Three beaches in France have been named as among the top 100 most beautiful in the world, in a new ranking by travel guide publisher Lonely Planet.
The publisher’s new guide booklisted three French beaches in Corsica, Brittany, and Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur (Paca) among the most beautiful in the world. These are:
Palombaggia beach, Porto-Vecchio, Corse-du-Sud (Corsica)
Image: Eva Bocek / Shutterstock
A white, sandy, secluded beach with turquoise water, and several coves separated by rocks and trees. Palombaggia is frequently voted the best beach in France by reviewers on sites such as TripAdvisor.
Lonely Planet’s new guide calls it “the Corsican paradise you've been dreaming of: sparkling turquoise waters, a long stretch of pine-fringed sand and splendid views of the Cerbicale islands (îles Cerbicale)”.
One of the famous calanques in the eponymous national park near Marseille, the Calanque d’En-Vau is in a cove surrounded by limestone cliffs, usually accessed on foot or by kayak.
Those who make the effort to reach it will find welcome repose in its stunning water.
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Poulains beach, Belle-Ile-en-Mer (Brittany)
Caption: Alexandre.ROSA / Shutterstock
With sandy and pebbly sections, this beach on one of Brittany’s islands leads to the ‘Îlot des Poulains’ - although it can be cut off at high tide.
The location served as a refuge for 19th Century French actress Sarah Bernhardt, who bought a small military fort near the beach as a holiday retreat.
However, after the occupying Germans destroyed the fort in 1944, all that remains is a seat carved in stone, where she used to await the boat to the mainland.
Europe and beyond
The guide lists the most beautiful beaches by continent, and does not limit itself to “palm-tree-lined shores”, asking rather: “what about the windy bays of Wales or the secluded sands of Japan’s outlying islands?”
The British beaches highlighted as beautiful are Durdle Door and Kynance Cove in England, Rhossili Bay in Wales and West Beach in Scotland.
Many beaches in Spain were featured, as were several in Italy and Croatia and one in Germany.
It also included several of the world’s most iconic beaches, including Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro, Camps Bay in Cape Town, Venice Beach in Los Angeles, Red Frog Beach in Panama, Blue Lagoon Beach in Fiji, and the paradisiacal Anse Source d'Argent in the Seychelles.
