Tomatoes of all shapes and sizes bulging and bursting with flavour, heads of broccoli larger than any I’ve seen and oysters from all points along the French coast. This can’t be a British supermarket… In fact it’s the Marche de Talensac, one of Nantes’ oldest and biggest markets on a typical Saturday morning. Browsing the…
Category: France
Spring skiing high up in Montgenèvre
Booking a skiing holiday for April involves taking a gamble. You can arrive to sunshine and late-season snow or barren slopes and green fields. My brother Andrew chose well, however, and the slopes of Montgenèvre in France delivered epic pistes amid glorious surroundings. This was the second time that I’d joined my family and friends…
Skiing in Champagny en Vanoise
A few years back I thought my skiing days were over when Graham announced halfway through a week in Ischgl that flying down mountains strapped to thin bits of metal was not something he considered a particularly safe, let alone enjoyable, way to pass the time. But then family came to my rescue and gave me…
Brittany: The stones of Carnac
I’m sure the beach at Carnac is one of the best in Brittany. Long and sandy, protected by dunes, overlooked by some handsome homes and towering trees, it promises much. But during our June stay it rained, and rained again. And when it didn’t rain, the wind blew and the clouds blocked out the sun….
A day out in Concarneau, Brittany
Sardines are the food of the gods. And Brittany is one of the best places to eat them. In the fishing port and seaside town of Concarneau, I lunched on a plate of them accompanied by a glass of fine Breton cider. Lunch really couldn’t get better than that. It was spring and we were sitting…
A short break in the historic French city of Angers
Give me a good history book and a glass of wine and I’ll be a happy man. She-Wolves by Helen Castor turned out to be a particularly good read, the story of three of England’s great medieval queens and their various battles to make a mark in a male-dominated world. But it also introduced me…
Discovering the historic village of Locronan in Brittany
A spontaneous decision can sometimes turn up a gem, as we proved with the gorgeous village of Locronan in Brittany. We were driving back from visiting Great Uncle Ray’s grave in Milizac on a gloomy June day when we decided to turn off the main road into the picturesque hills. And there it was, a…
Milizac, France. In search of Great Uncle Ray, World War Two pilot
Researching my family tree, I was keen to find out more about Great Uncle Raymond Finch. A bomber pilot, he was killed over Brittany in the Second World War and I wanted to pay my respects at his grave in a quiet French village. I’d long known that he’d been killed in the war but…
Walking in the hills around Morzine
The French Alpine resort of Morzine has grand landscapes and numerous summer walking paths but during our August weekend stay the weather had been mixed. Fortunately our last day delivered sunshine and blue skies so after studying our maps we decided to spend the day walking on Le Pleney – the hill on the other side of…
Morzine, Lake Montriond and the waterfalls
Just a few miles from the French Alpine resort of Morzine lies magical Lake Montriond and some spectacular waterfalls. The area is criss-crossed by walking routes and has magnificent views, making it an ideal spot to shake off a crashing headache brought on by mixing vodka, wine, beer and a mysterious local liquor in the…
A walk from Morzine to Avoriaz
Day three of our stay in the French Alps found us walking in the mountains from Morzine to Avoriaz and sheltering from a spectacular downpour. The rain had long been forecast and, as we tucked into breakfast at our hotel, the clouds started to roll in. Things were not looking good for a day out –…
Visiting Morzine in the French Alps
A long weekend in the French ski resort of Morzine gave us the chance to experience the majestic Alps in summer and to soak up the sunshine on mountain walks. It was chucking it down with rain in London as we left Heathrow Terminal 5 on British Airways flight 730 for Geneva and the weather forecast for our weekend…
A few days in Quimper, Brittany
Colourful Quimper is the oldest city in Brittany and many of its handsome medieval buildings remain intact, making it an attractive stop on the tourist trail. But it wasn’t exactly throbbing with life when we arrived at the start of our week-long holiday in the north-west of France. In fact, much of Quimper had shut…
A visit to the Château de Keriolet, Brittany
In the southern depths of Brittany is the French seaside town of Concarneau, a long-established fishing port famous for its delicious sardines. Its historic, walled old town, the ville close, is full of character and its beaches are hugely popular in the height of summer. Not that we were able to enjoy them, thanks to…