Nice is a nice place to visit. Beautiful old city but full of modern shops. You can see the Mediterranean and it’s really blue! Fresh seafood restaurants everywhere. The chocolates are pretty much the same chocolates sold all over France (they’re good).
There are hundreds of coastal places in France that offer what you ask for and it depends entirely on how and how far you want to travel, how much money you want to spend, what weather you prefer i.e. hot or not so hot, what season you intend to travel, and what your idea of “fun” is .
The Mediterranean coast has many such towns, blue sea, sandy beaches and good sunbathing and, as a result, is flooded with tourists from all over Europe, in particular Germans and Eastern Europeans. The Provence region is full of fantastic culture but Nice and Cannes are extremely expensive. Nice in particular has become the target of various criminal gangs because it is frequented by rich people who are easy pickings. Marseilles is huge, industrialised , has a high criminality rate, and many immigrants from Northern Africa.
The northern beaches in Brittany are splendid, and Saint Malo is indeed a wonderful place with a huge sandy beach and some good shops. It was badly damaged during the war but was rebuilt in the original style. In the summer there are loads of little restaurants open that sell fantastic sea food. It is close to Mont Sant Michel which is a world heritage site and a “must see”, but it is not heaving with social activities so I would not call it “fun” .It is very quiet in the winter.
I am surprised that nobody has suggested La Rochelle which has all the things that you might want: the beach, brilliant shops, fresh sea food and lots and lots of activities of all kinds. The best beaches are actually even further down the coast, but they are not heaving with social life and offer mostly activities such as sailing , wind surfing, paragliding etc… Bordeaux is a major city but has no beach.
Biarritz near the Spanish border is another coastal town that ticks all the squares and was the summer destination of upper crust Parisians. One can even go horse riding on the sand.
The Normandy towns of Trouville, Deauville and Cabourg combine beaches with casinos and still are to Parisians what Brighton and Eastbourne are to Londonners, but are geared to mature adults rather than young people . They are close to the beaches where English and American forces landed in the second world war and there are many moving places to visit if you are interested in that sort of thing, including a vast American cemetary. Monet’s house and gardens at Giverny are close, if you like gardens, Impressionism and paintings, and there is an American Art Museum up the road in the same street.
Higher up and near the Channel is Le Touquet otherwise known as Paris-plage for the obvious reason that it is invaded by Parisians who own properties there and come for their holidays in the summer. It caters for smart tourists and has many good (if somewhat expensive) shops, and is the Nice of the North. The amusement park of Bagatelle is not far. Humbler but picturesque Boulogne has a lot to offer, splendid beach, Nausicaa (the best aquarium in Europe), good fish restaurants, fine chocolatiers, best cheese retailer in France, lovely old town and ramparts, and shopkeepers who can speak English in view of its proximity to England.
There is at least one expert chocolatier in every major town in France but the Belgians are the chocolate champions. La Panne on the Belgian coast has a huge beach, good shopping and an amusement park . You specified beaches, so I have given you a quick overlook of seaside places.You can look at all these by simply typing their name on Search or Google and see which would be more to your liking. Americans tend to want to go to the most cultural places rather than beaches: Paris, the Loire valley with its marvelous chateaux, Rouen and the American landing beaches, Strasbourg and Rheims, and they are very keen on the Mediterranean Riviera and Provence because of the exposure these have been given in films and publicity, the romantic American Princess Grace of Monaco, and the amusing books written by Peter Mayle on the region.
Hi there, you can visit our website about France tourist and vacation guide. it will at least give u info on which places in France are the best to go and there’s hotels, villas, holiday destinations french cuisine and even property if you are interested in buying. it’s still far from finished but you will get info worth your while on my site. Just click on: http://www.france-marseilles-rochelle-and-more.com
St. Malo in Normandy.
It has beautiful beaches and is an old walled city.
Cute shops and good food.
Here is a photo!
http://csc.web.cern.ch/CSC/2005/images/Saint_Malo_site/Saint-Malo_all_view.gif
hope this helped!
