France Travel &#187; Tony Page

When to travel to France for your tour: weather and seasons

Useful facts, dates and links to help you plan your tour of France

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in France online

Travel to France for a Europe Tour with Joie de Vivre!

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Food in Southwest France

Tony Page — Mon, 25 May 2009 13:18:49 +0000

Food in Southwest France: a brief gastronomical tour!

Poitou and Aquitaine; Perigord, Quercy and Gascony; the Pyrenees.

Bordeaux; Toulouse; Poitiers; La Rochelle; Rochefort; Cognac; St Emilion; Pauillac; Perigueux; Sarlat; Lascaux II; Bergerac; Rocamadour; Cahors; Condom; Moissac; Albi; Biarritz; Lourdes; Bayonne; Pau.

Perigord black truffles make a great omelette!

Food in Southwest France sometimes appears to be the poorer cousin of grape-juice. Yes, it’s Bordeaux (and Cognac) country, the world’s largest fine wine region!

Still plenty of coastline, so mussels, oysters and other seafood are prominent – "Homard Persille" is lobster terrine cooked in flavoured stock with herbs and parsley. But wine is the indispensible ingredient of cooking in the southwest ("a la bordelaise"), with foie gras and truffles in Perigord (Dordogne) and spicier dishes as you near the Pyrenees. This region is the archetypal French farming area, green and wooded and relatively flat until you approach the mountains in the south.

It helps to be a carnivore here

It helps to be a carnivore around here, with geese, ducks, salt lamb and beef featuring prominently. Cassoulet is basically a thick stew made with white haricot beans, local dried sausages and a choice of duck, pork or mutton, with liberal amounts of goose fat. Duck confit (meat cooked and preserved in its own fat) is a favourite with fleshy boletus mushrooms (cepes) and garlic. Rabbit and local Agen prunes produce a fine sweet and sour stew and of course there’s always foie gras if you can ignore the way they force feed the geese to make it.

Vegetarians need not despair!

All is not lost for vegetarians though, at least for rich ones, because Perigord truffles are world famous, and a fresh truffle omelette is said to be the best way to bring out their earthy yet delicate flavour. Another good choice is goat’s cheese, a regional speciality often served grilled (chevre tiede) with a salad. You can also get preserved goat’s cheese flavoured with herbs – delicious!

L’Ouillade:the soup that never dies

Around the Pyrenees in the Basque and Catalán regions, periwinkles and fish stews are popular and ‘Pipérade Basque’is an omelette or scrambled eggs stirred into cooked tomatoes, onions, green peppers and garlic. Chefs in the Catalán region usually use lots of olive oil and garlic. The famous "L’ouillade" is actually a hearty soup made from, inter alia, pig’s trotters, cabbages and turnips and a little rancid lard, traditionally prepared at the beginning of the week and added to as it was consumed. How long this continued is the stuff of rural myth!

If you have a sweet tooth, you’re in luck.

For those with a sweet tooth (yes, that includes me) the good news is "Touron", a Basque marzipan roll that comes in all kinds of colours and designs, packed with pistachios, hazelnuts and candied fruit and usually sold in slices.

And of course, the wine…

The choice of wine of course, is sublime, and has brought wealth to Bordeaux for hundreds of years. Its reputation is built mostly on red wines, especially those from the Médoc, Saint-Emilion, and Pomerol, but there are also the famous Sauternes (sweet white) districts. Good vintages for reds are 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, but this is a generalisation.

Liquid gold

Apart from wine, there is, of course, Cognac and Armagnac, liquid gold distilled from white grapes (Cognac twice, Armagnac once, but they more or less stay the same time in the cask), and the local speciality aperitif Quercy Noix, made from walnuts.

As I first commented, food in Southwestern France sometimes seems to run second to the wine, but eating and drinking your way through the region on your gastronomical tour may change your opinion!

Other pages about food in France:

Food in Northern France: Le Nord; Picardy; Champagne; Alsace and Lorraine

Food in Western France: Normandy; Brittany; the Loire Valley.

