Total solar eclipse in the Mediterranean

The port of Nice is a vibrant gateway to the French Riviera, offering a rich tapestry of history, stunning architecture, and delectable local cuisine. Must-do experiences include savoring local specialties at the bustling Cours Saleya Market and exploring the charming streets of Vieux Nice. The best time to visit is during the spring and early fall when the weather is mild and the city is alive with cultural festivities.

Calvi is Corsica's jewel-box port town where a commanding Genoese citadel overlooks the Mediterranean's finest urban beach — four miles of white sand lapped by Caribbean-clear water beneath snow-capped mountains. Visit June or September via Ponant or Explora Journeys for citadel walks, Corsican wild boar and brocciu cheese, and the essential paradox of an island that is French by law but entirely its own in character.

Bonifacio is a dramatically cliff-perched medieval citadel at Corsica's southern tip, where Genoese ramparts tower above a fjord-like natural harbour in the turquoise Strait of Bonifacio. Visitors should descend the vertiginous Escalier du Roi d'Aragon carved into the limestone cliffs and take a boat excursion to the pristine Lavezzi archipelago nature reserve for world-class snorkelling among sculpted granite formations. The ideal window is June or September, when the Mediterranean light is at its most luminous and the narrow streets of the haute ville remain blissfully uncrowded.

Founded by Greek sailors in 600 BC, Marseille is France's oldest and most viscerally alive city — a Mediterranean port where the catch is still sold from fishing boat decks at the Vieux-Port each morning beneath the golden Madonna of Notre-Dame de la Garde, gleaming on her basilica above the city. The bouillabaisse served at harbourside institutions such as Chez Fonfon is not merely a dish but a rite, its saffron-stained broth tying Marseille to its Hellenic roots. Explore the dramatic Calanques national park, a coastal labyrinth of turquoise coves just south of the city. Spring and autumn are the finest seasons.

Port Vendres is a compelling Mediterranean port in France where centuries of history, vibrant local cuisine, and luminous coastal scenery converge. Visitors should explore the historic quarters on foot and surrender to the local dining culture, where fresh seafood and regional wines provide a masterclass in Mediterranean living. Best visited May through October, when the climate is at its most welcoming for outdoor exploration. Cruise lines including Azamara feature this port on their most compelling itineraries. Whether you have a few hours or a full day, the port rewards exploration at every pace and in every direction.

Barcelona is the city where Roman history, Gothic grandeur, and Gaudí's delirious Modernisme collide in a Mediterranean coastal capital of astonishing energy and beauty. The Sagrada Família — still under construction after 140 years — continues its audacious ascent toward completion, while the Gothic Quarter's Roman-era foundations and the Passeig de Gràcia's extraordinary concentration of Modernisme masterpieces reward days of exploration. For a complete sensory experience, lose an afternoon in the covered labyrinth of La Boqueria market before descending to the waterfront for Catalan seafood at its finest. May through June and September through October offer the most pleasant weather; the city connects directly to Paris by overnight train.

Palma de Mallorca announces itself with one of the most spectacular Gothic cathedrals in the world — La Seu, its honey-coloured sandstone buttresses rising directly from the bay, its interior modified by Antoni Gaudí and illuminated by the world's largest Gothic rose window. The old town behind it is a quarter of Arab baths, Renaissance palaces converted into boutique hotels, and the Passeig del Born — a plane-tree-shaded promenade where Balearic life conducts itself with unhurried grace. The local ensaïmada pastry and fresh sobrasada sausage from the island's black pigs are essential breakfast rituals. Visit May, June, or September: warm, brilliant, and measurably calmer than the July–August peak.

The port of Nice is a vibrant gateway to the French Riviera, offering a rich tapestry of history, stunning architecture, and delectable local cuisine. Must-do experiences include savoring local specialties at the bustling Cours Saleya Market and exploring the charming streets of Vieux Nice. The best time to visit is during the spring and early fall when the weather is mild and the city is alive with cultural festivities.