Former political cartoonist David has a passion for campervans and classic motor cars and loves travelling in France, particularly in Normandy.
Julie has written for several magazines and now also tutors privately in English and French.
Alan lived in France for a some years and cultivated a healthy admiration for the curiosities of French culture.
Born in Brittany, Richard now lives in Bath and works as a baker and cookery teacher.
Paula's love affair with France began on a school exchange scheme near Bordeaux. Since then her dream has been to make her home in France.
Jane is a committed Francophile and the author of the e-book 'Thirty-five minutes from St-Tropez'. She has stayed in over one hundred places in France since her first visit in 1978.
Graham became a committed Francophile while studying in France. He now runs the website A Year in Périgord.com.
Val is a retired antiquarian bookseller now living an antiquated life with donkeys, loving France and writing a daily blog.
Tony Stowers is the author of Past Imperfect, a memoir about living and working in Provincial France and Paris.
Daniel Kearney is a former Headmaster and now a freelance writer. He is an avid Tour de France fan.
Helen has lived in the Poitou Charentes for over ten years and is writing her first book about her experiences living in France.
In 1972, Linda fell in love with France and Donny Osmond. Her passion for both remains undiminished to this day.
After an enjoyable career in journalism, Doreen moved to France six years ago with her husband. She writes on local matters on her website and newsletters.
Julie lives on Dartmoor, but yearns for France. She loves everything about Provence and hopes to live there one day. She has recently started blogging as 'Vaucluse Dreamer'.
Amirinia is an engineer and lawyer based in London. He is also a freelance writer and journalist who has a passion for documentary photography.
Toni moved to Aix-en-Provence for a one-year sabbatical and hasn’t been able to leave yet. She runs a boutique technology and travel PR firm with her husband and is enjoying watching her two daughters master the French language - something that remains elusive to her.
It’s a done deal. Britain has voted to leave the EU. Without indulging in speculation, we take a look at the effects of Brexit on your home and life in France. We’ll keep this post updated with the latest information…
The French Pyrénées offer some challenging and exciting skiing to rival the best resorts in the world, while still retaining local authenticity.
Advice on cooking moules marinières, straight from the Bertinet Kitchen
Whilst in Marseillan I experienced a wonderful new event being presented by Noilly Prat, the vermouth manufacturers famously situated here by the port. I want to keep it a secret but it’s just so special that it needs to be…
For many brides-to-be the pressures of wedding planning can create a cauldron of stressful choices, difficult emotions and family feuds. Famed for its joie de vivre, escaping to France on a pre-wedding health retreat could be your best wedding idea…
Calling all budding restaurant reviewers! Tell us about your favourite French restaurant and you could win a copy of the beautiful new cookbook Crêpes and Galettes from the Breizh Café! As part of our commitment to our growing Contributors Community, this…
It is a well-documented fact that my trips to Giverny have been sabotaged for over ten years now. I’m hoping that this coming summer will be my time for Claude Monet’s spirit to sit atop my shoulder and finally guide…
We are all well-versed in the notion that French women don’t get fat. They are also the epitome of chic and have the best, unfussiest hairstyles on earth. With so many articles and books written about the style, elegance, and chicness of…
The French are renowned as a nation of romantics. From the amorous cartoon skunk Pépé le Pew with his overcooked accent to gorgeous actors like Jean Dujardin and Gregory Fitoussi, the romantic ideal often adopts a French accent. And, of…
Brittany tends to get overlooked in the winter. It only has one mountain peak, which is the mysterious and magical Menez Hom, but at 381 metres it certainly isn’t the place for a ski resort. Think of Brittany in winter…
While engaged in a conversation discussing the recent terrorist events in Paris, I was asked if I was going to move forward with my plans to visit France later this year. The question caught me slightly off guard. Of course…
While Papa Noël, Father Christmas and Santa Claus enjoy a well-needed rest after quite a busy holiday season, an even livelier season is taking hold throughout France: the winter sales! Shop and boutique windows everywhere are displaying the word SOLDES!…
I’m in Paris. It’s evening and the snow is falling. I’m standing before the huge open window in the parlour of the apartment on the Rue des Grands Augustins. I’m gazing at the white lights twinkling on the Eiffel Tower…
My first visit to Paris was a remarkable experience, which I will never forget. I booked the Dover-Calais ferry and drove with my wife from London in the cold Christmas weather. We intended to stay until the New Year in…
People watching is by far the most entertaining sport in Paris. Many participate in this sport while seated outdoors at a café. Others may partake in Parc Monceau or Jardin du Luxembourg. I take my people watching seriously. For me,…
A combination of one too many pains au chocolat and a desire to explore the countryside around Aix en Provence led me to agree to join a superb group of hardy walkers based out of Aix called the International Hiking…
There’s a fine and fluctuating line between clutter and collecting which is, in our household at any rate, often crossed. As an ardent and somewhat militant minimalist the prospect of a morning rummaging through the jetsam and flotsam of someone’s…
Some years back, Vincent decided that we would drive from Paris to the south. Although the drive can be done in a day, he decided to stop for the night midway into our journey. Keeping his choice a surprise, I…
Our American contributor Cathe outlines some more of the trials and tribulations – and joys – of French in-laws! Will she make it to Monet’s Giverny?
