Best of France.

France's creative energy has spread well beyond Paris, and the provinces are arguably more interesting for it. Croix-Rousse in Lyon serves its coffee with a hilltop market view and centuries of silk-worker history underfoot. Notre-Dame-du-Mont in Marseille is steep stairs, loud bars, and street art that actually deserves the wall space. Les Chartrons in Bordeaux repurposed 18th-century wine warehouses into natural wine bars - the French sense of irony at its best. Seven cities, all running on long lunches and strong opinions.