Gary Lee Kraut
Gary Lee Kraut is the editor of France Revisited and an award-winning travel writer. As a long-time specialist on travel and touring in France, he has become the go-to contact for individual travelers and travel agents seeking personalized travel advice and customized tours in Paris and throughout France. See the About the Editor tab at the top of this page for his complete bio.
A Little Loop in the Loire Valley: A 2-day Cycling Route from Blois
There are those big biking trips that you spend months preparing. Then there are those short trips that begin with “Hey, it’s going to be nice out this weekend—let’s go biking… in the Loire Valley!” This little Loire loop—three days, two nights, including two days of biking—is of the latter kind. Beginning and ending in Blois...
Blois Castle: The Key to the Loire Valley
To Blois or not to Blois, that is the question that travelers ask when planning their itinerary of Loire Valley chateaux. Though not as photogenic as some the other stars of the valley, Blois, easily accessible from Paris, is in many ways the key to understanding royal history and architecture all along the Loire. This illustrated article examines the men and women who made Blois, followed by information about hotels, B&Bs and restaurants in Blois and in the surrounding area.
CNN, Reddit and Getting Embed with The New York Times
On January 11, the day of the massive march that followed the terrorist attacks, news networks set up shop on Place de la République, the square whose central statue became one of the unofficial memorials for the attacks. CNN was among those networks. Visiting the square in the evening as the crowd dispersed, I came across...
April newsletter: Lost notebooks, found pages
I have two bad habits with respect to my writing. 1. I don’t immediately type up my notes. 2. I lose my notebooks. So how to deal with a notebook thief?
April in Paris
April in Paris. Sing along with it, get in the mood, take it smooth, croon with it, snap your fingers to it, take a long draw of it, stroll with it along the boulevard, cry yourself a River Seine of it. However you like it it's here.
Paris tongue in cheek: From the butt plug to the giant colon
Some travelers are so focused on the pleasures of good food and drink in Paris that they aren't aware that the powers that be are equally concerned about the other end of the digestive tract. As a reminder, Paris is giving a lesson in colon care on one of the major squares of the city.
Film Review: Suite Française
Suite Française by Irene Némirovsky took the literary world by storm when it was first published in France in 2004, followed up with an English translation in 2006. The sensation had to do with the quality of the work itself in conjunction with the backstory, the sidestory and the epilogue relative to the author herself and her daughter Denise Epstein. Now comes the movie.
Do the Rooftops of Paris Have “Outstanding Universal Value”?
Looking out over the rooftops of the city the view is romantic for some, lusty grey for others, a commercial dream for roofers—altogether Paris. In recent months the most attractive view over the capital has been from District Hall of the 9th arrondissement, where District Mayor Delphine Bürkli is spearheading the committee to present the rooftops of Paris as a candidate for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The Charlie Hebdo Survivor Issue and the Sabbath Candles
The week after terror attacks that targeted journalists at Charlie Hebdo and Jews at the kosher grocery millions of people bought the survivor edition of Charlie Hebdo out of solidarity with the victims and what they represented. But did any think of buying kosher food?