Not including Paris, which French city is the most worthwhile (to visit) and why?

Question

Please feel free to include any personal experiences. Thanks.

Answer 1

Lyon

1) you can't eat better than in another town (Bocuse has several restaurants there)

2) 2 hours from Paris by train (TGV)

1 hour from Marseille (by TGV)

1h30 from the French Alps by car

3) nice town to visit, good climat

Access easy by speedways, International airport 20 km

http://www.visitelyon.fr/

Answer 2

THE 3 PLACES internationaly fancied are

1 Aix-en Provence. especially for U, americans, typical, beauty plus the weather.

2 Annecy. typical, mountains close, lake, rich area

3 Biarritz, the french little Australia, the most spectacular

Answer 3

I would say Montpellier down south (that's were I was born).  It's close to the sea side, it's very clean and cute and the whole region is worth visiting....and it's warm.

I love it!

Answer 4

Marseille as a city. Most say it is not a good place to visit, but Marseille changed. It has a nice harbour, beautiful beaches, a mix of French and Arabic culture, offers places for sightseeing and a great lot of good restaurants and bars.

For a smaller place, I'd go to Arles (van Gogh used to live there). It is the typical province, provence town. Quite and unique.

For history, try Carcassonne, a 12th century town set on a hill.

Very touristy but worth visiting, the town is surrounded by an old wall.

Answer 5

Well, I would say that as long as you dont stick to Paris, any option is good.  Then again, Paris is worth seeing as a tourist.

It all depends what you are looking for and what are your intersests..

The North (Lille, Calais or anywhere close to the Belgium border) is interesting if you are into a part of the Industrial Revolution in France with the housing they have up there.

Brittany, Normandy, very nice landscapes and good food.

Southwest, oustanding food and nice landscapes as well.

Southeast, as part of it is better known as the French Riviera is famous for its cities such as Nice, Marseilles, Monaco.

In the Northeast, there is a region called Alsace.  Rich in history and culture as it was once German, then returned to be French, then German again, and now French.

On a personal level, if I were a tourist in my own conutry, I would favor two cities:  Montpelier and Strasbourg.

I am from Alsace and I live in Strasbourg.  I love my city, there are a lot of things to do around here.  Plus, food is good.  Needless to talk about history and culture that is a lot different from the rest of France.  You would be in France, but very many aspects to this region make you feel you are somewhere else.

On another hand, Montpelier is a really nice and laid back city.  It is not as crowded as the French Riviera is.

Hope this helped a bit.

Enjoy your vacations.

Answer 6

It depends what kind of places are most interesting for you.

I would say... Strasbourg ? Great restaurants, marvelous medieval buildings and cathedral, a lot of fun around Christmas...

Or try Avignon in July. There is a theatre festival every year. The city is crowded with performers of all kinds, dozens of shows everywhere, a lot of fun (really).

Answer 7

Aix en Provence is pretty.

- it's warm

- there are dozens of narrow, winding streets with little shops

- it's less expensive than big cities

- the students keep it feeling hip

- Cezainne is from/painted there.