Warwickshire &amp; West Midlands


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Avignon</h2>



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<p>Wine lovers listen up, two hour and 20 minutes on a Flybe jet from <a href="https://www.birminghamairport.co.uk">Birmingham Airport</a> and you can be in the capital of the Côtes-du-Rhône. Head to the <a href="https://www.carredupalais.fr">Carré du Palais</a> where there&#8217;s a school of wine (that&#8217;s my kind of lesson) which is entirely dedicated to reds, whites, rosés and sparkling offerings from the region. </p>



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<p>After that &#8216;lesson&#8217; you may need something to eat, and fear not you&#8217;re spoilt for choice here. Along with heaps of authentic restaurants there&#8217;s not one but <em>two</em> Michelin starred joints to choose from &#8211; <a href="https://www.restaurantsevin.fr">Sevin</a> (formerly known as Christian Etienne) or the restaurant <a href="https://www.la-mirande.fr/en/">La Mirande</a>&nbsp;&#8211; which also holds classes in Provençal cooking. Meandering around the city and its  there&#8217;s plenty to see, from medieval streets and houses to private mansions dating back to the Renaissance. Make sure you stop in the city centre and have a look at <a href="https://www.avignon-et-provence.com/en/monuments/popes-palace-avignon">the Popes&#8217; Palace</a> &#8211; the biggest gothic palace in the world, and check out <a href="https://www.avignon-et-provence.com/en/monuments/bridge-avignon">Saint Bénézet Bridge</a> and <a href="https://avignon-tourisme.com/en/activities/notre-dame-des-doms-metropolitan-basilica/">Notre-Dame des Doms Cathedral</a> &#8211; all three are listed as world heritage sites by UNESCO.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Brest</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://warks.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/08/Untitled-design-746.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-50169" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/warks/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/08/Untitled-design-746.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/warks/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/08/Untitled-design-746-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/warks/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/08/Untitled-design-746-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/warks/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/08/Untitled-design-746-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/warks/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/08/Untitled-design-746-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>Hop over the border to Brest in Brittany in one hour 20 mins with Flybe and check out what this pretty commercial port city in northwestern France has to offer. Think late nights wandering the quay at Quai Commandant-Malbert, which is overlooked by the imposing castle and tower and is home to some pretty seafront eateries. You&#8217;ve got to make a stop at <a href="https://www.lembrunrestaurant.fr">L&#8217;Embrum</a> (also Michelin-rated) and if you&#8217;re looking for something a little more low-key check out <a href="https://www.restaurant-fruit-mer-brest.com">La Maison de l&#8217;Ocean</a> with gorgeous harbour front views, serving up fresh seafood. </p>



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<p>Make sure you check out aquarium <a href="https://www.oceanopolis.com">Océanopolis</a> &#8211; which boasts four pavilions filled with aquariums &#8211; Tropical, Polar, Temperate and Biodiversity. Take the panoramic elevator into the shark tank (eek!), visit a penguin colony, meet some seals and watch deep-sea creatures inside the abyss box &#8211; a tank&nbsp;kept 1,800 metres below the sea.&nbsp;If you prefer land to sea then hotfoot it to  the <a href="https://www.cbnbrest.fr">National&nbsp;Botanical Conservatory&nbsp;Garden</a>, which works with Kew Gardens. It contains the world&#8217;s largest collection of endangered&nbsp;plants with 4,000 species, nearly of half of which are under threat. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Nantes</h2>



