Articles Index
The Chateau of Chaumont-sur-Loire in the Loire Valley
The white stone chateau of Chaumont-sur-Loire in the department of the Loir-et-Cher in the Loire Valley is a great place to visit. Located between Blois and Tours, it’s near other great castles along the Loire, including Chambord and Cour Cheverny. Chaumont is also famous for its annual International Garden Festival which takes place between April and October each year.
The Best Beaches in France
A Guide to the Beaches of France. Where will you choose to go? The French Atlantic coast? Normandy? Brittany? Or perhaps the Mediterranean, the most popular beach destination in Europe? Check the suggestions here to choose where to swim, sail, surf or just chill out.
Nude Beach Guide to the French Atlantic Coast
With its good weather and relaxed atmosphere, France is famous for its nude resorts where you go totally naked. You'll find many of these naturist resorts on the Atlantic coast in the Gironde. They stretch between the mouth of the Gironde river, past the Bay d’Arcachon down towards Biarritz. It’s an area of huge pine forests and a huge stretch of beach where going naked is the norm.
Best Nudist Beaches and Naturist Resorts in France
France has the best smart and stylish naturist resorts. And France has the coastline and the weather. So it’s not surprising that some of the world’s most popular resorts as well as nudist beaches are in southern France. Discover France's best naked beaches and naturist resorts.
Cannes Film Festival 2012
The Cannes Film Festival is the world's best known and most influential film festival. Each year, the stars gather in the Mediterranean city to see and be seen. Each year, the Jury looks at a wide selection of international films and selects their winners. Last year The Artist and Midnight in Paris were included in the line-up. Find out which films are in contention this year.
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival is one of the film world's greatest events. Every year it attracts tourists, celebrities and the star-struck who come to this French Riviera resort to celebrate the film industry. Read about the Cannes Film Festival, or Festival de Cannes and the festival's history and discover more about visiting Cannes, the star of the Côte d'Azur.
Le Touquet Paris-Plage
If you think of Le Touquet as a stately old lady, then think again. The resort on the north coast of France that was the darling of the jet setters of the past is still a lively, sporting, all-year round seaside holiday town with plenty to attract everybody.
Nausicaa
Nausicaa, the National Sea Experience Centre, is one of the main reasons many people visit Boulogne. It was opened in 1991 as a brave venture when Boulogne was losing its position as a major Channel port. Today it’s a wonderfully easy-to-negotiate journey through the wonders of the sea, catering for families, enthusiasts and school parties and offering more than the usual aquarium.
France in August
August is a top vacation month, particularly for the French themselves. Traditionally taking the whole of August, many French now return home from holiday mid-month. So you may find some shops closed (particularly in the north), although this is less common than in the past. Attractions are open long hours and can be quieter than July. The South of France is at its busiest with northerners fleeing for the sun-drenched beaches. It’s a great time with many festivals and events as the French enjoy their holidays.
Travel Guide for Provence, France
Provence-Alpes-Cotes d’Azur – a visitor’s guide to the south of France
Guide to Montreuil-sur-Mer
Montreuil-sur-Mer in the Nord Pas-de-Calais region is a lovely old town with a fortified citadel and a luxury hotel, the Chateau de Montreuil. It’s a good basis to explore the surrounding rolling countryside with 16 loops of walks ranging from 4 kilometers to 30 kilometers. It’s in an area known as the ‘Seven Valleys’, 7 river valleys with some pretty small towns and villages to visit.
Guide to Aigues-Mortes
Aigues-Mortes in the Camargue area of Languedoc-Roussillon is one of France’s most romantic towns. Called the ‘City of Dead Waters’ and in the middle of lagoons, this perfectly preserved medieval walled town conjures up the past with its fortifications, massive walls, towers and chapels.
The Wilfred Owen Memorial
The Wilfred Owen Memorial in Ors, northern France, is a startling and impressive memorial to one of Britain's greatest war poets. Opened in October 2011, it adds to the sites of World War I that you can visit in the area.
The Musée de l'Hospice Comtesse in Lille
The Musée de l’Hospice Comtesse (the Hospice Museum of the Countess) is set on the banks of the former old port in Lille in northern France. Established as a religious community to care for the sick and the poor in the 13th century, it stands in a beautiful courtyard. Wander through the rooms to see the story of caring for the needy in an atmosphere of austerity and peace.
L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is a delightful town in the Vaucluse in Provence and a well known haunt for antique hunters. It’s a pretty town, located on the banks of the river Sorgue. There are many hundreds of antique shops here and the Easter and August antiques weekends are well known throughout France.
France Travel in May
May is a wonderful month to visit France, and along with September, is one of the most popular times. The weather is warm, but still mild and comfortable and the country looks gorgeous. While there are crowds in the more popular resorts, they aren't at their summertime height. There are many events, festivals and activities to keep visitors busy, and in particular the Cannes Film Festival that attracts celebrities and commoners from around the globe.
Historic Arras is a good place for a short break
Arras, capital of the Artois region of northern France, is best known for its spectacular Grand’Place and the smaller but delightful place des Heros. One of the prettiest towns in northern France, it was also vital in World War I, and contains the famous Wellington Quarry.
Juan-les-Pins
Juan-les-Pins - a visitor's guide to the Riviera town Juan-les-Pins on the Cote d'Azur in the South of France region
The Mimosa Festival on the French Riviera
The Mimosa Festival on the French Riviera runs from February 18th to 27th, 2011, filling the streets of Mandelieu-La Napoule for one of the south of France's big February events.
Visitor's Guide to Marseille, France
A Visitor's Guide to Marseille in the south of France. France's oldest city has everything from Roman remains to contemporary architecture. Check out this guide to France's second city which is much more than a tourist resort.
Where to Stay in Bordeaux
Accommodation in Bordeaux, france - a guide to where to stay from hotels to apartments
Shopping for Bargains in France
There are some great places to shop for bargains in France. Try the major outlet and discount malls dotted all round France and factory shops from manufacturers like Limoges porcelain. The brocante fairs that fill the towns and villages of France in the summer make good hunting grounds for bargains in household items, vintage clothes, while the amateur vide-greniers ('emptying the attic') can turn up gems.
Christmas Markets in France, 2011
Christmas Markets in France, 2011
The British World War I Memorial in Arras
The British Memorial in western Arras was set up in 1916 as part of the exisitng French cemetery. After the war, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission brought the other cemeteries in Arras to create this one memorial. It has 2,652 tombes within its walls. It also commemorates 35,942 soldiers missing from the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand who had no known grave.
Neuville-Saint-Vaast German World War I Cemetery
The Neuville-Saint-Vaast German War Cemetery is the biggest German war cemetery in France, located in the village of Neuville-Saint-Vaast near Arras in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Impressive and moving, it encapsulates the German War Commission's motto, Reconciliation above the graves.