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 […]

Transport Getting there The railroads do not come to Camaret-sur-Mer anymore. The closest railway stations are Brest and Quimper (both about an hour drive, bus services are available). Air: Camaret-sur-Mer does not have an airport, but there are two airports serving international flights closeby. One is the airport of Brest (about 1 hour car drive), […]

Camaret-sur-Mer in Brittany is a small town, some 2700 inhabitants, with a very scenic harbour, enormous dramatic cliffs and a very big monument. The village/town is old, very old. Traces of habitation can be found as far back as 2500 years BC! In those days, the place was for druides and their magical stone, the […]

Here’s a look at three out of 24 catholic churches (there are also 2 protestant temples, 3 orthodox churches, 1 jewish synagogue and 3 muslim mosques) to be found in Bordeaux. Basilica-of-St-Michael The St Michael Basilica is marked by its separate, 114 meters high, bell tower. The church was built in the end of the […]

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 […]

Dinard in Brittany is a fantastic place to stay for a few days. The seaside promenade is an incredible walk, alongside a narrow winding pedestrian area, covering the beaches and rock formations. Dinard is located just a few kilometers from the more well known city of Saint Malo. They are divided by the “La Rance” […]

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: There is no airport at Saint-Jean-de-Luz, but the Biarritz/Bayonne airport is 20 minutes away. Ferry: There are no ferries operating to Saint-Jean-de-Luz. The closest city that offers international ferries is Bilbao, Spain. Within Saint-Jean-de-Luz The city is flat, with narrow streets. So you’ll not find an enormous public transportation network, since […]

The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church in Saint-Jean-de-Luz is a special church, both in beauty and historic importance. The first mentions of this church were already found in the 12th century, however, the real construction of the church was in the 15th century. The church is located, like most churches, quite in the centre of the city. Back […]

Nestled close to the Southernmost border between Spain and France in the Basque area, Saint-Jean-de-Luz is a small city of some 15,000 inhabitant but with a big history. More about the history further on… Saint-Jean-de-Luz is located South of Biarritz and on the Atlantic coast. It has a large and long beach, which is quite […]

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. […]

Normally speaking the village of Sainte-Mere-Eglise should mean nothing to most people. Unless you are a WWII buff or a movie buff. The movie in question is “The Longest Day” starring none other than John Wayne trying to get to Sainte-Mere-Eglise during D-Day. The village itself nowadays consists of some 2,500 inhabitants (that is, after […]

Cherbourg, or as it is known officially Cherbourg-Octeville (after having merged with its neighbouring town), can be described as “quaint”. That’s the word I would use if I were to be positive. The real words that come to my mind are “drab”, “rundown” and “uninspiring”. NOTE: Click on the top photo for a bigger panorama […]

Transport Getting There Pont l’Eveque lies just alongside the main North-South motorway on the West coast of France. So by car it’s very easy to get there from one of the ferry crossings. By Air There is no airport, the closest ones are Deauville or Caen airport. Within Pont l’Eveque The village is really small, more or less […]

Pont l’Eveque had been badly destroyed towards the end of World War II, and that went doubly so for the Saint-Michel church. But the town rebuilt their beautiful city, and the 15th century church was restored to its former glory.   Pont l’Eveque during WWII saw an epic 3-day battle just after D-Day. 3 days […]

Pont L’Eveque in the Calvados region of Normandy is mostly know for two things; its epic 2-3 day battle just after D-Day in WWII and its cheese. But both things are no longer there; the WWII battle is over and done and the Pont L’Eveque cheese is no longer made here. But nevertheless, the village […]

Montbard is a small city of some 5500 inhabitants, a river and a big canal flowing through it and an incredible abbey close-by. It also has a castle perched high on the hill overlooking the city.   The small city is dominated by a big hill, and on top of the hill, perched as high […]

The Fontenay Abbey, located next to the city of Montbard  in Burgundy, is part of the Unesco World Heritage sites. Therefore you can expect something that is out of the ordinary, and you’ll not be disappointed.   The Cistercian Abbey is old, very old. It is the oldest Cistercian abbey in the world that has preserved […]

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 Basilica of Saint Therese in Lisieux is one of those buildings that is definitely worth a detour, even one of hundreds of kilometres. It is France’s second most visited pilgrimage site (after Lourdes), with 2 million visitors per year. It could be qualified in one word: imposing! The Basilica is located quite close to one […]

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) […]

Transport Getting There By Air Although there’s a small airport, the biggest airport serving Amiens is Paris’s third airport: Beauvais. Within Amiens Amiens is quite large, but the interesting parts are all concentrated in the city centre. There is a bus service The service is called AMETIS, and although not very widespread, you can get […]