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The Gardens of the Boves in Arras
Sixty feet below the streets of Arras, the capital of the Artois province, lie ‘les Boves’ – the medieval limestone quarries which were first excavated during the 10th century to provide building materials for the city. Since then, they have been used as cellars, silos, and […]
Loved By Lyon’s Literati: Brasserie Georges
Back in 1836, Georges Hoffherr, a brewer from Strasbourg, Alsace, opened Brasserie Georges in Lyon, and it soon became a favorite haunt of Lyon’s literati for almost two centuries, and now the oldest brasserie in the city. Situated on the stagecoach route between Paris and Marseille, la Georges […]
Premier And Grand Crus – Are They A Guarantee Of Great Champagne?
They both sound pretty swanky, don’t they? If you see the words, Grand Cru or Premier Cru on a bottle of Champagne, I’m sure that like most of us, you automatically see this as an indication of a superior quality wine. However, all is not what […]
Multicultural France
Immigrants account for just over 8% of France’s population, with Paris being home to around 40% of its 4.9 foreign-born citizens. The City of Light is also home to 60% of all sub-Saharan Africans living in the country. By nationality, the number of foreigners living in […]
Out Of This World!
Ever protective of their terroir, in October 1954, a municipal decree was passed, forbidding UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) from landing on, taking off from, or flying over any of the vineyards in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The decree also stated that should any extra-terrestrials disobey this law, their spacecraft […]
The World’s First Paddle Steamers
Although Denis Papin (from Chitenay in the Centre region) developed and built a prototype steam-powered paddle boat in 1704, it wasn’t until June 1776 that the world’s first paddle steamer proper – the Palmipède*, created by Claude-François-Dorothée, marquis de Jouffroy d’Abbans – was actually launched, and sailed […]
France’s Giant Marionettes
Back in 1979, actor, Jean-Luc Courcoult had an idea which would eventually turn some of the world’s major cities into a stage for his astonishing creations. These days, his company, Royal de Luxe, is internationally-renowned for its giant marionettes and street performances which have, quite […]
Blanquette de Limoux
For more than a hundred years before Dom Pérignon’s apocryphal serendipitous Champagne incident, Languedoc-Roussillon had been producing its own sparkling wine, Blanquette de Limoux. Although the vineyards just south of Carcassonne date back to around the 5th century BC, it was not until 1531 that the […]
Post-Revolution Government of France
Since 1792, there have been ten changes in the way France has governed itself: First republic: September 1792-May 1804 First French empire: Napoléon I: May 1804-April 1814 Napoléon I: June 1815-July 1815 Constitutional monarchy: Louis XVIII: April 1814-March 1815 Constitutional monarchy: Louis XVIII: July 1815-September 1824 […]
The French Declaration of Rights
The first universal declaration of human rights on the planet is the 1789 French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen; however, these rights do not solely apply to French men and women, rather, they extend to all people across the world.