Food in the South of France: Languedoc-Rousillon; Provence; Cote d’Azur.

Food in Central France and the Alps: Burgundy and Franche-Comte; Massif Central; Rhone Valley and French Alps.

Other France pages:

Useful facts, dates and links to help you plan your tour of France

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in France online

Travel to France for a Europe Tour with Joie de Vivre!

I'm eager to hear your comments...

Food in Central France

Tony Page — Sun, 24 May 2009 13:44:04 +0000

Food in Central France: a brief gastronomical tour!

Burgundy and the Rhone Valley, the Jura and the Massif Centrale.

Dijon; Nuit st Georges; Beaune; Cluny; Chablis; Santenay; Auxerre; Fontenay; Vezelay; Nevers; Autun; Macon; Arbois; Besancon; Ornans; Ronchamp; Limoges; Aubusson; Moulins; Vichy; Clermont-Ferrand; Le Puy-en-Velay; Conques; Lyon; Bourg-en-Bresse; Perouges; Montelimar; Grenoble; Chambery; Aix-les-Bains; Annecy; Evian-les-Bains; Lac Leman.

Escargots de Bourgogne, with garlic and butter

Food in Central France is dominated by the Burgundy region and centres on Dijon and Lyon. The cuisine can be regarded as “traditionally French” and perhaps that’s why it’s off many people’s culinary radar nowadays.

Dishes in Burgundy tend to be rich with plenty of butter, cream and other artery-coating, mega-calorie ingredients. Remember Boeuf Bourguignon, Coq au Vin, and Escargots swimming in garlic-parsley butter? This is where they originally came from. Luckily for the French, their Burgundy red wine reputedly is good for the heart…

The cuisine owes a lot of its reputation to the high quality of local and regional produce. Appelation controlee (I’m serious, they have to have blue feet) chickens from Bresse, beef from Charolais, wild game and frogs from the thousand ponds of the Dombes, fish from the Savoy lakes, lamb from the Auvergne, fruits and vegetables of the Rhone valley and the Forez region are all within easy reach.

“Oeufs en meurette” is basically eggs poached
in red wine sauce (any sauce with wine added to it is called “une meurette”) with onions, bacon and mushrooms. Any meat dish with “Dijonnaise” after it means it’s served with a cream sauce laced with the eponymous mustard.

Legendary sausages

Lyon, apart from claiming to be the gastronomic capital of the world, is famous for sausages. The best ones are made from leg of pork that has been stuffed into a rosette (the long pig’s gut measuring about twenty inches), hence called “Rosette de Lyon”; they are served thinly sliced like salami. &“Andouilettes a la Lyonnaise” are tripe sausages made from veal, usually served with onions and chipped potatoes.

Bresse chicken is cooked in many ways – served with morels (wild mushrooms) and a cream sauce is typical – while “Falette” is an Auvergne speciality, mutton or calf breast stuffed with minced ham, bacon, shallots and garlic, often served with haricot beans.

Amazing cheeses

Central France produces amazing cheeses. Epoisse from the Yonne valley, Pipo Crem’, Mont d’Or, Tete de moine, red cheeses from the Maconnais and the Cevennes, blue cheese from Gex (drier than what is known as Bleu de Bresse) and from Septmoncel in the Jura, Beaujolais goat cheeses, Saint-Marcellin, and rigottes from Condrieu that are soaked in white wine and preserved in vine leaves.

Roquefort

Specialties from the Massif Central include cheeses like Cantal, Roquefort, Fourme d’Ambert and one made from goat’s milk, ‘le Cabecou’. And not forgetting its wonderful kirsch-laced, dark cherry pies called “Clafoutis”!

Wines to die for…

And then there are the Burgundy wines. Believe it or not, they form only 2% of the wines produced in France, yet include some of the most famous names in viticulture. The best are from the Côte d’Or between Dijon and Santenay, which comprises the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune.

Check out these legendary names: Gevrey-Chambertin, Vougeot, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanee, Nuits-St-Georges, Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet, Santenay, and Pommard. The bad news? They’re just as expensive at the cellar door – if you can get them!

