When I think of France and its history, one of the most prominent figures is the larger than life character of Louis XIV, ‘The Sun King’. His life, legacy and the magnificent palace of Versailles fascinate me. Of course, living just above the Loire valley with the historic city of Le Mans a short [...]
La Coupole in St Omer is an incredible historical site – a huge World War II domed bunker left behind by the German occupiers in this little northern French town. I’ve visited it before with friends and family, it is considered to be one of the key World War II sites in the area, [...]
I found myself in Calais recently and decided to visit the Lace Museum as I’ve heard so much about it from friends who’ve been there. What an absolutely amazing treasure trove this place is. Calais became famous for its lace making in the 19th Century when English lace makers, famous for their lace making [...]
The Château de Chenonceau, in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France, was originally built on the site of an old mill on the River Cher in the 11th Century. It was designed by the French Renaissance architect Philibert de l’Orme who also designed the wonderful Chateau Thoiry. After centuries of being [...]
The Palace of the Popes, the largest Gothic palace in Europe, residence of the Sovereign Pontiffs during the 14th century, is in the centre of the city of Avignon. One time capital of the Christian world in the Middle Ages, home to outstanding architectural heritage and right in the heart of Provence. Palais de Papes [...]
Located in the department of Yvelines, a 50 minute drive from Paris, you will find the fabulous Chateau Thoiry. This is one of the most popular sites in the Ile de France (Paris) region and with good reason – a gorgeous chateau, amazing gardens and an animal park, home to Europe’s first drive through safari [...]
The beautiful 17th Century Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte in the Ile de France is where you will find the noted gardens designed by France’s most famous gardener André le Nôtre. He was commissioned by Nicolas Fouquet, the minister of economy for Louis XIV, the Sun King, to transform the ordinary gardens of a small chateau into [...]
The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte is a baroque French château located in Maincy, near Melun, 55 km southeast of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne department of France. History of Vaux-le-Vicomte The original building was purchased as a small and not extraordinary chateau in 1641 by Nicholas Fouquet, a member of the French parliament. Fouquet was a man [...]
The Lens Louvre France opened in December 2012 to great acclaim in the north of France. The Musée du Louvre in Paris was opened in 1793, receives more than 8 million visitors a year and is home to many of the world’s most famous masterpieces. For the first time – the Paris based Louvre [...]
The fabulous Musée des Beaux Arts in Arras has an extraordinary Versailles Carriages exhibition in its hallowed halls. Following plans to decentralise art in France, a partnership between the Chateau de Versailles, the Town of Arras and the Nord Pas-de-Calais region means that the Musée des Beaux Arts will be exhibiting major collections from Versailles [...]
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The papers are currently full of news about proposals to mount wind turbines on the beaches of Normandy – including at least one of the D-Day landing beaches. Some newspapers are calling it an “invasion” – emotional words, and this is a very provocative subject. The proposal is to erect 75 of the huge [...]
The Good Life France talks to Roger St Pierre – an award-winning writer who has visited every one of France’s 94 metropolitan departments as a cyclist, journalist, author and Francophile… Roger, who The Good Life France is honoured to include amongst its very talented group of writers, tells me he taught himself French by [...]
Well, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that the sheep across the road has gone to the great pasture in the sky. When I bought my house nine years ago it came with a sheep! The lady who owned the house before me had let the man across the road [...]
The allure of the good life in France and the charms of the beautiful town of Beziers ensnared British expat Mark Binmore who runs the highly successful Maison de l’Orb, a beautiful B&B. Mark told us that he lived in London since the early 1990s, worked as a pub landlord for several breweries, is the [...]
Expats in France Donna and Dave Faulkner fell in love with Deux-Sevres in the Poitou-Charentes region when they visited friends who lived there. When Dave was unexpectedly offered a job – they said goodbye to Britain and jumped head first into life in France in their new home which needed a bit of renovation as [...]
British expat Sue Aitken lives in south west France and runs Blackhen Education – a business that she set up after planning to move to Spain to be a teacher. She and her partner travelled through France on their way to jobs and a life in Spain but they fell in love with [...]
How two Brits met and changed their lives with a move to France… Chris was a veteran of 30 years in the Metropolitan police, running his own outdoor activity business specializing in mountain biking, walking and climbing, father to three grown-up children and mentor to many more. Charlotte was a classic single “Social Butterfly”, [...]
I was recently asked to write about expats in France, people who leave their homes in all areas of the world to go to France to live. I thought back over the years about the many expats I’ve met, interviewed (I am a journalist not just a crazy person going round firing questions at [...]
