoction of sumptuousness and excess. The châteaux began as castle fortifications in the Middle Ages as the British and French battled over this strategic valley; they reached their pinnacle of artistic splendor during the French Renaissance, when royalty and nobility from nearby Paris turned the valley into their power base and playground.

  With 440 rooms and 365 fireplaces, Chambord, François I’s favorite hunting lodge, is the largest. Gracefully spanning the River Cher, the romantic Chenonceau is an unsurpassed Renaissance masterpiece with ornamental gardens to match. Cheverny, a fine example of 17th-century elegance, is the largest Loire château and has been home to the same noble family since it was built 6 centuries ago. The regal beauty of Château d’Ussé is said to have inspired Charles Perrault to write Sleeping Beauty. Many lesser-known châteaux are just as special for their majestic moats, riverine locations, lush parklands, and ancestral interiors chockablock with artwork and furniture.

  The valley’s fertile lowlands and temperate climate make it the “Garden of France”; town markets are a gourmand’s dream and inspiration for a riverside picnic. The land also nurtures some of the nation’s best vineyards, producing gentle reds and fruity whites such as Chinon, Sancerre, muscadet, Vouvray, and Bourgueil, and the rosés of Anjou. Visit the wine cellars of Chinon or tour the distillery of the orange liqueur Cointreau near Angers. Or hop on a bike—few regions are better suited to cycling in terms of beauty, history, grandeur, and gentle, rolling landscapes.

  Consider unpacking your bags at the Domaine des Hauts de Loire, in Onzain. Built as a hunting lodge in 1860, it has gabled, antiques-filled guest rooms and a restaurant well known for its exceptional gourmet meals. For a setting worthy of the Valley of Kings, there’s magnificent Château d’Artigny, in Montbazon, outside Tours. Rebuilt in the early 1900s by perfume pioneer François Coty, its pricier palatial rooms are awash in the formal, opulent style of Versailles.

  Château de Chenonceau was built in 1513 and contains original furnishings from that period.

  WHERE: Orléans is 80 miles/129 km southwest of Paris. VISITOR INFO: www.loirevalleytourism.com. DOMAINE DES HAUTS DE LOIRE: Tel 33/2-54-207257; in the U.S., 800-735-2478; www.domainehautsloire.com. Cost: from $185; dinner $140. When: closed Dec–Feb. CHTEAU D’ARTIGNY: Tel 33/2-47-343030; www.artigny.com. Cost: from $200; dinner $110. HOW: Toronto-based Butterfield & Robinson arranges bike trips among châteaux, villages, and vineyards. Tel 866-551-9090 or 416-864-1354; www.butterfield.com. Cost: weeklong trips $6,795, all-inclusive. Originate in Montbazon. When: May–Sep. BEST TIME: mid-Apr–Oct for lovely weather.

  Charming Town of Thermal Springs, Music, and Art

  AIX-EN-PROVENCE

  Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France

  Take a stroll beneath the canopy of plane trees, past gurgling Rococo fountains and stately 17th- and 18th-century buildings on the elegant Cours Mirabeau, and take in perhaps the most perfect town in Provence. The bookshops and lively cafés lining the avenue reflect Aix-en-Provence’s artistic roots; author Émile Zola grew up here and often ate at the town’s most famous brasserie, Les Deux Garçons, as did his friend Paul Cézanne. Then as now, the brasserie was more noted for its people-watching than its menu.

  The fashionable and aristocratic small city of Aix (pronounced ex) was founded by Romans who came for its thermal springs; today, it is filled with over 30,000 international students. Its summer classical music and opera festival is one of the most famous in Europe.

  Visit Cézanne’s atelier, where he painted until his death in 1906; his coat still hangs on the wall and his easel holds an unfinished picture. Nine of Cézanne’s paintings hang at the Musée Granet, along with his watercolors and sketches and 600 works by artists such as Giacometti, Picasso, Matisse, Mondrian, and Léger. Pack a picnic of fresh bread, vegetables, olives, fruit, and cheeses from the bustling daily outdoor market on the Place Richelme, then head out for a day trip to the limestone Montagne Ste-Victoire. A 3-hour climb to the summit, passing the Croix (cross) de Provence near the top, provides beautiful panoramas of Provence.

  For a lovely view overlooking Aix, stay at La Villa Gallici, one of the city’s finest hotels, decorated with sumptuous Provençal fabrics and antiques and set in a Florentine garden of cypress and lemon trees, rose bushes, and lavender. The founders of the villa have also created the perfect petite auberge in town at 28 à Aix: just four rooms stylishly decorated in modern Baroque. Cézanne didn’t sleep at the Hotel Cézanne, but this small, smart hotel is perfect for those who appreciate contemporary décor. For an unforgettable Provençal dining experience, enjoy inspired dishes based on local, seasonal ingredients at Le Clos de la Violette.

  WHERE: 91 miles/146 km northwest of Nice. LES DEUX GARÇONS: Tel 33/4-42-260051. Cost: dinner $50. CÉZANNE’S STUDIO: Tel 33/4-42-210653; www.atelier-cezanne.com. MUSÉE GRANET: Tel 33/4-42-528832; www.museegranet-aixenprovence.fr. HOTEL LA VILLA GALLICI: Tel 33/4-42-232923; www.villagallici.com. Cost: from $400 (off-peak), from $600 (peak). 28 À AIX: Tel 33/4-42-548201; www.28aaix.com. Cost: from $310 (off-peak), from $380 (peak). HOTEL CÉZANNE: Tel 33/4-42-911111; http://cezanne.hotelaix.com. Cost: from $260. LE CLOS DE LA VIOLETTE: Tel 33/4-42-233071; www.closdelaviolette.com. Cost: dinner $125. BEST TIMES: Apr–Oct for nice weather; late Apr for daylong carnival; mid-Jul for Aix-en-Provence Festival.

  On the Trail of Van Gogh

  ARLES AND LES ALPI
LLES

  Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France

  Often called the soul of Provence, Arles is a town of classic antiquities, leafy squares, and art festivals, with a well-preserved Roman amphitheater known for bullfights both bloody and bloodless. But Arles is perhaps best known as Van Gogh’s place of anguish, where he painted more than 200 works during the single year of 1888, including Sunflowers— and where he famously cut off his ear.

  The lively, café-crammed Place du Forum (laid out by Julius Caesar) is the perfect place for a café au lait or an apéritif; it’s also the site of Van Gogh’s iconic Café Terrace on the Place du Forum. Overlooking the square is the landmark Grand Hôtel Nord Pinus, its worn bohemian elegance recalling the days when Picasso, Hemingway, and Édith Piaf stayed here. This quirky hotel is a favorite among famous toreadors who take part in bullfights at Les Arènes, where gladiators once fought.