Six places worth breaking the journey for between the capital and the Mediterranean.
Paris and Nice are about 930 kilometres apart, roughly nine hours by road and about five and a half by the fastest train. Most of France's best-loved scenery lies in between. Allow a week to ten days, and you can travel by train, by car or by a mix of both. Here are the stops that repay the detour.
A walled wine town about two and a half hours from Paris. The main sight is the Hospices de Beaune, a 15th-century hospital with a roof of coloured glazed tiles. Stop for a tasting of Burgundy wines in one of the cellars under the old town.
About two hours from Paris by high-speed train. The old town is UNESCO-listed, with covered passageways called traboules, and the basilica on Fourvière hill looks over the rooftops. Eat in a bouchon and stay a night if you can.
The walled city where the popes lived in the 14th century. Visit the huge Palais des Papes and walk along the Rhône to the broken bridge of the nursery rhyme. It makes a good base for Provence.
Hilltop villages such as Gordes and Roussillon, whose ochre cliffs glow red and orange in the evening sun. A car makes this stretch much easier. The lavender blooms from late June to July.
A small harbour town east of Marseille, with boat trips to the Calanques, narrow rocky inlets with clear turquoise water. It is a good place for a swim and a seafood lunch. Marseille, with its old port and the MuCEM museum, is close by.
You arrive on the Riviera. Nice has a colourful old town, a long seafront promenade and a hill with views over the bay. From there, take a short trip to Èze, a village perched on a rock above the sea, and to Saint-Paul-de-Vence, known for its art galleries.
Tip: if you travel by train, Avignon and Aix-en-Provence have their own high-speed stations, and the Marseille to Nice line runs along the coast.