Food in Central France just may be the most renowned in the country. Eating and drinking here certainly lives up to the image the world has of French cuisine, and a gastronomic tour would attract the French themselves, let alone foreign tourists. Just watch those arteries…!

And if you’d like to stay in an apartment in Dijon, contact Corinne…

Other pages about food in France:

Food in Northern France: Le Nord; Picardy; Champagne; Alsace and Lorraine.

Food in Western France: Normandy; Brittany; the Loire Valley.

Food in Southwestern France: Poitou and Aquitaine; Perigord, Quercy and Gascony; the Pyrenees.

Food in the South of France: Languedoc-Rousillon; Provence; Cote d’Azur.

Other France pages:

Useful facts, dates and links to help you plan your tour of France

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in France online

Travel to France for a Europe Tour with Joie de Vivre!

Do you agree or disagree?

Food in Western France

Tony Page — Sat, 23 May 2009 14:05:16 +0000

Food in Western France: a brief gastronomical tour!

Normandy; Brittany; the Loire Valley.

Rouen; Caen; Bayeux; Cherbourg; Mont-St-Michel; St Malo; Rennes; Nantes; Angers; Tours; Saumur; Vouvray; Amboise; Le Mans; Chartres; Orleans.

Fruits de Mer, A favourite in Brittany and Normandy. This one is by Tom Dowson at the Basse Copette, his luxury B & B in Normandy

Food in Western France will get you eating and drinking with a vengeance! With such a long coastline, it’s to be expected that seafood and shellfish are popular in Normandy and Brittany (try the Belon oysters).

"Fruits de Mer" simply means a selection of the local seafood, such as oysters, mussels, clams, crabs, shrimps, lobster, even cockles and whelks, all served cold (sometimes on a bed of ice), with fresh rye bread and ideally, washed down with a bottle of chilled Muscadet (one of my favourite wines, actually, especially “sur lie“). The one on the right is by Tom Dowson at Basse Copette, his luxury “Gite” (B & B) in Normandy near Aumale.

Other specialities include salt meadow lamb and poultry, and artichokes are particularly valued. Vegetables blended with pork in a hot pot is Calfedpotfe. Rilettes are pieces of pork or goose meat cooked slowly in lard then shredded and potted; perhaps an acquired taste, like tripe, another northern delicacy.

Crepes and Galettes

Crepes Suzette originally come from Brittany, but the region is also famous for buckwheat "galettes" stuffed with savoury mushrooms, cheese or eggs, as well as a truly amazing variety of crepes filled with sweets like chocolate or fruit (and don’t mention the cream).

Camembert

This is dairy country, and some of the best known cheeses come from here; Camembert, Pont l’Eveque, Livarot to name but a few, and the Loire is well-known for its goat’s cheese.

In the Loire Valley there’s plenty of fish from the river (although not so much now that it is dangerously low) and fried eel is a traditional dish in Nantes. Many fish dishes come in "beurre blanc", a sauce made of white wine, shallots and butter.

As far as drinks are concerned, still and sparkling cider is the local tipple in Normandy and Brittany, with Calvados (apple brandy) for something stronger. Dry white wines such as Muscadet, Vouvray, Pouilly-fume, Sancerre are favoured choices in the Loire. Want something stronger? The orange liqueur, Cointreau, is distilled in Angers.

Food in Western France is a fine introduction to eating and drinking the French way, a good start to your gastronomical tour!

Other pages about food in France:

Food in Northern France: Le Nord; Picardy; Champagne; Alsace and Lorraine

Food in Southwestern France: Poitou and Aquitaine; Perigord, Quercy and Gascony; the Pyrenees.

Food in the South of France: Languedoc-Rousillon; Provence; Cote d’Azur.

Food in Central France and the Alps: Burgundy and Franche-Comte; Massif Central; Rhone Valley and French Alps.

Other France pages:

When to travel to France for your tour: weather and seasons

Useful facts, dates and links to help you plan your tour of France

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in France online

Travel to France for a Europe Tour with Joie de Vivre!

Please take a moment to comment below.

