France

The absolutely stunning Artus Hotel in Paris is notable for its style and situation.One of the French capital's most fashionable hotels, this venue boasts modern, clean lines alongside some impressive original artwork.Spacious and beautiful, bold-coloured bedrooms provide an up-to-the-minute feel, complete with platform beds and dark wood floors. Guests can eat breakfast downstairs in what is decribed by Tablet Hotels as a "chic minimalist space".There is also an in-house art gallery that displays exhibitions regularly.And the location of this hotel is hard to beat, set in the centre of rue de Buci, perfect for a great shopping trip in Saint-Germain-des-Pres. But if it's not shopping you're after, you can of course pop along to one of the dozens of attractions that this glorious city has to offer, including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe.

Get out of the picture house and into the heart of Paris to toast the best of the country's moviemaking this summer.From July 15th to August 17th the Parc de la Villette plays host to its annual Cinema en Plein Air event as an enormous screen is erected in the Prairie du Triangle.The title of this year's film festival is "Ava, Rita, Gina…les etoiles ne meurent jamais" (movie stars never die).A total of 36 films along this theme will be shown over the course of a month in their original versions.These include Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, while Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall show off their sizzling sexual chemistry in To Have And Have Not.For retro classics, arthouse and film noir from comfier seats, top cinemas in the capital include Le Champo or floating barge La Peniche, which is moored in the La Villette canal basin throughout summer and also holds movie workshops.

For comfort cuisine at its very best, head to Dominique Bouchet's eponymous bistro in the French capital.Mixing traditional recipes with refined techniques and boasting a location a little off the beaten track, Bouchet will delight diners hoping for a less pretentious but still palatable introduction to French food.Meat dishes on offer include finely breaded port trotter pancake with truffle sauce and the mouth-watering tender leg of lamb roasted for a full seven hours.It might be worth taking as much time looking over the dessert menu - the sumptuous choice between spiced pineapple marmalade with rum ice cream or white peach poached in vanilla syrup with Champagne granita is a difficult one!According to concierge.com, the Rue Treillard eatery is sweeter still for its relaxed atmosphere and warm service and promises: "Even the least expensive wines are great drinking".For another great French restaurant run by top a top chef in Paris, try Pierre Gagnaire on Rue Balzac.

The Hotel de Crillon in the French capital Paris offers sophisticated refinement and prices to match such tastes.Set in the shadow of the Place de la Concorde, the hotel is actually an 18th-century palace and guests will certainly feel like they are living the life of royalty should they stay at the residency.Rich in history and within walking distance of that quintessential French area, the Champs-Elysees, the Hotel de Crillon has been designed with the traditions of France in mind.Hand-painted ceilings are the touch of decadence and design brilliance that arguably lift the hotel, while there are still places for the modern day trappings - such as flat-screen TVs - to make a stay in the hotel everything guests could imagine.Eating and drinking at the Hotel de Crillon is a delight, matching experiences across the French capital, with Les Ambassadeurs a particular favourite with online source Concierge.It suggests the Hotel de Crillon's onsite two-star is "fitting for occasions both formal and frivolous".