Top Attractions in France: What to See, When to Go, and How to Book

Paris: Eiffel Tower

The iron lady remains France's single most-visited paid attraction. Two decisions matter: second floor vs. summit, and stairs vs. lift. At 2026 official prices (toureiffel.paris), an adult summit ticket by lift is about €36.70; climbing the stairs to the second floor and taking the lift from there drops it to about €28. Tickets are released online roughly 60 days ahead and peak-season summit slots sell out — book early, especially May–September. Go in the last two hours before closing for the short queues and the city lights. The tower is open daily, 9:30 a.m.–11:45 p.m. in summer, 9:30 a.m.–10:45 p.m. the rest of the year (check the official site before you go). All prices are subject to change; confirm on the official site before buying.

Paris: Louvre Museum

Note the 2026 pricing change: since January 14, 2026, the Louvre charges two-tier admission — about €22 for EEA residents and about €32 for non-EEA visitors. Under-18s enter free, and EEA residents under 26 enter free too. Timed entry is mandatory and slots are released in advance at ticket.louvre.fr; walk-ins face long waits or no entry at all. Plan for at least half a day (the museum holds ~35,000 works), enter through the Carrousel du Louvre mall entrance to skip the Pyramid queue, and visit on Wednesday or Friday evenings for the late openings. Closed Tuesdays.

Palace of Versailles

The 2026 "Passport" ticket — the one you want, covering Palace, Trianon, gardens, and exhibitions — costs about €25 in low season (November–March) and about €35 in high season (April–October); EEA nationals/residents get a €3 discount. Under-18s and EU residents under 26 enter free (timed ticket still required). Timed reservations are obligatory for the Palace itself. The Musical Fountains shows run on spring/summer weekends — spectacular but crowded; Tuesday/Thursday visits of the Musical Gardens give you the fountains-on effect with fewer people. Reach Versailles by RER C from Paris (about 40 minutes, well signposted). Allow a full day; the gardens alone are 800 hectares.

Loire Valley: Chambord and Chenonceau

The Loire Valley's 300+ châteaux are the easiest day trip or two-day detour from Paris — Tours or Blois makes a good base, about 1.5–2 hours by direct TGV from Paris Montparnasse to Tours. Chambord (chambord.org) is the architectural heavyweight with its double-helix staircase: 2026 admission to château + gardens is about €21 for EEA visitors and about €31 for non-EEA visitors; free for EU citizens under 26. Chenonceau (chenonceau.com), the graceful château bridging the River Cher, charges about €19 for adults with the guide leaflet and about €24 with the audioguide in 2026; under-7s free. Both require a timed slot in peak season. Trains from Tours/Blois to the smaller stations plus local buses work, but renting a car is by far the most practical way to string together 2–3 châteaux in a day.

Mont Saint-Michel

The tidal island abbey off Normandy's coast is France's most photogenic monument after Paris. The village itself is free to enter; the abbey (Centre des Monuments Nationaux) requires a ticket: about €16 from April 1 to September 30, 2026, and about €13 from October 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027. Under-18s enter free; 18–25-year-olds from the EU enter free. Book online ahead — timed entry is standard in busy months. Arrive for the night lighting (the abbey glows after dark) or check the tide coefficient: on high coefficients (above ~100), the island becomes a true island at high tide. The last shuttle from the parking area leaves about an hour before closing. Driving from Paris takes about 3.5–4 hours; the TGV+bus combo via Rennes or Pontorson works without a car.

Provence: lavender fields (Valensole and Sault)

There is no fixed "lavender season" — the bloom window is roughly mid-June to mid-July at Valensole (the plateau of the postcard photos, ~1.5 hours from Aix-en-Provence) and mid-July to mid-August around Sault at higher altitude. For 2026 the safest overlap window is late June through the first half of July; bloom can shift 1–2 weeks with the weather, so check regional bloom reports (offices de tourisme) in the week before you go. The fields themselves are free to walk around — go before 8 a.m. on a weekday for the light and the solitude. The famous Lavender Festival in Valensole falls on the third Sunday of July; note some early fields are already harvested by then. After mid-July, Valensole is mostly harvested stubble — plan accordingly.

French Riviera (Côte d'Azur)

Base yourself in Nice and the coast opens up: the Promenade des Anglais, the hilltop Château viewpoint, and day trips by local TER train to hilltop Èze (the exotic garden has a small entrance fee — check locally) and Monaco (~20 minutes from Nice). Paris–Nice TGV runs several times daily from Paris Gare de Lyon in as little as ~5h40, centre to centre — fly only if you're tight on time, because the train lands you in the city. Riviera hotels peak June–August and again during the Cannes film festival; shoulder months (May, late September) buy you sun with saner prices. Swimming season runs roughly June to early October.

Bordeaux and wine country

Bordeaux is France's wine capital and easy by TGV from Paris (about 2 hours from Montparnasse). Start at La Cité du Vin, the wine museum on the Garonne: 2026 adult admission to the permanent exhibition plus the rooftop Belvédère tasting is about €23; children 6–17 about €9, under-6 free; open daily 10 a.m.–7 p.m. from April to October (10 a.m.–6 p.m. in winter, closed December 25). For the châteaux of the Médoc and Saint-Émilion, the local tourist office runs half-day and full-day tours — book ahead because most wineries require reservations and don't accept drop-ins. Saint-Émilion itself, a UNESCO village about 40 minutes by train from Bordeaux, is walkable, free to wander, and full of tasting cellars.

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc

Chamonix puts 3,842 m of Alpine verticality within reach of anyone with a cable-car ticket. The Aiguille du Midi ride from Chamonix town to the 3,842 m summit terrace (with the "Step into the Void" glass box) costs about €60.20–€83 adult return in 2026 depending on season — the full peak-season fare applies roughly June to November — and reservation of a boarding slot is mandatory. First departure is around 8:10 a.m.; dress warm, the summit is ~20°C colder than town. Summer hiking around Plan de l'Aiguille and the Mer de Glace (Montenvers train, adult about €39.50 return per the operator's 2026 schedule) is the other classic half-day. Chamonix is about 1 hour from Geneva airport by shuttle bus — often cheaper to fly into than to take the train all the way from Paris.

France city passes and money-saving basics

• Museum passes: In Paris, the Paris Museum Pass (2/4/6 days) pays off if you do 3+ major sights per day — it covers the Louvre, Versailles, and dozens more but not the Eiffel Tower. Buy only after listing your must-sees.
• First Sundays: Many national museums (Louvre, Versailles estate, Mont Saint-Michel abbey) offer free entry on the first Sunday of each month in low season — Versailles adds the caveat of December–March only, and the abbey November–March (January, February, March) only. Crowds are intense; go at opening.
• Book direct: For the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Versailles, Chambord, and Mont Saint-Michel, buy only from the official sites. Third-party resellers mark up tickets that are identical to the official ones.

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