La Défense near Paris

23 March 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hotels, Paris / Île-de-France Reading Time:  6 minutes

La Défence and the Grande Arche from the top of the Arc de Triomphe © Hofi0006/cc-by-sa-3.0

La Défence and the Grande Arche from the top of the Arc de Triomphe © Hofi0006/cc-by-sa-3.0

La Défense is a major business district of the Paris aire urbaine. With a population of 20,000, it is centered in an orbital motorway straddling the Hauts-de-Seine département municipalities of Nanterre, Courbevoie, and Puteaux. The district is at the westernmost extremity of Paris‘s 10 km long Historical Axis, which starts at the Louvre in Central Paris and continues along the Champs-Élysées, well beyond the Arc de Triomphe before culminating at La Défense.   read more…

Bourg-en-Bresse in eastern France

23 March 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

© FRED/cc-by-sa-3.0

© FRED/cc-by-sa-3.0

Bourg-en-Bresse is a commune in eastern France with a population of 40,000, capital of the Ain department, and was capital of the former province of Bresse (Brêsse). It is located 70 km (43 mi) north-northeast of Lyon and at 50 kilometres (31 mi) of Lons-le-Saunier. The inhabitants of Bourg-en-Bresse are known as Burgiens. The city is located at the western base of the Jura mountains, on the left bank of the Reyssouze, a tributary of the Saône.   read more…

Noyers-sur-Serein in Burgundy

9 March 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

City entrance © Philippe Alès/cc-by-sa-3.0

City entrance © Philippe Alès/cc-by-sa-3.0

Noyers (sometimes referred to as Noyers-sur-Serein) is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France. There are half-timbered houses, ashlars, pillars and pinnacles. There are a lot of lanes and small squares made of chalky and granitic pavements. There are towers surrounded by the river Serein loops.  read more…

Bourg-Saint-Maurice in the heart of the French Alps

26 February 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Les Arcs © Dmitry A. Mottl

Les Arcs © Dmitry A. Mottl

Bourg-Saint-Maurice is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It is the last large town along the Tarentaise valley in the heart of the French Alps.   read more…

Nyons, the little Nice in the Rhône-Alpes

19 February 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Nepomuk

© Nepomuk

Nyons is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France.   read more…

The non-stop race Vendée Globe

8 February 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Sport, Events Reading Time:  5 minutes

Vendee Globe Race Route © NASA

Vendee Globe Race Route © NASA

The Vendée Globe is a round-the-world single-handed yacht race, sailed non-stop and without assistance. The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years. The 2012-2013 edition started Saturday, November 10, 2012.   read more…

The seaside resort Royan

29 January 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Royan Harbour © Cobber17/cc-by-sa-3.0

Royan Harbour © Cobber17/cc-by-sa-3.0

Royan is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, along the Atlantic Ocean, in southwestern France.   read more…

50th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty

19 January 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  4 minutes

Sculpture of Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle by Chantal de la Chauvinière-Riant outside the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Berlin © Adam Carr

Sculpture of Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle by Chantal de la Chauvinière-Riant outside the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Berlin © Adam Carr

Élysée Treaty also known as the Treaty of Friendship, was concluded by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer in the Élysée Palace on January 22 1963. It set the seal on reconciliation between the two countries. With it, Germany and France established a new foundation for relations that ended centuries of rivalry between them.   read more…

Chambery in the Savoie Alps

8 January 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Chambéry and Lake of Bourget © Semnoz

Chambéry and Lake of Bourget © Semnoz

Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power. Chambéry was the Alpine Town of the Year in 2006.   read more…

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