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.
How to Join the French Foreign Legion (in Music and Song)
The French Foreign Legion holds a unique place within France’s national and military heritage due to both the reality and the fantasy of the corps. The reality itself is always clouded in an air of mystery about these men, with their white kepis and their world full of accents.
Paris Exhibition: “You Will Always Remember Me,” Words and Drawings of the Children of...
Relatively well known in France but little beyond its borders, the history of the home for Jewish child refugees that operated in the village of Izieu, 45 miles east of Lyon, from May 1943 to April 1944 provides a remarkable glimpse of migration, childhood and caregiving under perilous conditions.
A Carless and Carefree Champagne Daytrip or Overnight to Epernay (Video)
Let's talk about your Champagne education. Advice on organizing a Champagne daytrip or overnight to Epernay, a car-free DIY discovery of the world's most famous sparkling wines.
Where and Why to Visit the American WWI Sights of France
A France Revisited “Conversation with an Expert” in which Gary Lee Kraut speaks with Ben Brands, the historian with the American Battle Monuments Commission about the U.S. First World War sights of France.
Meaux’s Museum of the Great War, WWI Reenactors and Brie (Video)
An article and video about the Museum of the Great War of Meaux and the pleasures of meeting reenactors there during WWI reenactment weekend in September, along with a tasty side-serving of brie cheese.
Paris restaurants: Le Grand Véfour, Starless yet Still Stellar
The stars went out on Le Grand Véfour as Chef Guy Martin steered his ship away from high gastronomy. Destination: elegant bistro. Travelers with or without a highly-garnished financial portfolio can now enjoy a seat at the historic table. But is it still recommendable?
Sault, Sénanque and the Successful Search for Lavender in Provence
Images of stunning views of purple-blue fields of lavender in bloom have become so engrained in the traveler’s imagination of the perfect Provence vacation that the most common question I get from those planning to visit the region is “When is the lavender in bloom?”
Sagesse: Beer on the Cider Trail of Pays d’Auge, Normandy
Cidre–(hard) cider—is a pleasing, inexpensive, low-alcohol beverage that marries well with Norman cheeses. But wait: Is that a microbrewery in the village of Le Breuil-en-Auge? Yes, indeed: Sagesse.
Bastille Day, a Paris Vignette
Is it worth a 7-hour wait on the Champs de Mars to watch 14th of July (Bastille Day) fireworks at the Eiffel Tower in Paris? Watch and read this Paris vignette for one experienced point of view.