France Vacation: From Paris to Provence

For centuries, the Louvre served as the palace of the French kings and was the largest construc­tion site in France. Almost every king made changes to it. In the 12th century it was still a proud castle but was expanded over the course of the next two centuries to become a symbolic resi­dence. The four wings around the square court­yard are what remain of the orig­inal palace. When Louis XIV moved his resi­dence to Versailles, the building was left to dete­r­i­o­rate. The Louvre did not become a museum until after the French Revo­lu­tion when the National Assembly decided to use it to collect and exhibit the artistic treasures seized from the nobility. Today, the Louvre receives around ten million visitors every year and is the largest museum in the world. Its collec­tions include over 380,000 pieces, and only about a tenth of them are on display. Its most famous painting is prob­ably the Mona Lisa, which Leon­ardo da Vinci painted around the year 1503.

The tradi­tional student district in Paris is located near Sorbonne Univer­sity and is known as the Quartier Latin, because Latin had been the language of scho­l­ar­ship for many centuries. Numerous writers lived in the area, including Honoré de Balzac, Gabriel García Márquez and Klaus Mann. During the student riots in 1968, the quarter became the scene of heavy fighting in the streets. Thou­sands of students were arrested and hundreds were seri­ously injured by the police during the “Night of the Barricades.” When the trade unions called for a national strike in support of the students, Pres­i­dent de Gaulle stepped down. Not many students live here today since the rent is unafford­able and they have given way to popular restau­rants and boutiques.

This church for the archbishop of Paris took nearly 200 years to build. Yet when it was completed in 1345, it had become a marvel the likes of which the world had never seen. Although it is one of the earliest Gothic cathedrals, it remained the crowning achieve­ment of Gothic archi­tec­ture. Notre Dame rises over the Seine like a jewel. Its two towers are 69 meters high and its ridge turrets reach 96 meters in height. The nave, which provides room for up to 10,000 people, is 130 meters long, 48 meters wide, and 35 meters high. The cathedral was unprece­dented in its day, and this was inten­tional. It was supposed to outshine the Louvre, which was the royal palace. Notre Dame is a testi­mony to the fact that Paris has not only been the center of France, but also the most important city in the Chris­tian West from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century and has had a deci­sive impact on its history.

The stretch of coast­line near Marseille is one of the most beau­tiful landscapes that France has to offer. Wildly romantic coves, some of them cutting deep into the country like fjordes, are dominated by enor­mous, almost vertical cliffs. Inside the coves with the bottle-green water are small sailboats. Walks through the white lime­stone rocks will be rewarded with forever changing, breathtaking views. In summer, hiking is prohibited. Then one has to resort to a boat tour.

Today, the city east of the Rhone has less than 100,000 inhab­i­tants. In the Middle Ages Avignon was a city of interna­tional standing. From here seven popes have reigned the Occi­dent during the schism from 1309-1376. At that time the town was a brilliant art center. The “City of Popes” was able to keep its city walls around the old town, the Palace of the Popes, the Bishops' complex and the bridge of Avignon undam­aged to the present day. The old town of Avignon is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was Euro­pean Capital of Culture in 2000.

One of the oldest cities in the Rhone Delta, Arles was founded by the Greeks in the 6th century BC, then captured by the Romans in 123 BC, who turned the settle­ment into an important city. Arles enjoyed its greatest period of influ­ence during the 4th and 5th centuries, when it served as the head­quar­ters for Roman emperors conducting military campaigns. The numerous Roman and medieval remains in the city center have been named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Van Gogh painted many of his most famous pictures in Arles, which is also consid­ered the gates to the Camargue Delta, the habitat of the Greater Flamingo and the white Camargue horses.

Dating back to 121 BC when it was in Roman hands, the city's importance as a trading center derives from its loca­tion on the route between Italy and Spain. Tucked away in the hills of Cevennes, Nimes boasts are large number of histor­ical build­ings. The most signif­icant of these is the amphithe­ater, the best-preserved – albeit not the largest – Roman arena in exis­tence today, despite the fact that it was used for other purposes during its long history. The Goths converted the struc­ture into a fortress, in the Middle Ages it was a knight's castle and later it served as living quar­ters for 2,000 people. Just 25 km north­east of Nimes is the Pont du Gard, one of the ancient wonders of the world. This amazing construc­tion is part of the Roman aqueduct which spans the Gard valley. Water flowed through the 45 m high aqueduct for more than 500 years.

The archipe­lago between Marseille and the Cote d'Azur is located a few kilome­ters off the French coast. Because of its reddish colored rocks, the three islands are also known as the Îles d'Or – islands of gold. The largest of them, Porquerolles, is 7.5 km long and 3 km wide. Espe­cially in the north, near the capital of the same name, one can find a few pretty beaches with crystal clear water. From there, hiking trails lead through the orig­inal macchia to a fort, a vine­yard or to Sémaphore, with its 142 meters the highest mountain on the island. From there one can look far across the sea, to the other islands and to the main­land. Porquerolles is easily acces­sible within minutes from the Giens peninsula by passenger ferry. During high season it runs every half hour. The car can be left in the car park at the ferry terminal over night.