Bonus Nachos

Downtown Rennes feels as much like old Europe as anywhere we’ve been. It’s filled with half-timbered buildings that have settled and shifted over the many years since construction. The result is a number of structures that are leaning sideways, out into the street, or are out of plumb in some way. Instead of straightening or rebuilding, Rennes embraces these imperfections. Several of these structures even accentuate their flaws by highlighting the off-kilter sections with shingles or other materials. Closer inspection suggests that it’s (mostly) just the outer facades that are uneven and that the actual risk of the buildings falling over is minimal. But it sure looks like a stiff wind could knock an entire block over.

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Nantes may not have the name recognition of more popular French cities, but we really enjoyed our stay there. It has a large art museum, a lively downtown, and excellent thrift stores. But the nice parks throughout the city are what stole the show. We were pleasantly surprised with both the quality and quantity of these green spaces. Our spring visit coincided with a plethora of flowers and most days were spent exploring at least one of the various choices. Nantes strikes a great balance between natural and urban areas. 

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Bordeaux is the 9th largest city in France, but definitely ranks higher in fanciness. The downtown area is large and grand, filled with ornate buildings and extravagant fountains. There are several massive cathedrals and a nice art museum. Everywhere has an upscale feeling. Even the thrift stores are sophisticated. Bordeaux offsets its urbanity with access to multiple large parks and a popular riverwalk as well. But the city’s best feature is definitely its large downtown area. 

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Toulouse is an attractive pedestrian friendly city filled with parks and split by a river. The downtown is almost fully car free with lots of impressive architecture. Our visit coincided with the start of spring, allowing us to take full advantage of the city parks and enjoy long walks along the waterways. A couple of nice art museums, historic churches, and an incredible day trip to nearby Albi rounded out our experience. 

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Dijon is a charming city filled with romantic half-timbered buildings and patterned roof tiles. The capital of the Burgundy region in eastern France, it has been a seat of power in the area for over a millennium. Of course Dijon is famous worldwide for the eponymous spicy condiment which was developed here, but mustard is only a minor attraction. It impresses visitors with two cathedrals over 700 years old and an expansive art museum housed in a 600 year old palace. Like many French cities, it features an excellent pedestrian-only downtown. We found it to be pleasant and inviting with unique architecture that captured our attention.

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The exquisite French capital is filled with top notch art museums, classical architecture, thriving neighborhoods, massive cathedrals, and large parks. There’s just so much to see and do in Paris and almost all of it feels fancy. The main target of our visit was art and we definitely hit the bullseye often. When not in museums, we were soaking up all of the sights, sounds, and smells of various cathedrals, book stores, thrift shops, and bakeries. We did our best to experience as much as possible and just about wore ourselves out doing so. 

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Once a regional capital of the Roman Empire, Nîmes boasts a wealth of ancient ruins. Its pedestrian-only downtown buts up against a giant stone arena and one of the best preserved Roman temples in the world. Nearby is a massive 2000 year old aqueduct that is a true engineering marvel. Due to the plethora of Roman history in and around the city, Nîmes has billed itself as “the French Rome”. Walking around feels like stepping back in time.

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Lyon is the third largest city in France and one of its culinary capitals. It has a plethora of ornate buildings and several massive fountains. There’s a world class art museum and cathedral too. During our 4 weeks we also explored many pedestrian streets, old ruins, an awesome urban park, and plenty of vintage clothing stores. But most of our activity consisted of simply walking around gawking at the classic French architecture. That never got old.

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Grenoble is an ideal blend of mountains and livability. The 16th largest French commune has Alpine views in every direction, but the city itself is almost entirely flat. This pairing gives Grenoble the feel of being in the mountains, but it doesn’t leave you out of breath when walking or biking. The downtown is almost entirely car free making it a peaceful place to stroll. The city is filled with parks and great multi-use paths too. The best of those paths follow the Isère River which winds through town. All of this combines to make Grenoble just about perfect.

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