France travel planning
France travel guide for visitors from the US and UK
A practical France travel guide: choose where to go, where to land, and how to continue by rail or road.
France offers extraordinary opportunities for travel and discovery thanks to the diversity of its regions, landscapes and terroirs, and to a culture and history spanning millennia.
France is a dynamic country, looking to the future while remaining rooted in its traditions, local history and culture—both Mediterranean and connected to northern Europe.
Travel more responsibly. When it works for your route, choose trains and public transport over short flights or solo car journeys; walk or cycle locally, carry a reusable bottle and bag, and sort waste using local recycling guidance. Support shops and producers that reduce packaging, source locally, and explain their environmental commitments. Tourism can sustain local livelihoods and help share cultural heritage, but it also uses energy and water and creates emissions and waste: thoughtful choices help balance those benefits and impacts. ADEME: practical eco-holiday advice ↗ · UN Environment Programme: sustainable tourism report ↗ · UN Tourism: tourism and local communities ↗
Explore traditional destinations
Start with key cities, ski resorts and Alpine bases, or choose a French region by landscape and character.
Browse destinations ↗Start from an arrival airport
Choose a French airport or a well-connected European gateway, then discover the regions that make sense from there.
Choose an airport ↗Plan a France trip by train
Compare rail-friendly routes, connect your arrival gateway to regional bases, and check the final leg to your stay.
Explore train routes ↗Start with your arrival and route
Choose an arrival point that fits the places you want to visit. Our France airport and rail guide compares gateways and onward connections; the France by train guide helps you link cities and regions. Check current schedules and the final transfer to your accommodation before booking.
Connect places that belong in the same trip
For a city-and-coast route, explore Paris and Normandy, then check the rail options. For vineyards and city life, pair Bordeaux with our Bordeaux vineyard guide. In the Alps, compare Annecy, Chamonix and the wider French ski resort guide.
Browse the regional guides for eastern France, southern France, northern France, western France, Burgundy, and Annecy and the Alps.
When to go
Match the season to your plans: spring and autumn can suit city visits, vineyards and countryside routes; summer brings longer days for coastal and mountain trips; winter is the main season for Alpine skiing. Conditions, opening dates and transport vary, so check them for your exact dates.
Practical trip checks
Before you leave, confirm train and flight times, local transfers, attraction opening hours and seasonal services with the providers. In rural areas and mountain resorts, plan the last leg of your journey as carefully as the main route. Use the airport guide, rail guide and destination pages to compare your options.