To advertise on this space | Per inserzioni pubblicitarie | Um hier Werbung zu machen | Pour avoir un espace publicitaire
Selected by piero scaruffi | Back to the travel page | Suggestions
My pictures of France
|
This page provides a list of the main things to see in France. "++"
identifies the top attractions.
Legenda: abbaye = abbey basilique = basilica bourg = town chateau = castle eglise = church grotte = cave place = square quartier = quarters ville = city Northeast (Belgique, Allemagne) Beauvais: cathedral (13th c), Saint-Etienne (choir) Amiens (Pays du Nord): cathedral (1266) (+west portal, relief of central portal, facade, nave, eastern view, +choir) Thiepval (Pays du Nord): Edwin Luytens' Memorial to the Missing (1925) Arras (Pays du Nord): grand place, place des heros Boulogne-Sur-Mer (Pays du Nord): ville haure Saint-Omer (Pays du Nord): Basilica Laon (Ardenne): ++cathedral (1151-1290) (nave, nave vault, six-part vaults, transept, exterior, facade, three-storey chapels, choir), +Chapel of the Templars (1160) in the garden of the museum Loyon (Ardenne): +cathedral (1150-1235) (south transept, exterior of the transept, choir, facade) Reims (Ardenne): ++cathedral (1211-1300) (choir, ambulatory, nave, southwest exterior, southeast view, facade, relief of central portal) Troyes (Ardenne): quartier Saint-Jean, Saint-Urbain (1262) (choir) Nancy (Lorraine): -Place Stanislas Metz (Lorraine): +cathedral, +Basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains (oldest church in France) Luneville (Lorraine): -Chateau Hunspach (Lorraine): +bourg Alsace Colmar (Alsace): ++bourg, +altar Murbach: Abbey church (12th c) Riquewihr (Alsace): +bourg, Dolder belfry Kayserberg (Alsace): +bourg Haut Konigsburg: +castle Strasbourg (Alsace): ++cathedral (1439), ++Petite France, Chambre de Commerce, European Parliament, Place Kleber, Rohan Palace, Maison Kammerzell, Eglise Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune, Sant-Thomas, Pont Couverts, Barrage Vauban/ Vauban Dam Northwest (Manche): Pontorson: ++Mont-Saint-Michel Saint-Malo (Bretagne): bourg Fougeres: Chateau Le Mans: cathedral (13th c) Le Havre (Normandie): St Joseph cathedral Bayeux (Normandie): cathedral Rouen (Normandie): Saint-Ouen abbey (1250) (nave, choir, south aisle), Saint-Maclou (1514) (facade, nave), +Notre-Dame de l'Assomption Les Andelys (near Rouen): +Chateau Gaillar Caen (Normandie): Sainte-Trinite (1062), +Saint-Etienne aka Abbaye-aux-Hommes (1081) Cerisy-la-Foret (Normandie): Church (1100) Carnac (Bretagne): +megalithic complex with 3000 menhirs (a 30 minute bus ride from Auray which is a 1.5 hour train ride from Rennes, always open and free) Barnenez/Finistere megalithic monument Locmariaquer "grand menhir brise" (largest menhir) Central: Paris: click here Fontainebleau: Palace Poissy: +Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye (1929) Mantes (48 kms west of Paris): Notre-Dame Houdan (63km west of Paris): donjon of 12th c Soissons (100 kms northeast of Paris): cathedral (exterior, south transept, nave, choir) Rampillon (near Paris): cathedral (14th c) Chartres (near Paris): medieval houses, +cathedral (1225) (++royal portals, +west windows, exterior of north transept, relief of north transept, north transept window, +reliefs of south transept, nave pier with four colonnettes, four-part vault for each bay of nave and transept, ambulatory) Germigny-des-Pres (Loiret): Carolingian oratory of Theodulf (806) Amboise: Chateau (1495), first Chateau in France, Tomb of Leonardo in the castle's chapel Versailles (Isle): Chateau Vaux-Le-Vicomte (Isle): Chateau Azay-Le-Rideau (Touraine): Chateau Chambord (near