France Less Visited travel guide

If you're visiting France, especially for the first time, there's every chance you'll begin with Paris. If you have more time, you'll probably head off to Provence... and maybe tuck in a Loire château or two.

And so you will have covered... about 5% of my country.

This page is dedicated to the other 95%, a few of which you may know, and many which will be discoveries for you.

Less visited départements

I'm starting with departments, simply because, living in France, it's easier to use existing administrative divisions.

As I said, you'll know some of these... but not all!

Côte d'Or (21)

• Visiting Dijon France? Let The Dijon Owl Trail Guide You
• A Day Trip From Dijon To The Auxois, The Heart Of Burgundy
  
• Flavigny-Sur-Ozerain, Where 'Chocolat' Was Filmed
• Meet Vercingetorix, The Chieftain Whose Gallic Warriors Beat Caesar

Eure-et-Loir (28)

• La Maison Picassiette In Chartres: The House Of A Million Pieces
• 3 Fascinating Castles Near Paris That Are Way Under The Radar
• Chateau D'Anet: The Love Nest Of Henri II And Diane

Haute-Marne (52)

• 9 Unexpected Things To Do In Haute-Marne
• Discovering Langres, The Prettiest French Town You've Never Heard Of
• Voltaire In Love: The Improbable Power Couple Of The Chateau De Cirey

Meurthe-et-Moselle (54)

• 5 Unmissable Highlights Of The Ecole De Nancy Art Nouveau 
• France's Favorite Square: The Secrets Of Place Stanislas, Nancy

Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64)

• How To Tour The French Basque Country In A Week (Or Less)
  
• Things To Do In Bayonne: Culture, Cloisters, And Chocolate
• 7 Surprising Basque Products That Are Still Made By Hand

Sticking with the offbeat

If you like the unusual, here are a few places that might resonate because of their location, architecture, history or culture: 

• France Off The Beaten Path: 13 Unexpected Places You May Not Know
• The Ardeche In France: 7 Delightful Rural Surprises 
• Best Things To Do In Brittany, France
• Brantome, France: Venice Of The Périgord
  
• Destination: Department Loire (Not The Loire You Think!)
• Why You Need To Visit These 4 Underrated French Cities In Spring
• 7 Less Visited Cities In France You Must Have On Your Radar
• Cheval Palace: How A Rural Postman Built His Dream By Hand
• Chateau Bussy Rabutin And The Salacious Count Who Lived There

🇫🇷

Bonjour! I’m Leyla! I was born in Paris and now live in the bucolic mountain foothills of Eastern France between Lyon and Annecy. 

I'm rediscovering my own back yard after years of living abroad in Canada, Spain and Switzerland as a journalist and a diplomat － and I'm loving every minute.

Passionate about history and culture, I’ve created Offbeat France to seek out my country’s mysteries and legends, less-traveled destinations, along with plenty of food stops and many castles － I am French, after all!

Read more!

🇫🇷

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