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French Vacations
France must be one of the most attractive holiday venues in the world with its rich history, culture and cuisine. The French countryside is also exquisitely beautiful, maintaining its ancient character, especially in the South. Here you can take a holiday and step back in time to a less stressful era, taking things easy and relaxing for a change.
The Mediterranean Côte d'Azur and French Riviera, which have long been the playgrounds of European aristocrats and the mega-rich, are among the most scenic areas in Europe. Imagine a French holiday, basking on the beaches of the Riviera amidst glamorous French mademoiselles smothered in sun-tan oil. It literally makes the mouth water!
Less glamorous, but more bracing is the French Atlantic coast near Biarritz, Bayonne, and further down in the Camargue, home of wild horses and French gypsies, or the French Basque country. Stay in the small, but picturesque auberges (inns), or on a French campsite, where you can hire a tent or caravan for a very inexpensive French holiday.
Holidays in France are made unforgettable by the superb food: crisp baguettes, croissants and French batons (loaves), fresh from the boulangerie (bakery), ready to be smothered in rich French butter and confiture (jam) to accompany your aromatic café au lait or espresso. Or if more substantial fare is your penchant, indulge in some hors d'œuvre, côtes d'agneau (lamb chops), steak tartare (raw steak), canard a l'orange (duck in orange sauce), or, for the adventurous, frogs legs, or escargots (snails). Step inside a French market and smell the delicious aromas of gruyere cheese, fresh fruit and seafood. Sample quails, sparrows or pâté de foie gras (goose liver paste). Go for the rich Haute Cuisine, or the lighter Nouvelle Cuisine. People go on French vacations just for the epicurean experience of French food, in the hope of becoming true gourmets (connoisseurs of fine food).
Or if restaurants are not to your fancy, try that favorite venue of all French holidaymakers, the French pavement café, and watch the world go by as you sip your vin blanc (white wine), vin rouge (red wine), or your cognac (brandy). If you smoke, try Gauloise or Disque Bleu, the famous, aromatic French cigarettes.
Once you've tired of lazing by the boulevards, visit an art gallery to see the work of Monet, Renoir, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Cézanne, Gauguin, and Matisse, without which your French vacation wouldn't be complete. Or go to the Left Bank in Paris with its flea markets, pavement artists and singers. Alternatively, visit the Gothic cathedrals of Notre Dame, Rennes, Chartres or the abbey church of Saint Denis. History buffs should also see the Bastille or the Palace of Versailles - home of Le Roi Soleil - the Sun King, Louis XIV. It's de rigueur (required by etiquette) while on holiday in France to visit at least some of the famous landmarks.
For the more sportif French holidaymaker, the mountain slopes of the French Alps are a must to practice and perfect your skiing skills. Indeed, a French vacation has so much to offer, you'll have to experience it personally to appreciate it.
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