Links/Resources

Resources and Links

Official tourist offices in France operate websites that are of great help to travelers seeking practical information about museums, monuments, festivals and special events. Most also have a useful list of hotels, B&Bs and holiday rental within their territory. They may also have restaurant listings, though these tend not to be very practical other than for small towns and villages.

This list is followed by a selection of notable French web magazines.

Official Tourist Office Websites of Towns, Cities, Departments and Regions of France

Paris and the Paris region

Paris, official tourist office site, and Paris, official site of the city.
Ile de France, the greater Paris region.
Essonne, department south of Paris.
Hauts de Seine, department along the western edge of Paris, includes Malmaison, Boulogne-Billancourt, Saint Cloud, La Defense.
Seine et Marne, department includes Fontainebleau, Vaux le Vicomte, Disneyland.
Val de Marne, department immediately southeast of Paris including Vincennes.
Yvelines, department includes Versailles, Rambouillet and Saint Germain en Laye.

Alsace
Colmar 
Mulhouse
Strasbourg and surroundings

Aquitaine (region includes Biarritz, Bordeaux, Lascaux, Pau, Périgord, Sarlat)
Biarritz
Bordeaux

Auvergne
Puy-de-Dome
Vichy

Brittany
Rennes, regional capital
Saint Malo
Dinard
Quimper
Vannes

Burgundy
Beaune
Dijon (includes the area of the Cote de Nuits vineyards)
Saône et Loire (southern Burgundy)

Centre, region at the heart of the Loire Valley, including Orléans, Blois, Tours and many of the major chateaux of the Loire Valley as well as Chartres

-Cycling Loire / Loire à vélo, official tourism site for biking along the Loire Valley in the regions Western Loire and Centre.

Champagne-Ardenne
Epernay
Reims
Troyes
La Marne, department that includes Reims and Epernay. It’s capital is the lesser known town of Chalons-en-Champagne.

Franche-Comté, region in eastern France, between Burgundy and Alsace and along the Swiss border.

Jura , department known in wine circles for the Vin Jaune produced here. It’s capital is Lons Le Saunier.

Lorraine, region between Alsace and Champagne-Ardenne, bordering on Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.

Metz, regional capital
Meuse, department whose capital is Bar-le-duc
Nancy
Verdun

Midi-Pyrénées, a large southwestern region including Albi, Auch, Cahors, Moissac, St-Cirq Lapopie, Toulouse and a portion of the Pyrenees.

-Toulouse

Nord– Pas de Calais, aka Northern France, bordering Belgium
Lille, regional capital
Pas de Calais, department that includes the Opal Coast

Normandy, administratively this is actually two regions, Upper and Lower Normandy, but the two regions join forces in promoting tourism.
Calvados, department that includes most of the Landing Zone, except for Utah Beach, which is in Manche.
Bayeux and surroundings, includes the Omaha Beach and other portions of the D-Day Landing Zone
Deauville
Manche, includes the Utah Beach and Sainte Mère Eglise Landing Zone and Mont Saint Michel.

Picardy

Aisne, department whose capital is Laon and also includes Saint Quentin and Chateau Thierry
Oise, department whose capital is Beauvais
Somme, department whose capital is Amiens

Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur, region includes Provence, the southern Alps and the Riviera.
Cote d’Azur/The Riviera
Cannes
Nice
Menton
Bouche du Rhone, department includes Aix en Provence, Chateauneuf du Paper, Marseille, Camargue, Arles.
Var, department includes Saint Tropez, Frejus, Toulon, Grand Canyon of Verdon.
Vaucluse, department includes Avignon, Carpentras, Luberon, Orange, Mont-Ventoux.
Avignon

Rhone-Alpes

Isere, department includes Grenoble and ski resorts
Rhone, department includes Lyon and Beaujolais
Savoie, department includes Aix les Bains, Chambery and ski resorts
Haute-Savoie, department includes Annecy , Chamonix, Mont Blanc and ski resorts

Western Loire / Pays de la Loire, region includes Saumur, Nantes, Angers, and the coast just south of Brittany.
Cycling Loire / Loire à vélo, official tourism site for biking along the Loire Valley in the regions Western Loire and Centre.

 

Notable web magazines and blogs in French covering heritage sites, culture and the arts

Patrimoine de France, magazine culture qui vous emmène à la découverte des terroirs. De l’Alsace à l’Aquitaine, suivez toute l’actualité de notre Patrimoine à travers son Art de vivre, son savoir-faire, ses parcs et jardins, ses monuments et ses sorties en famille.

L’Agora des arts, le site des meilleures expositions en France et en Europe.

Association des journalistes du patrimoine, site of the French Association of Heritage Journalists.