Ideas for days out

All year round

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  7 places

  Toulouse’s parks, from the Garonne to the Japanese garden

  In Toulouse, you get some air on the banks of the Garonne, in the shade of the big trees of the Grand-Rond or along the Canal du Midi. These gardens are free to enter and nearly all of them are a few metro stops from the centre.

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  8 places

  Toulouse’s museums, from Roman emperors to Ariane 5

  Toulouse’s museums show two sides of the city: the brick-built town with two thousand years of history, and the aerospace capital. You can spend the morning among busts of Roman emperors and the afternoon at the foot of a 53-metre rocket.

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  7 places

  Strasbourg’s parks: from the Orangerie to the banks of the Rhine

  Strasbourg is a city for walking and cycling, and its parks follow suit. From the Orangerie to the banks of the Rhine, by way of the remains of the citadel and the botanical garden, here are seven places to get some fresh air without leaving town.

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  8 places

  Strasbourg’s museums, from the Palais Rohan to Tomi Ungerer

  In Strasbourg, several major museums stand a stone’s throw from the cathedral, so you can easily fit two into a day. Medieval art, painting, the city’s history, Tomi Ungerer’s drawings: here’s the line-up, with some picks for children.

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  7 places

  Rouen’s parks: gardens, views and the banks of the Seine

  You can do Rouen in trainers, too. Between the gardens in the centre, the Colline Sainte-Catherine and the quays, there’s always a patch of green within walking distance. Here are seven places to walk, picnic or let the children run about.

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  7 places

  Rouen’s museums, from Monet to the Gros-Horloge

  Rouen can keep you busy through a rainy Sunday, and a few more after that. The Métropole’s museums are free, and the others are well worth the ticket. Here’s where to go, depending on the mood of the day and the age of your troops.

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  8 places

  Paris parks: eight gardens for a breather in the city

  Paris has hundreds of green spaces, but some are really worth the trip on the Métro. Lawns, hills, a planted railway line, glasshouses: here are eight places to walk, picnic and let the children run about.

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  8 places

  Paris museums, from the Water Lilies to the giraffes

  The Louvre is not the only museum in Paris, far from it. Here are eight places to ring the changes: big names, more intimate houses and plenty to wow the children. Several are free.

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  7 places

  The parks of Nice: hills, olive groves and city gardens

  Life in Nice is not all about the pebbles. The city hides wooded hills, century-old olive groves and gardens looking out over the Baie des Anges. Here is where to picnic, let the children run about or walk in the shade of the pines.

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  7 places

  The museums of Nice, from Matisse to the ruins of Cimiez

  Matisse and Chagall loved Nice, and the city loves them back. On the hill of Cimiez, in the old town, Vieux-Nice, or near the Promenade des Anglais, here are the museums to see once you have had your fill of sunshine, or when it rains, which does happen.

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  7 places

  Parks and gardens of Nantes: camellias, a waterfall and a rose garden

  Each of the big parks in Nantes has its own character: camellias at the Jardin des Plantes, a Japanese garden on the River Erdre, tropical plants in a former quarry, roses by the thousand at La Beaujoire. Enough for a change of scene every weekend without leaving town.

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  7 places

  The museums of Nantes, from the dukes’ château to the elephant

  In Nantes you can tour a 15th-century château, climb onto the back of a mechanical elephant and look the city’s slave-trading past squarely in the eye. Most of the places are clustered between the château, the Graslin quarter and the Île de Nantes.

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  6 places

  Montpellier’s parks: gardens, follies and grand promenades

  Montpellier has kept some fine reminders of its green past: the oldest botanical garden in France, a royal promenade, folly estates on the edge of town and the garrigue a quarter of an hour away. Here is where to walk in the shade, have a picnic or let the children run free.

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  6 places

  Montpellier’s museums, from Soulages to the Gauls

  Montpellier loves art, and much of it costs nothing to see. A major fine arts museum, two contemporary art centres, a pavilion given over to photography, an archaeological site and a place for the very young: enough to fill a weekend away from the beach.

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  7 places

  Marseille’s parks: gardens, country estates and calanques

  When the city heats up, Marseille has its shady corners: big parks around old country houses, gardens perched above the port and, at the end of the bus line, the calanques. Here’s where to go for a picnic, a stroll with the children or a proper hike.

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  7 places

  Marseille’s museums, from the Mucem to the Cosquer cave

  Worth knowing: the permanent collections of the City’s museums are free. Between the Mucem facing the sea, the replica of the Cosquer cave and the municipal museums, there’s plenty to do when the mistral is blowing too hard for the beach.

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  7 places

  Lyon’s parks, from the Tête d’Or lake to the viewpoints

  There’s more to Lyon than cobbles and bouchons. Between the Tête d’Or, old military sites turned green, hilltop gardens and the big estates of Greater Lyon, there’s always a patch of grass for a picnic or an early-evening stroll.

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  7 places

  Lyon’s museums, from the Romans to the Lumière brothers

  Lyon has enough to fill a rainy weekend. Several, in fact. Roman antiquities on the hill, cinema in Monplaisir, Guignol the puppet in Vieux Lyon: here are the museums to take everyone to, from the children to the grandparents.

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  6 places

  Lille’s parks, from the Citadelle to the Lac du Héron

  Lille has more room to breathe than you might think. Between the 110 hectares of the Citadelle, the gardens in the centre and the lakes of Villeneuve-d’Ascq, here are six places to walk, run or spread out a picnic blanket.

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  7 places

  Lille’s museums, from the Palais des Beaux-Arts to La Piscine

  Lille and its metropolitan area line up some surprising museums, just a few metro or tram stops apart. Old masters, outsider art, an Art Deco swimming pool, a modernist villa: here’s where to spend an afternoon with family or friends.

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  7 places

  Bordeaux’s parks and gardens: where to find some green in town

  Bordeaux has kept its great 18th- and 19th-century gardens and gained kilometres of walks along the Garonne. All of these places are free to enter. Wear good shoes: the quays are long, and you’ll soon be tempted to push on to the next bridge.

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  7 places

  Bordeaux’s museums, from the port to wine and fine art

  Bordeaux’s museums tell the story of a port: commerce, the slave trade, wine and the sea. Along the way you’ll meet great painters and a natural history museum that pleases small visitors as much as big ones. Almost everything can be done on foot or by tram.