The French Ardennes, Part 2. Charleville-Mézières: Place Ducale and the Bare-Ass Casserole
On the Place Ducale, the great square of Charleville-Mézières, the author tries the Ardennes' celebrated bare-ass casserole and encounters men and women in colorful robes and floppy hats during the Festival des Confréries.
The French Ardennes, Part 3: The Meuse, Sedan, More Beer and the Big Boar
In which the author continues his beer travels in the Ardennes and finds quirky bars, aspiring breweries, a magnificent view over the Meuse and an enormous boar named Woinic.
Blond Girl in Saumur: When Our Eyes Met for the Second Time
A photo/video-log from the Saumur area of the Loire Valley in which Gary Lee Kraut remembers when travel was less about fooding and more about flirting, less about getting reservations and more about losing inhibitions, less about looking for recommendations and more about following your own nose.
La Ciotat: A Splash of Reality on the Riviera
Corinne LaBalme forgoes the Saint Tropez glitz-krieg and heads for the refreshingly quirky (and under-hyped) port of La Ciotat to enjoy great food, unspoiled beaches and affordable prices in one of the all-too-rare Mediterranean enclaves that's escaped paparazzi pollution.
Moulins (Auvergne) and the National Costume Center
Deep in the heart of France, the little-known town of Moulins (Auvergne) reveals the fabric of great theater at the National Costume Museum, particularly this year when the museum celebrates the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth with an exhibition of costumes from some of the bard’s most emblematic plays, on display through Jan. 4, 2015.
Unexpected Provence: Meet the New Aix
The Provençal college town of Aix-en-Provence, celebrated for Cézanne, bel canto and fountain-side cafés, puts the finishing touches on a massive urban renewal project. Corinne LaBalme sets out beyond the town's tawny-tinted 17th-18th century façades to discover 21st-century Aix.
The Decorated Cave of Pont-D’Arc Joins World Heritage List
Though not quite as exuberant as the cheers that follow a victory in the World Cup, hurrahs rang strong in certain quarters of conservationism and tourism in France when UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee elected in June to inscribe the Decorated Cave of Pont-d’Arc, also known as the Grotte Chauvet (Chauvet Cave), on the World Heritage List of cultural properties.
Côte d’Azur Card Opens Doors Along the Riviera
Discovering the pleasures and treasures of the Riviera has always required a series of can’t-go-wrong choices. The choices remain rich, even difficult, but the ease of acting on them has just gotten simpler thanks to a new culture and activities pass that allows visitors access to a great variety of museums, tours, events, gardens, activities and tastings, all included with the purchase of the Cote d’Azur Card.
Party Like It’s 1865: A Taste of Imperial Splendor in Vichy
The primacy of French gastronomy may have gone the way of the rotary phone, still the hungry traveler explores France with a desire to taste its native tang, to savor its cultural heritage and, from time to time, to experience the flavors of long-gone imperial and royal glory served at Versailles or Chantilly or… (drumroll, please)… Vichy.