We were so excited to see Gorge du Verdon, known as Europe’s Grand Canyon (I have not seen the U.S. canyon, but I was prepared to be impressed). As luck would have it, we hit this area during a rainy spell. We’d had big hiking plans, so we spent a day glancing hopefully at the […]
Tag Archives | France
Provençal Roadside
We were sad to leave the coast, but Provence’s interior roads offered a few treasures. I felt like I was in a science-fiction movie when I saw these fascinating rock formations lining the highway. While standing in one spot by the side of the road, I saw these two churches.
Antibes, France
Antibes is another seaside town that started off as a fishing and trading center, only to turn into a resort area in the 19th century when wealthy Europeans began building summer homes. 16th-century ramparts surround the town. We caught the Marché Provençal on place Masséna in the old town. Among the slew of artists and […]
St Tropez, France
So this is what all the fuss is about! I expected to be underwhelmed with St. Tropez, but was instead seduced by the charming fishing village-turned-luxe resort town. Artists were the first outsiders to flock to sunny St Tropez. Signac, Matisse and Bonnard all cherished the unique light and churned out a number of masterpieces. […]
Bandol, France
We like Bandol wines, so when we saw the sign by the side of the road, we had one of those “Really?! Really?!” moments. Alas, we did not have time to visit any wineries, but instead wandered through the very miniscule village, along the beaches and the harbor. The colorful seaside homes and crowded harbor […]
Hyères, France
This is the Côte d’Azur’s first resort town. The old town sits atop a hillside, about four km from the sea. The town is very compact with lots of narrow streets and old houses painted in typical Provençal pastels with contrasting doors and shutters. Famous residents included Robert Louis Stevenson, who lived at the Grand […]
Vieux Port, Marseille, France
This is Marseille’s birthplace, where Greek settlers landed in 600 BC. The Greeks set up a trading post in the hills on the north shore. The port remained the center of Marseille’s maritime life until the 19th century, when the port proved too shallow for steamboats. 13th-century Bas Fort St-Nicolas and Fort St-Jean used to […]
Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde Marseille, France
This 19th-century Romano-Byzantine basilica, informally known as La Bonne Mère, sits atop Marseille’s highest hill, La Garde, and is visible from almost anywhere in the city. The structure is striking, with colored marble, murals and mosaics, wraparound terraces and a tall Virgin Mary crowning the bell tower. Since Roman times, this site has served as […]
Palais Longchamp, Marseille, France
This colonnaded palace was originally built to celebrate the construction of the Canal de Marseille, which brought water to the city and helped alleviate its summertime draught problem. After continued outbreaks of cholera in the 19th century, the city built the canal linking Marseille to the Durance River. In addition to providing a fresh water […]
L’abbaye Saint-Victor, Marseille, France
The remains of L’abbaye Saint-Victor, once a prestigious religious center, overlooks the Vieux Port. The abbey was built in the early 5th century on the site where Saint Victor was massacred, and was dismembered in the 18th century. It was secularized, the gold and silver valuables were melted to make coins, the relics were burned […]
