Festival of Europe: France

Guidebook co-author Steve Smith joins French tour guide and guidebook researcher Virginie Moré for a virtual trip to France. We start in Paris with the Louvre and Orsay museums and the extravagant Palace of Versailles. We then visit the powerful D-Day beaches and mesmerizing island abbey Mont St-Michel before wandering the châteaux of the Loire Valley, markets of the Dordogne, hill towns of Provence, and half-timbered villages of the Alsace — and that’s just the beginning! We review our France tour itineraries to help you find the perfect fit.

Recorded 1/26/24. *Promotions may no longer be valid.* #festivalofeurope #ricksteves

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Good evening everyone and welcome to Rick Steve’s Festival of Europe I’m Lisa friend and I’m delighted to be your moderator this evening as we explore the beauty and diversity of Lael France tonight we are joined by our favorite Frank ofile an American who had the Good Fortune to spend part of his childhood

In France and loves to share that country with us and a French woman who had the Good Fortune to spend part of her adulthood in the great state of Montana she has relocated back to France but keeps in touch with American culture by guiding our tour members through

France so without further Ado please allow me to introduce the first of this pair bian vanu Steve Smith welcome Steve thank you Lisa mercy and tonight um it’s good to be here virin I’m gonna just get started with this welcome everybody and thank everybody who’s watching for

Deciding to spend this hour with vir and me we are taking this tour to France this Festival to France tonight there are three more talks to give as as Lisa mentioned tomorrow night Germany a Austria Switzerland Sunday we’ve got Central or what we used to call Eastern

Europe and Monday as Lisa said the grand finale this image reminds me that a huge part of any successful trip I think particularly to Europe is the guide that you have with you whether it’s just for a museum or for a day or half day or the

Guide for your your entire trip we think we’ve hired the best in the business at Rick Steves and think you’ll agree Lisa mentioned the city tour giveaway whether Paris Rome London or Istanbul there’s the details on it anybody who is signed up for any of the talks is eligible

Guess which tour viny and I would choose for you on this one viny leads the Paris story and she will be talking to us about that shortly and this is a call to action save a hundred bucks per person if you sign up by February 5th all right

And um just worthwhile to do that all right here are the five tours we offer in France we have best of Paris in seven days Paris in the heart of France in 11 days it’s really the Northwestern corner of France with the lir in the Normandy

And Paris lir to the south of France which is really the best of Western France with a little bit of the South the best of Eastern France and in 14 days and my way which is an independent type of tour that I lead sometimes which is good fun in 13 days

This image allows us to get oriented to France there it is in I’m color blind but I think that’s purple in the center of Europe is France um and it it just to get oriented it’s about 80% the size of Texas with two and a half times its

Population it’s about 600 miles from top to bottom or east to west figure 10 hours by car an hour by plane or three and a half hours by Bullet Train the rail system in France is phenomenal I just love it so any excuse I can to not

Drive brance offers that here we are for over 37 years now I’ve been trying to teach Rick The Art of French living and he’s been teaching me well done Rick the science of guide book writing together we’ve produced books Maps audio tours phrase books you name it all to help our

Travelers navigate this country that we love so much and nine years ago we teamed up with this woman who you’ve been introduced to already and now you can see virgin Mor welcome V hey what time is it there and where are youour Steve Lisa everybody I hope everybody’s doing well

It’s uh I’m doing pretty well it’s 3 in the morning I’m in burgundy bright and awake and uh thank you for joining us to learn more about France on this show today good to have you aboard virgin you’ll be talking much more in this in this talk I know and to continue

On oh okay let’s go D okay you are screen sharing we don’t want to advance H okay there we go well France is um filled with a uh country peppered with iconic images and dazzling Countryside in scenes from Monumental Paris in the North to the Rivier capital in the sunny

Southeast in nce you’ll pass pastoral Landscapes like this in northern France to Sunny Rock sculpted villages in the South and provance just like this France has two distinctly different coastlines to the West the cold rather shivering but High Cliffs and dramatic Atlantic Ocean with these Cliffs of ETR line the

