Frankrike

If it's French splendour, style and gastronomy you seek, the Loire Valley will exceed your expectations, no matter how great. Poised on the crucial frontier between northern and southern France, and just a short train or autoroute ride from Paris, the region was once of immense strategic importance. Kings, queens, dukes and nobles came here to establish feudal castles and, later on, sumptuous pleasure palaces – that's why this fertile river valley is sprinkled with hundreds of France's most opulent aristocratic estates. With crenellated towers, soaring cupolas and glittering banquet halls, the region's châteaux, and the villages and vineyards that surround them, attest to over a thousand years of rich architectural and artistic creativity. The Loire Valley is also known for its outstanding wines (red, white, rosé and sparkling) and lively, sophisticated cities, including Orléans, Blois, Tours and Angers – yet more reasons why the entire area is an enormous Unesco World Heritage Site.

Named for the dolphin (dauphin) that graced the coat of arms of its prior rulers, the historic region of Dauphiné encompasses the territories south and southwest of Savoie, stretching from the Rhône River in the west to the Italian border in the east. It roughly corresponds to the départements of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes.

Vad sägs om att vakna upp med panoramautsikt över 80 vulkaner i Frankrike? Airbnb har precis lanserat en kampanj där två personer kommer få möjlighet att få bo i det runda minihuset – för bara tio kronor.

Snart blir det lättare att ta sig till Val d'lsere och Val Thorens, som är Europas högst belägna skidort. I februari 2018 öppnar SAS upp en direktlinje till Chambéry Airport, som är den närmst belägna flygplatsen till de båda orterna.

Sizzling shoreline hogs the headlines here, and the coast is undeniably magnetic, but there’s so much more to Var than super-yachts and overpriced bouillabaisse. A string of stunning islands, magnificent secluded monasteries, and uplands dotted with memorable villages make this département one of the most varied and enticing in Provence.

Brooding landscapes and inspiring hikes define the sparsely populated Jura Mountains. Extending along the Franco–Swiss border from Lake Geneva northeast to Belfort, these sub-alpine mountains lent their name to the Jurassic period in geology, when they formed. Rising highest is Crêt de la Neige (1720m), in the southwest of the Parc Naturel Régional du Haut-Jura.

Det bubblar i hamnstaden Marseille. Vi har spanat in de senaste nyheterna – från matmarknader till undervattensmuseum och digitala hotell.

Vita hästar, svarta tjurar och den rosa flamingon är Camargues främsta symboler. Dessa vidder i södra Frankrike är till stora delar obefolkade och för många ett okänt område, som man bäst upplever till häst!

An intoxicating cocktail of 18th-century savoir-faire, millennial hi-tech and urban street life, France's sixth largest city is among Europe's most exciting and gutsy players.