Day 2700 (Tuesday) 29th October 2024 

This was taken in Nice a few days ago – the storm missed us.

This was taken in 1955

and this was taken today – it’s pretty much the same.

It was lovely and warm again today – 32 degrees on the balcony and there was another cruise ship in the bay. The tourist boat was bang on time, 11.30 as always.

We went to Les Palmiers for a coffee and to people watch, most of the passengers on the cruise ship were overweight Northerners. We heard one woman saying that she needed to get her bearings in case she got lost – how can you get lost in Villefranche? There was another couple in Les Palmiers who asked for an English breakfast and a Corona beer – why go to France to eat English food and drink Mexican beer?

As always the market was on but it was smaller than usual.

We walked along the front for Huw to get the photo from the same spot as the old photo above.

It was really great to see all the restaurants busy.

It’s holiday time in France with Toussaint coming up (more on that on Friday.)

10 best places in France to take a break this Toussaint

Lilith will be on the streets of Toulouse this week. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)

From the French capital to a tiny coastal Catalan village – and a few places in between – there are plenty of places to spend your free time this holiday period.

French schools give their pupils a two-week break in later October/early November and this year holiday-home rentals are apparently at an all-time high.

So if you want to copy the French and head off for an autumn break, we have some suggestions for you.

Paris

Yes, it’s absolutely a cliché to mention the French capital, but the City of Light is a wonder all year round, so less of the eye-rolling if you don’t mind - plus you can escape the massive crowds and the burning heat of August by coming now.

Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, which will reopen on December 8th. (Photo by BERTRAND GUAY / AFP)

There's the standard gamut of museums, chateaux and churches, all with out-of-season-level crowds. Take a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower or Montparnasse on a crisp, clear winter’s day. Or just watch the world go by at a café…

Nice

The whole south-east France vibe has a lot going for it when the clocks go back and the temperatures dip, not least because the sun can shine bright and warm, so you can enjoy one last dose of vitamin D before winter truly sets in. In fact Nice began its tourist life as a winter resort, summer tourism on the Côte d'Azur is a relatively recent phenomenon.

After basking in the warm glow of one or more of the mediaeval hilltop villages of the Côte d’Azur, you could begin your Christmas shopping looking for handcrafted gifts in the artisan shops of Nice’s vieille ville.

Promenade des anglais. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)

Amboise

You have to stand out from the crowd as a potential visitor destination in the Loire Valley, where tourists can’t help but fall for stupifyingly impressive chateaux. Not only does Amboise have one of those, a not-half-bad 15th-century affair that was once the residence of King Charles VIII, it also has the final resting place of a certain Leonardo da Vinci. 

Ambroise. (Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP)

Just outside town, Château du Clos Lucé was Leonardo’s last home, where he lived up to his death in 1519. It houses a small museum which features working models of his designs. 

Rochefort-en-Terre

You’ll need a coat if you head to 900-year-old Rochefort-en-Terre in deepest Morbihan – officially classed as one of France’s Petites Cités de Caractère and one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France – but, honestly, it’s worth the effort. 

Rochefort-en-Terre, western France. (Photo by Fred TANNEAU / AFP)

From the covered market that was built in the 16th-century, or the old houses surrounding the Place du Puits, you’ll find sights to entrance you almost everywhere you look. There’s plenty to do around and about, too.

Clermont-Ferrand

In the heart of France’s volcano country, Clermont-Ferrand is one of the most under-rated cities in the country – and birthplace of a hero to a mathematically challenged everywhere, calculator inventor Blaise Pascal. 

Clermont-Ferrand. (Photo by Thierry Zoccolan / AFP)

The Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption, an astonishing gothic building of black volcanic lava stone, is worth a visit, as is the World Heritage Romanesque Notre-Dame-du-Port basilica. Be sure, too, to visit Old Clermont, with its elegant residences, picturesque streets, and remarkable lava stone fountains. And, outside the city, the Puys are stunning when the weather’s kind.

If you're a sports fan, the town has a good rugby team which plays in the atmospheric Stade Marcel-Michelin (yes, like the tyres - it's a local company).

Vichy

Does anyone need an excuse to visit a spa? Over in volcanic eastern France, you’ll find thermal spa towns almost everywhere you look – and historic Vichy, once favoured by a certain Napoleon III, is arguably the richest of them – and it has an Art Déco heritage to swoon over. 

The Pavillon de la Source des Celestins spa in Vichy. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

Biarritz

Speaking of Art Déco, Biarritz was a melting pot of European high society from the 19th century through to the 1920s and beyond, and boasts the impressive architecture to prove it.

Biarritz. (Photo by DANIEL VELEZ / AFP)

What better time to enjoy the cosmopolitan city in deepest southwest France that combines heritage, culture and cool?

La Rochelle

Further up France’s Atlantic coast and known for its distinctive limestone facades, La Rochelle is one of France’s most stunning cities – and in winter you won’t have to battle other tourists to appreciate it, outside of those days the local Top 14 rugby club are playing at home, anyway.

La Rochelle (Photo by XAVIER LEOTY / AFP)

Appropriately named La Ville Blanche (the White City), the coastal city was one of France’s main ports from the 14th to 17th century and there are numerous reminders of its maritime heritage.

Toulouse

There was something of an outcry earlier this month in Toulouse ahead of a major event organised by the Halle des Machines. The city’s archbishop even organised a mass to ‘protect the city’ in the run-up to the Halle’s street ‘urban opera’ Le gardien du temple: La porte des ténèbres, which features a giant steampunk automaton called Lilith, the Scorpion Woman.

The Garonne river and Dome de la Grave, Toulouse. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP)

Far be it from us to suggest this should be reason alone for visiting the Pink City this holiday. But the Halle des Machines is a stunning place to visit. As is the Cité de l’espace, and the city’s two World Heritage sites, Saint-Sernin Basilica and Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques. 

As we've mentioned Clermont-Auvergne and La Rochelle's team we should probably point out that Toulouse has a rugby team too. They're passable (current champions of France and Europe) and players include some kid by the name of Antoine Dupont. 

Collioure 

Between Perpignan and the Spanish border, you’ll find the painfully picturesque Catalan fishing village that was voted the village préféré des Français earlier this year – and won the heart of artist Henri Matisse back in 1905. 

Collioure bay. (Photo by RAYMOND ROIG / AFP)

It’s hugely popular in summer, for obvious reasons. But there’s plenty to do in Collioure most of the year – visiting the Château Royal, for example, which hosted several French kings, or the church that had a lighthouse for a tower, the modern art museum, or the 14th-century cloisters.