Contributor blog post by Jemma: “Just borrow a dog for a few hours,” a Toronto friend once told me as I contemplated future stories for this blog. It was a sure-fire way to dig more deeply here, as I do for this site (which – bonjour, New Subscribers! – aims …

Contributor blog post by Jemma: This Saturday the roads in France are meant to be black. That’s what Bison Futé forecasts, anyway, in its annual summer traffic forecast, Le Panorama de l’été 2016. Saturday, July 30 – Saturday, August 6, too – are the summits of a French summer season …

Martine Bertin-Peterson is intrepid; she had a window of 90 minutes of “downtime” between her back-to-back tour groups, yet she agreed to meet me for a glass of rosé. Beneath the walls of the immense Palais des Papes in Avignon, we chatted about her food and wine excursions in Provence. …

Contributor blog post by Aurelie: Aurelie Gilabert, the founder of Avignon Gourmet Tours, is an Avignon native who seamlessly navigates her way between three languages (French, English and Portuguese). She offers guided tours of the papal city with just the right blend of historical information and foodie tidbits – be prepared to sample …

Contributor blog post by Ashley Tinker: Ways to Stand out as a Tourist in Provence… Other than the Obvious Language Issue (disclaimer: these are gross generalisations made from our personal observations. If you’re feeling judged- don’t worry, I’ve been guilty of many of these) In a Restaurant You show up too …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: If you do decide to follow Ester Laushway’s advice on eating out in Vaucluse (see post on le Guide Ganité), you may like to make a day of it; so here’s details of a really good website dedicated to the département. Through it, you can subscribe …

In Avignon on Saturday, we were surprised at how few tourists there were. The place de l’Horloge and the space in front of the Papal Palace are usually bustling with visitors, but all was quiet. Our waiter told us that it was ‘une catastrophe’. Hopefully, the forthcoming Avignon Festival will bring …

Contributor blog post by Access Riviera: If I had a euro for every time someone asked me ‘Is Monaco cheap to visit?’ I’d probably be able to buy a penthouse apartment there myself. There’s no doubt about it that Monaco is a destination of legend – luxury everything from hotels …

Bilingual guide Chiara Orlandi grew up in the heart of Italy, in Umbertide, a place that she still holds dear in her heart even after several years away in the United Kingdom and Edinburgh, Scotland. Orlandi studied event management at Edinburgh’s Napier University, her second Masters (her previous degrees are …

Born in Paris, Caroline Guyot studied languages (English and Russian) and history. After 14 years of selling advertising space featuring European luxury products, for her employers at the International Herald Tribune and the New York Times – Guyot called it quits. She left the “City of Light” and her advertising …