Frankrike

Burgundy (Bourgogne in French) offers some of France's most gorgeous countryside: rolling green hills dotted with mustard fields and medieval villages. The region's towns and its dashingly handsome capital, Dijon, are heirs to a glorious architectural heritage that goes back to the Renaissance, the Middle Ages and into the mists of Gallo-Roman and Celtic antiquity.

Kändiskocken Paul Bocuse spred stjärnglans över franska Lyon. Ett år efter hans död åker vi dit för att se om Lyon lever upp till ryktet som en av världens bästa matstäder.

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.

The Dordogne, Limousin and the Lot are the heart and soul of la belle France, a land of dense oak forests, winding rivers, emerald-green fields and famously rich country cooking. It’s the stuff of which French dreams are made: turreted châteaux and medieval villages line the riverbanks, wooden-hulled gabarres (traditional flat-bottomed, wooden boats) ply the waterways, and market stalls overflow with pâté, truffles, walnuts, cheeses and fine wines.

With quiet country roads winding through vine-striped hills and wild stretches of coastal sand interspersed with misty islands, the Atlantic coast is where France gets back to nature. Much more laid-back than the Med (but with almost as much sunshine), this is the place to slow the pace right down.

Svenska Jennifer Paterson är frilansjournalisten som flyttade till Paris med sin hund Garbo. Här lever hon ett späckat liv mitt i hjärtat av staden. Vi tog del av hennes bästa tips för en minnesvärd citysemester.

Många välbärgade fransmän har semesterhus på Ile de Ré men för svenskar är ön på den franska Atlantkusten okänd. Hit kommer man för att cykla runt i vacker natur, bada på fina stränder – och äta delikata ostron.

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.

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.

Det finns en uppsjö fantastiska vinbarer i Paris, men var ska man börja? Vinkännaren Emily Lester har bra koll på utbudet – här är hennes 5 favoriter.