Grand tour of the Loire Valley, Brittany, and Normandy

Orléans carries French history in its very name: it was here that Joan of Arc broke the English siege in 1429, turning this city on the Loire into a symbol of national liberation. The cathedral of Sainte-Croix, rebuilt by the kings of France over six centuries, rises with its neo-Gothic spires over a historic centre filled with restored Renaissance houses. Every May, the Festival de Jeanne d'Arc re-enacts the glorious episode with historical processions and ceremonies. The gardens of the Hôtel Groslot and the banks of the Loire offer wonderfully atmospheric walks. Orléans is also the gateway to the Orléanais wine region and an ideal starting point for cycling the Loire à Vélo route.

Tours occupies the geographical and cultural heart of the Loire Valley, the «Garden of France» declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its châteaux, vineyards and river landscapes. Roads from the city lead to Chambord, Chenonceau, Villandry and Amboise — the jewels of the French Renaissance that made this valley the favourite residence of the Valois kings. Tours itself deserves attention: the Place Plumereau, in the medieval Vieille-Tours quarter with its half-timbered houses, is the city's most animated evening gathering spot; the Cathédrale Saint-Gatien, in Flamboyant Gothic style with magnificent thirteenth-century stained-glass windows, rises at the far end of the centre. The wines of the Vouvray appellation (whites from chenin blanc) and Bourgueil (reds from cabernet franc) are tasted in caves carved into the tufa of the surrounding hills. Tours is the ideal base for exploring the Loire by bicycle along the Loire à Vélo route.

Angers is the gateway to the Loire Valley, a city defined by the formidable medieval castle of the Counts of Anjou, which dominates the Maine river with its slate-dark towers. Within its walls is kept the Tapestry of the Apocalypse, one of the largest surviving works of medieval tapestry in the world, woven in the fourteenth century and more than 100 metres long. The Angevin city is also the capital of Anjou wine and Cointreau, the celebrated orange liqueur produced here since 1849. The Doutre quarter, with its half-timbered houses and Romanesque churches, and the gardens sloping down to the river complete the urban scene. Angers is a city of tradition and flavour, ideal as a base for exploring the châteaux of the Loire.

Nantes strides confidently toward the future without forgetting its past: the historic capital of Brittany (though today part of the Pays de la Loire region), it is the city that transformed its old shipyards on the Île de Nantes into a permanent cultural laboratory. Les Machines de l'Île — the great mechanical Elephant that walks among the crowds and the Carousel of Sea Worlds — are the symbol of an urban creativity with few equivalents in France. The Château des Ducs de Bretagne, where François II of Brittany lived and Anne de Bretagne was born, now houses the Musée d'Histoire de Nantes. The Passage Pommeraye, a three-level neoclassical shopping arcade, is one of the most spectacular nineteenth-century interiors in France. The Bouffay and Graslin quarters come alive with bistros, wine bars and live music every evening; the Saturday morning market at the thalweg welcomes produce from the Loire estuary: Bourgneuf oysters, muscadet, salted butter from the Brière.

Roscoff is a Breton port in northern Finistère, known for its ferries to Ireland and Wales and for the celebrated oignons roses — the pink onions grown in the sandy soils around the town. The historic centre preserves fine Renaissance granite houses and a church with an elaborate bell tower typically Breton in style. The Channel, with its strong tides and shifting colours, is the true protagonist of the landscape. A lively, maritime and authentic corner of Brittany.

Saint-Malo thrusts into the Atlantic like a living fortress: the tall granite walls encircling the old city — the intra-muros — were built to defend the port of the corsairs who sailed from here under letters of marque from the King of France. Walking the ramparts means taking in with a single glance the open sea, the islands scattered across the bay, and the white-sand beaches revealed at low tide. Outside the walls, the Sillon beach and the Liberty casino trace an elegant seaside promenade. The Breton hinterland is easily reached: Cancale, a few kilometres away, is the capital of the Breton oyster; Dinard, across the estuary, preserves the Belle Époque villas of English families who spent their summers here. The raw, wild character of this coast — the highest tides in Europe, wind-carved cliffs — makes Saint-Malo and its surroundings a landscape experience before it is a historical one.

Caen spreads along the banks of the Orne, a Norman city reborn from the ashes of the Second World War with a determination written in every stone. The medieval castle built by William the Conqueror stands at its centre, its keep and ramparts sheltering two museums: the Musée de Normandie and the Musée des Beaux-Arts. The Abbaye aux Hommes and the Abbaye aux Dames, Romanesque masterpieces commissioned by William himself, mark the city's skyline. The Mémorial de Caen is one of Europe's most important museums dedicated to twentieth-century history and the meaning of peace. Caen is a city that carries the marks of history with dignity, turning them into an invitation to reflect.

Deauville is the «21st arrondissement of Paris»: so Parisians call it as they fill its Belle Époque hotels, the Casino Barrière and the Planches — the famous boardwalk where beach huts bear the names of stars from the Festival du Cinéma Américain — every August weekend. Norman villas with their polychrome brick and slate roofs, thoroughbred racing at the racecourse, designer boutiques — everything in Deauville exudes discreet luxury and the holiday atmosphere of another era. Trouville, separated only by the Touques river, is more authentic and popular, with its fish market, fishermen's nets and a seafront of informal bistros. The Côte Fleurie stretches toward Honfleur: a picturesque fishing harbour, reflections of seventeenth-century houses on the water of the Vieux Bassin, birthplace of Impressionism and a refuge for artists to this day. A short itinerary that distils centuries of Norman charm.

Rouen has the memory of Norman medieval life carved into the timber of its half-timbered houses: the old centre is one of the richest in France, with over two thousand colombage buildings crowding around the Cathédrale Notre-Dame — the one that Monet painted in thirty-four different versions to capture the changing light on the pink sandstone. The cathedral's cast-iron spire, the tallest in France, pierces the grey Norman sky with an almost surreal audacity. Place du Vieux-Marché is where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431: the modern church of Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc, evocatively shaped like a flame, stands on the very spot today. The Gros-Horloge, the Renaissance astronomical clock set into an arch on Rue du Gros-Horloge, is the city's iconic symbol. The Saturday market and the brasseries around the Abbey of Saint-Ouen complete the portrait of an authentic and deeply moving Normandy.