France’s unsung sights are better than tourist traps

The holiday season arrives and we all want to go where we all want to go. Or rather: we all want to go where everyone else wants to go.

We want to see the big, famous, bucket-list sights. Why bother with the small stuff that no one ever boasts about visiting?

As a result, several places in France have become over-touristy. Paris is particularly affected. Mont Saint-Michel has been turned into a pastiche of itself. Even the Vieux Port in Marseille is overrun with sightseers.

It is the same with all the attractions that make France so attractive: chateaux, cathedrals, calanques, the Camargue, and all the rest. You go there and you can barely see what you came to see because everyone else is crowded around doing the same thing.

This situation is clearly untenable. Mass tourism, ironically, destroys the thing it loves. 

Mea culpa: I have spent most of my career writing travel guides, singing the praises of all the usual suspects. I would not have been doing my job if I had omitted the Eiffel Tower and Versailles on the ‘must-see list’.

At the same time, whenever I could I promoted a philosophy of backroads. Turn away from the crowds; explore; see if you can find value in the places everyone else ignores.

What makes France such a great tourist destination, to me, is that every corner of the country has something to offer if we only bother to look for it.

Wherever you find yourself, why not seek out the smaller items in the tourist office brochure?

If a town has an uncelebrated monument, give it a shot. Visit that rural church or chapel and you will have it to yourself. Take a walk in those overgrown ruins that have not been restored for lack of heritage funds.

When there is only one unfamiliar thing to see, you will probably look at it more closely and think harder about what it is.

You might even ask questions of a custodian on duty or a passer-by. This can lead to interesting conversations – something impossible in a busy place. Such personal encounters will also do wonders for your French.

Much of tourism is concerned with a fascination for the past but we are usually told about the big, famous events only.

But history is built from the ground up. Every small object or anecdote is a microcosm that feeds into the bigger picture.

Aim for the unknown

Sometimes you can learn more about history by examining one small item in some unsung regional museum than by joining the guided tour around a throne room.

France’s history is the history of its people, not just its rulers. Tradition is a form of living history and there may be a local fête you can attend. 

As for souvenirs, do you really want a piece of tat from an overpriced gift shop? Far better to buy local produce in a normal shop.

France excels in distinctive foods and drinks, and you can often find intriguing traditional utensils in hardware shops.

By wandering off the prescribed route you will be contributing to the local economy and you may get more out of your visit than you think.

Some of my best experiences – as a travel writer and as a tourist in my own right – have been unplanned and unexpected.

That is, after all, what tourism is supposed to be. It is not about ticking off items on a bucket list, but about going abroad to put yourself out of your comfort zone and learn something new.

Make your next trip counter-cultural and serendipitous and you really will have something to write home about.