Things to Do in France

Holding the title of Paris’ largest park at around 25 hectares, Parc de la Villette is made up of a series of themed gardens, known as ‘prairies’, set around the banks of the l'Ourq Canal. There’s more on offer than just an idyllic setting, though – the park’s interactive play areas, cycle paths and event spaces, along with one of the city’s most popular museums offer plenty of options for a family day out.

The park is characterized by its modernist sculptures and installations, including around 35 fire-engine red follies dotted along the canal banks, a striking sight against the futuristic silhouettes of the park’s buildings. Three concert halls reside in the park – the Zenith Concert Hall and the Cite de la Musique, both important music halls, and the striking Grand Hall, a former livestock showground transformed by architects Bernard Reichen and Philippe Robert into a popular cultural center and performance arena. The City of Science and Industry, Europe’s largest science museum, is also on-site, fronted by the iconic Omnimax cinema, La Géode - a building constructed inside a giant silver ball. Film and music fans can even enjoy alfresco entertainment during the summer months, when the nearby Prairie du Triangle is transformed into an open-air cinema, and a number of music concerts and festivals are held in the park grounds.

Even the gardens themselves continue the postmodernist theme, designed by renowned architect Bernard Tschumi and including a Dragon garden, presided over by a towering ‘Dragon slide’, a firm favorite among visiting children; a Mirror Garden, where mirrored panels have been erected among the trees to dramatic effect and a pretty Bamboo Garden where shaded paths trace a scenic walk through the woodlands.

One of Paris' most picturesque picnic spots, the tree-lined Parc des Buttes Chaumont was commissioned by Napoleon III back in 1867, adding a welcome splash of greenery to the bleary residential streets of Paris' 19th arrondissement. The park’s 25 hectares rise and fall over a series of hills, pocked with hidden caves, vibrant flower displays and gurgling streams. One of the largest parks in the city, Parc des Buttes Chaumont offers around 5 km of walking and cycling tracks, blazing a trail between attractions like the Chinese and English-style gardens and an atmospheric grotto housing a 20-meter waterfall. The majestic Temple of Sybil (Belvedere Sybil), a Greco-Roman homage to the Temple of the Sibyl in Tivoli, is the striking centerpiece of the park, perched on a 30-meter grassy pedestal in the center of the park’s lake. Visitors can visit the island via a 63-meter long suspension bridge, from where the views stretch over the park and its surroundings.

Those spending an afternoon in the park, will find plenty to keep them amused -- the space hosts three restaurants, two Guignol theaters where traditional marionette shows are held, a number of well-equipped children’s playgrounds and children’s pony rides throughout the summer months. And if you ever tire of all the natural scenery, don’t worry -- the park even has free wifi zones.

The Palais du Tau (Tau Palace) owes its decidedly un-French name to its floor plan, which resembles the letter "T." The site's original structure was a sixth-century Roman villa, which later became a Carolingian palace. Its current moniker stuck after 1131, though that building gave way to Gothic design early in the 16th century and then its current Baroque incarnation in 1671.

The colonnaded Palais de Longchamp, constructed in the 1860s, was designed in part to disguise a château d'eau (water tower) at the terminus of an aqueduct from the River Durance. The building of this water storage and the associated canals and aqueducts was a major turning point in the history of Marseille as it allowed the city to expand, building new districts. One of these was the Boulevard Longchamp, laid out by the city then developed by private business people who profited from providing a grand boulevard of similarly styled, gracious houses.

Wouldn't it be nice to be a prince, to be able to go to seaside town, decide you liked it and wouldn't mind having a little holiday home there, then have the city give you the prime location on the waterfront to build your palace? Welcome to the mid-19th century world of Prince-President Louis-Napoleon. In September 1852, he visited Marseille, said he liked it, was given the Pharo headland overlooking Vieux Port and Ile d'If, built the magnificent Palais du Pharo, then never even stayed there. Luckily his wife seems to have had a more generous nature and the Empress Eugenie gave it back to the city.

In 1904, the city of Marseille turned the building into a medical school. This necessitated some architectural changes and the balance of the building's appearance was altered losing some of its beauty. Since then, the building has been again modified to become a modern conference centre, with many of the auditoriums skillfully concealed underground below the forecourt. It also has restaurants and of course, those views.