Western limit of France and the North and to the South bordering the southern limit is the warm Mediterranean where Cactus thrives in the sunshines over 300 days a year and if it’s Europe’s tallest Peaks you must see you got to get to France guys because Mont Blanc almost

16,000 ft is in France in shamoni where we are sitting here having this nice glass of wine and this borders the Eastern side of France to Italy and um and Austria I’m sorry Italy and Switzerland the there are two other mountain ranges in France lesser known the Pyrenees and here the cavar which

Border Spain and allow access across to that part of the great part of Europe and the Really unknown Massif santal mountain range kind of hidden in the Southeastern corner of France hides or holds Europe’s greatest canyons and I highly I mean I love nature so I love

The gorge of Veron this is Europe’s and France’s Grand Canyon every region in France offers its own culture and Cuisine one day you could be strolling down this Hansel and grle Village in alas which is landlocked eating sauerkraut smothered in ham sausage mustard and potatoes drinking ging wines

While the next day 600 mil across 10 hours by car as I said you could land in virgines region where she was born in Britany where you would be greeted by Lads like this who look more Irish I think than French because in Celtic BR Britany they are more Irish than French

And kids who made who were raised on creps and I don’t know that they’ve ever seen sauerkraut in their lives in the Southeastern corner of France Lou locals look mu Spanish and paa is on most menus and in that Italian bordered Southeastern Corner the what me worry

Happy go-lucky reception you get in that part of France is evident every day and fresh pasta is on the men is in most shops all thise diversity uh that we want to take you through now but first virginy I have to ask okay let’s see if I can do this you’re from

Britany right I am from and I ate CP every single day of my life in Britany no I’m kidding okay but you did I mean creps are really popular right I mean I only eat creps when I’m in Britany nowhere else in France except in the western part of

Paris which is Breton neighborhood in Paris yes and you get home all the time I think right yeah pretty often what drink goes with CPS that’s why I don’t eat them I can’t think of a good wine that goes with them Northwestern France doesn’t have any Vineyards so we have

Apple trees though and so it’s cider however tonight I decided not to open cider because I’m in burgundy where I live and I open some B wine to uh you know to drink at three in the morning and Steve what are you drinking I decided from my I’m just where I live

Where my house is um I’m just what 45 an hour north of virin this is charday country and this time of night I’m drinking white wine chardonay from from the cotone near bone and S cheers to everybody out there thank you okay virgin let’s take off let’s take these people through France

What do you say and let’s see if I can figure this out and off we go to I don’t know why that’s not working Paris take us away virgin let’s start our journey through France in Paris and hopefully you have a full week because the capital has a lot for you to see

From World Class Museum um Charming neighborhood stunning architecture and top-notch restaurants if that’s what you’re interested in now you can travel to Paris all year long uh if you decide to come in the winter time this you’ll understand why it’s called a city of light and you’ll experience less crowds

Uh same for Museum less crowded Museum and cozy cafes where you can easily warm up but if you decide to travel in the peak season uh it will be for sure more crowded however you’re going to be able to enjoy how the parisians enjoy life

This is you know France we just uh don’t uh we we work to leave so we need it means that we need to enjoy life and that’s what you see here uh in Paris I would start by going to the Ila city which is the island on the S River with

A history work historic walk that would help you understand the origin of the city and actually see two of its medieval sites such as nram that you see here now nram will not open until uh the end of the year but by summer on this picture which is a outdated um the

Stipple has actually been rebuilt but the scaffolding around the stipple will be removed in the summer but not far from nram you have the S Chapelle which is the other medieval site that we have in this neighborhood and this is a jewel of Gothic architecture uh you go in and

You’re going to be dazzled by over 6,500 square feet of stained glass window so the best example of Gothic architecture you can have in Paris now when you leave the Ila City you can go explore the Left Bank uh neighborhood and in the Left Bank that’s where you have the Latin

