Right next to the 17th Arrondissement of Paris, Levallois-Perret is an upmarket residential suburb in the northwest of the city. You’re directlyon the Seine here, in a neighbourhood where the Eiffel Company manufactured the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty in the 19th century. The Paris Métro Line 3 and the Transilien suburban rail …
Wealthy and classy, Maisons-Laffitte is a northwestern suburb of Paris where you’ll almost be tripping over mansions and châteaux. True to this image of old money, the commune is a centre for equestrianism, with the largest horse training facility in the Paris region. You can live a life of leisure as a lady or gentleman …
In southern Burgundy, Chalon-sur-Saône is a charming riverside town at the heart of the Côte Chalonnaise wine region. If you have a palate for fine wine you can fill your trip with memorable and educational trips to vineyards and caves. Meanwhile in the 19th century Chalon-sur-Saône gave the world Vivant Denon, the godfather of the …
Posh, quiet and residential, Neuilly-sur-Seine is a suburb on the western boundary of Paris. While the area itself remains low-key it is within walking distance or a swift Métro ride from sights, museums and parks that the whole world knows and loves. The 17th, 16th and 8th Arrondissements border Neuilly-sur-Seine, which puts the Arc de …
To you and me, Marseille soap is a quaint artisanal product. But a century ago it was a huge international industry. And the centre of the craft was Salon-de-Provence. The trade slumped a few decades later when washing machines and detergents arrived, but there are two old-school factories in the city, plying their craft as …
Only eight kilometres west of Paris, Rueil-Malmaison is an affluent and leafy suburb loaded with French imperial history. It’s where you can get better acquainted with Joséphine de Beauharnais, wife of Napoleon until their divorce in 1810. You’ll discover the palatial home that she shared with the Emperor, wander the spacious grounds around it and …
This medieval city in Eastern France was one of the capitals of the Europe-spanning Duchy of Savoy. And in this capacity it got its marquee monument: The Royal Monastery is from the early 1500s founded as a place to bury and pay respect to the Dukes and their families. Margaret of Austria was the woman …
North of Lyon, Villefranche-sur-Saône is the southern capital of the Beaujolais wine region. Beaujolais means a lot to the town, and you can dine at special bistros with menus arranged around this velvety wine. You don’t need to be a connoisseur to want to know more about Beaujolais, and there are caves, vineyards and wine …
As an old penal colony Saint-Laurent du Maroni has the distinction of being a town built by and for convicts. Saint-Laurent is next to the River Maroni in western French Guiana, and 70 years after the colony shut down the remnants of camps are not hard to find. If you’ve read the book Papillon you’ll …
Even though there has been a settlement in La Roche-sur-Yon since medieval times, the real story of the town began on May 24, 1804. That was the date Napoleon issued an Imperial decree transferring regional power to a whole new town. La Roche-sur-Yon is the result, a regimented grid of streets with a pentagonal outline. …