The Palace of Versailles was the royal residence of France from 1682 until the Revolution in 1789. Louis XIV turned a hunting lodge into a vast palace. Its Hall of Mirrors has 357 mirrors facing tall windows onto the gardens. The formal gardens by André Le Nôtre stretch for kilometres with fountains and a Grand Canal. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Château de Fontainebleau was a residence of French kings for about eight centuries, from the Middle Ages to Napoleon III. Each ruler added new wings, so it shows many styles. Its Renaissance gallery of Francis I is richly decorated. Napoleon said farewell to his guard in its horseshoe-staircase courtyard in 1814. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Basilica of Saint-Denis, north of Paris, is considered the first Gothic church, with its choir completed in 1144 under Abbot Suger. It was the burial place of almost all the kings and queens of France from the 10th to the 18th century. Their carved tombs and effigies fill the church. Its stained glass windows are among the earliest of their kind.

Giverny is a village in Normandy where the painter Claude Monet lived from 1883 until his death in 1926. His pink house and two gardens are open to visitors. The flower garden is full of colour, and the water garden has the Japanese bridge and the pond of water lilies that he painted many times. A museum of Impressionism is nearby.