Frankrike

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

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.

With its rolling pastures and little-visited villages, Limousin might be the most overlooked area of southwestern France. It's not nearly as exciting as the Dordogne to the south or the Loire to the north, but it does offer a chance to get off the beaten path, and aficionados will like Limoges for its porcelain and Aubusson for its tapestries.

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.

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.

När Emily Lester insåg att hon behövde flytta till Frankrike för att fullfölja sina drömmar packade hon väskan och lämnade USA för att jobba som sommelier i Paris. Vi frågade henne om resan dit, och tips för andra som drömmer om att arbeta med vin och upptäcka Paris.

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.

The Calvados département (www.calvados-tourisme.com) stretches from Honfleur in the east to Isigny-sur-Mer in the west and includes Caen, Bayeux and the D-Day beaches. The area is famed for its rich pastures and farm products, including butter, cheese, cider and an eponymous apple brandy.

The Île-de-France région – the 12,000 sq km ‘Island of France’ shaped by five rivers that encircles the French capital – contains splendid architecture including some of the most monumental châteaux in the country, set amid magnificent gardens.

From the Norman invasion of England in 1066 to the D-Day landings of 1944, Normandy has long played an outsized role in European history. This rich and often brutal past is brought vividly to life by the spectacular and iconic island monastery of Mont St-Michel; the incomparable Bayeux Tapestry, world-famous for its cartoon scenes of 11th-century life; and the transfixing cemeteries and memorials along the D-Day beaches, places of solemn pilgrimage.