The Alpes-Maritime region in the South of France lies between dramatic Provencal mountains and the azure coastline of the Mediterranean. This is home to the French Riviera, with all its associations of glamour, but there are lots of options for holidays here – and they need not break the bank! Anyone who wants to be at the heart of things in Nice, Cannes or Antibes can rent a self-catering apartment with sea view and balcony for less than you might think. (more…)
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alpes-maritimes,
france holidays,
France Lovers,
mediterranean,
provence,
the riviera
Posted in France Lovers.
Tagged with alpes-maritimes, france holidays, mediterranean, provence, the riviera.
By Faith
– February 24, 2012
Last Saturday the Telegraph newspaper’s magazine published its annual travel issue, with major features by top writers reporting from around the world – and one of them was about a family cycling holiday at our gorgeous Les Bernaches villa on the Ile de Re. Close to La Rochelle, the island has become seriously glamorous in an understated sort of way and is now popular with celebrities like Jonny Depp, Gerard Depardieu and Princess Caroline of Monaco. Charles Aznavour once wrote a song about its forest. (more…)
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cycling holiday,
family holidays,
France Lovers,
French holiday villa,
Ile de Re,
News,
telegraph
Posted in France Lovers, News.
Tagged with cycling holiday, family holidays, French holiday villa, Ile de Re, telegraph.
By Faith
– February 14, 2012
P&O are offering a fantastic opportunity celebrate the launch of their long awaited sparkly new ship The Spirit of France. A special fare of £30/ 39 euros will be offered for all passengers who book before 14th February to travel on The Spirit of France the brand new sister ship of The Spirit of England.
(more…)
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ferries,
ferry,
France Lovers,
P&O,
travel,
travel deals
Posted in France Lovers.
Tagged with ferries, ferry, P&O, travel, travel deals.
By Josh
– February 9, 2012
January has been a successful month at French Connections, with site visits, new visitors and enquiries for holiday rentals and properties for sale all up on the same period last year. In an uncertain economic climate, we reckon this deserves a shared pat on the back with our staff, advertisers and holidaymakers. (more…)
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enquiries,
france holidays,
french property,
holiday letting,
News,
search engines,
website visitors
Posted in News.
Tagged with enquiries, france holidays, french property, holiday letting, search engines, website visitors.
By Faith
– February 9, 2012
Valentine’s Day will soon be upon us and at home here in Wales I notice there are many advertisements in the local newspapers for Valentine’s short breaks to Paris. This is surely a most romantic getaway for those couples wanting to spend a special time together and where could be more romantic than Paris!
(more…)
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chocolate,
cooking,
food,
French Recipes to Love,
valentine
Posted in French Recipes to Love.
Tagged with chocolate, cooking, food, valentine.
By Gaynor Morgan
– February 6, 2012
ALONG THE road early to St Pons de Thomières, a place of 2353 inhabitants, according to the 2007 census. One of the curiosities of St Pons – as it’s called for short – is that there’s a cathedral in the middle of it. If hosting a cathedral promotes a place to the rank of city, St Pons must be the smallest cathedral city in France, if not Europe. It’s a peculiar cathedral, too. For one thing it’s the wrong way round. For the early church builders it was imperative for the altar end to face east, towards Jerusalem.
(more…)
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Campbell's Diary,
churches,
St Pons
Posted in Campbell's Diary.
Tagged with churches, St Pons.
By Chris Campbell-Howes
– February 1, 2012
Romance is in the air and I love to make Valentine’s Day really special with a short break or long weekend in France. It just feels like the right place to be. Travel is quick and easy from the south east with Eurotunnel or by ferry from Dover – and Northern France has some fascinating places to discover. (more…)
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eurotunnel,
ferry,
France Lovers,
northern France,
romance,
valentine
Posted in France Lovers.
Tagged with eurotunnel, ferry, northern France, romance, valentine.
By Faith
– January 27, 2012
The village where I live is in that part of France that was occupied by the Germans during World War 2, as opposed to the ‘other’ southern portion of France which was Vichy France.
The consequence of this was that there was a German Lieutenant and a section of Germans troops billeted in the village during the War. This gave the village population someone to fear and hate directly, as opposed to the French South where the resources of Police and manpower were put at the disposal of the Third Reich, so ‘They’ instead became the feared official force.
(more…)
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christmas,
French Bread,
french lifestyle,
world war II
Posted in French Bread.
Tagged with christmas, french lifestyle, world war II.
By Chris Higginson
– January 13, 2012
The lucky winners of our competition in January’s FrenchEntree magazine will be taking their family of four for a free week’s stay at the gorgeous La Flotte, a recently restored Manoir and character cottages in sunny Charente Maritime near the sea. La Flotte has 16 acres of private grounds in a wildlife and wild flower reserve surrounded by vineyards and sunflowers and the stay will be in Honeysuckle Cottage, with its vaulted ceiling, exposed beams and a staircase up to the two bedrooms, available as king doubles or twin bedded. (more…)
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competition,
France Lovers,
News
Posted in France Lovers, News.
Tagged with competition.
By Faith
– January 12, 2012
From January 2012 regular flights are in service between London City and Brive-Dordogne Valley airport, operated by City Jet. At present there are two flights a week, on Fridays and Sundays, and a more frequent service will be offered from 23rd March for the high season. The new Brive-Dordogne Valley airport was opened in June 2010 and is located between the towns of Brive, Souillac and Sarlat. London City is located in London’s Docklands. (more…)
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accomodation,
boating,
brive,
dordogne,
flights,
France Lovers,
london city,
News
Posted in France Lovers, News.
