Archive for the 'France' Category
The French island of Corsica is said to be one of the best places to visit in Europe for diving. Partly because the island is also renowned for its golden sandy beaches and crystal clear, blue sea. In striking contrast to this stunning coastline, the island’s interior has some rugged mountains that provide wonderful and [...]
September 1st, 2010 | Posted in France | No Comments
Paris is a truly amazing European city. I’ve collated tips of the best things to do in Paris, written by members of the Europe a la Carte blog team, to help you plan your Paris trip. If you think that you’ll visit several Paris sightseeing attractions, you should look into buying a Paris Pass which [...]
August 27th, 2010 | Posted in Europe destination guides, Europe travel tips, France | No Comments
Have you ever wondered where the ‘quiche Lorraine’ got its name from? It is so named because it originates in the north eastern region of France called Lorraine. The region shares a border with three other European countries, namely Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg. Not surprisingly then Lorraine has often been at the centre of Europe’s [...]
August 25th, 2010 | Posted in Architecture, Culture, France | No Comments
Gustave Flaubert famously described the fortified port of St-Malo, on Brittany’s northern coast, as a “stone crown over the waves”. Indeed, the view of St-Malo from the sea is incredibly impressive. It is an extremely pretty and elegant European destination, with its imposing, grey granite walls and charming streets and it is a wonderful place [...]
August 19th, 2010 | Posted in Architecture, Family holidays, France | No Comments
Marseille may only be the second largest city in France, but it is the oldest. It was the Greeks from an ancient town of Phocaea (Asia Minor) who in about 600 BC founded the city as a base for their maritime trade on the Mediterranean. And ever since, Marseille has played a prominent role in [...]
August 18th, 2010 | Posted in Architecture, Culture, Europe travel tips, France | No Comments
Of the twenty-one new additions this year to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites, France has two – the city of Albi and a stunning, natural landscape on the island of Reunion. Albi is on the River Tarn in the south of France, about 85 kms to the northeast of Toulouse. Like many significant towns [...]
August 11th, 2010 | Posted in Culture, France | 1 Comment
Paris, like any major European city, never fails to surprise and delight. On a recent trip to the Musée Marmottan (which has the largest collection in the World of paintings by Claude Monet – including the painting that gave rise to the term Impressionism), I all but stumbled upon a dis-used railway line that is [...]
August 4th, 2010 | Posted in France, Walking, Wildlife | No Comments
The Louvre Museum is almost certainly the most well-known of all the World’s museums, it is the most visited museum in the world and definitely one of the largest. The Museum ‘owns’ over 35 000 objects that range from prehistory to the nineteenth century. The Louvre started out as a fort in the twelfth century [...]
July 29th, 2010 | Posted in Culture, France | No Comments
Travelling with Keycamp, guest writer Margaret Doherty finds that southern Brittany is as pretty as a picture. Raguenes Beach, southern Brittany “It’s nearly 10pm on early July evening and the sun is beginning to set on the picturesque coastal town of Trinitie-sur-Mer in southern Brittany. The honey-coloured light glances off the old mariners’ houses and the brightly [...]
July 28th, 2010 | Posted in France, Guest post | 3 Comments
Everyone knows that the 100 Years War between the French House of Valois and the English Plantagenets lasted longer than a hundred years. But, did you know that the final and decisive battle was not that far from Bordeaux, that European city certainly well-known for its wine. Today the town of Castillon la Bataille, to [...]
July 21st, 2010 | Posted in Culture, France | No Comments