France: a country of diversity and emotion
France is not one destination — it’s many.
Each region has its soul: Alsace with its half-timbered houses, Brittany with its wild coast, Burgundy with its wines, and Paris with its light.
Our guides take you from famous landmarks to hidden gems, from villages to vineyards, to experience the real France.
What You’ll Find Here
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Weekend trips and itineraries across France
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Regional guides: Brittany, Alsace, Provence, Corsica, Vendée...
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Cultural walks through castles, villages, and UNESCO sites
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French gastronomy: recipes, local markets, wines, and traditions
It seems that the cocktail was invented in the United States, where the word appeared in 1803. If we consider that a cocktail is a mixture with an alcohol base, France has invented many cocktails. From the simplest, which can be found in a café, such as the "mauresque" or the "perroquet", to the most elaborate, such as the "marquisette", the "soupe angevine" or the Punch Lorrain.
The Phrygian cap is one of the great symbols of the French Revolution and, more broadly, of the French Republic. It caps Marianne (the Republic) and is also the origin of the "phryges", the mascots of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Originally, the cap was worn by freedmen of the Roman Empire, in other words, those who had been freed from slavery. It was this history that led the Parisian "sans culottes" to make it their symbol at the time of the Revolution, because it symbolized the accession to Liberty.
It was the Greeks who invented the Olympic Games over 3,000 years ago, but it was a Frenchman, Pierre de Coubertin, who resurrected them after they had disappeared. The initiator of the modern Olympic Games, and thus of PARIS 2024, he knew what he was talking about, as he was a great sportsman himself. Meet a man who left his mark on the history of mankind.
Quinces are a little-known fruit today, but our grandmothers loved them. They used to make delicious quince jelly in autumn. Here's the recipe from Monsieur de France.
French expressions
France
what does "à vos souhaits" (to your wishes) mean in French?
Jérôme Prod'homme
"A vos souhaits!" (to your wishes" is what we say in France to someone who sneezes in our presence. It's an old expression from the Middle Ages, and Monsieur de France tells the story.
French expressions
France
What does "on n'est pas sortis de l'auberge" mean in French?
Jérôme Prod'homme
Overwhelmed with work, or not seeing the end of a problem for a long time to come, French people sometimes say "on n'est pas sortis de l'auberge" We didn't get out of the inn to say "we're not out of the woods". The expression has a long history, dating back to the 15th century. And the inn is not at all, but not at all, a hostelry. In fact, it's a prison.
"Etre en grève" means to be on strike, so not to work in order to protest and make demands. This expression is very old, but it didn't have the same meaning in the beginning. To be on strike was even to look for work.
You and me, when we meet a man we don't know, we call him "monsieur". But why? With Monsieur de France, discover the origins of commonly used French words and expressions...
France is the world's leading butter consumer, with 8 kg per capita per year. It has to be said that butter is very much a part of French cooking and pastry-making. Just to make puff pastry or a good croissant, you need butter. And in the West, butter is the traditional ingredient for baking. Salty in Brittany, sweet in many regions, French butter has 3 Protected Designations of Origin and is a real delicacy...
The calendar has evolved a great deal around the world. The Romans, the Egyptians and the Mayans had completely different calendars to the one we know today. In France, the year has been starting on 1 January for a long time, but that hasn't always been the case. For a long time it began in April, but not everywhere. It was a French king who decided that everyone would start the year at the same time in France, and that it would be 1 January. Find out more...
