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Beautiful French Town

The towns and villages of France

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If there's one season when Montbéliard truly shines internationally, it's winter. Its Christmas market is regularly voted one of the most beautiful in Europe.

The Schickhardt Illuminations: During Advent, the historic center is adorned with a vast network of luminous drapes and sparkling arches. A magnificent spectacle that enhances every street and monument.

A Market of Authentic Traditions: Nestled at the foot of the Saint-Martin Temple, the market brings together more than 150 carefully selected artisans. People come for the fine crafts, the blown-glass decorations, and the solemn atmosphere created by the children's choirs.

Aunt Airie, the Good Fairy: Forget Saint Nicholas for a moment; here, the star of local tales is Aunt Airie. According to legend, this benevolent former Countess of Württemberg travels through the town in winter, accompanied by her donkey laden with gifts for good children.

Montbéliard

The castle and the princely past of Württemberg

Montpellier is internationally renowned for its modern architecture. Leaving the historic center towards the Lez River, one enters a completely different era.

The Antigone District: Designed in the early 1980s by the celebrated Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill, this district unfolds a grand, kilometer-long vista inspired by ancient Greece, featuring draped concrete, colonnades, and symmetrical squares.

The Port Marianne District: A new focal point of the city, this area is organized around water features and parks. It boasts major architectural landmarks, such as the new City Hall designed by Jean Nouvel.

The White Tree: Voted one of the most beautiful buildings in the world upon its inauguration, this futuristic residential tower designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto mimics the shape of a tree with immense suspended balconies that seem to reach out into the void like branches.

Montpellier

The Ecusson — A thousand-year journey to the heart of the historic center

Nestled between mountains and sun-drenched plains, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie celebrates the best of Haute-Provence's terroir on its plates.

Lavender Honey and Almonds: Located at the foot of the Valensole plateau, the village is the perfect place to savor exceptionally pure, sweet, and aromatic IGP lavender honey, as well as locally made nougat.

Moustiers Olive Oil: The sunny slopes surrounding the village are planted with thousands of olive trees cultivated on terraces. This local production yields a distinctive extra virgin olive oil with notes of freshly cut grass and artichoke.

Gourmet Restaurants: The village boasts excellent restaurants, notably La Bastide de Moustiers, a charming inn created by the renowned chef Alain Ducasse, where garden vegetables and Sisteron lamb are showcased to their fullest potential.

Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

The Mystery of the Star and Sacred Heritage

The museum is a place in constant evolution that actively supports contemporary creation and the emergence of new talent.

Major solo exhibitions: The MAC VAL regularly dedicates extensive spaces to major contemporary artists, both French and international, allowing them to develop original projects and spectacular site-specific installations.

International residencies: The museum includes apartments and studios designed specifically to host artists in residence from around the world. These artists immerse themselves in the Val-de-Marne region to create works that are then presented to the public.

A springboard for emerging artists: Special attention is paid to emerging artists on the French scene, making the museum a true laboratory and a privileged observer of tomorrow's aesthetic trends.

Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC VAL)

The architecture — A monolith of light in the heart of the city

Long before the 18th century, Nancy was a fortified medieval city. This district north of Place Stanislas has a picturesque atmosphere, with its cobbled streets and hidden courtyards.

The Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine: This magnificent building boasts a flamboyant Gothic façade with Renaissance influences (the gatehouse is a sculptural masterpiece). It houses the Musée Lorrain, guardian of the region's history and arts.

The Cordeliers Church: Adjoining the palace, this church houses the tombs of the Dukes of Lorraine, including magnificent polychrome effigies. Its funerary chapel, inspired by the Medici Chapel in Florence, is topped with an impressive octagonal dome.

The Porte de la Craffe: The oldest remaining vestige of the city's fortifications (14th century), this monumental gate, flanked by two large circular twin towers, served as a prison during the French Revolution and proudly marks the entrance to the old city.

Place Saint-Epvre: Dominated by the neo-Gothic Saint-Epvre basilica with its sparkling stained-glass windows, this cobbled square surrounded by old houses is today a hub of social life in Nancy with its lively terraces.

Nancy

Stanislas Square and the UNESCO complex

Montluçon is a particularly green city, serving as an ideal gateway to the wild and unspoiled landscapes of the Cher Valley.