AIX-EN-PROVENCE!!!
Its an amazing little town in the south of France. It’s about half an hour north of Marseille. You must go there! :)
Visit their tourism website.
Nice is a nice place to visit. Beautiful old city but full of modern shops. You can see the Mediterranean and it’s really blue! Fresh seafood restaurants everywhere. The chocolates are pretty much the same chocolates sold all over France (they’re good).
There are hundreds of coastal places in France that offer what you ask for and it depends entirely on how and how far you want to travel, how much money you want to spend, what weather you prefer i.e. hot or not so hot, what season you intend to travel, and what your idea of “fun” is .
The Mediterranean coast has many such towns, blue sea, sandy beaches and good sunbathing and, as a result, is flooded with tourists from all over Europe, in particular Germans and Eastern Europeans. The Provence region is full of fantastic culture but Nice and Cannes are extremely expensive. Nice in particular has become the target of various criminal gangs because it is frequented by rich people who are easy pickings. Marseilles is huge, industrialised , has a high criminality rate, and many immigrants from Northern Africa.
The northern beaches in Brittany are splendid, and Saint Malo is indeed a wonderful place with a huge sandy beach and some good shops. It was badly damaged during the war but was rebuilt in the original style. In the summer there are loads of little restaurants open that sell fantastic sea food. It is close to Mont Sant Michel which is a world heritage site and a “must see”, but it is not heaving with social activities so I would not call it “fun” .It is very quiet in the winter.
I am surprised that nobody has suggested La Rochelle which has all the things that you might want: the beach, brilliant shops, fresh sea food and lots and lots of activities of all kinds. The best beaches are actually even further down the coast, but they are not heaving with social life and offer mostly activities such as sailing , wind surfing, paragliding etc… Bordeaux is a major city but has no beach.
Biarritz near the Spanish border is another coastal town that ticks all the squares and was the summer destination of upper crust Parisians. One can even go horse riding on the sand.
The Normandy towns of Trouville, Deauville and Cabourg combine beaches with casinos and still are to Parisians what Brighton and Eastbourne are to Londonners, but are geared to mature adults rather than young people . They are close to the beaches where English and American forces landed in the second world war and there are many moving places to visit if you are interested in that sort of thing, including a vast American cemetary. Monet’s house and gardens at Giverny are close, if you like gardens, Impressionism and paintings, and there is an American Art Museum up the road in the same street.
Higher up and near the Channel is Le Touquet otherwise known as Paris-plage for the obvious reason that it is invaded by Parisians who own properties there and come for their holidays in the summer. It caters for smart tourists and has many good (if somewhat expensive) shops, and is the Nice of the North. The amusement park of Bagatelle is not far. Humbler but picturesque Boulogne has a lot to offer, splendid beach, Nausicaa (the best aquarium in Europe), good fish restaurants, fine chocolatiers, best cheese retailer in France, lovely old town and ramparts, and shopkeepers who can speak English in view of its proximity to England.
There is at least one expert chocolatier in every major town in France but the Belgians are the chocolate champions. La Panne on the Belgian coast has a huge beach, good shopping and an amusement park .
You specified beaches, so I have given you a quick overlook of seaside places.You can look at all these by simply typing their name on Search or Google and see which would be more to your liking.
Americans tend to want to go to the most cultural places rather than beaches: Paris, the Loire valley with its marvelous chateaux, Rouen and the American landing beaches, Strasbourg and Rheims, and they are very keen on the Mediterranean Riviera and Provence because of the exposure these have been given in films and publicity, the romantic American Princess Grace of Monaco, and the amusing books written by Peter Mayle on the region.
Hi there, you can visit our website about France tourist and vacation guide. it will at least give u info on which places in France are the best to go and there’s hotels, villas, holiday destinations french cuisine and even property if you are interested in buying. it’s still far from finished but you will get info worth your while on my site. Just click on: http://www.france-marseilles-rochelle-and-more.com
If you want to know where to eat and stay in the Loire and Paris, check out http://www.myweekin.net for ideas for couples or families