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<p>Just 1 hour and 25 mins from Brum on an easyJet flight and you can be in the Loire Valley in <a href="https://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/destinations-and-more/where-we-fly/nantes/">Nantes</a>. Obviously the first thing you&#8217;re going to want to do is ride an elephant &#8211; no, not a real one! It&#8217;s life-sized, completely mechanical and is part of <a href="https://www.lesmachines-nantes.fr/en/">Les Machines de l’île</a>. Think artistic theme park and you&#8217;re not far wrong, it&#8217;s inspired by the works of Jules Verne and Leonardo da Vinci and there&#8217;s loads of mechanical creatures to ride, including the aforementioned Dumbo who will take you on a trek up and down the town&#8217;s shipyard. For more traditional art there&#8217;s <a href="https://museedartsdenantes.nantesmetropole.fr/en/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Musée des Beaux-Arts</a> with an impressive 2,000 square metres of exhibition space. There&#8217;s the cool and quirky <a href="https://www.levoyageanantes.fr/lieux/hab-galerie/">HAB Galerie</a> too, based in a historical shed unit once used to store fruit from Africa- art on show is contemporary and there&#8217;s a great shop onsite too. If you fancy really feeling the French heritage head to <a href="https://www.chateaunantes.fr/en/">Château des ducs de Bretagne</a> in the city centre &#8211; a 13th century chateau which contains a museum and holds regular exhibitions too. </p>



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<p>If you need a break from all that culture the old town is great for shopping with delectable food boutiques and the <a href="https://haussmann.galerieslafayette.com/en/">Galeries Lafayette</a> department store for high-end fashion. You can&#8217;t miss The&nbsp;Passage Pommeraye in the newer part of town &#8211; it&#8217;s a spectacular 19th-century glass-roofed mall. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Toulouse</h2>



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<p>Sightseers are spoilt for choice in this magical city just 1 hour and 50 mins away on a Ryanair flight. First of all, Toulouse is known as &#8216;La Ville Rose&#8217; &#8211; that&#8217;s &#8216;The Pink City’ to you and me. Most of the buildings have been created with terracotta bricks which gives it a lovely orange, pinky glow. It&#8217;s best to explore on foot, or as part of a guided tour, and your first stop has to be the UNESCO heritage site of <a href="https://www.basilique-saint-sernin.fr">Basilica of Saint Sernin</a> &#8211; a church which is known as one of the greatest in the country due to its beautiful soaring nave. Next stop head to Pont Neuf &#8211; the oldest bridge in the city which crosses the River Seine. It looks best at night and is lit up beautifully with spotlights, make sure you take a snap for the &#8216;gram. </p>



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<p>Fancy a slice of Japan in the middle of Toulouse? Let me answer for you &#8211; yes. The Jardin Japonais in the middle of the Compans-Caffarelli park is a little zen paradise, with a red cartwheel bridge, tea pavilion, stone garden and a lake filled with koi carp, turtles and frogs. It&#8217;s been created in the Grand Rond &#8211; a historic park which is an oasis of calm in the bustling city centre. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Grenoble</h2>



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<p>If you&#8217;re going on a winter getaway (lucky you!) Grenoble is known as the capital of the Alps &#8211; and it&#8217;s one hour 50 mins away with Ryanair. Grab your skis (or snowboard if that&#8217;s your jam) and spend a week or two enjoying the apres-ski vibe. There&#8217;s more than 20 ski resorts surrounding the city so you&#8217;re spoilt for choice on where to go. If you&#8217;re heading there out of ski season then you&#8217;ll want to visit covered food market,&nbsp;<a href="https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Restaurant/Halles-Sainte-Claire-de-Grenoble-604069886345024/">Halles Sainte-Claire</a>. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://warks.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/08/Untitled-design-754.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-50178" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/warks/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/08/Untitled-design-754.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/warks/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/08/Untitled-design-754-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/warks/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/08/Untitled-design-754-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/warks/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/08/Untitled-design-754-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/warks/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/08/Untitled-design-754-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>The city is known for its walnuts (I know, you learn something new everyday) and they are in <em>everything</em>, from oils to liquor and even pastries. If you can turn down the call of warm pastries head to Michelin rated <a href="https://www.fantin-latour.fr/home/">La Fantin Latour</a> or <a href="https://lerousseaugrenoble.fr">Le Rousseau</a>. Obviously you can get a good glass of vino in this part of the world too, but here craft beer is really popular. According to locals the ales are superior because of the quality of the water. Head to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/shakesbeer38">Shakesbeer</a> or <a href="https://www.brugs-grenoble.com">Brugs</a> to put them to the test. </p>



<p>Click <a href="https://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/destinations-and-more/where-we-fly/nantes/">here</a> to book flights or find out more. </p>


Under the radar places in France to fly to from Birmingham

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