Need an Excuse for Crêpes? It’s La Chandeleur in France!
As if we really needed an excuse to indulge in crêpes, the Fête de la Chandeleur (or Fête des Chandelles) rolls around. Get together with family and friends and join this ancient tradition…
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On a nippy winter day, the French word for happiness is a hearty “cassoulet”.
The exact specifications of the true original cassoulet are difficult to make out, because there are as many stories about it’s origins as there are versions of the recipe. The name comes from the cassole, the earthenware pot that is traditionally used to cook it in.
A night at the museum: see your favourites under a different light
A number of museum in France stay open until midnight and offer special events to nocturnal visitors.
Mais aux Patrons
In certain towns within the Dordogne region, you may notice a new tree planted or tree branches tacked on to the front of local businesses along with a couple of small tricolore flags and a sign annoucing ‘Honneur’. Find out what it means…
Muguet – a May Day Tradition Dating Back to 1561
The 1st of May in France is a holiday to celebrate labour day, and it also carries the even older tradition of offering a sprig of muguet. But what does it mean?
The game of pétanque, a French institution
Pétanque is one of the most popular pastimes in France and can trace its origins to Provence, where it goes hand in had with animated conversation and an apéritif. The goal is to throw steel balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called the cochonnet in an attempt to knock the opponent’s boules out of the way.
The beginner’s guide to Armagnac
Southwest France is a treasure chest of history to be discovered and one of its oldest riches is the noble brandy Armagnac. Armagnac is France’s most time-honoured spirit that was first recognised in 1310 when Prior Vital Dufour vaunted the…
La Galette des Rois
This galette is made especially for the Ephiphany to celebrate the arrival of the Magi. The custom is to hide a little charm or fève within, and the lucky guest who finds it is crowned King or Queen.
It’s Beaujolais Nouveau day in France! Perfect excuse for a wine-tasting party.
The third Thursday of November can only mean on thing in France: Beaujolais Nouveau! Every year at this time the vin primeur is released to the market.
Le Brunch, a New Firm Favourite in France
It seems that not a week goes by that I don’t receive a new offer for the best brunch in Paris, Nice or Lyon. No longer seen as a quirky anglo-saxon mongrel, brunch has now become a fashionable way to spend le…
The beautiful music of Notre Dame de Paris
I remember vividly my first visit to Notre Dame. I was 18 and somewhat overwhelmed by the city. It was stormy, which gave the light coming in through the stained glass an eery hue. As I set foot inside, the…
Is the French work-life balance under attack? [poll]
The French lifestyle balance is once again in the crosshairs. This time the stalker is the Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF) with a controversial report aimed at reducing the number of national holidays on the French calendar.
My French village: between light and shadow
This Sunday we had a memorial ceremony for the 70th anniversary of a brutal WWII battle that took place in my placid little village in deepest rural France. As in art, there is no light without shadow, so the harsh history of this…
C’est magnifique! France is at the top of the world
France has the magic. The proof is in the gatêaux. Once again, according to a study released yesterday, France came up in first place as the world’s most visited country. And the French are delighted with the news. So why…
Behind the Scenes at the Tour De France … How to Get the Best Seat in the House
I hesitated to accept the invitation thinking there would be jostling crowds, loud music and a blur of lycra whizzing by after an endless wait. But was I ever so wrong! It was, in fact, one of the best ways…
What Does the French Expression “A Flower in Your Rifle” Mean?
You may hear it when talking about the attitude of a young person blithely launching themselves into a new situation – such as marrying too soon, or entering the workforce as a new recruit in a difficult career – in…
Flirt like a Frenchman
Stopping at a crêpe stand for a snack , I recently witnessed a prime example of the art of flirting. As he handed over the thin pancake sprinkled with sugar to a lady who was clearly past the first blush…
The Smallest Art Gallery in Paris
Located in number 142 rue Montmartre –an address dripping with history, where Emil Zola printed his manifest “J’accuse”– lives the 1SQM art gallery, one of the smallest in the world and certainly the smallest in Paris. The building once housed…
France showers Lady Liberty with flowers: stirring tribute in New York on the 70th anniversary of D-Day
The organization “The French will never forget” arranged for helicopters to shower 1 million red rose petals over the Statue of Liberty. They explain the idea this way: “On June 6th, 1944, starting at 1:00am 17,000 US Paratroopers were dropped…
New Map of France Revealed with the Arrival of the “Super-regions”
France is currently organised into 27 administrative regions, 22 of which are located in the Hexagone in metropolitan France and Corsica, and five located overseas. There has been much noise and contradicting versions surrounding the proposed consolidation of the regions…
I Say Pancakes, You Say Crêpes… Let’s Do the Chandeleur!
Forget Groundhog day. Go grab a flat pan and a coin and invite your friends over for pancakes. It’s the Fête de la Chandeleur in France!
Word of the Week: “Pouvoir”
This is a double-edged word that can go to your head or put you in control of your own destiny and it has a way of always making its way to the media headlines. Let’s look at the word pouvoir…
An example of French fraternité: the “baguette-in-waiting”.
Noël Capron offers “la baguettes suspendue” in his bakery in Bordeaux.- ©S.Ortola / 20 minutes Not everyone in France has access to a hot beverage or a square meal every day and this leaves people at a particularly fragile disadvantage…
French Word of the Week: “Méprise”
A useful word to know and, according to Seneca, one that can give you the key to your personal freedom, not by applying la méprise yourself but by letting others get away with it.
