One of the most favoured tourist destinations in Europe, France is home to a galaxy of architectural gems, beautiful art pieces and splendid historical sites. Presented with such staggering depth and diversity of choice, the typical visitor is unnerved and overwhelmed as to what exactly is worth seeing, visiting and touring in this captivating country.

While there is a lot to see, we highly recommend you visit these five historical sites in France:

Best Cathedral

France's must-see historical sites
Reims Cathedral © Content Lobby

In Reims in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, about 129 km north-east of Paris, sits the Roman Catholic cathedral of Reims. One of the world's most famous cathedrals, Reims played a key ceremonial role as the site of the crowning of the kings of France. Built to replace an older church destroyed by a fire in 1211, this cathedral was restored after World War I with contributions from John D Rockefeller and escaped World War II relatively unscathed. Clovis, the king of the Franks, was baptised here by St Remi, the bishop of Reims, in AD 496.

Best Château

The Château of Versailles, located in Île de France near Paris, is the most spectacular château in the world. The story of its construction is replete with tragedies and ironies, while its costs helped break the national treasury and contributed to the eventual eruption of the French Revolution. Surrounded by magnificent gardens and a network of canals whose excavation required an army of workers, the site is also home to the Grand and Petit Trianons as well as miles of gilded corridors reminiscent of an extravagant era.

Best Palace

If you find yourself in the ÃŽle de France, you'd do well to visit the Palais de Fontainebleau. The vast forest surrounding this palace, which dates back to the time of the earliest Frankish kings, primarily served as a royal hunting ground. The core of the palace was commissioned to be constructed by Francois I in 1528 – subsequent monarchs would expand and furnish this splendid architectural structure. Napoleon ranked it as his favourite living quarters and delivered an impassioned farewell to his soldiers from its exterior staircase following his 1814 abdication.

Best Historic Monument

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Arc de Triomphe © Content Lobby

The Arc de Triomphe, located at the western end of the Champs-Élysées in Paris, is a modernised representation of an ancient Roman arch, only larger. The biggest arch of its kind in the world, this monument is one of France's most emblematic. Commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 as a symbol of victory for the triumphant troops returning home, the arch wasn't completed until 1836, under the reign of Louis-Philippe.

Best Cemetery

The Père Lachaise Cemetery, located in the Île de France, is the final resting place of a number of French and foreign luminaries. Magnificent nineteenth-century funerary sculptures decorate the tombs placed in this peaceful, tree-lined cemetery. You'll find Honoré de Balzac, Frédéric Chopin, Colette, Jim Morrison, Maria Callas and Oscar Wilde among the famous artists buried here.

Whether you are attending a French language school, taking French courses in France, or simply visiting from abroad, carve time out of your itinerary to visit these historical sites. You won't regret it.