Top 3 Lesser Known Medieval Cities In France Yet To Be Hit By Mass Tourism: As Chosen By A Local

From Paris’ sparkling Eiffel Tower and romantic Montmartre, down to Marseille’s vibrant port and pastel-colored Panier district, France has countless historic wonders.

I would know. Almost 5 years in of living in France, I’m an adopted French at this point, and I can’t imagine spending the rest of my days anywhere else.

That being said, the level of mass tourism we get in summer can dull the magique a little, especially in popular hotspots, where it’s more of the beret-clad Instagrammers and tourist traps, and less locals and lived-in areas.

That’s why whenever I have friends over, Versailles or Mont Saint-Michel are two of the last places I’m taking them on a day trip to beat the Parisian crowds. Instead, I love showing them around these 3 lesser-known gems:

Rouen

A short one-hour train ride from Paris, Rouen is one of my favorite weekend getaways: with a rich history dating back to the Middle Ages, it is home to a well-preserved historic center, packed with beautiful monuments, and it feels a lot quieter in comparison.

If you’re asking me, a well-spent day in Rouen consists in visiting the medieval Astronomical Clock, admiring the soaring Gothic cathedral, which rivals Paris’ Notre-Dame in beauty, and simply getting lost in its narrow alleys.

They are lined with colorful houses and merchant shops selling handicraft and local delicacies—and to my fellow culture buffs out there, don’t miss out on Place du Vieux-Marché, the public square where Joan of Arc was burned.

For the best crepes in Rouen, Crêperie Roland serves the yummiest ham-and-cheese galettes, and if you’re looking for picturesque, Eau de Robec is a café-lined street running along a picturesque stream, with the cutest half-timbered houses in town.

Troyes

A hidden gem of northeastern France, Troyes is a small medieval treasure best known for its cobbled alleys, typically-French maisons à colombage (that’s half-timbered for you), and enviable collection of Gothic churches.

The most important religious edifice in town, Troyes Cathedral is a memorable sight with its sole-standing tower, richly-decorated portal, and beautiful rose window—a fun fact about it is they didn’t have the funds to complete the second tower, so it was left with an asymmetrical appearance.

It’s beautiful, nonetheless, and so is Église Sainte-Madeleine, the oldest church in Troyes: the Romanesque sections were built as early as 1120–1150, and I love it particularly for its jubé, an intricately-carved rood screen separating the nave from the choir.

As you can see, if you’re into architecture, you’ll definitely enjoy Troyes—and for the foodies, you should probably know this is where France’s signature andouillettes, or tripe sausages, come from, and trust me when I say there’s nowhere better to sample those than Chez Félix.

Honfleur

Normandy is one of the most popular destinations for tourists traveling around France, and that’s hardly a surprise, considering it’s home to world-renowned sites like Mont-Saint-Michel and the D-Day landing beaches, but I still can’t help but think one of its finest towns keeps getting overlooked:

Honfleur is a most-charming harbor town characterized by its skinny, dark-blue or gray waterfront dwellings, labyrinthine Old Town, criss-crossed by stone-paved passageways, and monumental wooden church—the oldest surviving one in France, at over 550-years-old!

Looking at its townscape from afar, it’s easy to understand how impressionism—yep, as in the school of painting—was born here with Honfleur-native Eugène Boudin, who went on the mentor Claude Monet and other celebrated French artists.

Whenever I’m in Honfleur, which just happens to be every chance I get, I love swinging by La Fleur de Sel, a boujee eatery near the harbor serving traditional Norman plats with an Asian twist, and taking a ride on the the Grande Roue, a Ferris wheel offering panoramic views of the coast.

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