I landed at Brive airport in the Dordogne valley for the second time in a year. During my first visit, I had been told about prehistoric caves and paintings. The story of the caves captured my mind and inspired me to…
I arrived in Cannes (pictured above) a few days before the Film Festival started. Every time I visit there seems to be a new adventure awaiting me and I always manage to discover new dimensions to this luxurious city. I…
The approach to the town never fails to stir. As you descend into the gentle valley in which this ancient regional capital lies, you sense that something special awaits, the sentinel presence of Mont St Victoire, which looms up over…
Alan Redpath appraises Jean-Luc Godard’s 1967 classic New Wave film Le Weekend To obtain a reasonable grasp of French culture, it is necessary to study the anatomy of its art. The paintings and sculptures of the Louvre or Musee…
Jane Dunning has reached a major milestone in her French travels. I’ve reached 100! Not the great age of 100, just one hundred places in France where I have stayed for a night or more. I first visited France in 1978,…
I always knew we’d chosen wisely when we bought our house in France, but now everyone can get a flavour of where we live. Our small town, St Antonin Noble Val, is the setting for the recently-released film, The Hundred-foot…
David Shoestring heads to the prestigious Riviera village to see how the other half live. A visit to St-Tropez last year managed both to confound and to exceed expectations. The boats in the harbour may be somewhat grander than of old,…
Val Johnstone talks fondly about life in her special corner of Tarn-et-Garonne. I have always been greedy, so can I write about our three villages. We live in the country, on top of the world at Mas del Sol, practically equidistant between…
On a beach holiday in the south of France, Cathe learns to ditch her tankini in favour of a much more French style of swimwear…
Barbara Monks is a cooking teacher with a passion for France. Here she tells us about how her love affair with France began, and why she loves to visit
As a vegetarian in France, eating out can be difficult, to say the least. There must be vegetarian French people, but where are they? Perhaps they stay at home to eat. On many occasions I have been assured of a…
The weekend that followed was relaxing because I knew at last I had a job that suited and although I was now close to the end of my overdraft, I’d just about be able to dig myself out of debt.…
First dates can be nerve-wracking enough, but cooking a three-course French dinner for a Frenchman can turn into a downright disaster – as Cathe learnt the hard way!
On Sunday the 7th September 2014 under the scorching sun of an Indian Summer an estimated 50,000 people gathered in Rochefort on the banks of the River Charente. The long anticipated event that drew them there was the departure of…
I have just got off the phone from the Maire’s secretary in the village down the road where we own a small cottage. She discreetly informed me that the Veolia engineer had just called into the office, asking directions as…
I grew up on mustard and always had it in a simple vinaigrette with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. The beauty was that the dressing could be made as mild or powerful as us children could stand. I remember that, as a kid,…
The French are masters of using cheap cuts of meat which would otherwise be wasted. A traditional pâté de campagne needs good pork meat, fat and liver, and should be well seasoned with good sea salt and black pepper. Use any rough…
Working as a property finder, people often ask Jacqueline how easy it is to settle into French life. She finds inspiration in Lynn, who took to her new life in France like a duck to water.
Boundaries can look like abstract arbitrary lines on a map … until your immobilier informs you that your front garden wall has actually been built on your neighbour’s land.
I remember a meal I had at a Michelin restaurant in the center of France where, at the very end of the meal, they brought a small tray to the table filled with chocolates, tiny lemony madeleines, and miniature cookies.…
As one of the newly elected municipal councillors in a small commune, what kinds of things do we discuss? From school buses, to bins, to verge cutting, to complaints about roads, noise and neighbours, life’s rich tapestry is represented. I…
Un footing, le timing, un people – these are all French words! Of course, they sound English but they have been stolen, or should I say adapted, and mean something completely different in French. Un footing is the word for…
I have now been a buyer’s agent in Southern Dordogne close to 4 years and this means of course that I have visited many, many properties …
“Edible Girolles” – A terrifying tale of how greed landed a food writer in hospital. Be careful…
Property Finder Laura Murat gives us a glimpse into the life of a property finder in France.
Ever wondered what the difference is between ‘Béarnaise’ and ‘Périgordine’ sauces? Ever had to ask a waiter and then struggled to understand the complicated response?
A true story about poisonous wild mushrooms in France. Now a memory and a slight embarrassment, the experience of poisoning myself…
A look at the different French foie gras products. Being unused to this product in the UK, the various forms of foie gras can be confusing at first.
Jacqueline Davies gives an update on the state of the property market in Coastal Vendée
An Update from Val Walmsley,Property Finder in Vendée and Deux-Sèvres
My husband and I fell in love with this little lane near the house we were about to buy. I wish I had then had the help of someone living permanently in the area.