Quarter this is where the students uh were in the Middle Ages and where the sbon university still is today this is also the writer neighborhood and for fans of Hemingways or fitzal this is a real pilgrimage because this was their hangout place the Shakespeare and Company bookstore now in the southern

Part of the Left Bank you have the Luxembourg Garden that’s the biggest garden we have within the City of Paris and you know you you’re going to be doing so much in Paris that you need to take a break and relax and enjoy the city uh watch the kids playing with

Their sailboat take a chair be a Parisian and you need that relaxing time because I’m taking you on to the big Museum of the Lou now and you do need to have rest fit to explore the Lou and you won’t be alone in the Lou so maybe time well when

You want to go uh it’s open late on Friday evening and you’d have the beautiful light on on the on the building and this would be a good opportunity for you to think about hiring a guide or at least use the guide book we have a walk a guided tour of the

Lou or you can listen to Rick audio tour because you’re going to go from Greek Antiquity To Masterpiece is like the Mona Lisa among many other amazing Arts so be smart and think about having a a guide for um or a book for the Lou visit

Now not far from the Lou I’m taking you now to the pl de now this is just a couple a few blocks away from the Lou and keep in mind that when you’re in Paris uh it it’s a walkable City and we have a great Metro System so you’re

Never far away from from any place but Paris is not just a lot of Museum it’s an outdoor Museum in itself uh with stunning architecture like this Square which is in the heart of the mar District now the Mah district is the old Jewish neighborhood of Paris and it’s uh

Today the the trendiest neighborhood with lots of fancy shops and Cozy Cafe for you to explore uh we have several beautiful neighborhoods in Paris but my favorite one is M which is nicknamed labut labut the because it’s on top of the hill with the iconic Basilica of the

Sak now to enjoy M you have to go early because you won’t be the only one and um M Used to Be Where the artist uh hanged out in the late 19th century so it still has that Bohemian feel and it’s actually for many people this is not Paris the

People who live there don’t call themselves parisians they call themselves The M people and maybe you’re going to see the next Vango or the next Renoir who knows and talking about the Renoir this is where he painted this famous master shief um balul de galet and I think he

Really managed to capture the essence of this atmosphere of Paris at the time of the easy lifestyle of M now if you want to see that painting that’s what I love about Paris in the morning you could be walking where Renoir us to leave and then in the

Afternoon you have an impressionist day by going to the or Museum uh this is the second most important Museum in Paris where there is impressionist art in the old train station and then that’s where you would see the Bal wuland LA gallet and then just across the river a more

Intimate Museum which focus is on the big water L leas painted by Mon and I love this Museum because you really get face to face with those huge canvases and it’s feels like you’re inside a park or you’re actually visiting the place where he painted painted

Them so we keep you busy right in Paris and I think what’s very important is to to find a good neighborhood that that that works for you and when I leave the Paris toour all of our groups stay in the seven district of Paris and most of

Them stay at the lre fell where you have a great staff that will make you feel like you have a home in Paris and in the Seventh District we have the rir every Aris of Paris Aris is a district we have 20 of them every every one of them has a

Half pedestrian area such rir here and I know that rir is Steve’s favorite and can you tell us why Steve I thought you’d never ask um yeah you know it reminds me you’ve covered the Luxenberg Garden the Mah the M area and now the

Seventh or the rir area as we call it a reminder to our readers that we focus our hotels and restaurants just on those four neighborhoods that allows us to keep it up to dat because I’d rather sleep in a great neighborhood with an average hotel than in a great hotel in a

Crummy neighborhood and that’s I what I think our success is and I you’re right I love this area back to you virginie so it’s just you know I was talking about Paris being an outdoor Museum and you know the parisians live there it’s not a museum to them and just

Around the corner from the r is the Eiffel Tower now again plan ahead uh you can book online to go to the top or you can book a tour if that’s what you’d like to do you can go by elevator to the third floor my favorite floor is the

