Frankrike

Om fransoserna själv får välja – då är Hunspach deras favoritby i landet. En årlig tävling utser landets favoritby och årets segrare – Hunspach – tillhörde en gång Sverige.

Champagne arouses the senses: the eyes feast on vines parading up hillsides and vertical processions of tiny, sparkling bubbles; the nose breathes in damp soil and the heavenly bouquet of fermentation; the ears rejoice at the clink of glasses and the barely audible fizz; and the palate tingles with every sip. The imagination and the intellect are engaged as Champagne cellar visits reveal the magical processes – governed by the strictest of rules – that transform the world’s most pampered pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay grapes into this Unesco World Heritage–listed region’s most fabled wines.

Edged by the brilliant blue Bay of Biscay and the craggy foothills of the Pyrenees, the Pays Basque (Basque Country) feels one step removed from the rest of France – which is hardly surprising, since it's been an independent nation for much of its history and has more in common with the nearby Basque regions of Spain. Proud, independent and fiery, the people of the Basque Country are fiercely protective of their history and culture, whether it's their passion for pelota or their fondness for their spicy chilli pepper, le piment d'Espelette. It's a fascinating place.

Det råder ingen brist på grymma restauranger i Paris. Matjournalisten Anna Norström listar några av stadens hetaste ställen för en grym cocktail, matkonst och smöriga bakverk.

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.

Fashionable bars and restaurants, emerging designers’ boutiques, the city’s thriving gay and Jewish communities, and some excellent museums all squeeze into Le Marais’ warren of narrow medieval lanes. Neighbouring Ménilmontant has some of the city’s most happening nightlife, while hilly Belleville is a vibrant multicultural neighbourhood with interesting dining and drinking spots and one of Paris' most colourful street markets.

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.

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.

The Auvergne’s most exhilarating views are among the volcanic cones, snow-lashed peaks and crater lakes of its Parc Naturel Régional des Volcans (www.parcdesvolcans.fr). One of France’s largest regional natural parks at 3897 sq km, this photogenic section of the Massif Central mountains is a geological jigsaw of granite plateaus and glacier-sculpted valleys, puckered by dozens of sleeping volcanoes.