Monet's Garden, Giverny © Travelsignposts

Claude Monet, as many would know, is known to be the founder of Impressionism, a term which was coined from the title of his painting Impression Sunrise, “Soleil Levant”.  A visit to Monet’s home and garden will take you into the the picturesque world of this Impressionist master painter. Monet’s garden is famous for its weeping willows, ponds with water lilies and the famous Japanese bridge, all settings and inspiration for his works.

Claude Monet was born in Paris 1840, however his family moved to Le Havre when he was five. Monet’s father actually wanted him to go into the family grocery business, however, fortunately, Monet chose to pursue his dream to become an artist.

Monet at Giverny

How Monet came to settle in Giverny is an interesting story. As with many painters, success did not come easily and the first half of his life was marred by poverty, financial stress and the tragic death of his first wife Camille. On the flip side, he was fortunate to have travelled and met Renoir and other great painters in Paris, in London he got to study the works of John Constable and William Turner and he also worked in the Netherlands.

After the death of Camille, Monet later married Alice Hoschede, whose estranged husband was previously a wealthy department store owner and patron of the arts. Alice, who had six children of her own, had cared for Monet’s two sons when Camille died. In 1883 the family moved to Giverny where Monet rented a house and two acres from a local landowner. Grief stricken by Camille’s death, Monet vowed never to be poor again and worked relentlessly to create some of his best paintings. By 1890, Monet was prosperous enough to purchase the house and the surrounding buildings and land for his now famous garden. It was in this attractive garden, that Monet indulged in his love of nature, in his art, his gardening and his photography.

When you stand in Monet’s garden, it feels like you’re standing in some Monet prints. The Japanese bridge, weeping willows and water lilies are instantly recognisable, as you would have seen these in Monet’s paintings in art galleries. Monet spent 40 years painting various aspects of his garden and he was very much driven by colour and light. The garden has a fuzzy structure so that the different colours saturate into the garden. It’s as if the garden was created out of a Monet painting. Monet’s son served in World War I and his series of Weeping Willow trees were painted as a homage to the French fallen soldiers.

Monet’s house and garden in Giverny is well worth a visit and some 500,000 people visit it during the six months that it’s open. Giverny itself is a charming country village and a drive on the Normandy highway leads you to there. Alternatively, you can just as easily join a tour, as we did, and let someone else deal with the driving.

If you’re not ready to hit the road but would like some Monet Posters to inspire you, CLICK HERE to see some of the Monet prints by AllPosters.

See Travel Signposts Giverny Photos HERE.

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:

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

Tour Routes in France

When to travel to France: weather and seasons

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

Food in France: a brief gastronomic tour

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in France online

Book your hotel in France online

TRAVEL TO FRANCE WITH US: PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS

Armagnac, France's finest brandy

Formerly a province of France, the county of Armagnac was the most powerful of the fiefs of Gascony. It was a historic comté of the Duchy of Gascony, was once an important countship and attained its height of prominence in the 15th century.

Armagnac is a region of hills ranging to a height of l000 ft. and on the slope of its hills grow the grapes from which the famous Armagnac brandy is made.  The Fallières Decree (named after the French President at the time) is a statutory order passed in 1909 which defines the Armagnac production zones.

Often confused with cognac, Armagnac is very different with regard to its grapes, terroir, distillation, élevage, blending, aromas, tastes and textures.  France’s most natural and complex brandy is made from distilled wine, and grapes are the key factor that gives it an original personality. The four grapes commonly used are Folle Blanche, Ugni Blanc, Colombard, and Bacco, even though there are nine permitted varietals in armagnac. While these grapes ultimately give different aromas and flavors, they more importantly offer different weights and textures on the palate.

Armagnac is a hand crafted product, produced in small quantities by the winemakers and negotiant houses.  The truth be known, France’s two finest brandies made from wine are not very much alike at all.

In the 14th century, Armagnac was originally consumed for its health giving properties, it being thought to have 40 medicinal benefits, including preserving youth, retarding senility, and improving the memory.  Armagnac is the oldest wine based eau-de-vie produced in the heart of Gascony. Although Armagnac pre-dates cognac by about 150 years it never achieved the widespread sales figures that cognac obtained.

The Armagnac methods of fabrication strictly follow the rules and regulations laid down by the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) attributed to this eau-de-vie in 1936.  2009 is the 100th anniversary of the Fallières Decree and also a year in which preparations will take place for Armagnac’s 700th birthday in 2010.

Armagnac is one of the world’s most expensive brandies and is the leading product from the southwest of France.  But don’t worry, when you’re travelling around the south-west of France, the majority of the smaller and independent producers sell their brandy direct to the public.  Look out for half-hidden farm signs indicating Vente Directe.  In our case, we saw these bottles for sale in Cahors.

Annecy, Haute-Savoie © Travelsignposts

Annecy, in the Haute-Savoie region, is a beautiful and popular resort town on the northern end of the Lac d’Annecy. Take a stroll around the old town and you’ll quickly see why this town has earned itself the tag of Little Venice.

Little Venice

A network of canals criss-crossing the town and bridges decorated with beautiful floral baskets remind of Venice.   Here and there, amongst the narrow arcaded streets,  a medieval tower reminds that the town has an ancient heritage.

In the 1600s and 1700s, Annecy became important because of the beginning of the reformation and counter-reformation movements. Political philosophers travelled the area to debate the roles of church and state and the area became the powerhouse of political thought that really changed the face of the Europe.

Things to do in Annecy

If you have limited time here, it’s worthwhile having a quick view of the environs by taking a one hour boat tour on the lake to Talloires and back. Buy your ticket at the kiosk to the left of where the boats are moored, and make sure you choose one with English commentary. You can choose to do a dinner or lunch cruise in one of the bigger boats – we saw one getting ready to leave, but we haven’t heard any reports on the quality of the food. As you cruise around the lake, you’ll notice that the Annecy locals enjoy their fishing!

Annecy boat cruise

After the boat tour, wander around the winding cobbled streets of Annecy by following the canals. You can’t miss the 12th century Palais de l’Isle, which is a little prison in the middle of the Thiou canal (there’s a cafe inside its courtyard). Also hidden in the narrow lanes are churches from the 15th and 17th centuries, and plenty of cafés and restaurants to keep yourself going while you enjoy the ambience of the place. Make time to have a little break and try some Reblochon cheese or Tartiflette which is the specialty here.

Annecy’s Big Coup

Well, if you haven’t heard of Annecy before, you will most certainly hear more about it in the coming years.  Annecy’s big coup is that the French Olympic Committee chose this picturesque Alpine city as its candidate for the 2018 Winter Games.  Annecy beat Grenoble, Nice, and Pelvoux to win selection.  Whilst less well-known than front-runner Grenoble, with the Alps soaring above its pristine lake, Annecy is considered a picture-perfect site for the games.

Annecy has also been home to the International Animated Film Festival for over 45 years. The festival which takes place in June each year is open to five film categories, each using different animation techniques: feature films, short films, commissioned and TV films and graduation films.

See more of Annecy with Travelsignposts Photos HERE

Search for Annecy hotels, read hotel reviews and you can also book your Annecy hotel HERE.

Map of Annecy:

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:

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

When to travel to France: weather and seasons

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

Food in France: a brief gastronomic tour

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in France online

Book your hotel in France online

TOUR ROUTES IN FRANCE: PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS

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!

Our France pages:

Tour Routes in France

When to travel to France: weather and seasons

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

Food in France: a brief gastronomic tour

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in France online

Book your hotel in France online

Paris City Guide

TRAVEL TO FRANCE WITH US: PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS