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The best French holiday regions:  France is a country of infinite variety and unestimable beauty offering sun, sand, sea, mountains, valleys, river gorges....every region offers great tourist attractions and boasts a unique character, from the Vendée or Côte D'Azur beaches to the Mountains of the Alps or Pyrénées, from the Vineyards of the Loire or Rhône to the history of Dordogne, Provence or Normandy.

 

For a brief description of a particular French holiday region, let your mouse hover over the map below, or for more information click on the region and go to the regional guide for that region with information about the best towns, villages, attractions, chateaux, walks, bike rides, beaches and much more besides...

 

      Best French Holiday Regions      Best French Holiday Regions     Best French Holiday Regions

Brittany - great beaches and coastline, fascinating celtic heritage, direct ferry access from the UK Normandy - great coastline and beaches, fascinating history and attractions related to the second world war, easy access from the UK Nord Pas-de-Calais - easy access across the channel, delightful beaches and seaside towns Paris and the Ile-de-France - a delightful cosmopolitan city with some great attractions made specifically for kids East France - Champagne country, Alsace vineyards and the Vosges mountains. French countryside at its best! The Loire - one of the great rivers of France boasting dramatic chateaux, great for cycling and plenty of dedicated family attractions The Rhone Valley - sorry, this regional content is not available yet! The Charente / Vendee - fantastic for a sun, sea and sand holiday with it's own micro-climate, but also offering lush countryside and some delightful attractions farther inland Limousin, an upcoming holiday region and the Auvergne, dramatic mountain scenery resulting from volcanic activity centuries ago The Dordogne - another of France's great rivers boasting more than 100 chateaux and attractions on almost every corner! Aquitaine - sorry we haven't created this region yet - see Charente/Pyrenees/Dordogne for local attractions Lot / Tarn - more great rivers, dramatic scenery, as good as the Dordogne for beauty, with fewer tourists! The Pyrenees - great mountain scenery, fantastic walking country, delightful valleys, ideal for outdoor enthusiasts, skiing in winter Languedoc-Roussillon - great beaches, delightful history inland with Cathar castles, monateries, walled towns and much more The Alps - a winter wonderland, equally dramatic in the summer and perfect for an outdoor holiday experience at any time of year! Provence - offering incredible choice with beaches, the Camargue, Roman heritage, lavender fields, vineyards and so much more! The Cote d'Azur - summer playground of the rich and famous with evocative destinations such as St Tropez and the inland drama of the Gorde du Verdon Corsica - sorry, this regional content is not available yet!

The Ardeche, a delightful area to the west of Provence, defined by the meandering river - great for canoeing!

The Ardeche

The Gorge du Verdon in Provence, the second deepest gorge in the world!

Gorge du Verdon

The Lac de Gaube near Cauterets in the Pyrenees - great walking country!

Lac de Gaube

L'Azinet donkey rides in Gascony
L'Azinet Donkey

The incredible Mont St Michel in Brittany, France's most visited tourist attraction

Mont St Michel

Le Pont du Gard in Provence, built by the Romans!

Pont du Gard

Delightful snow and sunshine in the Alps, great skiing country!
Skiing

France for Families has a wealth of tourist information on each region including the best towns, attractions, vineyards, beaches and kids favourites, as well as practical information on eating out, shopping, weather....  The vast majority of the places listed have been personally visited by either ourselves or friends and relatives.  So you can be sure that our advice is informed and unbiased.  We are continually extending the site content so we welcome feedback of any kind.

Explaining our choice of Regions  Well what a minefield this is!  When France For Families was first conceived in 2004 we looked at it very much from a holidaymaker's perspective, however this meant that some regions were not correctly represented.

 

So we're re-organising the regions to more closely reflect official French departments, with a few notable exceptions.  For instance, we think that the Dordogne deserves its own section and we like to group together the area to the west of the A6 (eg. the Ardeche) with Provence.

Our favourite Regions  You can have a great holiday anywhere in France - we have tried to describe each region honestly - depending on what you look for you may have a  different perspective to ours, however our favourites are:
        1.  Provence (unrivalled beauty, unspoilt, quiet)

        2.  Dordogne (dramatic scenery and charming villages)
        3.  Brittany (lovely coastline, easy access)

        4.  Loire (majestic châteaux)

        5.  Charente/Vendée (great beaches + Puy du Fou)

        6.  Pyrénées (fantastic mountain scenery)


France Voyage - Photographic regional guide