I have always loved gardens, although I have to admit to not being a great gardener myself. A summer garden with deep herbaceous borders, filled with the scent and colour of roses is always a delight and we have some delightful ones around us in the UK, such as this …

Situated on the southeast coast of the French Riviera, Nice, France hardly needs an introduction as one of the most beautiful and sophisticated regions in the world. Nice is the second-largest city in the Provence-Alpes Cote d’Azur – often referred to as the Queen of the French Riviera. Whether you …

Menton is a commune in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France. It’s the last major town before leaving the French Riviera, wedged in-between the French-Italian border. It’s a place where you can tickle the turquoise sea, or enjoy the snow-capped mountains in the distance. Whether you call it the …

The thrill of discovering new villages with the expectation that the next one will be more charming than the last is why my early trips to France entailed a five-page list of villages in alphabetical order to see. The sight of this list would often make my husband’s face turn …

Contributor blog post by Phoebe Thomas: Wolves used to be endemic to France but persecution and human encroachment on their habitat drastically reduced their numbers and by 1940 they were declared extinct in France.  However in 1992 a pair of grey wolves was discovered in the Mercantour National Park in …

Contributor blog post by Access Riviera: Ho ho ho! The festive season has crept up on me once again and I’ve been so busy with my kids picking up every cough or virus found on a school playground, and juggling lots of Christmas events that I didn’t get around to …

The Alpes-Maritimes department in south-east France, including the world-famous Côte d’Azur, is home to several hundred medieval hill villages, fortified towns and ruined iron age camps and many are close to Nice.  The “villages perchés” vary from little more than a pile of ruins to perfectly renovated sophisticated small towns…Continue …

Contributor blog post by Phoebe Thomas It’s no secret, I love living where I live.  I’ve lived a nomadic life moving country 9 times though sometimes all those other countries seem a very long time ago as I’ve now been in France for nearly 18 years.  But even within France …

The Côte d’Azur and its surrounding countryside, in fact the whole of the département of the Alpes-Maritimes, is covered in historic fortified hill villages; some well known, others hidden and secret. There are literally hundreds and many of them have an annual festival of some sort celebrating their artisanal or …

“Where I was born doesn’t help clarify anything, it just complicates things! Born in Paris but moved when two weeks old so not exactly a Parisienne! Pure coincidence that I’m now married to a Frenchman and living in France. I have two passports, British & Australian but feel international.” That …