France

France is where the world learned what luxury tastes like, and the lesson never gets old. Paris first, always: museums you plan around, bistros you stumble into, dusk on a bridge when the Eiffel Tower begins to sparkle and even locals glance up. But the France we love planning most begins outside the capital. Provence, where markets smell of melon and lavender and hilltop villages hold rosé-soaked lunches that dissolve entire afternoons. The Côte d'Azur's coves and legendary hotels. Bordeaux and Burgundy, where tastings happen in the cellars of families who have made wine for centuries. The Loire's châteaux, the Alps' white weeks, Normandy's history and cream. Rent a car, book the good tables, linger. France rewards appetite in every sense.