Located at the heart of France’s hexagonal territory, Auvergne is a sparsely populated land of volcanic plateaus and large valleys. Unlike the Alps to the east or the Pyrénées to the southwest, its highest peaks reach only 6,000 feet above sea level and are free of snow in summer. The local authorities? efforts to safeguard the environment have made Auvergne one of the last protected zones in Europe.
Before going to Auvergne, familiarize yourself with its history and its gastronomy.
Where Provence and the Alps meet is the Verdon Gorge (Gorges du Verdon). At 15.5 miles long and almost 3,000 feet deep, it’s Europe’s largest canyon. At around 6,700 feet above sea level, the village of Saint-Véran, in the Hautes-Alpes department is the highest municipality in […]
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With Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday as the English speakers among us call it) just around the corner on February 17th, we thought a post about crêpes (pancakes) was in order. After all, what else are you going to eat on pancake day? According to historians, people […]
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In France there are 39 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List: 3 Roman sites (Arles, Orange, Le Gard) 4 cathedrals (Amiens, Bourges, Chartres, Reims) 4 abbeys (Fontenay, Reims, Saint-Savin sur Gartempe, Vezelay) 8 historic city/town centres (Paris, Lyon, Avignon, Strasbourg, le Havre, Mont-Saint-Michel, Provins, Carcassonne) Plus […]
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Regardless of whether he is the biological father or not, a man who claims a child born to a single mother as his may be legally recognised as such. All he has to do is sign an Acknowledgment of Paternity (Reconnaissance de Paternité). Even if he […]
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We’ve all heard of electric cinema but how about aqua cinema? In the heart of the City of Light’s Latin Quarter, not far from Boulevard Saint-Germain, is the spectacular Piscine Pontoise, which the eagle-eyed among us will recognize from Kieslowski’s movie, ‘Trois Couleurs: Bleu’ (Three Colors: […]
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For some reason, there are various things which are prefaced with the word, ‘French’, and yet they have little or nothing to do with France. Here are a few you may be familiar with but if you know of any others, please let us know in […]
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In 1794, a survey revealed that just 11% of France’s population were native French speakers. By 1880, that number had risen to a mere 20%. Today, 86% of people living in France have French as their first language. Dialects and other languages make up the rest: […]
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The abbey church (or basilica) of Saint Denis, just north of Paris, is considered to be the world’s first example of gothic architecture. According to legend, around 250AD, Denis, the bishop of the Parisii, was decapitated at the top of the hill at Montmartre*. Not being […]
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Europe’s busiest airport for cargo traffic is Charles de Gaulle International in Paris, and is actually the 6th busiest, in terms of cargo, in the world. With an average speed of 263.3km/h (163.6 mph) from station to station, the French TGV is the fastest train in […]
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The first thing that comes to mind when anyone mentions French drinks is wine, so of course, with France being the world’s second largest wine producer (Italy comes first), wine rightly deserves to be at the top of anyone’s list of boissons françaises. It should come […]
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