Tagged with accomodation, boating, brive, dordogne, flights, london city.
By Faith
– January 10, 2012
Well, it’s now January 2012! Bonne année et bonne santé – I wish you all a very happy new year and the best of good health.
If you are travelling to France this month you have many things to look forward to as there is so much to see and do. It’s a good time to take it easy and simply browse the museums and art galleries if you love French art or have a love of history..
(more…)
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cooking,
food,
French Recipes to Love,
sale
Posted in French Recipes to Love.
Tagged with cooking, food, sale.
By Gaynor Morgan
– January 6, 2012
THE OTHER evening our friend Jean-Claude came round to see us. He appears in Campbell’s Diary quite often. In some ways you could say he was a pillar of this column. He has many claims to fame, and not the least intriguing is that he is, or was, distantly related to Saint Theresa of Lisieux. He’s a senior village councillor and has been involved in local government for about 40 years, latterly in the village and before that in Île de France, the region around Paris. We rely on him for all our inside information about what’s going on the village and round about.
(more…)
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Campbell's Diary,
french lifestyle
Posted in Campbell's Diary.
Tagged with french lifestyle.
By Chris Campbell-Howes
– January 1, 2012
Madame Françoise Tenenbaum, a deputy mayor of Dijon, has suggested that Vets could be drafted in to make up for a lack of Doctors in Rural Areas, “so that all Burgundians are guaranteed to have access to healthcare”.
(more…)
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burgundy,
doctor,
French Bread,
vet
Posted in French Bread.
Tagged with burgundy, doctor, vet.
By Chris Higginson
– December 29, 2011
We at French Connections have teamed up with Bonnes Vacances digital magazine to offer the fantastic competition prize of a week at Domaine de St Ferreol, a beautiful traditional wine estate near the picturesque medieval town of Pezenas and gorgeous Mediterranean beaches. Two people can stay in Le Catalan, a spacious, luxury villa, any week from early April to mid May, including Easter. (more…)
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Bonnes Vacances,
competition,
easter,
France Lovers,
languedoc,
News,
wine
Posted in France Lovers, News.
Tagged with Bonnes Vacances, competition, easter, languedoc, wine.
By Faith
– December 23, 2011
High in France’s Rhone-Alpes region, the Haute-Savoie department is a world of lakes, waterfalls, caves, gorges, glaciers, nature reserves, perfect ski slopes and, of course, majestic mountains. Back in the 18th century, the English came to Haute-Savoie to admire the glaciers. Now, this beautiful natural landscape is a top destination for tourists. (more…)
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activity holidays,
Annecy,
France Lovers,
french alps,
haute savoie,
rhone alps,
ski resort,
skiing
Posted in France Lovers.
Tagged with activity holidays, Annecy, french alps, haute savoie, rhone alps, ski resort, skiing.
By Faith
– December 15, 2011
A couple of months ago I had an excuse to visit my grandson in the Alsace, so instead of dashing up the motorway from Burgundy we decided to take the scenic route. This meant starting off on the National Road and then diverting onto country roads in pursuit of the River Doubs.
(more…)
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alsace,
French Bread,
french lifestyle,
spitfire,
wine
Posted in French Bread.
Tagged with alsace, french lifestyle, spitfire, wine.
By Chris Higginson
– December 9, 2011
December has arrived! Are you one of those counting the days to Christmas or are you finding it a daunting task trying to juggle a busy lifestyle and trying to organise the Christmas presents, Christmas food and family parties etc. (more…)
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christmas,
food,
french living,
French Recipes to Love,
recipes
Posted in French Recipes to Love.
Tagged with christmas, food, french living, recipes.
By Gaynor Morgan
– December 7, 2011
Your Luxury Lodge is a new magazine devoted to holidays in timber lodges with all mod cons in both the UK and Europe. Issue three, on sale now, features our Chalet Morion, a traditional ski chalet located in the gorgeous, unspoilt village of Ste Foy, set high in the French Alps. (more…)
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Chalet Morion,
France Lovers,
french alps,
News,
skiing,
Ste Foy,
Your Luxury Lodge
Posted in France Lovers, News.
Tagged with Chalet Morion, french alps, skiing, Ste Foy, Your Luxury Lodge.
By Faith
– December 6, 2011
I SHAN’T forget 11/11/11 (Onze-onze-onze if you prefer it in French). An unusual combination of numbers. My son’s birthday, as it happens. And a public holiday in France to commemorate the 1918 Armistice marking the end of the First World War. Unlike in the UK, when Remembrance ceremonies take place on the nearest Sunday to November 11th, in France the day itself is a public holiday marked by ceremonies great and small throughout the country. Our village was no exception.
(more…)
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Campbell's Diary,
remembrance day,
world war 1
Posted in Campbell's Diary.
Tagged with remembrance day, world war 1.
By Chris Campbell-Howes
– December 1, 2011
Fancy doing something different this Christmas? Make the festive season a really feel-good time with a trip to France. Pop across before the event to savour the delights of Christmas markets and pick up some wine bargains; spend the holiday in traditional style in the countryside or a French town; take family and friends for a fun New Year celebration. (more…)
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accomodation,
christmas,
christmas markets,
France Lovers,
guide,
long winter lets,
new year,
skiing
Posted in France Lovers.
Tagged with accomodation, christmas, christmas markets, guide, long winter lets, new year, skiing.
By Faith
– November 30, 2011
