France

France, l’Hexagone, covers more than 551,000 km² of western Europe, with coastlines on both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and the Alps and Pyrenees along its eastern and southern edges. Four climates meet here: a mild oceanic west, a continental centre and east with cold winters, a sun-drenched Mediterranean south-east, and high mountains where snow lies for three to six months of the year.

Paris and Versailles offer palaces, museums and theatres; the Côte d’Azur — Cannes, Nice, Saint-Tropez, Cap d’Antibes — is the home of Belle Époque grand hotels and private beaches; Deauville and Biarritz are Atlantic resorts of casinos and golf. In winter the focus shifts to the Alps, where Courchevel, Val d’Isère, Val Thorens, Méribel, Megève and Chamonix rank among the world’s best-known ski resorts.

The Riviera is at its best from May to September, Deauville and Biarritz from June to September, and Paris in spring (April–May) or autumn (September–October). France suits lovers of art and food, couples, families and skiers who return to the slopes every winter.