I grew up to believe we had to travel thousands of miles away from home to find magic mountains and waterfalls that would dazzle the imagination.

So one day I went to Mexico to visit the fabulous underwater caves I had dreamed of from magazines: the Cenotes. I had never witnessed so many shades of green in the water. An amazing site I will never forget.

When I came back to France to spread the news of my discovery, a friend asked why I had gone so far away on a desperate mission when the jewels were in front of my eyes…

Such disdain nearly ended the conversation, but I wanted to know the source of his enchanted local Eden.

He muttered some unheard name: “Gouffre de Padirac”.

When I searched the site, I found beautiful caves that resembled the Cenotes with a pre-historic twist. Then I went there, and found a jewel.

That is why I want to share with you a few of the magic places that enchanted my adulthood like a Walt Disney story to a child.

1 – The White Horse of Camargue

Galloping through the beaches of Camargue…

Would you believe there is a place in southern France where herds of semi-wild horses gallop freely along the beaches every day?

The most noble conquest man ever made is of this proud and spirited animal that shared with him the exhaustion of wars and glory of battles.

The Camargue horse is the oldest breed of semi-wild horses in the world that can still be seen galloping with pride along the beach stretches of this sanctuary region that stole its name from the horse. Or vice-versa.

The Oldest Breed in the World

The bone remains found in the area confirmed these beautiful equine beasts can claim 20,000 years of ancestry. Paintings on the walls of the famous prehistoric Lascaux caves also bridge their heritage all the way to the Paleolithic period.

White horses and black bulls…A Camargue tradition

Born black, they turn white at four.  Powerful and robust, the white horse is the symbol of the Camargue region, along with the black bull, which is also a local delicacy – the bull, not the horse! Both animals have grazed the same pastures for centuries, though this horse can sustain long periods of time without food.

The ‘Guardians’ – or local cattle growers, – show their devoted respect to their four-legged companion through many festivals.

Every year dozens of ferias or festivals celebrate the well-respected white horse of Camargue.

Click to view the video

2 – Mont Saint Michel

Trapped between time and tides…

According to legend, Saint Michael appeared to a monk one cloudy night in the year 709 ordering him to build an abbey on these rocks.  Rebuilt by Benedictine monks on the course of several centuries, this medieval church has resisted tides and invasions for 1,500 years.

In the 11th century, the Romanesque abbey church was founded over a set of crypts where the rock comes to an apex, and the first monastery buildings were built up against its north wall.

A symbol of true resistance, it inspired many to take arms against oppressors and conquerors during the hundred-year war including a young peasant girl named Joan of Arc.

One kilometer off the Normandy coast, this jewel hosts only 50 permanent inhabitants and is one of the most visited site in France.

3 – Giverny

The Gardens of Paradise

In 1883, Claude Monet settled in Giverny with his family and planted an orchard and fruit trees in the middle of a sloping land, flowers of different heights, creating a garden of nearly 1 hectare full of perspective, symmetries and colors hues. Then he began to paint. The rest is history.

 Inspired by the Japanese prints he collected avidly, he devoted himself to transform his pond into a Japanese garden with floating nymphs and exotic vegetation.

 500 000 visitors discover Monet’s gardens each year during the seven months that it is open.

To prevent people from treading on the plants, and thus retain the garden’s beauty, the inner alleys are closed to the public. Visitors walk on the side alleys and can walk all around the garden to admire all its perspectives.

To get to the water garden you go through an underground passage (at the time of Monet it was necessary to cross the railway and the road).

You will step on the Japanese bridge and explore all the hidden recesses that decorate the water garden and marked the birth of Impressionism.

4 – Les Calanques

Heavenly Turquoise Creeks of Provence

Accessible only on foot, these creeks display dramatic features along the coast of Provence, between Marseille and Cassis. The calanques are remains of ancient river mouths formed during the Tertiary period.

Decorated with interminable rows of cypress trees planted in the rock over the turquoise waters, these sheltered inlets redefine the meaning of paradise.

5 – Gouffres de Padirac

A unique underground voyage under the earth.

The Gouffre de Padirac is an incredible cave system containing an underground river and gorge and a huge cavern. Underground lakes and pools and stalactite formations all add to its appeal but somehow it is the sheer size of the caverns that is really incredible.

As you glide over the “Lac de la Pluie” or lake of rain, you do indeed find yourself being ‘rained’ on by the water which is permanently running down the walls and in places overhead as it runs over one of the stalactite formations.

At the edge of the main cavern you leave the boat and begin the walking tour into the heart of the cathedral-like space that is the ‘Grand Dome’. This cavern is incredible, with the river flowing along the bottom, a majestic rock enclosed space opens up above you with stalactite formations in places. The dome is 94 meters high.

A steep staircase then leads you up to the top of the cavern to get a view of the cavern from above and the sight of some lovely water pools along the way. (It is possible to walk back along the edge of the river to the boats if the climb is likely to be too much for you).

At the end of the tour your boat takes you back to the stairs and lifts to climb back to the surface.

This magic place is in the Lot region, near the famous pilgrim village of Rocamadour.

This should give you an idea of the type of jewels you may step on if you look under the right stone.