…As I turned to walk up rue Saint Merri in the Beaubourg Quarter of Paris I was surprised to see that the entire wall of a 5-story building was covered with the image of a face of a man with a finger to its lips. The man was calling for quiet. He had Dali eyes.

Heading south in the Drome region of the Rhone Valley, the landscapes, agriculture and architecture of Provence gradually assert themselves. Even on frigid winter days we recognize glimpses of Provence in Valence, Grignan, Nyons — in town squares, lavender fields, truffle plantations, vineyards and olive orchards.

Menton, last stop on the French Riviera, has two major markers of creativity and sophistication, one gastronomic, one artistic: Mirazur, the outstanding restaurant of chef Mauro Colagreco, and the Jean Cocteau Museum, dedicated to a poet and artist who represents the artful high life along the coast.

In Provence, contributor Elizabeth Esris breaks through the picture-post card view of lavender and old stones and allows her imagination to take over while visiting the Abbey of Senanque in the region’s Vaucluse area.

In which an English family—a self-described “short, fat, dumpy little old lady,” her pianist husband, and their three sons (the voice of reason, the voice of enterprise and the voice of autism)—move into a once-prestigious [...]

You don’t need to understand French to enjoy the hip-hop gymnastics of Droles de Mecs, a high-energy, feel-good acrobatic dance show playing in Paris through Jan. 15, 2012. You simply need to give yourself over [...]

Fills Monkey, a “humorythmic” drum show, is simple, wordless, entertaining basement theater. Article includes information about restaurants in the Montorgueil Quarter and about the Comedie Francaise exhibit at the Petit Palais.

Va-nu-pieds, the Barefoot Photographer, returns to us from the south of France after feeling the sun, the rocks and the water of the Riviera with his toes. “From the deep, narrow creeks (calanques) of Marseille to [...]