Lille is one of those cities that lures you in and embraces you with its charm. Head for the Grand Place, the large square in the centre of Vieux Lille (the old town) any time you go, it’s the perfect starting point as it’s also where you’ll find the Tourist Office (just off the […]
Looking to buy a property in France, but not sure where to start searching? These five locations are considered to be “ones to watch” by Home Hunts, where you just might find a bargain… The French property market has made an impressive comeback over the last decade. According to Notaires de France, in 2016 there […]
If you’re planning a holiday or long trip and you have a beloved pet – you may well want to take them along for the ride. If you’re hiring a car for your trip, then these helpful tips from Rhino Car Hire about pets and hire cars will help you… Are dogs allowed in hire […]
Saint-Valery-sur-Somme is located at the heart of the Picardy coastline nestling gently at the mouth of the Somme. The town is charming, authentic and has a rich history. Saint-Valery-Sur-Somme – a rich history William the Conqueror stopped off here to collect soldiers en route to conquer England and Joan of Arc was held here on […]
Reims may be the capital of Champagne but to the locals of Epernay, their town is the capital of Champagne the drink. Stellar Cellars in Epernay The famous Avenue du Champagne is lined with splendiferous Champagne houses but let’s face it, no visit here is complete without a tour at the Moët et Chandon Champagne […]
Summer is served in this issue. It’s time to chill and enjoy the best of France with The Good Life France Summer 2017 magazine. It’s FREE to read online, download and subscribe to – and it always will be. Just click here to access The Good Life France Summer Magazine You’ll find loads of gorgeous […]
It’s one of the blockbuster films of 2017 – Dunkirk (Dunkerque in French), Christopher Nolan’s film about Operation Dynamo, the historic event which saw the rescue of allied forces from the beaches on Dunkirk during World War II. The film Dunkirk Filmed largely on location on the beaches of Dunkirk with a clutch of stars […]
Marciac is a Gascon bastide village that dates to the end of the 13th Century, set among the sunflowers and cornfields of the Gers. Despite its petite size it has a global reputation thanks to the famous jazz festival that takes place each year pulling in almost quarter of a million visitors. To a town […]
Tucked away in the small valleys of the Gers in south west France is the classic bastide town of Marciac. It’s not huge, it has a population of around 1300, a central village square with the town hall as its main feature and the four sides of the square are lined with shops and […]
I call myself a Cointreau fan. I’ve enjoyed many a “blue moon” (Cointreau with lemonade and a dash of lime) in my time, so when I went to Angers, in the heart of the Loire Valley, and discovered Cointreau are based there, I wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to go and see how it’s […]
It’s a pretty good reason to love France I think, or rather two – Champagne the region and Champagne the drink. Both are fabulous. Champagne the region So let’s take the region. A place of vineyards and chateaux, lakes and forests, gentle hills, ancient villages and smart towns and cities like Reims and Epernay. It’s […]
Reims, the capital of Champagne, is the sort of city where you can indulge yourself, it’s small enough to walk everywhere, big enough to offer something to suit just about everyone. And, of course, its a place where the bubbles pop! Stellar Cellars in Reims You can’t go to Reims and not visit a Champagne […]
Longest French words Intergouvernementalisations (the plural of (intergouvernementalisation) or anticonstitutionnellement. At 27, 26 and 25 letters long, these are the longest words in the French language! Their meanings are pretty obvious to English speakers as well as French, as a surprisingly large number of English words and expressions are the same or very similar – […]
I’m in Australia – figuratively speaking that is! Not actually me, but my book “My Good Life in France” is now available as a paperback in Australia… You can get it at Booktopia on paper and Amazon.com.au on Kindle (links below). I can’t tell you how exciting it is to see my book come out […]
We talk to actress and author Carol Drinkwater about her book THE LOST GIRL (June 2017)… I am frequently asked where the inspiration for one of my books came from. The answer is that it is very difficult to pin down that unattainable breath of something, that whispered thought that grabs you and begins to […]
Discover delicious Nice and the best places to eat in the city that won’t break the bank. These are the places the locals go to, authentic, delicious and downright luscious. You really don’t have to break the bank to eat like a millionaire here. Nice is the second most popular city for visitors for France […]
The small town of Wimereux is one of those genteel, off the beaten-track seaside resorts that people can’t help falling in love with. You’ll find it nestling on the Opal Coast in the department of Pas de Calais, Hauts de France. It’s a bit of a well-kept secret – or at least it was until […]