Wilson Park: Located in the city center, this magnificent public garden, created at the end of the 19th century, is laid out in the French style. It boasts superb flowerbeds, remarkable trees, and tranquil ponds, perfect for a refreshing break.

The Banks of the Cher River: Recently redesigned for pedestrians and cyclists, the riverbanks allow you to cross the city on foot or by bike in a preserved natural setting, away from the urban bustle.

The Upper Cher Gorges: Just a few kilometers south of the city, the river carves its way through wild and spectacular granite gorges. It's the ideal playground for hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and exploring protected natural sites such as the Sainte-Agathe site.

Montluçon

The fortress of the Dukes of Bourbon and the old town

The transition to a Mediterranean climate is reflected in the city's urban planning, designed to offer precious havens of coolness.

The Provençal Avenues: Inspired by the grand boulevards of southern France, these wide avenues lined with centuries-old plane trees form the social heart of Montélimar. They are the perfect place to stroll, relax on a terrace, or watch local pétanque games.

The Public Garden and its bandstand: Located at the end of the avenues, this 19th-century landscaped park is organized around a large pond populated by swans and ducks, a fragrant rose garden, and a charming bandstand.

Chabrillan Park: A large green space ideal for families, home to remarkable century-old trees and peaceful walking paths, just minutes from the bustle of the city center.

Montélimar

The world capital of Nougat

In the 19th century, Mulhouse became one of the major centers of textile printing in Europe. This heritage still shapes the city's aesthetics and culture.

The Museum of Printed Textiles (MISE): This unique museum retraces the epic story of printed cotton fabrics and other printed textiles that brought wealth to the city. It houses millions of textile designs from around the world, which continue to inspire the leading designers of Parisian haute couture.

The Foundry District: This former industrial stronghold has been magnificently rehabilitated. The immense brick halls and metal structures now house the university campus, the Kunsthalle contemporary art center, and creative startups.

The Christmas Fabric: Every year for the holidays, Mulhouse creates a buzz by releasing an exclusive fabric printed in the region, whose designs are inspired by the museum's collections. This fabric is used to drape the town hall and the Christmas market chalets, creating a unique atmosphere in Alsace.

Mulhouse

The world capitals of the automobile and the train

Romantic poet, travel writer, and major political figure (founder of the Second Republic), Lamartine profoundly marked Mâcon. An urban walking tour is entirely dedicated to him.

The Ursuline Museum (Espace Lamartine): Housed in a former 17th-century convent, this fine arts and archaeology museum devotes an entire wing to the writer. Visitors can discover his personal belongings, original manuscripts, as well as busts and paintings depicting his passionate life.

Lamartine's Birthplace: Located on the street that now bears his name, the façade of his childhood home reflects the poet's deep attachment to his Mâcon roots.

The Bronze Statue: Proudly standing on the quayside esplanade, the monumental statue of Lamartine eternally gazes upon the Saône River, recalling his most famous verses on the fleeting nature of time.

Château de Monceau and La Solitude (Prissé): Located in the immediate vicinity, this wine estate was the poet's beloved residence, where he wrote a large part of his major works.

Mâcon

The banks of the Saône and the architecture with its southern influences

Nantes' historic center preserves magnificent reminders of the era when the city dictated the history of the Duchy of Brittany, while also showcasing the elegant classicism of the 18th century.

The Château des Ducs de Bretagne: This massive medieval granite fortress, surrounded by a moat, conceals within its walls a sumptuous Renaissance-style residential palace built of white tufa stone. It now houses the Nantes History Museum, a particularly comprehensive and modern institution.

The Bouffay District: This is the medieval heart of the city. A maze of pedestrianized cobblestone streets, lined with 15th- and 16th-century half-timbered houses, now home to a multitude of lively restaurants, terraces, and crêperies.

The Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul: This masterpiece of Flamboyant Gothic art is striking for the whiteness of its nave and the soaring height of its vaults. It houses the tomb of Francis II and Margaret of Foix (the parents of Anne of Brittany), a marvel of French Renaissance sculpture.

Île Feydeau and the Private Mansions: Once an island surrounded by branches of the Loire River, this district boasts opulent 18th-century architecture. The ashlar facades of the wealthy slave-trading shipowners are adorned with suspended wrought-iron balconies and unusual mascarons (sculpted faces).

Nantes

The fantastical world of Machines of the Isle

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