Second and actually if you didn’t plan well you can actually walk to the second floor it’s not that bad and I would time it to go by the end of the day so you get to enjoy the the sites the architecture recognize The Monuments you’ve seen during the day and then

Still enjoy Sunset and get to see Paris lit at night which is I mean it’s it doesn’t get old I went there last time I was in October and it it never gets all to go on top of the Eiffel Tower you love it now another Monument you could

Decide to climb it has less steps 286 I believe is the arc the Triumph and the arc the Triumph was commissioned under Napoleon the first and from the top the top you’ll have that sprawling view of the Avenue de Shan which is the known as The Fifth

Avenue of Paris and at the end of that Avenue you have the Lou Museum so gives you a good perspective on Paris and then you could decide to walk down the Chan and do something that every French person does at some point is called Le vitrine and Le vitrine um means window

Leaking which means that you don’t have to use your credit card but you still get to see the fancy Jewel shops and macaron and cafe and so on now when I lead the Paris week tour I love to finish uh with my group on the S

River cruise and uh I always time it to be at Sunset and it’s a good way to recap what we’ve been doing during the week so what we’ve seen together and uh you get to see The Monuments leit at night so we have notredam which is always different at night and then of

Course the Eiffel Tower which is sparkling on the uh on the hour so I think you realize that we can keep you busy for at least a week and in addition to that we we have something that most people do is an Excursion to veride it’s

A it’s a good day trip one hour door too from your hotel to the gate of this great palace uh this is also book ahead and I didn’t mention uh mention it yet but it’s a good idea if you’re going to um to visit many sites to take the

Museum pass uh even though you still need to book with a museum pass it gives you access to Versa for example now Versa under Louis the 14 was crowded so if it’s crowded today it’s always been like that and it’s another it’s like the Lou hire a guide make sure you follow a

Tour an audio tour because you’re going to go from one gilded room to another one which with this shiny Chandelier and huge paintings and you need to understand the power uh that France Under the Sun King had all over all over the world at the time now there is the

Palace of versil and then you have the G gens of Vera lavish Gardens that were created to impress and they’re still impress today and they also do sometimes some music and fan show like they used to do uh Under the Sun King so let’s go a little bit further

From Paris now but just an hour away by by train in the town of chart uh this is also where we start the L house tour and uh the main interest in chart is its Cathedral it’s also called notam notredam the chart except that it’s less crowded and it’s more authentic Gothic

Architecture because it has never been heavily restored uh the inside however has been um cleaned up in the in the past few years and it’s super bright and you’re going to be able to enjoy from very close up the amazing stained glass windows now chart is known for its

Special blue color the blue the shart and if you’re into stain glass window there’s a a great museum to understand more um this medieval art now what I love about chart is the fact that it has two towns into one the upper town is where you’re going to have the cathedral

And then in the Lower Town focused around the ER River you’re going to have the old medieval town and with half timbered houses and even though you’re just an hour away from Paris you get to see what life is outside of a big city it’s very picturesque and I think it’s worth

It’s worse for you to actually stay one night at least one night I would say because in the evening they have uh amazing sound and light show over 20 different facades of chart but the main one being the the cathedral that you have here and I know on tour this is a

Warm moment for for many of my Travelers um I think we are done with this part of uh center around Paris and Steve is going to uh take you away a little bit further away I think right Steve I am and I want to remind what you said highlighted book your Museum and

And principal site reservations ahead of time get a museum pass for most of the sites that you want to see but uh ever since Co booking ahead is almost imperative I think in Paris Let’s Escape that City and it’s amazing to me how quickly you H beautiful scenery like

This leaving a city of 10 million people as you head West tracking the sen River as I am now stopping an hour outside of Paris at the home where Claude Monae cultivated his art and his flowers during the last 40 Years of his life he also cultivated quite a follow today

That you’ll run headlong into if you don’t read your guide book before you go we go to Great pains to help you understand how to avoid crowds like this so you can enjoy the Gorgeous Flowers and scenery that Claude Monae works so hard to create in its peaceful

