Frankrike

Once upon a time, everyone called this glamorous stretch of Mediterranean coast the French Riviera; then in 1888 author Stéphen Liégeard dubbed it La Côte d'Azur, the name stuck and the rest is history.

At the lower edge of the Atlantic Coast, the Gironde département extends to the Dordogne in the east and the Basque Country in the south. The gateway to its wealth of attractions, set amid glorious vine-ribboned countryside, is the capital city of Bordeaux.

Hauts-de-France (Upper France) is one of the country's least heralded regions, but with dramatic land and sea views, deeply rooted culture, culinary traditions that include freshly caught seafood, age-old Flemish recipes and locally brewed beers, it competes with the best France has to offer.

Chamonix, eller Chamonix-Mont-Blanc som det heter, är en ort belägen i östra Frankrike och är populärt bland äventyrare, skidåkare och vandrare. Ta tåget till bergshotellet Refuge du Montenvers och njut av bergstopparna.

Många drömmer om att starta ett eget bed & breakfast i solen. Men för Lisa och Niclas har drömmen blivit verklighet. I somras tog de emot gäster i sin stora villa ovanför franska Rivieran, efter månader av hårt slit, prövat tålamod och tårar av utmattning och glädje.

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.

Genom vindlande gränder med kullersten och små torg med mysiga restauranger och vacker utsikt över havet. Vagabonds redaktör Karin Wimark delar med sig av en favorit på Korsika.

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.

So named because international students communicated in Latin here until the French Revolution, the Latin Quarter remains the hub of academic life in Paris. Centred on the Sorbonne’s main university campus, graced by fountains and lime trees, this lively area is also home to some outstanding museums and churches, along with Paris’ beautiful art deco mosque and botanic gardens.

In the crook of Brittany's southern coastline, the Golfe du Morbihan (Morbihan Coast; www.morbihan.com) is a haven of around 40 islands, plus beaches, oyster beds and bird life. Its shallow waters form a breathtakingly beautiful inland sea that's easily accessible from Vannes. Some islands are barely sandy specks of land, while others harbour communities of fishermen, farmers and artistic types seduced by the island lifestyle.