Food in the South of France

Tony Page — Sat, 23 May 2009 13:55:52 +0000

Food in the South of France: a brief gastronomical tour!

Languedoc-Roussillon; Provence; Cote d’Azur

Perpignan; Carcassonne; Beziers; Montpellier; Nimes; Chateauneuf-du-Pape; Avignon; Arles; Aix-en-Provence; Marseille; Cassis; Toulon; St Tropez; Frejus; St Raphael; Grasse; Cannes; Antibes; St-Paul-de-Vence; Cap Ferrat; Nice; Menton; Monaco.

Bouillabaisse from the Restaurant du Port, Le Grau du Roi, Marseille

Food in the South of France is above all the product of its environment. Permeated by mediterranean influences, its cuisine has been moulded by the sun and the sea. The sun-drenched, fertile soils produce richly coloured vegetables and fruits, aromatic herbs and the olive oil which supplants butter in Provencale cooking.

Camargue lamb has that special flavour which comes from grazing on the salt marsh grass, while the slopes of the Pyrenees provide hams and charcuterie, not to mention early peaches, apricots and other stonefruit.

The Seafood Capital

Marseille is the seafood capital of Provence and its most famous dish is bouillabaisse. The two main varieties are Bouillabaisse du Ravi and Bouillabaisse du Pêcheur. "Ravi" contains six different types of fish while "Pecheur" tends to be a bit smaller and lighter, containing only three types of fish and is more often served at lunch. But that’s not the only seafood speciality: "Bourride" is a garlic fish stew. And don’t miss Brandade de morue: originally from Nimes, it is a puree of salt cod combined with cream, garlic, olive oil and potatoes that’s served as a starter.

Vegetarians eat well in the South!

Vegetarian dishes are also excellent in the Provence region; you’ve probably heard of ‘Ratatouille’, a combination of eggplant, peppers and herbs which is stewed in olive oil, and "Pistou" is a sauce made of basil, garlic and olive oil often used to flavour vegetable and bean soup. Salade Nicoise is served worldwide, but it should always contain long green beans, tomatoes, anchovies, black olives, hard-boiled eggs, and some kind of lettuce. If you want a vegi (sort-of) snack then "Pissaladiere" (which got its name from pissala, a fish paste made from anchovies) is basically a French version of Pizza Napolitana, with less cheese and added onions.

Although lamb is the most popular meat in the South, Daube de boeuf a la provencale is always quoted as the classic dish for carnivores. Basically it’s a delicious beef stew with anchovy paste and red wine, cooked VERY slowly (we’re talking five or six hours here) in a "daubière", a heavy casserole or pot with a concave lid. In the days of wood fires, the lid would be filled with water to help radiate heat around the stew. Just thought you’d like to know.

Desserts? Don’t go by the "tarte au citron", a sweet pastry tart filled with lemon cream. Menton is as famous in France for its lemons as Sorrento is in Italy, so look out for it if you’re round there, but you can get it in most places.

Last but definitely not least, although the South is definitely not Bordeaux or Burgundy, there is still good wine to be had. Try a chilled rose for a change, Estandon (St Tropez) is good. Bandol is a red made from Mouvedre grapes and one of the few quality reds, and Muscadet de Cassis is a fine sweet white. Pastis is a local aperitif made with anise, the slang term for it is "Pastagasse"!

Food in the South of France bursts with mediterranean colour and flavours, not necessarily as subtle as elsewhere in France, but it will probably be the most enjoyable part of your gastronomical tour!

Other pages about food in France:

Food in Northern France: Le Nord; Picardy; Champagne; Alsace and Lorraine

Food in Western France: Normandy; Brittany; the Loire Valley.

Food in Southwestern France: Poitou and Aquitaine; Perigord, Quercy and Gascony; the Pyrenees.

Food in Central France and the Alps: Burgundy and Franche-Comte; Massif Central; Rhone Valley and French Alps.

Other France pages:

When to travel to France for your tour: weather and seasons

Useful facts, dates and links to help you plan your tour of France

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in France online

Travel to France for a Europe Tour with Joie de Vivre!