Orleans): +Chateau (1547) Blois: Chateau (entrance) Saumur: Chateau Tours: Cathedral (16th c) Rigny-Usse' (near Tours): Chateau d'Usse' Fontevrault: Abbey's kitchen (12th c) Chenonceaux (Touraine): Chateau Loches (Touraine): +Medieval town Saint-Benoit-Sur-Loire (near Orleans): +Abbey (1218) Ancy-Le-Franc (Bourgogne): Chateau Sens (near Troyes): +Saint-Ethienne (12th c) (first cathedral that was Gothic throughout, ambulatory, choir, south aisle, nave) Auxerre (near Troyes): +Tour de l'Horloge Pontigny (near Troyes): +Abbey (1180) Autun (Bourgogne): +cathedral (1135) (++Gislebertus' tympan, +chapiteaux) Chateau de Sully (near Autun): Chateau Tournus: St Philibert's Church (1120) Beaune (Bourgogne): Hotel-Dieu/ Hospital (1451) Cluny (Bourgogne): Abbey Dijon (Bourgogne): cathedral, Chartreuse of Champmol (portal, The Well of Moses), Musee de Beaux-Arts (tomb og Philip the Bold) Marmagne (near Orleans): +Abbey of Fontenay (1147) Semur-en-Auxois: old town Vezelay (Bourgogne): Basilica (1120-1200) (+tympanum "Mission of the Apostles", +chapiteaux, choir) Bourges (near Orleans): +cathedral (1195-1250) (nave, east end, aisle, choir, facade, southeast flank), courtyard of the house of Jacques Coeur (1451) Issoire: cathedral (12th c) (reliefs on lintels) Nevers: Saint Etienne (1097) Paray-le-Monial (Bourgogne): Sacre-Coeur East (Alps) Ronchamp: +LeCorbusier's Notre-Dame-du-Haut (1955) Arc-Et-Senans (Franche-Comte): Salines Royales Besancon (Franche-Comte): Citadelle +Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans (32 km south-west of Besancon) Lyon: vieux-Lyon Firminy: +LeCorbusier's church Eveux-sur-Arbresle: Le Corbusier's Couvent Sainte-Marie de la Tourette (1960) Clermont-Ferrand (west of Lion): +Notre Dame du Port (12th c) Lyons: Calatrava's Satolas TGV Station Bourg-en-Bresse (50 km north of Lyons): +church of Brou (16th c) (nave, choir, tomb of Margaret) Chamonix (Savoie): Mont-Blanc Bourg-Saint-Maurice: Charlotte Perriand's Les Arcs ski resort West (Atlantique) Poitiers (Poitou): +Notre-Dame (1130), +baptistery of St Jean (7th c), nearby St-Jouin-des-Marnes (1130), +Futuroscope Aulnay-de-Saintonge: +Eglise St-Pierre (12th c) +Saint-Savin sur Gartempe (45 kms from Poitiers): +Church (1115) (nave, +murals) La Rochelle (Poitou): bourg Saintes (Poitou): bourg Saint-Savin (Poitou): Church Bordeaux (Bordelais): Place de la Bourse, Grand Theatre (with Rodin's ceiling fresco Apollo and the Muses), Porte deu Palais Rouffignac-Saint-Cernin-de-Reilhac: Caves of Rouffignac (wall paintings of 20,000 BC) Montignac (north of Toulouse, east of Bordeaux): +Caves of Lascaux Sarlat: +bourg Castelnaud-la-Chapelle: +bourg Perigueux: Cathedral (12th c) Saint-Emilion (Bordelais): bourg Angers: Chateau d'Angers, cathedral South-west (Pyrenees) Eyzies-de-Tayac (Agenais): grottes Cahors (Agenais): ponte Valentre` Rocamadour: bourg Moissac (Agenais): +Saint-Pierre (1120, porch, +reliefs of south portal, +sculptures of cloister, +cloister capitals) Toulouse (Pyrenees): vieux quartier, ++St Sermin (1125), Church of the Jacobins (+pillars of the choir, southeast view) Cro-Magnon in Les Eyzies (150 kms from Toulouse) Prades: +Abbey of St-Michel-de-Cuxa, Saint Martin-du-Carnigou monastery (1026) Abbi (80 km northeast of Toulouse): cathedral (14th c) (nave, southeast view) ++Carcassonne (between Toulouse and Prades): ramparts, bourg, Saint-Nazaire (1321) (nave, choir) South Le Puy-en-Velay (Auvergne): bourg, +Chapelle Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe Albi (Rouerge): +St Cecilia cathedral Salers: Chateau de Val Conques-en-Rouergue (Aveyron): +Abbey de Sainte-Foy (1120) (++reliquary statue