Perched village gem a short(ish) walk from Abbaye de Sénanque’s lavender fields Gordes is often described as the “Jewel of the Luberon” and claims to be “the most beautiful village in France” (well, they would, wouldn’t they!). But you have to admit, there’s some truth behind the hyperbole, and thousands of tourists every year flock […]
Money in France: the Euro
France: Money: All about the Euro (€) 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. French Euro Banknotes The […]
Food in Northern France
Food in Northern France: a brief gastronomical tour! Le Nord; Picardy; Champagne; Alsace and Lorraine Dunkerque; Calais; Boulogne; Le Touquet; Lille; Arras; Amiens; Beauvais; Chantilly; Compiegne; Epernay; Reims; Chalons-en-Champagne; Troyes; Nancy; Strasbourg; Verdun; Colmar; Riquewihr. Food in Northern France is both hearty and full of solid flavours – eating and drinking to satisfy the hungriest […]
Food in Southwest France
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. Food in Southwest France sometimes appears to be the poorer cousin of grape-juice. Yes, […]
Food in Central France
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 […]
Food in Western France
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. 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 […]
Food in the South of France
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. Food in the South of France is above all the product of its environment. Permeated […]
Food in France
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 […]
Tour Routes in France
Tour Routes in 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 […]
Travel to France
Travel to France for a Europe Tour with Joie de Vivre! 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 […]