Please comment below and let me know... I would really appreciate it.

Food in France

Tony Page — Sat, 23 May 2009 07:33:36 +0000

France is the home of gastronomy, read on for the proof…

Food in France! Surely a topic upon which an unending stream of tomes have been written, especially by the French. However, although the finest restaurants in France scale heights that few others even attempt, some of us might say that many second and third tier restaurants – in other words, where most ordinary people eat – often serve up a rather dated style of cuisine that is now somewhat passé.

Traditional is now a little old-fashioned

Heavy sauces masking the flavour of the produce, dishes over-rich with butter and cream, it all now seems a very old-fashioned and unhealthy approach to eating. And indeed, the finer French chefs have all but abandoned it themselves, as it has already been in most of the rest of the world.

In France, food and wine is a serious matter

Nevertheless, there can be no argument that the French take their food and wine seriously. And their wealth of regional differences have helped make French food and drink highly regarded abroad. As with most large countries with varied climates, the main reason for the different regional specialities is the fact that the local produce found in each place is so diverse.

Eating and drinking make any travel in France something of a gastronomical tour, so why not take a brief trip round France’s gastronomic regions with us in the following pages?

Food in Northern France: Le Nord; Picardy; Champagne; Alsace and Lorraine

Food in Western France: Normandy; Brittany; the Loire Valley.

Food in Southwestern France: Poitou and Aquitaine; Perigord, Quercy and Gascony; the Pyrenees.

Food in the South of France: Languedoc-Rousillon; Provence; Cote d’Azur.

Food in Central France and the Alps: Burgundy and Franche-Comte; Massif Central; Rhone Valley and French Alps.

Other France pages:

Useful facts, dates and links to help you plan your tour of France

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in France online

Festivals search on the French Tourist Office website, not great but…(new window):

Enjoy this post? Leave a comment below and add to the discussion. Thanks!

Useful facts for travel to France

Tony Page — Sat, 23 May 2009 07:14:32 +0000

Useful facts to help you plan your visit to France

Festivals
Public Holidays
Visas
Health
Language
Time
Electricity
Weights & Measures
Money, Banks etc.
Emergencies
Telephone, fax
Post
Museums and monuments

Festivals

Festivals, both traditional and modern (eg Avignon Theatre Festival in July) are not so plentiful as in Spain, but worth looking out for:

French Public Holidays 2012

1 January	New Year’s Day	Jour de l’An
6 January	Epiphany	Fête des Rois	Not a public holiday
2 February	Candlemas	La Chandeleur	Not a public holiday
6 April	Good Friday	Vendredi Saint
8 April	Easter	Pâques	Sunday
9 April	Easter Monday	Lundi de Pâques
1 May	Labour Day	Fête du Travail
8 May	V-E Day	Victoire 1945	End of WWII
17 May	Ascension Day	Ascension	Thursday, 39 days after Easter
27 May	Pentecost	Pentecôte	Seventh Sunday after Easter
28 May	Whit Monday	Lundi de Pentecôte
14 July	Bastille Day	Fête Nationale	National Day
15 August	Assumption	Assomption
1 November	All Saints Day	Toussaint
11 November	Veterans Day Armistice Day Remembrance Day	Armistice 1918	End of WWI
25 December	Christmas Day	Noël
26 December	Boxing Day		Alsace & Lorraine only
Note that holidays falling at the weekend are not moved, and when a holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, many French people may take the respective Monday or Friday off as well. This is not official and does not apply to institutions such as banks or government, but can cause difficulties doing business on occasions.

Visas:

Nationals of the EU, the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Israel do not require visas to visit France as tourists for up to three months. Except for people from a few other European countries, everyone else must have a visa.

Health risks:

Sunburn, foot blisters, insect bites and upset stomachs from overeating and drinking.

Language:

French, and it’s always a big help to know a few phrases in the local lingo…

Bonjour! Learn French online for free!

This is a great site, you choose the phrase you want to hear and listen to the pronunciation.

Time:

GMT/UTC +1

Current French time

Paris

Electricity:

220V, 50Hz, 2-pin (round) plug

Weights & measures:

Metric

French Weights and Measures and their equivalents

Clothing and shoe sizes conversion: US, UK, Europe

Money:The Euro (€)

Check out our Euro Guide (with pictures)

As of January 1, 2002, the euro (€) replaced the national currency of 12 countries within the European Union, including France. You can exchange currency at any bank branch (hours are listed below). Automatic cash machines can be found in most commercial centres.
Bank Opening Hours Banking hours in Paris are usually from 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Throughout the rest of France, banks are usually open from 10am to 1pm, and 3pm to 5pm, Tuesday through Saturday. Banks often close earlier the day before a public holiday.
Currency exchangeCurrency exchange can be carried out at all bank branches and Post Offices. Bureaux de change can also be found in large department stores, railway stations, airports and near to tourist sites. Please note: although the exchange rate is fixed, commission rates are not. By law these must be clearly displayed.

Check out the current Euro exchange rate with your currency here (close the new window to return): Travel Signposts Currency Converter

Credit Cards

They are accepted in a large number of shops, hotels and restaurants. Shopkeepers often state a minimum amount required to be spent.

If you lose your credit card, immediately contact your credit card emergency hot-line to cancel the card, or call your credit card company’s local office – see numbers below:

Eurocard-Mastercard: 01 45 67 84 84

http://www.eurocardmastercard.tm.

Visa: 01 42 77 45 45

http://www.carte-bleue.com

Diner’s Club: 01 47 62 75 75

http://www.dinersclub.fr

American Express: 01 47 77 72 00

http://www.americanexpress.fr

Emergencies

In case of emergency, dial these numbers

Emergency	Telephone (Dial…)
Medical (SAMU)	15
Police	17
Fire / accident (Pompiers)	18
Directory Enquiries	12

If you have lost

your documentsReport the matter to the local police station, they will give you a receipt, then contact your consulate.
your keys, or a personal itemAsk at the police station for the number of the Lost & Found Office(in Paris: 01 55 76 20 00).The RATP (Paris public transport authority) and the SNCF (French National Railways) have their own department.
Your car Your report will be recorded at the police station or you will be directed to the car pound, if your car has been illegally parked and removed by the police.
Your credit cardImmediately contact your credit card emergency hot-line to cancel the card, or call your credit card company’s local office – see numbers here – then report the loss to the police.
Your dog, cat or pet goanna Contact the Société de protection des animaux (French animal protection society). Tel.: 33 (0) 1 43 80 40 66

Telephone & Fax

All telephone numbers in France are have 10 digits.

To telephone France from abroad, dial the international code of your country + 33 and then, the nine digit number of the person you are calling (without the 0 at the beginning of the French telephone number), e.g. +33 1 47 77 72 00

To call somewhere in France when in France, dial the 10 digit number which starting with “0″, e.g. 01 47 77 72 00.

From France to a foreign country: dial 00 + the country number + the number of the person you are calling. You will find all telephone cards (for phone boxes, recharges for mobile phones, pre-paid cards.) available at Post Offices, tobacconists, souvenir shops.

All rates and country numbers are at www.francetelecom.fr/

France has excellent mobile phone coverage by the three French mobile phone operators. Find out from your own operator which French network to choose so that you can use your mobile phone in France.

Post

Mail boxes

In France, Mail boxes are coloured yellow and can be found along street and in every Post Office. Mail collection time are displayed on them.

Stamps

You can buy stamps at any Post Offices and at any tobacconist.

Postage cost varies according to the weight of your mail and its destination. All rates at www.laposte.fr/

Delivery times

The French mail service is efficient: allow 24 to 48 hours for a letter sent in France to a destination in France; from France to abroad, allow 1 to 5 days.

Museums and Monuments

The towns and regions of France have all sorts of museums and monuments for the visitor.

