France is a land defined by its cuisine. French flavours can be briny, buttered, garlicky, marinated, nuanced or intense. Palates and traditions vary according to region and season. For gourmets on the go, dozens of French cities stand out for lip-smacking indulgence.
Virtually every French community is home to a weekly market, piled high with the freshest seasonal produce, aged cheeses and locally cured meats.
Whether you're staying in self-catering accommodation, seeking insight into French culinary traditions or searching for unique foodie souvenirs, try popping along to Versailles's Halles Notre Dame, Marseille's Marché au Poisson (Fish Market), Lille's sprawling Marché de Wazemmes or Lyon's Les Halles.
In north-western France, Angers and Nantes sit within the fertile Loire valley. This region is ideal for the cultivation of top-notch Muscadet, Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé wines.
Rennes is the place to indulge in Brittany's renowned seafood – in particular mussels and oysters – as well as galettes (savoury buckwheat crepes). In Poitiers to the south, you can purchase AOC Charentes-Poitou butter, rated by many as the finest in the world, or crunchy fleur de sel, from nearby Guérande.
Le Havre, on the Channel, is Normandy's gourmet capital. It's the place to sample camembert cheese, andouilles (smoked pork sausages) and scallops. For a peek at the production of this region's calvados apple brandy, stop into nearby Honfleur's Manoir d'Apreval. To the north-east, Picardy's capital Amiens offers regional cuisine with a Belgian accent, such as ficelle picarde (savoury stuffed crepes) or pork and onion caqhuse.
Champagne lovers may take a tour of Rheims's legendary champagne houses, such Veuve Clicquot or Mumm. West of here, Metz is renowned for its ochre-coloured mirabelle plums, as well as its world famous, bacon-studded quiche lorraine. Nearby Nancy's almond macarons (best sampled at the Maison des Soeurs Macarons) lure visitors with a penchant for sweets.
Treat yourself to Strasbourg's German-influenced cuisine, including choucroute garnie (sauerkraut with pork) and crisp white riesling. Similarly, Mulhouse dishes up hearty traditional Alsatian specialities like beef fleischnacka, or lamb and pork bäckeoffa. Or head south for a plate of Dijon's beef bourguignon paired with local Burgundy wines.
And it's hard to eat poorly in Saint-Etienne, home to legendary chocolate-maker Weiss since 1882. The nearby town of Clermont-Ferrand is the longtime headquarters to Michelin and birthplace of the company's influential Guide Rouge. It is also a centre of cheese-making in the region, a tradition that predates Roman times. Today, five cheeses – Cantal, Saint-Nectaire, Fourme d'Ambert, Bleu d'Auvergne and Salers – enjoy protected designation of origin status (known in French as AOP) under European law.
Back west is Bordeaux. Oenophiles can sample classic wines at the welcoming Cave Art et Vins. In nearby Toulouse, it's the traditional cassoulet stew with duck confit that pulls in the punters at the rustic Restaurant Emile. Southern France is a land of freshly caught fish, wild mushrooms, chestnuts, pâtés, snails and wild boar. In Montpellier and Nîmes, these ingredients may be dished up Catalan-style, with a scattering of nuts and dried fruits.
Sweet tooths should steer for Aix-en-Provence, famed for its candied fruit and almond calissons: load up at Confiserie du Roy René. In the lavender-cloaked hills nearby, Alain Ducasse's Bastide de Moustiers is a place of Provençal pilgrimage, serving up lemony goat's cheeses and tender local lamb, as well as artichokes, tomatoes and rocket harvested straight from the restaurant's garden.
Nudging up against the Italian frontier is sunny Nice. Its citrus and summer vegetables are prized across France. To sample the city's famous salade niçoise, chickpea socca pancakes and pizza-like onion pissaladière, hit chef Dominique Le Stanc's no-frills eatery La Merenda.
For devoted French epicureans, chef and restaurant critic Patricia Wells offers five-day cooking classes in Paris, as well as at her 18th-century Provençal home in Vaison-la-Romaine, just north of Avignon.
To find out more about all these destinations, visit gotofrancenow.com/city-breaks
