Things to Do in France

During the early nineteenth century Alexandre Brongniard, the director of the Sevres Porcelain Manufacture at the time, set up the Sevres Ceramics Museum (Musee National de Ceramique de Sevres) to showcase the history and craftsmanship of the Sevres company (considered to be among the finest makers of ceramics in the world). 

Today the museum on the banks of the Seine houses a collection of more than 50,000 ceramic pieces (one of the largest collections in the world) highlighting a variety of countries, periods and techniques. Only a fifth of the collection sits on permanent display to the public. The museum is divided into theme galleries, including Ancient Greece, Chinese and Islamic ceramics, Moorish earthenware, Raku Japanese and Korean stoneware, contemporary ceramics and a collection of works by Luca della Robbia.

In the early 17th century members of a Catholic reform movement against the Jesuits set up a school in an abbey of Cistercian nuns. The school, called the Petites ecoles de Port-Royal in French, became incredibly influential, with intellectuals like Blaise Pascal and Jean Racine refining their beliefs and skills of reason and debate within its walls.

Today the Port-Royal des Champs Museum, overlooking the ruined abbey, recounts the history of this intellectual, religious and political movement through its collection of paintings, books and engravings. Most notable is the collection of paintings by Philippe de Champaigne, a seventeenth century French baroque painter famous for his religious works and portraits of French nobility.

Marseille is known as a vibrant city, and it's mostly with good reason. Even on the winding back streets of the Old Town, there are raucous conversations taking place among locals, and it seems like there's always something going on at every hour. Between the active port and the souk-like markets, it can all get a bit overwhelming, and when that's the case, visitors can head to the Place aux Huiles for a wonderful respite from the daily hub-bub.

Translated, the Place aux Huiles is Oil Square, which refers to the old canal that led from the Old Port to a shipping point for barrels of olive oil. In the early 20th century it was filled in, and later on the Place aux Huiles was built and named in honor of its past. 

Today the L-shaped square, designed to resemble an Italian piazza, is just off the Quay Rive Neuve on the Old Port and is lined with some of the best restaurants and bars in town. But because it is off the main drag and only open to pedestrians, the area is relaxing, quiet and the perfect place to while away a lazy afternoon after sightseeing in the morning.

Northeast France isn't a regular tourist destination -- most visitors don't venture past Reims, with its gorgeous cathedral and Champagne culture. But just a bit farther east is a city worth visiting, one that is well-known among World War I buffs: Verdun.

Founded by the Celtic Gauls more than 2,000 years ago, Verdun is located on the River Meuse near the borders of Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. It was the site of the longest and most brutal battle of World War I, the Battle of Verdun, which raged through most of 1916. The German and French sides suffered a combined 700,000 casualties, and although the French won, the victory was seen as a blight on the war because of the sheer number of soldiers wounded, lost or dead. The losses were ultimately deemed unnecessary.

The battlefield, which is only six square miles, can still be visited today. There are also several cemeteries and memorials in the area around Verdun where people from around the world can pay their respects to the fallen. The most visited is the Douaumont ossuary, a tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives. Although moving, the ossuary is not for the faint of heart; there are piles of actual human bones throughout the structure.

However, the museum itself is astounding, and both the monument and the cemetery of more than 16,000 graves are must-see attractions for those looking to gain perspective on the scale of what soldiers from both sides darkly nicknamed "The Hell of Verdun."

Located in the center of Paris in the 2nd arrondissement, Rue Montorgueil is a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood where, within a three block radius, you'll find some of Paris's best bites. The market street was once the home of the iconic Les Halles wholesale market, and while that was disbanded in the 1970s, its foodie culture remains in the form of fish and meat markets, restaurants, bistros, food shops, chocolatiers, pastry shops and kitchen supply stores.

For many a traveling foodie, the crowning jewel of the Rue Montorgueil neighborhood is La Maison Stohrer, a patisserie that opened in 1730, making it the oldest still-standing pastry shop in the city.

Located in Marseille's 2nd Arrondissement, between the City Hall and the Cathedral, and built on the ruins of an ancient Roman warehouse discovered in 1947, the Roman Docks Museum features, as its name states, exhibits based on the 20 Roman shipwrecks that have been found nearby.

The museum opened in 1963, and was renovated in 1987. It is one of the only still-used today commercial warehouses from the Roman era in all of France, and is considered a Historic Monument. Fernand Benoit, a world-renowned archaeologist and historian, helped preserve some of the site's relics including 30 large jars dating back from the Roman Empire, and walls and wells from medieval homes.

Recently renovated to its original splendor, the Royal Opera at Versailles is fit for a king, and one can imagine the spectacles performed here over the centuries. But its history is a bit rockier than you might expect from a monarchy.

Louis XIV was the first to conceive of the idea of a dedicated performance space for royal performances in the late 17th century, but the ensuing historic troubles that plagued the monarchy meant that Louis XV put a stop to its construction. But that doesn't mean there were no shows at the palace. Instead, for every concert and performance, an entire theater was built from scratch and then dismantled. 

Finally, faced with the spectacle that would be the wedding of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the Dauphin's grandfather completed construction and is the Royal Opera house we know today.

Since its reopening in 2009 after extensive renovations, the palace administration has made a concerted effort to book a full suite of performances and programs each season, and with this new era brings the hope that generations to come will once again enjoy this historic space.

The Theâtre des Varietes, located on boulevard Montmartre, opened in 1807, and 158 years later, it earned National Heritage status by becoming a monument historique.

The site is strikingly beautiful with a red velvet interior, Corinthian pillars, opulent chandeliers, 300 plush velvet seats and a dramatic balcony. A variety of plays are shown here, ranging from French classics such as Molière's plays to contemporary favorites like Aladdin and Zorro. Esteemed French director Jean-Manuel Bajen has been the theater's director since 2005. In addition to shows, Theâtre des Varietes also offers classes and workshops to those looking to improve their acting skills.

Sitting in Paris's theater district on the southern edges of Montmartre, the Theâtre des Nouveautes (literally the "˜theater of the new') opened in 1921 and features a plush scarlet-and-gold auditorium with seating for 585. Designed by architect Adolf Tiers, this is the fourth Parisian theater to bear the same name, the first opening in 1827 on Salle de la Bourse to host comic operas and satirical plays. Today the newest incarnation of the Nouveautes is still pulling in the crowds under stewardship of French producer Pascal Legros, while maintaining the tradition of putting on light comedy and vaudeville farces alongside works by Ionesco and satirical shows. The theater is also home to the wildly successful one-man "“ and English-speaking "“ show by French comedian Olivier Giraud, who takes a fly look at "˜How to be a Parisian in One Hour'. 

Tourrettes, a hilltop village in the Var department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, consistently makes every list of day trips from Nice. It's exactly what visitors dream of when they talk about "discovering" a place in the South of France that seems like it's all their own.

The pedestrian-only and oldest part of the town is a warren of narrow streets lined with stone homes, many with ground-floor shops that could empty the wallet of even the most budget-conscious traveler. With brightly painted doors and perfectly grown creeping vines and flowering plants that would make Martha Stewart swoon, even an hour spent in Tourrettes provides plenty to take in. The intoxicating smell of violets is everywhere, and there are also the outer roads, which offer borderline-vertiginous views of the valley below and the neighboring hills. It's nothing short of stunning.