Paris at Christmas by dhaun

The first tip is to avoid the Christmas markets, as they can be very overpriced. They’ve then included some handy tips for various different kinds of people on your Christmas list: fashionistas, foodies, intellectuals, Francophiles and people like me – sweet tooths! For this last kind, the suggestion is in fact to skip the chocolates and macarons (really?!) and try some salted butter caramels instead.

We’ve already mentioned some great reasons why travelling to Paris around Christmas time is a good idea, along with some tips on budget travel to Paris, so if you’ve been wondering whether a French Christmas is the thing to do, wonder no more!

Originally from Top Europe travel content, blogs and websites.

Christmas Shopping in Paris

The top reason is that while shopping in Paris is a fantastic experience pretty much all year round, it gets even more amazing at Christmas time. Think superbly decorated shops, winter specials (the big sales are in January but apparently there are still plenty of bargains in December), extra Christmas markets stalls and a bunch of locals hitting the stores too!

Paris in the winter by Amanda Kendle

With winter hitting, Paris also has several open-air ice-skating areas and one of them is actually part way up the Eiffel Tower. If you have children with you, then the Christmas spirit reaches to Disneyland near Paris too.

Rather than avoid Paris during the colder months, it certainly sounds like there are just as many reasons to visit it. Check our budget travel in Paris post for even more information.

Originally from Top Europe travel content, blogs and websites.

Paris at Christmas Time

While booking a Paris trip for a wedding anniversary, Trish started out looking at some fancy hotels but when she discovered the Coco Chanel suite at the Ritz would set them back €4000 a night, she looked beyond the high-starred hotels and found some great apartment options instead. She also discovered that one of the cheapest restaurants in Paris, located under a church (Eglise de la Madeleine), is just as good as an expensive one.

Strolling Paris streets by Amanda Kendle

We’d add that it’s worth exploring some good (and not always expensive) French wines, and to also check out all the possibilities there are for free things to do in Paris.

Originally from Top Europe travel content, blogs and websites.

Budget Travel to Paris

In particular, the food should be good because the chef, Anne de Ravel, has a long and interesting background in the field, even working in food related television and magazine jobs in New York before return to her native France.

Near Beziers by A Roger Davies

The Languedoc-Roussillon region is one of the many French wine regions you can consider when planning a holiday there, and it is actually the largest wine region in the world when you measure it in terms of wine production. And it’s beautiful as well – who needs another reason?

Originally from Top Europe travel content, blogs and websites.

A Tip on a New Provence Hotel

It turned out be a good choice. The town is full of flowers, as the town takes part in many national garden competitions.  There’s a Garden of Peace with ten separate themed areas.  You get great views of the town if you walk around the citadel walls.

Sounds like choosing a place to visit on the basis of a name may not be such a bad ploy?

Originally from Top Europe travel content, blogs and websites.

Exploring Bitche in Lorraine, France

The Plaza Athenee in Paris

Outside the capital I like the look of the Palais in Biarritz on the Atlantic Coast and Grand Cap Ferrat outside Nice on the Cote d’Azure.

However judging by the prices charged by the five star hotels in which I’ve stayed, I’m not convinced that they are worth the money unless you are loaded.

Originally from Top Europe travel content, blogs and websites.

Official “Palace” Hotels in France

Monet’s Giverny House. Image by Bruce Tuten

The iconic house and gardens are accessible from Paris and most of north western France.

Following Monet’s death (5 December 1926) the house was looked after by Blanche Monet Hoschedé and the widow of Monet’s elder son Jean, until 1947. The Academie des Beaux Arts that they were bequeathed to did not spend money, except to repair the roof (to protect the ‘Japanese Estampes’), with the remaining art removed to the Paris Musée Marmottan.

However, Gérald Van der Kemp (who restored the Château de Versailles), also did a brilliant 3-year extensive restoration job here in 1977.

After Mont Saint Michel, the Claude Monet House and Gardens are currently the second most popular attraction in Normandy, with about 400 000 people visiting annually.

If you’re interested in Monet and the impressionists, read our previous article on celebrating Normandy’s impressionism at Rouen Cathedral.

Originally from Top Europe travel content, blogs and websites.

Historic Monet House in Giverny, Normandy, France

St Emilion wine region. Image by

AlphaTangoBravo / Adam Baker

The seven main wine regions of France boast beautiful and evocative landscapes, worth visiting for more than just the wine drinking experience. Add the local cuisine and you can see the attraction.

So, planning a trip to France should include visiting the wine growing regions.

The region of Champagne in the north-east of France is internationally known for its unique sparking whites, produced since the early Middle Ages.  Distillation of the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes results in marvels like Moët et Chandon, the winery being about a hundred miles from Paris, or the complex tastes and aromas of Pommery champagnes.

The Loire Valley, a.k.a the Garden of France, is a Renaissance wonder as well as a wine producer par excellence. The Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir wines are exquisite, the castles divine and the art magnificent. Choose from the vineyard’s La Noblaie or the Semellerie Domaine wines and take a stroll through some wonderful gardens in the Loire valley countryside.

The Rhône Valley produces grand brews like Syrah and Châteauneauf-du-Pape, while some of its youngest estates permit visitors to glimpse how a future great wine estate forms directly from concept.

Languedoc in the South of France by the Mediterranean is the largest wine-producing region in the world and a visit combines mountain and coast,

Meditteranean climate and of course an infinite variety of wonderful wines.

If you don’t have the opportunity to visit these wonderful wine producing regions, at least take a trip to a genuine French wine shop for great advice, good prices and excellent choice of some of France’s finest produce.

Originally from Top Europe travel content, blogs and websites.

Great French wine regions

TGV, by Terrazzo

There is a strong possibility that, if airport waiting time is taken into considerations, for persons in the South of the UK the train may be the faster option.

The TGV non-smoking trains offer airline-style seating and first- or second-class service, Internet access and executive lounges at TGV train stations. Over 200 French cities are directly accessible from Paris (e.g. Dijon 1h 40min, Lyon 2h 10 min, Avignon 2h 36 min).

The good amount of space permits great views of the countryside (when going slow!) as well as the ability to walk about, chat and generally relax or work in a very pleasant environment.

A France Rail Pass permits TGVs journeys when booked in advance. Ticket prices vary. Midweek and midday travel may offer the best deals at train stations.

When travelling by TGV, ensure you’re well informed when at the train station to avoid any possible confusions. Early arrival at the station and confirmation of the journey is, as always, a good idea.

TGV is great for family skiing travel when you’re heading to the French slopes.

Originally from Top Europe travel content, blogs and websites.

Trip by TGV through France

Island of Corsica, by Kjunstorm

The home of Napoleon Bonaparte (a.k.a. L’isle Beauté), even possibly the birthplace of Christopher Columbus (?) in the Mediterranean Sea, also has a pretty mountain-dense interior.  Indeed, Corsica is the most mountainous island in the Mediterranean, perfect for shady summer hikes.

The podcaster encourages a visit to Calvi, not least for its lofty citadel, a wonderful five-mile beach and some reputedly unique cuisine.

Other Corsica delights include the considerably diverse birdlife, an unusual mix of broadleaf deciduous trees and Mediterannean pines and a wonderful a natural park only accessible by boat from the village of Galéria.

Corsica can be reached either by direct flight or from cosmopolitan Marseille. But for the connoisseur, it’s part of the perfect European cruise.

Originally from Top Europe travel content, blogs and websites.

Brilliant island of Corsica, France