Ride a dragon in Calais
You don’t need to venture too far into France to find its wow factor. Indeed, within minutes of exiting the ferry or Channel Tunnel, you can be staring a fire-breathing dragon in the face. The Dragon de Calais is a 25-metre-long mechanical beast that stomps along the renovated sea front carrying 48 passengers on its back (adult ticket €9.50), emitting jets of fire, steam and water from its nostrils. It was created by the team behind Les Machines de L’île, a collection of steampunk wonders including a 12-metre elephant, in Nantes.
This year, Calais’ dragon is joined by Le Varan, a giant iguana that crawls around the town and the old fishing district with room for 25 passengers (adults €8.50). While you’re there, explore the beaches along the coast at Hardelot-Plage and visit the Chateau d’Hardelot, with its history of Franco-British relations.
Celebrate Monet in Rouen
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Claude Monet’s death and many galleries and venues in Normandy and Paris have events planned. You don’t need to face the crowds at Giverny or the Musée d’Orsay to appreciate the great artist’s work, though. Instead, visit Rouen, where Monet found the ever-changing, silver-grey light on the intricate and imposing facade of the cathedral so inspiring he painted it more than 30 times (from the window of what was, at the time, a ladies’ undergarment shop opposite).
The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen has the largest collection of French impressionist works outside Paris, including one of the cathedral paintings and works by Camille Pissarro and Alfred Sisley. While you’re there, explore the Boucles de la Seine natural regional park, where you can cycle between the loops of the River Seine through orchards and past the ruined Abbaye de Jumièges.
Visit a postman’s palace in Drôme
The Dauphiné region, close to Grenoble, combines breathtaking scenery and curious attractions. Chief among them is the Palais Idéal, a whimsical monument built over 33 years from the late 19th century by Ferdinand Cheval, a postman whose inspiration came from the travel journals and postcards he delivered on his 20-mile round. On the facade of the 10-metre-high palace, you’ll see mythical creatures and mysterious grottoes, Egyptian temples and Swiss chalets, while the small on-site museum recounts the stories of Cheval’s tragic life, and those who fought until the 1960s to have the structure recognised as a listed monument.
Nearby, explore the jaw-dropping Vercors mountains, with precipitous roads such as the Combe Laval route, which was chiselled out of the rock in the 19th century to transport timber. Also visit the fascinating Grotte de Choranche underground caves, with curious, spaghetti-like stalactites, and the town of Pont-en-Royans, where medieval houses hang high over a gorge.
Discover Brittany by bike
Cyclists have always been spoiled by the smooth, car-free cycle paths throughout France, and now the Traversée Bretonne, a new route through the heart of Brittany, offers a fresh challenge. Starting in the city of Nantes, the 14-stage route takes riders past the curious mid-century architecture of Saint-Nazaire (such as the Soucoupe, a sports centre shaped like a flying saucer), then on to the “Atlantic Riviera” at La Baule, with its belle époque villas and vast beach.
Further along, the lively city of Rennes is perfect for rehydrating: Rue Saint-Michel is nicknamed Rue de la Soif (thirsty street) because it has a bar approximately every 7 metres. The route finishes with a nice flat stage at Mont-Saint-Michel.
traversee-bretonne.com
Celebrate figs in the Var
Plan a late-summer sojourn in the Vallée du Gapeau, inland from Toulon, which is renowned for its fig orchards: local people say the trees like their heads in the sunshine and their feet in the water. At the end of August, the start of the harvest is celebrated with the lively Fête de la Figue in the village of Solliès-Pont. As well as the bountiful market, there are tours of the groves and a lively four-course dinner with music in the village’s main square.
While you’re there, hike in the wooded valley and admire the curiously shaped “elephant rock”. Visit the local olive oil mill at Moulin à Huile du Partégal (entry free) to explore its ancient grove and taste its oils; and stroll the unspoiled villages of Solliès-Ville and Solliès-Toucas.
valleegapeau-tourisme.fr
Taste cheese in the Jura mountains
To truly understand the flavours of French cheeses, it pays to visit the landscapes in which they are made. One of the most enchanting areas for a foray in fromage is the Jura mountains, the home of comté cheese. Here, as part of the Routes du Comté, you can visit the so-called cathedral of comté at the Fort Saint-Antoine (tour reservations essential, €11), where Fromageries Marcel Petite ages its 100,000 wheels of comté between the stone arches of a 19th-century military fort. Nearby, next to the Lac de Malbuisson, Restaurant du Fromage offers a comté and savagnin wine fondue in its Swiss-chalet-like surrounds.
An hour west, the town of Poligny is home to La Maison du Comté, a visitor centre dedicated to explaining how the cheese is made and infused with the flavours of the 130 plants from the spectacular landscape on which the cows graze.
montagnes-du-jura.fr
Hunt for bric-a-brac in Normandy
Take a road trip to the bucolic Perche regional natural park in southern Normandy, an area of rolling hills, cider farms and charming villages. It is ideal, too, for those who love hunting for vintage treasures and bric-a-brac. Near the towns of Bellême, Mortagne-au-Perche and along the D923 road between La Ferté-Bernard and Nogent-le-Rotrou, you will find many brocante shops and warehouses with artfully displayed items on offer.
The area is a popular weekend destination for Parisians, hence the abundance of good restaurants. In the village of La Perrière, La Maison d’Horbé B&B and wine bar (rooms from €142.50) is set in an antiques shop, while in Saint-Hilaire-le-Châtel, the Hotel les Prés has its own restaurant (rooms from €142).
perche-tourisme.fr
Relive history in the Vendée
You need never utter the word Disney once you’ve discovered the Puy du Fou, a theme park like no other, in the countryside of the Vendée. With bombastic historical re-enactments of Viking invasions, Roman chariot races, medieval jousting and more than 2,500 actors across the park, many of the shows are big on wow factor.
Yet there are also experiences that evoke a quieter sense of wonder – walk through the cabins and hull of the 18th-century ship La Pérouse and see its myriad flora and fauna gathered from around the world, before it sinks in a storm in the South Pacific. Moving, too, is the Amoureux de Verdun experience, which puts you in the trenches of Verdun in the first world war, where actors play out a love story.
Adult tickets from €47, puydufou.com
Swim in a tidal pool in Brittany
There are several tidal swimming pools along the Emerald Coast in Brittany. At Dinard, the Piscine de Mer overlooks the vast main beach, alongside stately belle époque villas and maritime pines; and from Saint-Malo’s Piscine de Bon Secours, you can walk at low tide to the island of Grand-Bé for a great view back to the walled town.
The Emerald Coast is good for hiking too, so make a point to stroll out to the dramatically perched Fort La Latte on the Cap Fréhel headland.
dinardemeraudetourisme.com
Explore the wild Aubrac plateau
Many holidaymakers speed through the centre of France on the autoroute known as La Méridienne (A75), bound for busy beaches of the Med. Those who prefer more solitude, however, should exit sooner (exit 39 to be precise) and venture west on to the extraordinary, volcanic landscape of the Aubrac plateau. Here, stone-walled meadows abound with wild flowers and the buron huts that once housed cowherds and cheesemakers have been converted into welcoming rustic restaurants, such as the Buron de Born, serving local potato and cheese dishes such as aligot and truffade. At night, the total absence of light pollution makes it ideal for stargazing.
tourisme-en-aubrac.com
Carolyn Boyd is the author of Amuse Bouche: How to Eat Your Way Around France (Profile, £10.99). To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.