A Traveler’s Guide to Sanctuary Cities in France
It gives me a cheap thrill to think that you’d start reading this article in order to discover—with admiration or contempt—which towns and cities in France limit their cooperation with the national government in enforcing immigration laws.
Sparks of Curiosity in Saintes
When Gary Lee Kraut visited Saintes, an often-bypassed town by a bend in the Charente River, he saw vivid remnants of Rome, the 2000-year-old hand of a mason, and an arch dedicated to an unruly hereditary gang. He met gladiators, fled from a saint’s crypt, slept in the cell of a medieval nunnery, wandered through a weird museum, and swirled vintage Cognac.
Home in the Loire Valley: Unfamiliar Thoughts at Château de Détilly
It was a warm July morning when we first turned the key in the weathered wooden doors of Château de Détilly. I remember the silence—a silence so deep my own thoughts felt unfamiliar.
Dunkirk 1940, Dunkirk Today: Advice for a Day Trip or an Overnight
How to visit Dunkirk in Upper France to learn more about the evacuation of 1940 on a day trip or overnight from Paris or elsewhere.
The Snow Goose Returns to Dunkirk
"Though I hadn’t reread The Snow Goose in many years, I realized that it had been a part of my life for more than 80 years. Yet I had never been to Dunkirk, even though it’s only about 180 miles northwest of Paris. I felt a sudden desire—no, a need—to go there."
The Museums of France Break the World Record in the Cultural Olympiad
The curators of France have sports on the brain as shown in the dozens of sports-related exhibitions at museums as well as at sporting venues. Here are some of them.
An Interview with Ian Patrick, Photographer of Normandy Veterans
An interview with photographer Ian Patrick on the triple occasion of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, an exhibition of his portraits of Normandy Veterans at the Army Museum at the Invalides in Paris, and the publication an expanded second edition of his book D-Day Portraits, Anonymous Heroes.
Examining Lyon’s Resistance and Deportation History Center
Elizabeth Esris was drawn to the Resistance and Deportation History Center in Lyon because of her enduring desire to understand how ordinary citizens muster the will to resist, sacrifice and survive in the face of repressive treatment.
Is France in a “Sexual Recession”?
Travelers beware: If planning to travel to France in search of your fantasy French lover, you might first want to read a report released this week indicating that the French aren't as into sex as they used to be.