If someone blindfolded you, spun you around, and dropped you into the heart of Old Quebec, you’d swear you were in some corner of Europe — perhaps France. But surprise: you're standing in the only fortified city north of Mexico, nestled along the St. Lawrence River in Canada. Welcome to Quebec City, where cobblestone streets whisper old stories, and castle-like hotels pierce the sky.

On the southeast coast of France, where the Alps kiss the Mediterranean, lies a city so picturesque that artists, aristocrats, and Instagrammers have been swooning over it for centuries. Welcome to **Nice**—the unofficial queen of the French Riviera.