History & Culture

The adopted home of Leonardo da Vinci was at the epicenter of the Renaissance and the enlightenment. In the 19th and 20th centuries, it was a magnet for artists including Pablo Picasso and Vincent Van Gogh. See their masterpieces in France’s world-class museums. The Louvre and Musée d’Orsay are the most prominent, but there are countless lesser-known jewels. For millennia France has played a pivotal role in European history. Greek colonists, Roman occupiers, William the Conqueror, the Dukes of Burgundy, the French Kings, and Napoleon left behind imposing castles, fortresses, and monuments. The Avignon Popes and Cluny and Cistercian Orders made it the religious heart capital of Christendom leaving behind soaring cathedrals and breathtaking architecture. Joan of Arc’s story is one of the most fascinating in world history. Were that not enough, France was a major prize in World War I and II. The D-Day beaches and Sommes and Verdun battlefields are humbling, somber memorials of the tragedy of war.