Nantes is France’s 6th largest city with some 300,000 inhabitants and 950,000 in the metropolitan area, and it was once the capital of Brittany (that was in the 15th century). Although over the centuries it was part of the Brittany region, nowadays it is no longer considered as such, much to the displeasure of its […]

The Cathedral in Bordeaux, named the “Saint-Andre de Bordeaux” (Andre being French for Andrew) was started in the 12th century. It was built on top of a small church that itself was built in the 3rd century. It’s location (right next to the City Hall, courts and close to the Governor’s mansion) is right in […]

Bordeaux is not only one of France’s biggest cities, it’s also the name of the popular red wine region. Bordeaux wines are famous the world over, but the city is quite beautiful as well. Bordeaux, with its 250,000 inhabitants (and total of 1.1 million in the suburbs) is France’s 6th largest city. Although inland, Bordeaux […]

Transport Getting there There are two railway stations in Valence, the city centre one with “normal” trains (called Valence Ville) and the TGV (High Speed Train) which is located 10 kilometres North/East outside the city. Air: Valence Chabeuil airport, located close to the East of Valence is a military/civilian airport. They don’t offer many international […]

Valence, a scenic and older city, lies pretty much South on the Eastern part of France. With its 65,000 inhabitants, it’s close to Switzerland and Italy (close enough for day trips) and it is in the crossroads of the North-South and West-East traffic. It was, once upon a time, a major colony for Rome (121 […]

Transport Getting there Air: The Biarritz airport is an international airport serving mostly French and European flights (it’s also Bayonne’s airport). The big operators all fly here; EasyJet, Ryanair, Air France, Lufthansa, SAS, SwissAir etc. Click here to access the airport web site for more information. Ferry: There are no ferry operators in the area. […]

Bayonne, located in the South West of France, is particularly known for its ham and its chocolates (and its rugby club). Apart from that, the city is a medieval city that has been reasonably well conserved over the centuries. The inner part of the city centre is old but well maintained. Bayonne is divided by […]

Transport Getting There By Air If you plan to come by air, you’ll need to fly to the Deauville airport that has some flights from the UK. Deauville is a 30 minute drive to Lisieux by car. Within Lisieux Lisieux is a reasonable bus system in case you want to discover outside of the city centre: […]

Lisieux is a very religious city with, for a small city, both an enormous basilica AND a big cathedral. Lisieux was the home to three saints, which might explain the presence of so many big religious buildings and institutions (like the Carmel monastery).   But the Saint-Pierre cathedral is not exactly an example for other cathedrals […]

Lisieux, in the lower part of Normandy, is an interesting and different kind of place to visit. It’s a very small city (or a very big town) with a population of some 22,000 inhabitants, but despite its relatively small size it contains an enormous basilica AND a big cathedral. Because of that, and the large population of […]

The recently (in 1974) appointed cathedral of Le Havre, the “Cathedrale Notre-Dame du Havre“, is nothing to write home about. Outside it is interesting, but inside it’s pretty drab. Its only saving grace is that it has an incredibly beautiful and imposing organ. It is also the oldest structure in Le Havre that survived (more or less) […]

The one thing that Amiens is famous for, worldwide even, is its enormous cathedral. It is called the “Basilique Cathédrale Notre-Dame d’Amiens” (Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens Cathedral), or for short, the Notre-Dame (but not to be confused with the Paris one).   The Amiens cathedral is world’s biggest gothic-style cathedral, and also world’s 19th […]

Transport Getting There Air: There is no airport with flights from within France or Europe. Getting Around Le Mans Le Mans has a pretty good public transportation system with buses and trams. Visiting the old city is done on foot, but anything outside, particularly the circuit, you will need transportation. Restaurants As you would expect […]

The name Le Mans is famous amongst motorheads, petrolheads and adrenaline junkies the world over: home of the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans cars (and motorcycles) race. But Le Mans is much more than a mythical car race. It’s a very old city with its history dating back to 50 BC when the Romans took over […]

We’ve already shown you the wonderful Basilica, but there are many more churches in Lyon. The Lyon dioceses is one of the oldest in France, so it’s no surprise to see many churches, a cathedral, convents and many chapels. Anywhere you go in Lyon, you’ll stumble upon a church, some of them ruins with no information. […]

The Notre-Dame cathedral in Bayeux, IMHO, is nice but not worth a side-trip to see it. Obviously, if you are in the area, it’s a nice excursion to go and see it (after having seen the tapestry). It is imposing and enormous, but misses that little “je ne sais quoi“.   Coming from the tapestry […]

St. Malo in Brittany is one of those cities (population around 50,000) that shows very well why France is the #1 tourist destination in the world. It’s a medieval city, well maintained with an enormous walled city, enormous fortress towers, a big harbour, many old and majestic houses and cobblestone streets lined with restaurants. Definitely […]

Rouen has a lot going for it, and a few things that are not so nice. But after a visit to Rouen, you will leave with two impressions in your mind: the sheer number of churches & cathedrals and Joan of Arc (in French “Jeanne d’Arc”). Because this is the city where Joan of Arc was […]