If the sunny weather, charming towns and unbelievable wines were not reason enough to love Burgundy, our stay at the Hôtel Villa Louise would have. The hotel was comfortable with endearing décor and a pleasant, helpful staff. It was a relaxing countryside inn that fit perfectly into the setting. A 17th-century house with an ample […]
Tag Archives | France
Aloxe-Corton, France
We wound through Burgundy’s vineyards and arrived at quiet grouping of old buildings basking in the sunshine that comprise the commune of Aloxe-Corton. Though most of the wines produced are reds, a well-known white wine is Corton-Charlemagne, named after one of its most famous vintners.
Bouchard Père & Fils, Beaune, France
This is one of the biggest and oldest wineries in the region. It’s been around for nine generations and has the French Revolution to thank for most of its holdings since that’s when most of the clergy’s land was confiscated and put up for sale. Today the estate owns 130 hectares of vines, of which […]
Beaune, France
I don’t know how busy Beaune gets in the heat of tourist season, but when we visited it was very quiet and not at all crowded. In other words, it was wonderful. The restaurants were busy, but we were able to find a meal without reservations. It was possible to park. Beaune is the center […]
Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière, Lyon, France
Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière sits high atop Fourvière, the steep hill on Lyon’s west side. It’s nicknamed the “upside down elephant.” Fourvière Hill was where the Romans first settled and established a Roman forum and temple. In the 12th century, a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary was built on the hill. In the […]
Les Théåtres Romains, Lyon, France
On our walk back downhill from the basilica, we came upon Les Théåtres Romains. It turns out Lyon’s Roman theater is the oldest in France, dating from 17 BC. When Augustus commissioned the theatre, which would serve as the community’s social center, it was only fitting to erect it on the highest hill, Fourvière, where […]
Lyon Taboules
Lyon’s most unique feature is its intricate system of passageways. Over 300 taboules, or secret passages, run through apartment blocks into sunny courtyards and dark alleyways and underground. Some date from Roman times, but most were constructed by silk weavers in the 19th century to transport the delicate material in inclement weather. They ended up […]
Chapelle Notre-Dame de Beauvoir, Moustiers Sainte-Marie, France
You will see this 14th-century Romanesque and Gothic chapel from all points in Moustiers Sainte-Marie since it is perched on a rock 830 meters above the town. It sits on the site of an AD 470 temple. To visit, you must climb up the stone stairway, past 14 stations of the cross and a waterfall. […]
Moustiers Sainte-Marie, France
Moustiers Sainte-Marie is located at the entrance of the Gorges du Verdon and is a good base from which to explore the area. With a few restaurants and hotels, it’s by far the most populated town in the region. The village is tucked between two limestone cliffs with an aqueduct at the base. Moustier is […]
Lyon, France
France’s third-largest city feels like a combination of a lesser (of course!) Paris and an Eastern European city like Prague. Two rivers flow through the city, which contributes to the slightly schizophrenic feel. The easternmost river, La Rhône, is lined neatly with grand, classic buildings while the westernmost river, La Saône, is flanked by the […]
