Europe · Touring guide
Cities, coast, countryside and the Alps, often with several sensible ways to get there.
Is it right for you?
A strong fit for
Ski, city breaks, touring and family travel.
We would think twice for
Travellers who want everything organised into one resort, because France's genius is its regions and its self-catering culture, and it rewards independence more than the all-inclusive instinct.
What we would want you to know
Rail, self-drive and flying each win for different trips.
We’ve been here
We have travelled in France ourselves, and the lesson we pass on most is that the journey shapes the holiday here more than anywhere else we sell. A family with a full boot is often better off on a ferry and the autoroute, while a couple heading for Paris or the Riviera will enjoy the train or a short flight.
The route
Nights 1 and 2
Cross overnight to Normandy and spend a day on the D-Day beaches with a guide, then an evening in Bayeux. If time allows, add Mont-Saint-Michel on the drive south.
Nights 3 and 4
Break the long drive in Amboise: hire bikes for a morning by the river, see Chenonceau before the coaches arrive, and taste Vouvray in cellars cut into the cliffs.
Nights 5 to 11
A week in one place: canoe the river, browse Sarlat's Saturday market, see the Lascaux replica and retreat to the pool in the heat of the afternoon.
Nights 12 and 13
Head north to finish with two nights in Paris, or at Disneyland if the children have been patient, before the drive back to the coast.
An idea to react to, not a fixed package. We shape the real thing around your dates, your pace and what the flights are doing that season.
Map and stops
The Marais and Saint-Germain are the neighbourhoods we steer first-timers towards: walkable, full of cafés and close to the river. Rooms are small and lifts smaller, so a family of four needs a real suite or an apartment. Disneyland Paris sits out to the east on the RER line, easy to pair with the city.
The obvious first stop off an overnight ferry, with the D-Day beaches, cider farms and half-timbered towns all within a gentle drive, and Bayeux a handsome, walkable base. The weather is much like home, so it suits a history trip or a stopover on the way south better than a beach week.
Château country, where Amboise, Chenonceau and Chambord sit a short drive apart and a flat riverside cycle route links the towns. It makes the natural halfway night or two on a drive to the south-west. Summer can be hot and still in the valley, and the big châteaux draw coach groups by late morning.
Golden-stone Sarlat, clifftop castles and a river made for canoes, with campsites and gîtes tucked into the valleys around. Market days and duck-based cooking make it a food trip as much as a family one. Roads are narrow and twisting, July and August are hot and busy, and you will need a car.
Long, flat Atlantic beaches of fine sand backed by pine forest and hundreds of kilometres of cycle paths, the heartland of the big family campsites, with the Puy du Fou history park inland. The Atlantic brings surf and currents, so swim at lifeguarded beaches between the flags.
Avignon's papal palace and ramparts make a lively base for the Luberon's hill villages, the Pont du Gard and the lavender plateaux. It is hot in July and August, the mistral can blow for days in spring, and the most photographed villages clog with cars by mid-morning in summer.
Nice is the Riviera's real city, with a broad promenade, an old town full of market stalls and a train line that strings together Antibes, Villefranche, Monaco and Menton. The beaches are large pebbles rather than sand, and August prices along the whole coast are among the steepest in France.
Weather and seasons
Paris averages 27°C in July and 8°C in January, so a city break works in any month, with April, May and September kindest for walking. The south runs warmer and drier from May onwards. August is when France itself goes on holiday: campsites and Riviera hotels fill, some Paris bistros and bakeries close for a fortnight, and summer Saturdays on the autoroutes south bring some of the worst traffic of the year. Provence's lavender flowers from late June into July, and in winter and spring the mistral can blow cold down the Rhône valley for days.
Worth timing a trip around
Two weeks of parades with giant figures, plus the flower battles on the Promenade des Anglais, where performers throw blooms into the crowd. Seats in the grandstands are ticketed.
On the longest evening of the year, musicians of every kind play in streets, squares and bars across the country, free to all, until well after midnight.
The national holiday brings a military parade on the Champs-Élysées in the morning and fireworks in towns and villages everywhere that night, the biggest around the Eiffel Tower.
