Photos: The French destinations named unmissable in 2025 by the New York Times

Aix-en-Provence and the Pays Basque have been named as unmissable destinations in France in a new ranking by the New York Times (NYT).

Every year, the US publication presents a ranking of 52 unmissable worldwide destinations for the year ahead. It takes into account any forthcoming major events or changes in the area that would merit a trip, such as upcoming cultural exhibitions.

In the ‘52 Places to Go in 2025’ list, Aix-en-Provence came in seventh place in the ranking, and the Pays Basque in 31st.

Aix-en-Provence: The year of Cézanne

Aix-en-Provence was celebrated for its cultural offerings, including the forthcoming reopening of painter Paul Cézanne’s family home in the city.

The NYT highlighted that 2025 would be “the Year of Cézanne”, and said that “art fans can also visit the nearby Bibémus quarries, where the painter captured the Provençal landscapes and the Montagne Sainte-Victoire; and Cézanne’s freshly renovated Les Lauves studio, to see the last palette he used, and join a new tour that focuses on his final masterpieces”.

The city’s Musée Granet is also set to host the largest collection of Cézanne’s work to date (from June 28 to October 12), in a showing that will include more than 100 oil paintings, watercolours and drawings.

Pays Basque: Culinary jewel

The Pays Basque was included as the newspaper said it is “one of the most interesting places to eat in France”, and highlighted the arrival of several top chefs to the region. These include Inaki Aizpitarte, and Grégory Marchand.

Chef Aizpitarte has now moved back to the Pays Basque after 17 years at Le Chateaubriand in Paris, and is cooking at Le Petit Grill Basque in St Jean de Luz.

Chef Marchand - who trained in Nantes, Paris, and London - is the owner of the ‘Frenchie’ line of restaurants and wine merchants across France and London. He was given the nickname ‘Frenchie’ by UK celebrity chef Jamie Oliver during his time at Mr Oliver’s training restaurant Fifteen Cornwall. 

In 2024, he opened a Frenchie site in Biarritz, at the five-star hotel Regina Experimental.

This is not the first time that French regions have appeared in the ranking. In 2024, Normandy came in 44th position, and Paris in second place.

Other destinations

Outside of France, other destinations to appear on the list include: 

• Southwest England, due to events being held to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of celebrated author Jane Austen

• The Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, due to its beautiful national parks, and - thanks to an increase in the price of entry to the parks - its forthcoming efforts to improve conservation

• Assam, India, after its famous pyramids were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2024, and its Guwahati airport set to quadruple its capacity in 2025

• Lumbini, Nepal, a famous pilgrimage site where the Buddha is said to have been born; and where a new international centre for Buddhist studies is this year due to open, alongside the restoration of the ancient UNESCO-listed temple site the Ramagrama Stupa

• Scotland's Flow Country, due to its peatland being “one of the world’s biggest carbon stores, which makes it key to the fight against climate change”, its diverse wildlife and “stunning landscape”

• East London, due to several 2025 openings in the “latest cultural hotbed” of the UK capital, including the new Sadler's Wells East theatre for contemporary dance, and the V&A East Storehouse’s David Bowie centre

• Greenland, due to its “sparking new international airport” making it more accessible than ever

• Sydney, Australia, due to its expanding metro network, reputation as a “seafood mecca”, and a new market hall upgrade for the Sydney Fish Market

• Thailand, due to its associations with the forthcoming third series of smash hit TV show White Lotus

The full list can be seen on the New York Times website here (NYT login required).