Rouen is the capital of Normandy, a cultural, gastronomic and historic center set along the river Seine’s winding route between Paris and the Channel. The Gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame is the city’s signature landmark, soaring high over the restored medieval quarter, a delightful pedestrian district of cobblestone streets, half-timbered houses, and many old churches. A stroll along the Rue du Gros Horloge takes you under a Renaissance archway adorned with a gilded medieval clock for which this central street is named.

Just off England’s Hampshire Coast, the Isle of Wight has been welcoming holiday makers to its miles of beaches and pastoral landscapes since the mid-19^th century. The bustling port of Cowes is the island’s yachting center, famous for its annual regatta. Queen Victoria summered, and later died, here at Osborne House, her lemony Italianate palazzo, and Victorian style endures, especially in south coast resort towns and seaside promenades. The west coast is less developed, extending out to the landmark chalk stacks called the Needles.