Annette Charlton admits she is a Francophile to the core. She is also the founder of A French Collection (blog) and now a new podcast series. For a decade, the Charlton family – Annette, her husband, and three children – split their time between Newcastle in Australia and Brittany in …

Provence is abuzz this time of year with fabulous offerings of art, music, opera, film, wine tastings, and the usual fêtes that move from village to village. We travelled from New England to Provence last month specifically for this show by French painter Gérard Isirdi at Château Barbebelle in Rognes, …

With so many things closed right now, maybe seizing the opportunity of a sunny January day to wrap up and have a walk around some purely Provencal sites might be just the ticket to lift the spirits; and if you’re not in Provence right now, these seven art walks may …

Born with wanderlust in her veins, Tina Sequeira now lives in Canada after a time in the Middle East. Having travelled extensively from a young age, she says that traipsing around airports is feels like a second skin. Many travellers will never fly from Toronto to Dubai, but Tina undertook …

In the centre of the pretty village of Saint Saturnin les Apt is a peaceful square (home to the vibrant Tuesday morning market), and to one side is a small garden area that sits in front of a stark stone wall, which is a memorial to the dramatic and devastating …

Born in Africa, her childhood featured many relocations, but Sophie Claire spent summers in the South of France visiting her grandparents. It’s those memories of sunny, carefree days that inspire her novels today. Sophie Claire’s latest novel, Summer at the French Olive Grove, was published in May 2021. Her effortless …

For its fourth season, the Villa Carmignac presents The Imaginary Sea (La Mer imaginaire), an ideal subject for this idiosyncratic gallery:  part of it is housed in an old building with views to the sea below, while the other part is underground, a modern exhibition space beneath a glass-bottomed pool.  …

Until the end of October, Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles presents an exhibition bringing together new works by the American artist Laura Owens with seven paintings by Van Gogh, most made in and around Arles. Van Gogh hardly needs an introduction but here’s what the gallery writes about Laura Owens: …

Easter Sunday Mass was celebrated at ‘La Grotte de Sainte-Baume’ at the weekend to formally re-open the cave of Saint Mary Magdalene after its being closed for 10 months’ work. I hadn’t realized that this is Christianity’s 3rd most holy shrine after Christ in Jerusalem and St Peter in Rome. …

If Covid-19 has taught us anything, why wait for next year? Marie Helene and Emmanuel Beriot of Remember Provence are celebrating the company’s 24th anniversary of selling gift items from Provence. They curate and ship Provencal housewares, linens, cosmetics, and culinary ingredients to customers worldwide. Originally founded in 1997 when …