The race visits a different part of the country each year. A mountain stage, where the riders pass slowly, is the most exciting place to watch; roads close for hours, so arrive early with a picnic.
Government buildings, private châteaux and places normally closed to the public open their doors, many without charge, for one weekend. In Paris the queues for the ministries start early.
| Month | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | 3°C | 51 mm |
| February | 11°C | 4°C | 41 mm |
| March | 14°C | 6°C | 65 mm |
| April | 18°C | 8°C | 38 mm |
| May | 21°C | 11°C | 77 mm |
| June | 25°C | 15°C | 49 mm |
| July | 27°C | 17°C | 22 mm |
| August | 27°C | 16°C | 68 mm |
| September | 23°C | 14°C | 48 mm |
| October | 18°C | 10°C | 60 mm |
| November | 12°C | 6°C | 53 mm |
| December | 9°C | 5°C | 64 mm |
Temperatures are 2015 to 2024 averages from NOAA records for Paris-Montsouris, 4 km away at 75 m. Rainfall is from the same station and shows the typical (median) month, so one freak storm does not skew it.
| Month | High | Low | Sea | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14°C | 6°C | 14°C | 27 mm |
| February | 14°C | 7°C | 13°C | 41 mm |
| March | 16°C | 9°C | 14°C | 25 mm |
| April | 18°C | 11°C | 15°C | 63 mm |
| May | 22°C | 15°C | 17°C | 38 mm |
| June | 25°C | 20°C | 21°C | 13 mm |
| July | 29°C | 23°C | 24°C | 1 mm |
| August | 29°C | 23°C | 25°C | 12 mm |
| September | 26°C | 19°C | 22°C | 39 mm |
| October | 22°C | 15°C | 20°C | 109 mm |
| November | 18°C | 10°C | 17°C | 57 mm |
| December | 15°C | 7°C | 15°C | 56 mm |
Temperatures are 2015 to 2024 averages from NOAA records for Cote D Azur, 6 km away at 4 m. Rainfall is from the same station and shows the typical (median) month, so one freak storm does not skew it. Sea temperatures: NOAA OISST, 1991 to 2020.
| Month | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | 1°C | 52 mm |
| February | 12°C | 3°C | 51 mm |
| March | 15°C | 5°C | 84 mm |
| April | 19°C | 7°C | 76 mm |
| May | 22°C | 9°C | 70 mm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 76 mm |
| July | 29°C | 15°C | 32 mm |
| August | 29°C | 15°C | 40 mm |
| September | 25°C | 12°C | 63 mm |
| October | 20°C | 9°C | 61 mm |
| November | 14°C | 5°C | 65 mm |
| December | 11°C | 3°C | 86 mm |
Temperatures are 2015 to 2024 averages from NOAA records for Gourdon, 21 km away at 261 m. Rainfall is from the same station and shows the typical (median) month, so one freak storm does not skew it.
Things to do
Impressionist paintings in a former railway station on the Left Bank, a more manageable day than the Louvre. Book a timed ticket, and consider a Thursday evening, when it stays open late and the crowds thin.
Two parks east of Paris, reached by RER from the city centre. Weekdays in British term time are far quieter than French school holidays, and two days is the minimum for families with young children.
Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword stretch along the Normandy coast, with museums, war cemeteries and the remains of the Mulberry harbour at Arromanches. A local guide for a day brings the story to life far better than a self-drive map.
The abbey on its tidal island is reached on foot or by shuttle bus from the mainland car parks. Arrive early or stay into the evening, after the coach parties have left, and check the tide tables: the big spring tides race across the bay.
The Loire à Vélo route follows the river on quiet lanes and riverside tracks, flat enough for families. Bikes can be hired in most towns and luggage sent ahead, so a few days from château to château is easy to arrange.
Float past the cliff village of La Roque-Gageac and the castles of Beynac and Castelnaud. Hire companies drive you upstream and you paddle back down, and in summer the river is gentle enough for children who can swim.
A full-size replica of the Lascaux cave paintings at Montignac, built because the original cave was closed to protect the art. Book a timed slot in summer.
A deep limestone canyon in Haute-Provence with a jade-green river running through it. Hire a pedalo or kayak where the gorge opens onto the Lac de Sainte-Croix, or drive the rim roads for the views, allowing plenty of time for the bends.