Museum opening times vary, but please note that municipal museums are closed on Mondays, and national museums are closed on Tuesdays (except the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, which is closed on Mondays).
Usually they are open from 10.00am to 7.00pm. Some large museums have late-night opening on Wednesdays or Thursdays.
Find out everything about places to visit from the Regional Tourism Council or Tourist Office. You will find everything you need to know there.
You can also consult the website of the centre for national monuments to find out about 200 monuments to French heritage: www.monum.fr
or go to www.rmn.fr to find out about the 33 national museums across France

Our France pages:

Travel to France for a Europe Tour with Joie de Vivre!

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in France online

Paris City Guide

Travel to France for a Europe Tour with Joie de Vivre!

Thoughts?

Tour Routes in France

Tony Page — Sat, 23 May 2009 06:27:33 +0000

Tour Routes in France

Map of France

Virtually all multi-country Europe tours pass through or originate in Paris, but few see much more of France. It is possible to do a pretty extensive tour of France but even so some fairly important areas will be missing or only covered briefly. Regional tours are popular and give you more of an insight. Here’s a pretty complete route that would take at least 24 days (plus Paris):

Note: links to the towns go to photo albums on the Travel Signposts website

PARIS – Versailles – Rouen – Caen – Normandy Beaches – Bayeux – Mont St Michel – St Malo – Nantes – Chateaubriant – Angers – Saumur – Usse – Tours – Amboise – (Chateaux country: Villandry, Azey-le-Rideau, Amboise, Clos Luce, Chaumont, Blois, Chambord, Cheverny, Chenonceau) – Cognac – Limoges – Brive La Gaillarde (Lascaux) – St Emilion – Bordeaux – Biarritz – Lourdes – Carcassonne - Montpellier – Stes Maries-de-la-Mer (Camargue) – Arles - Avignon (Chateauneuf du Pape) – Luberon - Aix-en-Provence – St Paul de Vence – Nice – Cannes – Monaco – Grenoble – Annecy - Chamonix - Beaune (Vezelay) – Nuits-St Georges – Gevrey-Chambertin – Dijon – Colmar – Riquewihr – Strasbourg – Metz – Verdun – Reims – Epernay – PARIS (Chartres, Giverny)

You’ll note that there are some “detours” which could be chopped off if you wanted to travel straight through, eg the Lascaux Caves section. On the other hand, I have not named all the interesting villages etc in some regions, eg around Arles and Bordeaux. And some major towns, like Nimes, could be used as an alternative to those listed. But it gives you an idea and constitutes a good cross-section of what France has to offer. Regional coach tours can be judged according to what they miss out!

Don’t know where a place is? Try our google satellite map (just zoom in and use the map interface): Map of France

Other France pages:

Useful facts, dates and links to help you plan your tour of France

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in France online

TOUR ROUTES IN FRANCE: PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS

Please comment.

Travel to France

Tony Page — Sat, 23 May 2009 06:19:27 +0000

Travel to France for a Europe Tour with Joie de Vivre!

Paris: Arc de Triomphe on the Champs Elysees

There’s a lot more to France than Paris and Provence. Travel to France involves a journey into the whole French way of looking at the world, and life. Not for nothing do we use the french words “savoir-faire” and “joie de vivre”!

France lies at the crossroads of European culture

With the mediterranean influences of Italy and Spain in the South, and the more phlegmatic influences of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands in the North, France lies at the crossroads of European culture. A tour of France involves a continually changing landscape, not so much of a physical nature (though that is often true) but rather of traditions, architecture, food and wine, ways of life and even language.

An inexhaustible variety of landscape

Watermill near Bayeux

From the plains of Flanders and Normandy to the rocky coastline of Brittany, the historic Chateaux of the Loire Valley to the green farmland and forests of Bordeaux and the Dordogne, the mountainous Massif Central to Beaujolais, the Rhone and the French Alps, and Provence’s limestone hills to the sun-drenched beaches of the Cote d’Azur, the only stone-cold certainty about a tour of France is its inexhaustible variety. And the rich, memorable experiences you’ll encounter wherever you go in this always-surprising country.

Travel to France for a Europe tour with joie de vivre indeed…and that’s even without Paris!

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Useful facts, dates and links to help you plan your tour of France

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Paris City Guide