Environment an hour a little bit further away west and south lies the beautiful city of Bayou and a great base for touring the D-Day beaches this is a lovely city of about 10,000 people with some important sites of its own it’s tapestry the Baya tapestry here is um about 70 yards long

About three feet high about a yard high and it’s h depicts the Frenchman um William the conquer’s defeat of Harold the Englishman Harold at the Battle of Hastings in the year 1066 you can tour this uh it’s it’s a it’s one of the most most important medieval documents there is left

Anywhere in Europe and it used to hang in this Grand Cathedral a brilliant Cathedral as a a sort of a propaganda document against the English now those are the two key sites in Baya but Baya is also um handy for uh just minutes away really it’s the first city to be

Liberated during the D-Day invasions and here you can experience the heroic uh efforts of and the courage of the British Canadian and American soldiers who fought so hard to create to establish a beach head here and start the liberation of Europe I highly encourage you to find some time

Alone to wander the D-Day beaches as an American a Canadian or a Brit you had a lot to do with European history in this particular region which is why I also like hiring a guide whether it’s a small minivan tour a private guide for yourself or on our brick Steve’s tour

Right here having an expert to explain this history to you particularly for Americans and Canadians I think is hugely important here you can travel to 54 miles of Atlantic coast and track Hitler’s defense wall here at long Sur May and and find remnants of the 13,000 or museums dedicated to the 13,000

Paratroopers who landed in the dark behind the lines and gazed down the Steep Cliffs at the cliffs where the Rangers over 220 of them scaled using ladders and grappling hooks from the London Fire Department and the PTU Oak this is powerful stuff now the small town of Aros was ground zero for the

D-Day Landings here almost overnight you can see out into the um Bay there these huge concrete slabs were towed across to create almost overnight this artificial Harbor temporary Harbor where after only six days of operation they were able to offload over 100,000 tons of material 300,000 troops and over 50,000 vehicles

To support the troops as they went forward and established the liberation of Europe there is a brand new Museum oh it’s so nice I got to see it at like day three it was open that honors that event in aromos the building of that Harbor and all that went into it and its

Imports a good last stop on the D-Day beaches is the American cemetery here here where over 9,300 gleaming white stars of David and white crosses stand above Omaha Beach in honor of the soldiers who died here trying to save the lives of people they could not know if you’re Canadian we

Also describe in our book the Canadian Cemetery which is typically Canadian I think much lower profile but a beautiful Cemetery as well to visit an hour south of there of the D-Day beaches the Normandy is just packed isn’t it with good from J to the D-Day beaches to mon

Sam Melle here in Europe’s largest title change sits this Abbey where since the sixth century 6th Century hermit mucks came to find Solitude which they found until the 1800s when this Causeway that you see below the island was established allowing cars to park there if you can

See them in this little image and visitors to access the island and most importantly it stopped the circulation of the water around the island 200 years later about eight years ago this bridge was built and connected to a a distant parking lot by by shuttle buses allows most importantly that water to circulate

Around the island again creating its original sensation which I just is so cool to see an island ABY once again arrive late in the day this is one small destination with lots of people visiting it stay in one of the hotels we recommend have dinner here tour The

Abbey late in the day or first thing in the morning and have it not to yourself but with far fewer crowds then get the heck out of Mo San Michelle before the tourist tide comes back in ah Normandy now virgin is going to take us through

The L Valley which is south and east of the of Normandy by about four hours take it away Madame yes the valley has lots of different nicknames it’s been called the Valley of the Kings the valley of a thousand chatau The Garden of France and for good reason and this is also the

Birth of French Renaissance so this is where you’re going to enjoy provincial uh life and a relaxing vacation now Omas the town that you have here is a great base that’s the one we use on the Paris and the Heart of FR tour uh when you

Explore the eastern part of the it has two main sites the castle that we saw earlier which was the place um Francis the first leave the king of the Renaissance and it’s it’s a quaint town as you can see here with enough restaurants Cafe and hotels for you to

