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The best free tourist attractions in France
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On this page Great cathedrals Free museums Other free sites

  Top free tourist attractions in France 


On this page we list some of the best tourist attractions in France that can be visited free of charge. It is not possible to list these in order of popularity, since being free there are no tickets sold, therefore no accurate visitor statistics..

Free attractions by category:

1.  Cathedrals and other churches

a. Cathedrals
France's magnificent mediaeval gothic cathedrals are among the most visited of the nation's free tourist attractions, on a par with the top paid-entry sites.  
The finest gothic cathedrals in France are to be found at:
  • Paris - Notre Dame
  • Chartres (Centre region)  famous for its incredible mediaeval stained glass windows
  • Strasbourg (Alsace) Notre Dame cathedral -one of the most visited in France.
  • Reims (Champagne region) the cathedral where the kings of France used to be crowned
  • Amiens (Picardy) one of the greatest gothic cathedrals.
  • Rouen (Normandy) another fine mediaeval cathedral
  • Beauvais (Picardy) never finished, but the highest vaults of any mediaeval cathedral.
  • Bourges (Centre region) one of the last mediaeval cathedrals to have been built.
  • Albi (Midi Pyrenees)  the only fortified cathedral in France.
Other cathedrals:
b. Other significant churches
  • Abbey of Saint Savin sur Gartempe (Poitou) - mediaeval frescoes
  • Abbey of Vezelay (Burgundy) - Great pilgrimage church
  • Saint Philibert, Tournus, (Burgundy)  one of the oldest churches in France.
  • Saint Sernin, Toulouse - (Midi Pyrenees)

2. Free Museums in France

Note: the permanent collections of state museums, including the Louvre, are free at all times to young people under 26 years of age and resident in the EU, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein. Free tickets can be obtained on presentation of a valid ID - passport or ID card - plus proof of residency -  at the museum ticket office 

All state museums (that means most major museums in France) are free for everyone on the first Sunday of each month.

Museums that are free at all times:
Entrance free to the permanent collections in these museums
Paris area:
  • Paris: City of Paris Museum of Modern Art, 
  • Paris - Musée Carnavalet - the museum of the history of Paris
  • Paris - Petit Palais, City of Paris museum of fine arts; near the Champs Elysées.
  • Le Bourget - Just outside Paris: Musée de l'air et de l'espace (Aerospace museum) - 
Other places: .
  • Bordeaux: Musée des beaux arts - one of the best general art galleries in France outside Paris.
  • Bordeaux: Musée d'Aquitaine - good prehistoric section, including a reproduction of part of the Lascaux cave paintings.
  • Dijon - Musée des Beaux Arts - one of the finest provincial art galleries in France, housed in the former palace of the Dukes of Burgundy.
  • Limoges (Limousin) Musée des beaux arts - A collection from XV to XX century, including works by Delacroix, Redon, Renoir, Berthe Morisot, plus Limoges enamels and prehistoric artefacts.
  • Mulhouse (Alsace) - Musée des Beaux Arts.
  • Nice - Musée Matisse.
  • Nice - Musée des Beaux arts (includes works by Fragonard, Boudin, Degas, Dufy, Sisley, Rodin, and others)
  • Nice - Musée d'art moderne et contemporain - Modern art museum
  • Toulouse - Musée départemental de la Résistance et de la Déportation - Museum of the French resistance

3 Other free sites to visit


Paris:  see Paris for Free

Other places:
  • Aigues Mortes (Languedoc)  Mediaeval bastide city port, from where the Crusaders set off in medieval times. And generally speaking the other bastide towns of southwest France
  • Millau: visit the Millau viaduct and interpretive centre on the A75 motorway. (Bridge toll)
  •  Nice: wander along the Promenade des Anglais and visit the gardens of the old château de Nice.
  • Nimes (Languedoc) : view from the outside the famous Roman remains of the Amphitheatre and the Maison Carrée.
  • Normandy: the Normandy beaches 
  • Rocamadour, Lot (Aquitaine). A major mediaeval pilgrimage centre, the old town hanging precariously on the steep rocky side of a valley.
  • St Malo (Brittany) . Fortifications

4  Natural environment.

Generally speaking, France's immensely rich natural environment is free for all to enjoy. See Natural Environment

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