The magnificent ochre villa, set in an olive grove, has permanent exhibitions of his possessions and hosts concerts and lectures It opens 10am – 6pm daily except Tuesdays. Admission is €4 (£2.50).A WALK IN THE PARK The park in which the museum is located is a beauty, with shady corners, fine views and paths named after jazz musicians. The remains of Roman Nice are on hand if you are seeking a more archaeological purpose to your stroll.THE ICING ON THE CAKE Falicon is the first taste of la vrai Provence – a small, self-contained hill town that is close enough to reach by bus (line 101 – make sure you get one going the whole way, and pay an extra €1.10/£0.70 for the privilege). You can wander through the cluster of medieval stone buildings, visit the church and eat and drink with some rustic locals.. WHY GO? Whatever you want from a city, you can probably find it in Paris – the most visited metropolis in the world. Happily, the French capital is more easily and cheaply accessible from Britain than ever, and keeps reinventing itself – rewarding regular visitors.

Eiffel TowerClick here for pop-up map, with numbered locations (see below in bold) WHY GO? Whatever you want from a city, you can probably find it in Paris – the most visited metropolis in the world. The summer heat can be stifling, but in August – the warmest month – many Parisians flee the city, and leave it to the tourists. With a refreshing lack of congestion, this can be the ideal time to visit, though some restaurants close and you may even have to search around to find a boulangerie that is open. In autumn, as the nights draw in, the city can be at its most atmospheric.

And in winter, you can have many of the leading sights almost to yourself, at least midweek. For details of festivals, and a compendious list of hotels, contact the French Travel Centre, 178 Piccadilly, London W1J 9AL (09068 244 123, 60p per minute; ).BEAM DOWN The least stressful approach is first class on Eurostar from London Waterloo or Ashford. Through one of the many tour operators, such as Eurostar Holidays Direct (0870 167 6767), you can book a complete package – including two nights in a four-star hotel – for around £300; no more than the official first-class fare for the trip alone. If you prefer to arrange your own accommodation, the cheapest seat on Eurostar will cost £70-£79 return, booked at least two weeks in advance. From other parts of Britain, the cost of add-on rail tickets to London is minimal – as little as £1, and usually no more than £30 return. You can fly to Charles de Gaulle airport from lots of UK departure points on BA, Air France and BMI. The no-frills airline options are Buzz from Stansted and easyJet from Liverpool and Luton (from 12 June).

From the airport, the RER suburban railway will take you directly to Gare du Nord (1), Ch?let-Les Halles or St Michel in 30-35 minutes for €7.62 (£4.50).GET YOUR BEARINGS The Grand Axe is the triumphal thoroughfare that slices through the city from the Grande Arche de la D?nse – one of the monuments created by Fran?s Mitterrand – to the Louvre (2). The main tourist office is along the Grand Axe at 127, Avenue des Champs-Elys? (3), (00 33 8 92 68 31 12; ). The city is divided up into 20 arrondisements which spiral out from the centre, but those of most interest in this itinerary are the central ones – especially 3 and 4, the Marais, the ancient heart of the modern city.CHECK IN With 1,500 hotels in Paris, the following is just a tiny selection of options, classy or otherwise. The H? de Crillon (00 33 1 44 71 15 01) on the Place de la Concorde (5) and H? Raphael (00 33 1 53 64 32 00) on the Avenue Kleber, just off the Etoile (6), are chic – but some prefer the Lancaster (7) at 7 rue de Berri (00 33 1 40 76 40 76; ), a beautiful hotel just off the Champs-Elys?.