Cote d’Azur: Best Beaches on the Big Blue
If you're looking for the quintessential Côte d'Azur beach experience, you can test the deep blue Mediterranean waters in splendidly contrasting landscapes that stretch from Monaco to Cannes. There's no need to rough it—some...
Étretat and the Normandy Coastline: Endless Inspiration for Artists
The natural beauty of Étretat has long attracted artists such as Claude Monet and Gustave Courbet, whose paintings entice even more visitors to this special place. (Monet painted a series of canvases depicting les falaises à Étretat, the dramatic coastal cliffs.) Located...
France’s 10 Best Beaches
1. La Grande Plage, Biarritz
It’s no wonder that Biarritz rhymes with glitz. Souvenirs of its illustrious history remain in the Art Deco and Belle Époque architecture which lines La Grande Plage, its largest, chicest beach....
Mussels from the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel
Folklore has it that in 1235, an Irishman (or Scotsman, depending on which version you believe) named Patrick Walton was shipwrecked in the Bay de l'Aiguillon in the Charente region of France. Accustomed to trapping seabirds...
Travel in the South of France: Where to Stay in Cassis
Nestling between Cap Canaille and the calanques, Cassis is a picturesque fishing port with a busy harbor, inviting beaches, colourful buildings and plentiful greenery. Located in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, about 12 miles east of Marseille on...
Cassis and the Calanques: Exploring France’s Mediterranean Coast
As I walked down the hillside into the backstreets of Cassis, there was no sign of the autumn mists and torrential rains which had struck Provence during the previous days. In the distance, the...
Family Holidays in France: Simple Pleasures in Charente-Maritime
France is a huge country, many times bigger than each individual part of the UK, and as a result it is sometimes difficult to pinpoint exact locations where the family can have a great deal of fun without spending...
Great Travel Destinations: Martinique, Island of Queens
By 1763, the French had lost the Seven Years’ War, and it was time for the British to make their territorial claims in the New World. They had two real options: they could claim Canada, where France still ruled vast...
Bassin d’Arcachon: Insider Travel Recommendations for a Beautiful Escape
If you’re looking for your next seaside retreat, plan a unique long weekend in the South-West of France in the spring or the summer. The Bassin d’Arcachon is one of the most beautiful regions...
Villefranche-sur-Mer: A Beautiful Hideaway on the Côte d’Azur
I sat in a Chicago sidewalk café this week with my face tilted up to bake in the unusually warm October sunshine and felt a pang for the Côte d'Azur I had experienced just a...