Frankrike

Om du älskar konst och vill besöka världens första flytande konstcenter är det Paris du ska åka till. Fluctuart, som konstcentret kallas, är 1 000 kvadratmeter stort och ligger på floden Seine. Bäst av allt? Det är fri entré!

Often dubbed the ‘Garden of France’, the Touraine region is known for its rich food, tasty cheeses and famously pure French accent, as well as a first-rate line-up of glorious châteaux: some medieval (Langeais and Loches), others Renaissance (Azay-le-Rideau, Villandry and Chenonceau). The vibrant capital, Tours, offers plenty of good restaurants, château tours and public-transport options.

Provence might conjure up images of rolling fields and gentle hills, but east of the Luberon you’ll find yourself travelling through altogether more dramatic landscapes. Rising like a tooth-lined jawbone along the border with Italy, just an hour’s drive north of Nice, lie the Alps – France’s most famous mountain range, a haven for mountaineers, hikers and wildlife spotters, and home to some of the region’s most unforgettable scenery.

Paris' monument-lined boulevards, museums, classical bistros and boutiques are enhanced by a new wave of multimedia galleries, creative wine bars, design shops and tech start-ups.

Spiking the skyline for 430km along the Franco-Spanish border, the snow-dusted Pyrenees offer a glimpse of France’s wilder side. This serrated chain of peaks contains some of the country's most pristine landscapes and rarest wildlife, including endangered species such as the griffon vulture, izard (a type of mountain goat) and brown bear. Since 1967, 457 sq km has been protected as the Parc National des Pyrénées, ensuring its valleys, tarns and mountain pastures are preserved for future generations.

With its mix of real-city life, old-world opulence, year-round sunshine, vibrant street life and stunning seaside location, no place in France compares with Nice.

Det finns massor att göra och se i Paris. Men för den som vill göra något speciellt listar Vagabond sju platser och saker där kvinnor står i fokus som ägare, feminister, ikoner och guider.

Named after the mountain range running east–west between Cavaillon and Manosque, the Luberon is a Provençal patchwork of hilltop villages, vineyards, ancient abbeys and mile after mile of fragrant lavender fields. It’s a rural, traditional region that still makes time for the good things in life – particularly fine food and even finer wine. Nearly every village hosts its own weekly market, packed with stalls selling local specialities, especially olive oil, honey and lavender.

Ask the French what they think of Alsace and watch them grow misty-eyed with nostalgia and affection for this most idiosyncratic of regions, which borders Switzerland to the south and Germany to the east. So hard to nail in terms of its character, it proudly guards its own distinct identity, language, cuisine, history and architecture – part French, part German, 100% Alsatian. Here the candy-coloured towns and villages look as though they've popped up from a children's bedtime story, the gently rolling countryside, striped with vines, is nothing short of idyllic, and everywhere locals swear by centuries-old traditions.

Named after France's most powerful natural spring, which wells up outside Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, the Vaucluse département sits on Provence's west side, sandwiched between the rumpled mountains of the Hautes-Alpes and the rocky Var coastline. Crossed by three great rivers – the Rhône, the Durance and the Sorgue – Vaucluse is renowned for its lavender fields and its vineyards, including the legendary Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The area has been occupied since ancient times, but it was the Romans who left the greatest mark in the form of Orange's ancient theatre and the remains of two Roman towns, Glanum and Vasio Vocontiorum. Centuries later, Avignon became the seat of papal power, and its crenellated ramparts and monumental Palais des Papes provide a glimpse of medieval majesty.