Experiences labelled with 'france'
Climbing the Eiffel Tower, one the great charms of Paris, is a leisure best enjoyed in the spring. If, however, circumstances conspire in such a way that you end up in Paris’ 7th arrondissement between June and August, craning your neck at the confabulation of steel lace that stretches upward to its apex in the sky, it is a pleasure not to be refused. Climbing the Eiffel Tower is a difficult task even without the cloying heat of the summer months. Despite what seem like insurmountable obstacles and annoyances of a tireless stop along the Parisian tour route, the Eiffel Tower will not only raise your range of vision, but send your senses soaring. Built in just over two years for the Paris Exposition of ...
Standing tall in the heart of the City of Lights, the elegant stone edifice of the Sacre Coeur Basilica rivals only the Eiffel Tower in defining the Paris skyline. The dome top of the Sacre Coeur Basilica, which reaches over 200 meters high, is open to tourists and offers a view over all of Paris up to 30 miles away in every direction. As well as gaining an unrivalled view of the city, you can observe people from all walks of life that gather on the steps outside the Basilica and stream into the charming streets of Montmartre. A venerated pilgrimage site, Sacre Coeur Basilica welcomes thousands of tourists from all over France and around the world every year. Perched over Montmartre, the name signifies ...
Europe’s churches and cathedrals are celebrated for various reasons: breathtaking architecture, deep-seated history, and stunning stained glass windows. Religious convictions aside, Europe’s cathedrals house beautiful works of art and offer a chance for quiet reflection. Throughout my travels I’ve toured many impressive churches, but Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is a spire above the rest. The abundance of sights available in Paris can be daunting, especially if you are tight on time. If unsure where to begin, a shuttle boat called the Batobus which travels along the Seine River is a good start as it stops at eight of Paris’ main attractions: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Notre Dame Cathedral, to name a few. As we approached Notre Dame Cathedral, the misty grey ...
While wine lovers the world over have different palates and different favourites, France is undoubtedly the most famous wine-producing country, and the Beaujolais is its most famous red wine. On the stroke of midnight on the third Thursday of November each year, Beaujolais Nouveau is celebrated by drinking the wine from grapes harvested that summer. Dubbed “Beaujolais Nouveau Day,” parties are held all over France and further afield to celebrate the first wine of the season. There are about 120 Beaujolais Nouveau related festivals held in the Beaujolais region alone, and some bottles from the six-week-old crop are also sent to oenophiles around the globe in time to be uncorked for the occasion. Located in the heart of the Rhone-Alpes region of eastern central France, ...
For art lovers, there is something magical about the Louvre Museum in Paris. Though it is not the largest museum in the world (that distinction belongs to the Hermitage), it is the most visited. Part of the fascination stems from the unique architecture of the Louvre. Not many museums in the world were once palaces, and even fewer have the long history of the Louvre. Beginning as a fortress in 1190, the French monarchs continued to expand the Louvre, even serving as the royal headquarters until Louis XIV moved his household to the Palace of Versailles. Visitors today can still see the foundations of the original fortress, and the magnificence of the medieval French court can easily be imagined while strolling through its marbled hallways. ...
Bordeaux, France is a land of greatness. It is a place where wine makers go to become distinguished, and where visitors go to quench their thirst at charming countryside chateaux. Sheltered by forests and warmed by the gulf stream, Bordeaux city has a great deal of architecture and history to discover beyond its vineyards. A visit to Bordeaux would not be complete without sampling some of its amazing wines, whether it be a heavy, red Médoc or a sweet, golden Sauternes. Great wine is readily available at every turn in Bordeaux. Restaurants have amazing, local-only wine lists and at the grocery store there are entire aisles dedicated to Rosé, whites and reds. For a little more of an education, however, wineries or vignobles are not ...
If there's one thing that we know and understand about France, above all else, it's that not only do they love their food and wine, but they're great at making it. The soft touch of freshly baked bread for an evening meal, the mouth-watering taste of Crème Brûlée and the smell of freshly cooked chocolate Crêpes, all awaken the senses to what's becoming a universal love for French food. As French chefs have taken their cooking beyond French borders to extend to countries around the world, the taste of French cuisine now comes closer to home for many people. You no longer have to travel to the back country roads and small towns of France to enjoy authentic French dishes. In fact, with the rise ...
France’s Loire Valley is a beautiful landscape of historic towns, wineries, and stunning chateaux that recall the days of the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment. The area is known as “the Garden of France,” and considered to be the cradle of the French language. The valley is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that they say is “an exceptional cultural landscape, of great beauty, comprised of historic cities and villages, great architectural monuments - the Châteaux - and lands that have been cultivated and shaped by centuries of interaction between local populations and their physical environment, in particular the Loire itself." And it is all best seen from the seat of a bicycle. The Loire Valley came to life in the 16th Century as several ...
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