French Word of the Week: “Ennui”
For all the good intentions and inescapable cheer, the holidays can be followed by indefinable hollowness. There’s no need to fight the feeling; you can wear it with style and choose to view it as a trés chic état d’esprit.
Peak Demand for Oyster Farmers in France
It’s not a French Christmas or Réveillon without oysters, and these two weeks account for 69% of annual revenue for oyster farmers. Despite reports earlier this year of a mystery disease killing off oysters in droves, and an expected increase…
Word of the Week: ‘prendre’
A verb that can indicate quite peculiar behaviour. To follow the call of the open road, fine, but why try to bite the moon? Let’s take the word ‘prendre‘ by the horns.
Are you planning a naughty Christmas in France? Beware of Le Père Fouettard
The job of this scraggly, bearded and black-hooded “father” is to dispense lumps of coal to children on the naughty list, while Santa gives gifts to the nice ones.
Friday the 13th: Good or Bad Luck in France?
Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century’s and many regard Friday as an unlucky day to undertake journeys or begin new projects
Word of the Week: “Voeux”
OK, I’m cheating a little bit. We are not just going to talk about one word but several, to help us navigate the yearly minefield that is… season’s greetings in French.
Word of the Week: “Élan”
It makes life worth living, and gets you out of bed in the morning. A darting idea that has made its way into the philosophy books.
Word of the Week: Relativiser
Here’s a verb that could change your life, or at least change the way that you look at it. The word relativiser offers a glimpse into the linguistic equivalent of the Gallic shrug.
Looking for a French Husband? La Sainte Catherine
The celebration of Saint Catherine’s day on November 25th has retained its popularity throughout the centuries and is still widely celebrated. It signals the beginning of winter – an important day in the gardener’s autumn calendar for the French saying…
French Word of the Week: Allure
We already know how this word can be applied to the captivating magnetism of the female form, but also to a train or a horse? Really?
On the 90th Anniversary of the Eternal Flame, the Question Remains – Who Is the Soldier Buried under the Arc De Triomphe?
Every evening at 6.30 pm the flame is rekindled in a simple and sober ceremony. The eternal flame was first lit in 1923 marking the tomb of the unknown soldier, and has been burning steadily ever since. It signifies that…
Word of the Week: Tenir
A verb that can lift your soul to the heavens or put you down to the lowest depths of disdain, the word tenir has many more layers than it first appears. So many, in fact, that we are just going…
Would You like a Free Stay in Paris? I Thought So…
Win an unforgettable holiday in Paris FrenchEntrée magazine has partnered up with 4* Résidence NELL to offer you the chance to win a two night stay plus breakfast
Word of the Week: Le Flâneur
“The lover of life makes the whole world his family”, said Baudelaire of the true flâneur, the emblematic Parisian urban observer. You can find them ambling on the banks of the Seine, strolling along the boulevards, or in the unrushed…
The Torch Be Yours – Centenary of World War I (1914-1918)
“We are the Dead. Short days ago we lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, loved and were loved, and now we lie.”
French Word of the Week: Épanouissement
Épanouissement is the French word for bloom, but this literal botanical sense is only one of the many uses of the word. It also comes closest to that elusive concept that the Declaration of Independence evokes as the right of…
A Good Year for Champagne, Bring on the Cochelet
2013 is going to be a blockbuster year for the Champagne wine harvest. The production this year is predicted to be almost 50% higher when compared to the previous year (which was a particularly low year so the statistics can…
How many names can you give a baby in France?
After the excitement about the name of the new bébé royale across the channel HRH Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge, parents in France had a renewed incentive to get creative. Earlier this week the Prime Minister’s office of legal…
Les Journées du Patrimoine in France: what to visit.
This weekend is dedicated to European Heritage, and sites all over France are open to the public either free or at a special rate. What’s even more intriguing is that besides the fantastic museums and monuments, there are some places…
Symbolic visit by German and French Presidents to haunting site of WWII atrocity
For the first time since the 10th of June 1944, a German President set foot in Oradour-sur-Glane on Wednesday. The visit carried a heavy weight of expectation and symbolism, not least because the guide was one of the only six…
Too much romance in Paris
Commitment is not always a ball and chain; in Paris it’s a padlock. On the Pont des Arts, thousands of romantic couples lock their promise to the railings of the bridge creating a dilemma for the authorities.
World Record in France, 408 Hot-air Balloons Take to the Sky Together
In both a spectacular display of logistics and the perfect photo opportunity, a new world record was set in France during the Mondial Air Ballon event taking place this week in Chambley
Paris Plage – Urban Beach Opens Today, Just in Time for the Heatwave
Every summer there’s two concurrent phenomena in Paris. Locals scoot and Paris Plages opens. For those Parisians who must stay in the capital during the heatwave, the banks of the river Seine offer a cooling and fun break from the…
New Marianne stamp inspired by protest group leader
It is customary for every government in France to redesign the stamp that depicts the image of Marianne, an allegory for the values of liberty and reason. In this case, President Francois Hollande unveiled an intriguing choice that will be…
Party like it’s 1789
Image Yann Caradec via flickr Bastille Day on the 14th of July is the celebration of the French National Day, commemorating the oath of July 14th 1790 – exactly a year after the storming of the Bastille – the…
Marchons, Marchons… To the Shops! It’s Sales Season in France
The summer sales in France officially start today. There are two official sales season: summer and winter. Each sales period has a definitive start date that is uniform across the country. The timing of the end of the sale is…