There’s plenty to do for the whole family in Pas de Calais, Hauts de France. There are cycling, routes, theme parks, adventure parks, fabulous beaches, walking trails and heaps more. We take a look at three things to do on a rainy day… 1. NAUSICAA The National Sea Centre of France is one of the […]
Jane Damian from Dublin, Ireland lives near the beautiful city of Pau, the capital of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the south of France. It’s an area that so far has been relatively unknown to British and overseas buyers but it has so much to offer, we think it’s a hot spot in waiting. Living the […]
We talk to David Rodgers a former project manager from London who now lives in Charente-Maritime. Fed up with the “constant daily stress of work and commuting we finally decided to make the move to France for a more relaxing and a gentler pace of life”. David’s wife Jacquie is from South Africa and the […]
Julia Grange from the UK lives in a small village near Nogaro, Armagnac country, in the Gers. She talks to The Good Life France about life for expats in this lovely region of south west France… What inspired you to move to the Gers area? We initially looked at buying in Brittany, but after a […]
We talk to Mathilde de Saint Martin who lives in Landes in south west France. Landes is one of those places that the French love and foreigners rarely hear of. With 100km of sandy beaches and numerous resorts on the Atlantic Coast; inland there are forests and valleys with picturesque villages and Roman ruins. It’s […]
We asked local estate agent Mathilde de Saint Martin about the type of housing you can buy in the Pays Basque area and Landes: Traditional basque-style building A “baserri” is a traditional half-timbered or stone-built type of farmhouse found in the Basque Country in Northern Spain and Southwestern France. The baserris, with their gently sloping roofs and entrance portals, are highly characteristic of the region […]
Jon Chinn from Birkenhead in England fell in love with the French way of life when he studied French in Amiens, Picardy, north of Paris whilst at University. We talk to Jon about what life is like for expats in Lyon and why it’s a great place to live… What inspired you to move to […]
More than a decade after buying this old farmhouse to renovate in France, I was starting to think that at long last it may one day be finished. We (that is Mark my husband and me), were sort of feeling as if we were on the home run with just one last shed to renovate […]
Summer in the Seven Valleys, Pas de Calais where I live in France is wonderful. We have plenty of blue sky days, the air is warm and heavy with the scent of lush blossom and fresh cut grass, bees buzz and lazily flit from flower to flower. Occasionally we spot a lizard sunning itself or […]
“Approaching the age of 60, I decided to update my style for a new, more mature me” said Martha McCormick from the US. She decided a shopping experience in Paris was what was needed and tells us about her experience. Older French women are my ideal. If only I could look as elegant and alluring […]
More than a decade after buying this old farmhouse to renovate in France, I was starting to think that at long last it may one day be finished. We (that is Mark my husband and me), were sort of feeling as if we were on the home run with just one last shed to renovate […]
Summer in the Seven Valleys, Pas de Calais where I live in France is wonderful. We have plenty of blue sky days, the air is warm and heavy with the scent of lush blossom and fresh cut grass, bees buzz and lazily flit from flower to flower. Occasionally we spot a lizard sunning itself or […]
“Approaching the age of 60, I decided to update my style for a new, more mature me” said Martha McCormick from the US. She decided a shopping experience in Paris was what was needed and tells us about her experience. Older French women are my ideal. If only I could look as elegant and alluring […]
Although it is over ten years since we moved back to the UK, after two houses and several years in France, whenever I spot a French car, I still have to look for the départment number on the plaque. And if it’s 46, I give a little inward cheer and find myself smiling stupidly, or […]
I’m in Australia – figuratively speaking that is! Not actually me, but my book “My Good Life in France” is now available as a paperback in Australia… You can get it at Booktopia on paper and Amazon.com.au on Kindle (links below). I can’t tell you how exciting it is to see my book come out […]
Jane Damian from Dublin, Ireland lives near the beautiful city of Pau, the capital of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the south of France. It’s an area that so far has been relatively unknown to British and overseas buyers but it has so much to offer, we think it’s a hot spot in waiting. Living the […]
We talk to David Rodgers a former project manager from London who now lives in Charente-Maritime. Fed up with the “constant daily stress of work and commuting we finally decided to make the move to France for a more relaxing and a gentler pace of life”. David’s wife Jacquie is from South Africa and the […]
Once a nation in its own right, Flanders today straddles two countries – France and its northern neighbour, Belgium. Ypres A short drive from Calais in French Flanders will bring you to the picturesque walled town of Ypres, in Belgian Flanders. A memorable way to enter the town is through the monumental Menin Gate. Its […]