La Belle Epoque is forever the era when artists of every milieu – painters, poets, writers, and singers – came together in Paris to celebrate life and culture, and in doing so, inadvertently captured the attention of all Europe, and the rest of the world, too. It was in the first decades of the 20th century that the spirit of the Parisian Boheme took hold, and Montmartre became the liberal center of all its creativity. Art and politics mingled freely in the Cafés, cabarets, and cinémas of this northern hill district, a part of town which had an identity altogether separate from the rest of Paris. Any visit to France must include a stop in district 18. And while in Paris, make a date with the Parisians themselves at the nearby Marche aux Puces de Saint Ouen.

In France, as in so many other great civilizations, magnificent architecture began with the construction of religious and monumental edifices. Furthermore, the château retains a special place in the story of French architecture. Its notion back in the 15th century was as fantastic as it seems to us now - particularly for the King who oversaw its construction. The arrival of the Renaissance witnessed the creation of numerous examples of these pleasure palaces in the Loire Valley. French art and architecture was never more extravagant than during the Sun King’s reign at Versailles. And although more toned down versions of the style characterized periods before and after Louis XIV, the court of Versailles had a strong aesthetic influence both in France and across Europe. France’s many chateaux are not to be missed. But neither is a simple stroll through the French countryside.