France

Our first encounter with France was a New Year trip to Paris, where we experienced winter cold, café life and the classic landmarks around the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre and Notre-Dame. Paris worked perfectly as a short city break, but later journeys showed us how much more the country offers. On our family trip through the French Alps and southern France, we hiked around Chamonix, enjoyed Lake Annecy, visited Alpe d’Huez and continued towards the Verdon Gorge and the towns of the Riviera. The combination of mountains, lakes, small towns and the Mediterranean coast made it one of those journeys where all four of us found something to love. To us, France is both an iconic city destination and magnificent nature – a country we have experienced in very different ways over the years.