I have a weakness for canalside cities – Annecy, Bruges, Amsterdam, Venice. But one of my all-time favourites is Strasbourg in France’s Alsace region, a city overflowing with half-timbered medieval buildings and flower-lined canals. So when I heard that…
Hilltop Montmartre is one of Paris’s most popular tourist spots today, but not too long ago it was synonymous with drinking, dancing and debauchery. In the mid-19th century it was just outside Paris’ city limits so was free of…
I’ve spent more time in France than anywhere else in the world – from childhood holidays in Normandy to house-sitting in Paris and a winter skiing in the Alps. And one of the things I love most about the…
It’s an autumnal Sunday morning in France – couples sit on deckchairs in the sunshine drinking coffee while their kids run around, steam rises from an outdoor pool in front of a glass dome, a swan swims across the…
Set on the banks of the Rhône and surrounded by medieval stone ramparts, Avignon is one of Provence’s biggest cities. So I was expecting it to be, well, a bit more like a big city. But instead I found…
If you’ve always fancied yourself running a vineyard in the South of France by day and swanning around a stunning château by night, then Château Autignac is the place to live the dream… without having to do any of…
It’s a spring Sunday morning in France’s Languedoc wine region. My mum and I arrived in the dark last night after a long train journey to spend a few days at the luxurious Château Autignac wine estate. I’ve been…
My childhood travel memories all start with France. Driving down to the south coast of England in our old camper van, catching the ferry over the Channel, pitching up at a gîte for the week, spending our days running…
Audrey Hepburn knew what she was talking about when she said ‘Paris is always a good idea’. There isn’t really a bad time of year for an escape to the French capital. You can ice skate halfway up the…
A picturesque harbour tightly packed with sailing boats. Rows of tall, thin, slate-fronted houses and stone salt stores. Waterside restaurants with colourful awnings and tables spilling out onto cobbled streets. Honfleur really is as pretty as a painting –…
I’ve been to France many times, but what I love about it (other than the cheese and wine obviously) is that it keeps surprising me. I thought I knew the Côte d’Azur – millionaires’ coastal villas, exclusive boutiques, casinos,…