Every Provençal town has its market day, and the Sunday market at L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, with antiques along the river, is one of the largest. Go by nine: stalls pack up by lunchtime and the car parks fill fast.
A hilltop village of stone lanes high above the sea between Nice and Monaco, reached by bus or by the steep Nietzsche path from the station at Èze-sur-Mer. It makes an easy half-day out from Nice.
Food and drink
Warm croissants and pains au chocolat eaten on the move, and a baguette for lunch. Most villages have a bakery open early every morning, though many close one day a week.
Buckwheat crêpes filled with ham, egg and cheese, the savoury staple of Brittany and Normandy, with dry cider poured into a ceramic bowl.
Normandy's soft cheese and apple brandy, best bought at a farm or market in the Pays d'Auge. A calvados between courses, the trou normand, is said to make room for more.
Duck legs cooked slowly in their own fat, then crisped and served with potatoes fried in more of it. The signature dish of the Dordogne and the south-west.
A crisp chickpea pancake baked in a wood oven and eaten hot with black pepper, the street food of old Nice.
Pale, dry and served cold, the everyday wine of the south, at its best with a long lunch in the shade.
Money
France costs what you choose to make it: a mobile home on a southern campsite and a palace hotel in Nice are both France. Driving shapes the bill more than people expect, because autoroute tolls and fuel on a long run south add up, although for a larger family they can still undercut flights plus car hire. Lunch is the time to eat well, when set menus cost far less than the same cooking at dinner. Extra money is best spent on location in Paris and a sea view on the Riviera.
Flights and transfers
France is the one destination where flying is only half the answer: direct flights serve Paris and Nice from Manchester, while the Eurostar from London and the Channel crossings with your own car open Normandy, the Loire and the campsite south. We compare plane, train and drive side by side, because for a family with luggage the car often wins.
Flights from UK airports
Route check September 2026. Some routes are seasonal and schedules change, so we confirm the live options when we quote.
Practical details
1 hour ahead of the UK
Euro (€)
French
Type C and E, 230V
On the right
Safe to drink, and restaurants will bring a carafe of tap water on request
Service is included by law; leaving small change or rounding up is a courtesy, not an obligation
Entry for British passport holders
Visa. No visa needed for tourist stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen area.
Passport. Issued less than 10 years before you arrive, and valid for at least 3 months after the day you leave the Schengen area.
The EU Entry/Exit System is now in use, so you may be asked to register your fingerprints and photo at the border on your first visit. It is free.
Summarised from the FCDO travel advice on gov.uk, checked 29 September 2026. Rules change: read the current entry requirements and the full travel advice before you go.
Questions we get asked
It depends on the trip. A family heading for a campsite or gîte usually does best with the car, via the tunnel or a ferry, because the luggage comes too. Paris suits the Eurostar from London. For the Riviera, or anywhere far south on a short stay, flying wins.
A warning triangle and a reflective jacket within reach of the driver, a UK sticker if your number plate does not show one, and headlamps adjusted for driving on the right. Cities including Paris and Lyon have low-emission zones that need a Crit'Air sticker, ordered from the official French site before you go.
If you want the longest days, yes: Disney's own hotels include extra time in the parks before general opening, and they are walkable or a short shuttle away. The partner hotels around Val d'Europe cost less and run shuttle buses, which suits families who plan an afternoon rest away from the parks.
For young children, the Vendée and the Atlantic coast north of Bordeaux, with long sandy beaches and flat cycle paths, although the Atlantic has surf and currents, so swim between the flags. Brittany is cooler, with sheltered coves. The Mediterranean is warmer but busier, and around Nice the beaches are pebble.
Many are, especially outside cities and tourist areas, and some also close on Mondays. In small towns, shops and even post offices shut for a long lunch, roughly from midday to two. Bakeries and many supermarkets open on Sunday mornings, so do the big shop on Saturday.
Yes, and it is often easier. Trains run along the coast from Cannes through Antibes and Nice to Monaco and Menton, and buses climb to the hill villages. Summer parking is scarce and expensive, so a car mostly makes sense for Provence inland.
Photographs
Also worth a look
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