France

France is a land of carousels...but this one has some unusual features.

Paris has lots of rock-star tourist attractions, but some of its most interesting buildings deserve more notice than usually comes their way.

A quiet moment sitting in one of Paris's most popular parks contrasts with the day's news of the world of unrest.

When you visit Paris' Louvre museum, don't forget to look up.

Dijon's historic center is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, with well-preserved buildings, an unusual Gothic church and a Michelin-star lunch.

Paris will clear cars off the Champs-Elysees one day a month as part of a campaign against congestion and pollution. Other measures, too!

Snow-parched Alpine ski resorts have started to get some serious snow, with more expected—but it's still less than usual.

Low snowfalls are a big problem for ski resorts in France, Italy and Switzerland, with skiers waiting to the last minute to see where there's snow.

Two European cities are facing dry seasons in their canals, with record low tides exposing long-unseen areas of Venice's waterways, and Paris draining its iconic Canal Saint-Martin for cleaning and repairs. In Venice, abnormal tides this year, combined with a so-far dry winter, have left water levels about 70cm (more than 2 feet) below normal. As a result, routes for the city's vaporetti, or water buses, have been curtailed because they are unable to navigate in some of the smaller canals.

France's island region of Corsica is seeing new stirrings of nationalism, as pro-independence parties won power in the regional elections earlier this month. The new leaders have promised to move toward independence, but cautiously. The caution is based on a few points, among them polls that make clear that most Corsicans want a vote on independence, but that many are not sure it's a realistic goal economically. Unlike Spain's Catalonia or the U.K.'s Scotland, Corsica does not have a strong...

The recent terror attacks in Paris apparently haven't put off its lure for visitors; Airbnb reports it's the top New Year holiday booking in Europe, and second only to New York world-wide. The vacation rental company says it has 45,000 people booked in Paris for the holiday, and 47,000 in New York. The rest of the top 5 are London with 35,000, Sydney with 25,000 and Barcelona with 24,000. The figures indicate a quick and solid comeback for Paris's tourism industry; immediately after the...

Paris's traditional outdoor New Year's Eve celebration on the Champs-Elysees will happen this year, but will be a much more low-key affair than in the past. In the aftermath of last month's terror attacks, there had been thoughts it would be canceled. It will be a very different event, with no fireworks (for fear they might spark panic) and security measures to control crowds and keep too large a crowd from forming around the Arc de Triomphe. In place of the fireworks, there will be a...