Beaulieu-sur-Mer on the French Riviera

30 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Congress Centre 'La Rotonde' © GraceKelly/cc-by-sa-3.0

Congress Centre ‘La Rotonde’ © GraceKelly/cc-by-sa-3.0

Beaulieu-sur-Mer (Occitan: Bèuluec de Mar; Italian: Belluogo; lit. “Beautiful Place on the Sea”), commonly referred to simply as Beaulieu, is a seaside commune on the French Riviera between Nice and the Principality of Monaco. Located in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, it borders the communes of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and Villefranche-sur-Mer, not far from Èze to the northeast. In 2018, Beaulieu-sur-Mer had a population of 3,731. Its inhabitants are called Berlugans (masculine) and Berluganes (feminine).   read more…

Marseille Cathedral

28 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Chabe01/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Chabe01/cc-by-sa-4.0

Marseille Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-Majeure de Marseille or Cathédrale de la Major) is a Roman Catholic cathedral, and a national monument of France, located in Marseille. It has been a basilica minor since 1896. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Marseille (formerly the Diocese of Marseille until its elevation in 1948).   read more…

Halles de Dijon

25 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Arnaud 25/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Arnaud 25/cc-by-sa-3.0

The central halls of Dijon are market halls in cast-iron architecture built from 1873 to 1875 in Dijon, Côte-d’Or, in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, France. They have been listed as historic monuments since 1975. The halls of Dijon are surrounded by numerous restaurants and cafés.   read more…

Najac in Occitania

23 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Krzysztof Golik/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Krzysztof Golik/cc-by-sa-4.0

Najac is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France. Najac station has rail connections to Toulouse, Figeac and Aurillac.   read more…

Portrait: Montesquieu, a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher

22 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Portrait Reading Time:  33 minutes

Statue of Baron de Montesquieu in Bordeaux © Als33120/cc-by-a-4.0

Statue of Baron de Montesquieu in Bordeaux © Als33120/cc-by-a-4.0

Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principal source of the theory of separation of powers, which is implemented in many constitutions throughout the world. He is also known for doing more than any other author to secure the place of the word despotism in the political lexicon. His anonymously published The Spirit of Law (1748), which was received well in both Great Britain and the American colonies, influenced the Founding Fathers of the United States in drafting the U.S. Constitution.   read more…

Hôtel Beauharnais in Paris

9 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Paris / Île-de-France Reading Time:  8 minutes

Inauguration of the German embassy residence, 1968 © Bundesarchiv - B 145 Bild - F026336-0020/Gathmann, Jens/cc-by-sa-3.0-de

Inauguration of the German embassy residence, 1968
© Bundesarchiv – B 145 Bild – F026336-0020/Gathmann, Jens/cc-by-sa-3.0-de

The Hôtel Beauharnais is a historic hôtel particulier, a type of large French townhouse, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It was designed by architect Germain Boffrand. Its construction was completed in 1714. By 1803, the structure was purchased by Eugène de Beauharnais, who had it rebuilt in an Empire style. It has been listed as an official historical monument since July 25, 1951. Today it serves as the official residence of the German Ambassador to France.   read more…

Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre in Paris

8 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Paris / Île-de-France Reading Time:  7 minutes

© OliveiraTP/cc-by-sa-4.0

© OliveiraTP/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre (Sacred Heart of Montmartre), commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur (French: Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre), is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in Paris dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was formally approved as a national historic monument by the National Commission of Patrimony and Architecture on December 8, 2022.   read more…

Mers-les-Bains on the English Channel

3 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Philippe Alès/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Philippe Alès/cc-by-sa-4.0

Mers-les-Bains is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Much of the older part of town developed in the heyday of seaside bathing, during the latter part of the 19th century. As a consequence, the fine villas that were developed in those times are now subject to preservation orders. Any refurbishment must be in the same materials and colours as the original work. No plastic doors or roller shutters are allowed.   read more…

Portrait: Raymond Loewy, a French-born American industrial designer

25 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Design & Products, Portrait Reading Time:  8 minutes

1953 Studebaker Commander Starliner © Tysto

1953 Studebaker Commander Starliner © Tysto

Raymond Loewy was a French-born American industrial designer who achieved fame for the magnitude of his design efforts across a variety of industries. He was recognized for this by Time magazine and featured on its cover on October 31, 1949.   read more…

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