10 fun and fabulous reasons to visit France in 2026
By The Guardian, April 6, 2026Some of the best under-the-radar attractions across the Channel include steampunk wonders in Calais and the largest collection of impressionist works outside Paris
Ride a dragon in Calais
You don’t need to venture too far into France to find its wow factor. Indeed, within minutes of exiting the ferry or Channel Tunnel, you can be staring a fire-breathing dragon in the face. The Dragon de Calais is a 25-meter-long mechanical beast that stomps along the renovated sea front carrying 48 passengers on its back (adult ticket Ksh1,236), emitting jets of fire, steam, and water from its nostrils. It was created by the team behind Les Machines de L’île, a collection of steampunk wonders including a 12-metre elephant, in Nantes.
This year, Calais’ dragon is joined by Le Varan, a giant iguana that crawls around the town and the old fishing district with room for 25 passengers (adults Ksh1,277). While you’re there, explore the beaches along the coast at Hardelot-Plage and visit the Chateau d’Hardelot, with its history of Franco-British relations.
Celebrate Monet in Rouen
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Claude Monet’s death and many galleries and venues in Normandy and Paris have events planned. You don’t need to face the crowds at Giverny or the Musée d’Orsay to appreciate the great artist’s work, though. Instead, visit Rouen, where Monet found the ever-changing, silver-grey light on the intricate and imposing facade of the cathedral so inspiring he painted it more than 30 times (from the window of what was, at the time, a ladies’ undergarment shop opposite).
The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen has the largest collection of French Impressionist works outside Paris, including one of the cathedral paintings and works by Camille Pissarro and Alfred Sisley. While you’re there, explore the Boucles de la Seine natural regional park, where you can cycle between the loops of the River Seine through orchards and past the ruined Abbaye de Jumièges.
Visit a postman’s palace in Drôme
The Dauphiné region, close to Grenoble, combines breathtaking scenery and curious attractions. Chief among them is the Palais Idéal, a whimsical monument built over 33 years from the late 19th century by Ferdinand Cheval, a postman whose inspiration came from the travel journals and postcards he delivered on his 20-mile round.
On the facade of the 10-metre-high palace, you’ll see mythical creatures and mysterious grottoes, Egyptian temples and Swiss chalets, while the small on-site museum recounts the stories of Cheval’s tragic life, and those who fought until the 1960s to have the structure recognised as a listed monument.
Nearby, explore the jaw-dropping Vercors mountains, with precipitous roads such as the Combe Laval route, which was chiselled out of the rock in the 19th century to transport timber. Also visit the fascinating Grotte de Choranche underground caves, with curious, spaghetti-like stalactites, and the town of Pont-en-Royans, where medieval houses hang high over a gorge.
Discover Brittany by bike
Cyclists have always been spoiled by the smooth, car-free cycle paths throughout France, and now the Traversée Bretonne, a new route through the heart of Brittany, offers a fresh challenge. Starting in the city of Nantes, the 14-stage route takes riders past the curious mid-century architecture of Saint-Nazaire (such as the Soucoupe, a sports centre shaped like a flying saucer), then on to the “Atlantic Riviera” at La Baule, with its belle époque villas and vast beach.
Further along, the lively city of Rennes is perfect for rehydrating: Rue Saint-Michel is nicknamed Rue de la Soif (thirsty street) because it has a bar approximately every 7 metres. The route finishes with a nice flat stage at Mont-Saint-Michel.
Celebrate figs in the Var
Plan a late-summer sojourn in the Vallée du Gapeau, inland from Toulon, which is renowned for its fig orchards: local people say the trees like their heads in the sunshine and their feet in the water. At the end of August, the start of the harvest is celebrated with the lively Fête de la Figue in the village of Solliès-Pont. In addition to the bountiful market, visitors can enjoy tours of the groves and a lively four-course dinner with music in the village’s main square.
While you’re there, hike in the wooded valley and admire the curiously shaped “elephant rock”. Visit the local olive oil mill at Moulin à Huile du Partégal (entry free) to explore its ancient grove and taste its oils, and stroll the unspoiled villages of Solliès-Ville and Solliès-Toucas.
Taste cheese in the Jura mountains
To truly understand the flavors of French cheeses, you should visit the landscapes where they are made. One of the most enchanting areas for a foray in fromage is the Jura mountains, the home of comté cheese. Here, as part of the Routes du Comté, you can visit the so-called cathedral of comté at Fort Saint-Antoine (tour reservations essential, €11), where Fromageries Marcel Petite ages its 100,000 comté wheels between the stone arches of a 19th-century military fort. Nearby, next to the Lac de Malbuisson, Restaurant du Fromage offers a comté and savagnin wine fondue in its Swiss-chalet-like surrounds.
An hour west, the town of Poligny is home to La Maison du Comté, a visitor center dedicated to explaining how the cheese is made and infused with the flavors of the 130 plants from the spectacular landscape on which the cows graze.