Châteaux, sandy beaches, excellent food and wine and beautiful countryside are all great reasons to visit France.
But what is there for seekers of the unusual, offbeat and downright bizarre?
Of course, we do the touristy things when we go to France, but we also love to take our time to dig around and discover the curiosities and oddities that might be missed by the casual traveller.
So here’s our selection of French fancies – 7 weird and wonderful things to see in France.
Palais Idéal, Hauterives, south-eastern France
We first discovered this oddity on one of our many month-long, random tours of France during the 1980s. It’s changed a lot since then – they’ve even added a museum – but it’s still an extraordinary monument to an extraordinary character.
Ferdinand Cheval, a French postman, began working on his dream palace towards the end of the 19th century. Legend has it that on his round in 1879, he tripped over a small rock, picked it up and was so fascinated by its shape that he decided there and then to use it to build an artistic monument.
For the next 34 years, Msr Cheval was mocked as he collected odd stones and single-handedly built the palace of his dreams, which soon grew into a tourist attraction.
If you build it, they will come!
It’s an odd mix of different styles, mingling Chinese, Algerian and Northern European influences to create a series of fantastic grottoes and weird statues of ostriches, elephants and bears.
Cheval wanted to be buried there, but the authorities said ‘Non!’, so he spent the next decade constructing his own vault in the nearby cemetery.
He was finally laid to rest there in 1924 at the age of 88.
Visiting the Palais Idéal
When we were last there, it was free to enter and just wander around, but now there is a charge. Tickets cost around €9.50 for an adult in 2024 and in high season you may have to queue.
They also stage special events, so worth checking before you go to make sure it’s open on the day you plan to visit.
Hauterives is 30 miles south of Lyons and is best reached by car, although there is a local bus service from the train station at St Vallier sur Rhône. The cemetery is about a mile away from the Palais Idéal du Facteur Cheval.
Troglodyte homes, Anjou
Not just a slice of history, but part of everyday life. These underground homes, carved out of the local limestone, are a ‘thing’ in the Anjou region of the Loire valley. From gîtes to wine cellars, shops to Air BnBs, ‘la vie troglodytique’ is alive and well.
People have been living at least partially underground here for centuries. A few years ago, we found a luxury underground home near Chinon, set in beautiful grounds, through Gîtes de France.
Nearby we discovered the intriguing Chapel of St Radegonde with its underground chambers and 12th century frescoes.
And do call in at the wonderful Château de Brézé – it has as much going on below as it does above.
Near Doué-la-Fontaine, the ancient village of Rochemenier has been preserved with its furnished rooms, farm equipment, animals, and photos of the farmers who left not so very long ago.
At the nearby Bioparc Zoo, animals have homes carved out in the rock and the caves near Saumur are full of ancient statues and a Pierre et Lumière with tiny, but accurate, scale versions of famous monuments.
Finally, if you stop off at almost any small vineyard in the Loire region for some wine-tasting, you’ll be invited into the cool underground caverns where the wine is stored.
• Tips for wine-tasting in France
Visiting troglodyte homes in France
The greatest concentration is in the Western Loire region, but there are some in the Dordogne too.
Angers and Nantes are both accessible from the UK by plane, train and car and are good bases for exploring the whole area.
The Lion of Belfort
This sculpture by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the man responsible for the Statue of Liberty, towers over the town of Belfort near the French-Swiss border.
Finished in 1880, it is made of huge blocks of red sandstone and sits under Belfort Castle, all 22 metres of it! It symbolizes the spirit of the 17,000 French soldiers who resisted 40,000 Prussians in the Siege of Belfort in early 1871.
Visiting the Lion of Belfort
It’s free to wander around the statue and the citadel, but be prepared for lots of steps and steep slopes before you experience the spectacular views.
There is a museum on site, but check opening times, and the statue is sometimes off limits if restoration work is in progress.
Elephant of Nantes
So worth a visit, we’ve written about it in detail.
The Great Elephant of Nantes at Les Machines de L’Isle is an extraordinary feat of engineering – a steel, leather and wood sculpture that rolls on wheels along the dockside, trumpeting, blowing steam and taking an interest in every passer-by.
You can pay to ride on top, but there’s just as much enjoyment to be had watching its slow progress along the walkways.
Visiting the Elephant of Nantes
The elephant is just a small part of Les Machines de L’Isle attraction, which is packed with weird and wonderful, steam-punky contraptions from flying machines to carousels.
Tickets in 2024 are €9.50 for adults, with extra costs to ride the elephant and the carousels. It’s open from February through to December, but check the website, as operating times vary.
The Yellow Windmill, Crécy la Chapelle, Ile de France
Open just a few days every year, Moulin Jaune is an extraordinary collection of oddities, sculptures and circus madness.
Its owner, Slava Polunin, is president of the International Academy of Fools, and a professional clown. The house, gardens and ancient watermill are filled with unexpected events and tableaux, inspired by fairy tales and Polunin’s own imagination.
Visiting Moulin Jaune
Just 40 minutes away from Paris and its main airports – Orly and Charles de Gaulle. You can get to the Moulin by car, RER train via Paris or SNCF TGV train/Magic Shuttle bus via Disneyland.
Entry is on selected days from April to October. For admission prices and events, see their website.
Château du Rivau, Loire valley
Giant wooden legs running through the woods, huge boots and trees garlanded with necklaces are just a few of the artistic oddities in these beautiful and imaginative gardens.
Packed with plants, fairy-tale glades and stunning views of the picture-perfect castle, Château du Rivau is a delight for all ages.
Children will love the giant plants in the vegetable garden, imagine Rapunzel letting down her hair from the castle turrets, or the Alice in Wonderland inspired hedge maze.
Visiting Château du Rivau
You will need a car as the château is off the beaten track, in the village of Lémeré near Chinon.
Adults admission is €12.50 in 2024 and for children under 5 it’s free.
See their website for latest prices, opening times and special events
Rennes-le-Château, Aude
We’ve saved the weirdest to last. Deep in the Languedoc, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, you’ll find the weirdly wonderful hilltop church at Rennes-le-Chateau.
When we first visited here in the 1980s, only a few who’d read the block-busting “Holy Blood and the Holy Grail” book were making pilgrimages. But after Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code, a museum and guided tours have sprung up.
But the church is, well, unusual. Gaudy and highly coloured, with the figure of a devil bearing the holy water at the entrance, you can see why it’s sparked so many conspiracy theories over the years.
And if that doesn’t float your boat, the view from the Tour Magdala is worth the climb.
Visiting Rennes-le-Château
The village is in the Aude, just two hours away from the border with Spain. You will need your own transport to get there, as it’s reached by a winding road through the hills.
It even has its very own, small tourist office.
And then there are the things that just pop up on the roadside, then just as quickly disappear. In our time we’ve discovered a mini-Eiffel Tower made of horseshoes, a magnificent display of pumpkins all along a wall and two ancient crones, seemingly helping with the harvest.
What will you find on your next trip to France?
Let us know in the comments if you’ve stumbled across an oddity or curious sight on your travels, and we’ll put them on our ‘must see’ list.
Where to next?
• Explore the hidden canals of Antwerp
• On the trail of the best Brighton street art
• Mystery and magic at The Manor, Hemingford Grey