of St Foi, and tympanum sculture above west facade portal) La Convertoirade (Aveyron): vieille ville Saint-Come d'Olt (Aveyron): vieille ville Montpellier (Languedoc): vieille ville, Hadid's Herault Culture Sport Hauterives: +Ferdinand Cheval's "Le Palais Ideal" Gellone: Monastery of Saint-Guillaume-le-Desert (12th c) Gard (Ardeche): pont Nimes (Ardeche): Maison Carree, Jardin de la Fontaine Aix-En-Provence (Provence): cathedral Tarascon (provence): Chateau Senanque (provence): +Abbey (12th c) Arles (Provence): bourg, Saint-Trophime (1140, reliefs of cloister) Orange (Provence): +Roman theater (50 AD), + Roman monumental arch with decoration of Celtic armour Avignon (Provence): +Palais des Papes (+Room of the Deer) Villages of Provence: Goult, Gordes, +Lacoste, Bonnieux, etc +Chauvet Cave (50 kms north of Avignon) Les Baux (Provence): ++bourg Le Thoronet (Provence): ++Abbey (12th c) Saint-Gilles-du-Gard (Provence): Church (facade of 1130) Verdon (Provence): +grand canyon Riviera between Nice and Menton (Cote d'Azur): +corniches Nice: Old town, Promenade des Anglais, St Nicholas Russian Orthodox cathedral, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat: Cocteau's art at Villa Santo-Sospir Villefranche-sur-Mer: Cocteau's art at Chapelle Saint-Pierre La Turbie: Roman monument St-Paul-de-Vence: medieval fortified village, +Fondation Maeght Vence: Matisse's Chapel du Rosaire Villeneuve-Loubet: +Pyramidal buildings of Marina Baie des Anges by Andre Minangoy (1960) Marseilles: Hadid's CMA CGM Head Office, Palais Longchamps (1869), LeCorbusier's Unite d'Habitation (roof terrace), +Notre Dame de la Garde Millau Viaduct (2004) |
Pictures
Best churches: Chartres cathedral Notre Dame, Paris Notre-Dame-du-Haut, Ronchamp Strasbourg cathedral Mont Saint-Michel abbey Reims cathedral Amiens cathedral Sacre Coeur, Paris Bourges cathedral St Sermin, Toulouse Laon cathedral Notre Dame de la Garde, Marseilles Rouen cathedral LeMans cathedral Albi cathedral Metz cathedral Stained-glass windows of Strasbourg cathedral. Narthex, lower bay on the south: the Last Judgement. Narthex, lower bay on the north: 12 episodes from the Book of Genesis (Adam and Eve, the original sin, the expulsion from Paradise, Noah's ark, etc) North side of nave, five lower bays (oldest stained glass of the cathedral from 1180): nine Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. North side of nave, upper bays (1250-1275): 84 saints. South side of the nave: a row of female saints, a row of soldiers, popes, bishops. South Transept: pillar of the angels (8 angels and 4 four evangelists). Pulpit sculpture by Hans Hammer (1485). Astronomical clock (1842, the 16th century original is at the Strasbourg Museum of Decorative Arts): it indicates solar time, the day of the week (each represented by a god of mythology), the month, the year, the sign of the zodiac, the phase of the moon and the position of several planets. It sits on statues of Apollo and Diana presenting a circular calendar of the liturgical year, and is surrounded by painted symbols of Greece, Assyria, Persia and Rome. It is topped by a celestial globe in a sky of painted stars (the 1,022 stars identified by Ptolemy) which makes a complete revolution every 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. Figures of the four seasons surround a mechanical astrolabe, which indicates the location of the planets according to Copernicus, and is surrounded by the signs of the zodiac. The astrolabe is topped by a globe depicting the Church and the Antichrist confronting each other, by two levels of animated mechanical figures, and by Jesus and the four evangelists. |