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 […]

If ever there was a castle that merits a detour to view, it’s this one. The Suscinio castle is a fortress, including a real moat, built for the Duke of Brittany in the 13th century.   The castle was built as a hunting lodge for the Duke who was a passionate hunter. The castle, including […]

Fecamp is a quaint small city, full of character. Although in dire need of some TLC, strolling around the sea and harbour side of the city can be very rewarding. Fecamp was once a main hub for commercial fishing, particularly for trawlers crossing the Atlantic to fish for cod in Newfoundland. The cod would be […]

If there was one essential and strategic point during the invasion of Normandy, also known as D-Day, by the Allied troops, it would have been the capture of the two bridges in Benouville and the neighbouring Ranville. The two bridges were essential for the liberation of France and the rest of Europe. The operation was called […]

The Utah Beach was one of the D-Day landing beaches, this one mostly staffed with US Army soldiers. It was on the Western edge of the D-Day beaches, and the beach consisted of deep sand and dunes.   3200 soldiers died on the beach that day. To commemorate this occasion, a museum was erected to display and […]

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 […]

Transport Getting There There is a direct rail line Cherbourg – Paris which makes getting there easy and fast if you are arriving from the capital. By Air Cherbourg has a small airport (Maupertus Airport) but there are no scheduled flights in or outside of France. It is mostly used for private an charter flights. By Ferry […]

One of the few things that are worth a visit in Cherbourg, or even doing a detour to visit, is the Cite de le Mer museum. The museum is quite recent, it opened its doors in the year 2002. But the building is not new. It is the former transatlantic terminal building from the glory […]

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 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 […]

Jules Verne is such a successful and popular book author worldwide that many people forget that he was French. His novels like “Journey to the Center of the Earth” ( from 1864), “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” ( from 1870), and “Around the World in Eighty Days” ( from1873) are books read around the world […]

Amiens is a strange city when you look at it. It’s pretty, pleasant even, but you don’t see that many tourists like in other big French cities (like Bordeaux, Marseilles or Lyon) . With its 150,000 inhabitants, Amiens is the 28th largest city of the country, but when you ask people what they know of […]

Sometimes taking a wrong turn on the country roads brings you deep inland, and to some very surprising scenery. One of them, after having taken a wrong turn in Brittany was this amazing castle; the Chateau Kergrist.   Hidden away from big roads, this is a castle that merits a detour. Built in the 1400’s […]

Le Mans is particularly known the world over for its 24 hour car endurance race. The first car race was held way back in 1923, and it is the oldest endurance race in the world.   The (permanent) Bugatti race circuit is added to the “Circuit de la Sarthe” for the 24 hours race, that […]

If you’re not that much into big museums but prefer to see old-fashion houses, the “Maison de l’Armateur” is a great visit (and it’s also a museum). The house, built in 1790, was owned by a ship owner (although he did not commission the building of the house). After having served as a house, a […]

In the city of Montlucon in Auvergne lies an imposing fortress with a beautiful chateau on top. The fortress and chateau belonged to the Dukes of Bourbon, a noble family that would later become King of France (and later on Spain).   Perched high on a big rocky hill, it is the central building of the city and […]

If the Fort-La-Latte castle looks familiar, it is. This fortress has been used in many historical movies (like The Vikings with Kirk Douglas).   The Fort was built to protect the Brittany (Bretagne) coastline, including St. Malo and Dinard. The fortress is located on a peninsula and therefore the only access to the fort is […]

Transport Getting There Lyon is a major transportation hub in France, second only to Paris. It is easy to get there in almost any kind of transportation. Air: Lyon has a major international airport with flights from many European and French cities. Click here for list of all direct destinations served by the Lyon airport. Within […]

Lyon is the place where cinema was invented (by the Lumieres brothers, who have a complete museum dedicated to them in Lyon), but there is also a small and very cute museum dedicated to the movie making miniatures and sets.   Located in the Old Lyon part (“Vieux Lyon“) of the city, close to cathedral, […]

This is part 2 of the introduction of the city of Lyon. To read the first part, click here. As a recap, we are walking from the TGV (High Speed Train) railway station to the hills, a 2.5 km walk. Vieux Lyon – Old Lyon On the other side of the Bonaparte bridge, crossing the […]

Lyon is a city full of contrasts, particularly in its architecture. The city is big, Lyon itself is France’s 3rd largest city, but when you add the suburbs, then the Lyon metropole is France’s 2nd largest metropole (after Paris). It is also the world capital of gastronomy, the city where many of todays top chefs have […]

Transport Getting There Ferry: The closest ferry harbours to and from the UK are Cherbourg, Caen/Ouistreham and Le Havre. Air: The international airport for Caen (click here to access the airport’s web site) is very close-by with regular flights to the UK. Within Bayeux There is no useable bus service, but you don’t need one. When entering the […]

The most famous thing in Bayeux is its tapestry.  The museum that has it on display has only one item: the tapestry.   The tapestry museum is located in the former seminary built in the 17th century (for more photos of the religious complex, click here for our introduction to Bayeux), and located very close […]