As you head down towards the Mediterranean, Aix is the perfect place to stop off. Visitors will be delighted by the colourful and vibrant street markets and the typical Provencale…
I can understand the attraction of fishing, but have never dabbled, always arguing that I do not have enough time to indulge in an activity which is so quintissentially time-consuming.…
Amanda Lawrence's new bookWhite Stone, Black Wine: focuses on part of deepest South West France, and although subtitled " Life Among the Ancient Vineyards of the Quercy Blanc" it is…
Nancy Christmas Market (57 Meurthe-et-Moselle, Grand Est) runs from late November to the end of December. - see 18 November - 30 December 2022 in place Charles III see www.nancy-tourisme.fr/…
Mulhouse Carnaval (68 Haut-Rhin, Grand Est) 5 -9 March 2025 - the city holds a Carnaval with an international atmosphere, being so close to the border with Switzerland (Basel) and…
Christmas Market, Place du Capitoul, Toulouse As part of the city's End of Year celebrations, Toulouse (31 Haut-Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees) holds its 9th Christmas Market (Marché de Noel) from 28 November…
The town of Laon (02 Aisne, Hauts de France) is always an impressive sight, situated on the rocky promontory overlooking the plains of Picardy and Champagne, with the 12th Century…
An autumn Sunday afternoon in the depths of the Yonne departement (89 Yonne,BFC) following the route of the Canal du Nivernais south from Auxerre towards Clamecy (58 Nievre. BFC)) –…
If you are a fan of the pungent Truffle then Lalbenque (46 Lot, Occitanie) south of Cahors in the heart of the Quercy Blanc is the place to head for…
Festival des Filets Bleus (Blue Fish Festival) at Concarneau 13 - 17 August 2025. Created in 1905, the Concarneau Blue Nets Festival, has become a much-anticipated festive event of the…
Another major French spectacle takes place on 12 October 2025 with the annual professional cycle race from Paris-Tours in the Loire Valley. The race starts in the outskirts of the capital…
The Discovery of France by Graham Robb has proved to be a fascinating book on the history not so much of France as of the peoples of France. The book…
France always seems to be a little schizophrenic about new technology - rather backward and bureaucratic in some areas, yet at the cutting edge in others. France invented and rolled…
Festival of the Wine Press In Chenôve (21 Cote d'Or, Bourgogne BFC) they celebrate the wine press from 19 September 2023 - Fete de la Pressée Some of the first…
There seems to be increasing evidence that the Loire Valley is producing ever better Sauvignon Blanc wines - especially from the Touraine (south of Tours) and east towards Sancerre (which…
It began in 1972 when a journalist challenged Fleet Street to "Bring Back the Beaujolais" to London copying the similar "race" to get the first bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau wine…
If you happen to be in France in September/early October then you are in luck - most of the big supermarkets hold their annual Foire à Vins (Wine Fair) offering…
Now here's an opportunity to spend several months in one of the most beautiful and unspoilt parts of France next summer - near Entraygues-sur-Truyère (12 Aveyron, Midi-Pyrenees) in the upper…
The Salt Festival at Salies-de-Béarn (64 Pyrenees-Atlantiques, Nouvelle Aquitaine) is held from 13 - 14 September 2025 - see www.tourisme-bearn-gaves.com The name Salies comes from the "Sel" in the naturally…
The Independent (6 September 2008) reports on a legal battle which has been joined over a Whisky which is finished in France, but nevertheless is marketed under the title "Scotch…