Use as a as a great base and the second big site is the CL Luc which is where Leonardo DaVinci spent the last three uh three years of his life he was very close to to the king uh Francis the and behind this oddl looking slingshot you

Get to see the the house where I live that you can visit and uh inside the house and in the gardens you have creation of what Leonardo had created on paper so this is a great way to get into the get a good Insight of the genius of

Leonardo DaVinci now theah Valley is a fairly flat area peppered with Castle so this is a perfect place for biking and especially now that you have electric bikes that are available almost everywhere so don’t hesitate to to do this but 15 minutes away from ambas by

Car not biking H you get to shoso and shoso is my favorite castles I just love to call it my office when I’m on tour there and um this is the most visited castle of the L Valley so even though you’re outside of big city like Paris

You do need to plan to come early and this is what happens when you leave ladies in charge because there were seven ladies behind this Castle this is the one chatau that you can visit every single room uh they will give you the the history of how people live the the

The noble lived when they lived in the L Valley another Chateau not too far away about an hour from amas is Shambo now this is completely different this is not a feminine Castle this is a masculine castle built as a hunting lodge for Francis the first

It has over 4 rooms I don’t know how many fireplaces and chimneys h on average it’s five time bigger than a castle from the from the L Valley now what’s most important about this Castle is the architecture inside not the furnished room and what you see here is

A double helix staircase which uh probably was designed by Leonardo DaVinci and then built built there um so this is the eastern part of the lir and if you would like to go west of T we T is the big city in the area that divide

The the L into two different parts uh on the L to the south of France Tour we stay in Shino now uh you can see that there is another Castle here this is more a fortress compared to the Leisure castle that we saw earlier and this has

A lot of history uh Joon of Arc aleno of aquan were ladies who stayed in the cast of Shino now with a thousand castles you have to choose you won’t be able to see them all and you could choose to go to aelo which is a smaller Castle a small

Jewel on a pond in a romantic English style Garden surrounding it or you could decide to go to vandri now vre’s focus is mainly the gardens uh the interior is okay but you go to the top of that Tower and you have a quite a spectacular view over the French Renaissance style

Gardens so see you have to choose in in the valy where to go and I hope I didn’t castled you out because there’s plenty to see and I know that Steve now is going to take you further souths where there are other castles too but you’re going to talk about something else I

Think yeah thank thank you virgy good good overview of the L yeah I love bike riding there and as you said it’s level and even with electric bikes you can you can be lazy and still go from Castle to castle with electric bikes these days becoming very popular it’s popular on

The MyWay tours that I do this is my among my favorite regions in France but I usually don’t say that but um the do the dorona valley is offers a a rich Bland of of natural and man-made Beauty I think like almost nowhere else in

France it is uh it’s a remote place kind of hard to get to but well worth your effort and the best way to experience this Valley uh River Valley is by canoe Meandering down the slow moving River stopping in villages like Laro gak here I recommend hotels we recommend hotels

Here in touring castles like that or stopping in whoops in bayac ending your canoe trip about a two-hour trip by canoe stopping you can visit several castles but this is the best to see look at that castle towering above below well worth the sweat of walking up to it

Toour the Richard the lionhearted castle of this was the centerpiece between the Hundred Years War Between the French and the Brits all right and uh Rick liked this this tour so much this this canoe trip so much when we did it like God no it’s back when I had brown hair that he

Created a self-guided tour of the float down the river complete with a map I liked it so much that I think in the first France Tour in 1992 I took my group down this uh river which viny I I think we still do today do we we still

Go on a canu trip and so far we haven’t lost anybody it’s a lot of fun uh you don’t have to be uh partnering with your with your spouse you can be going with your buddy if you want uh but this is this is a lot of fun I really it’s a

Highlight for me and for many people on that tour I think I think it is yeah and it depends obviously on the level of the river Etc before going so we’re careful how we do that I know all right and all right let’s okay I got to do this there

We go the the best base probably and I know this is where our tours the Western France Tour the spends three nights here and I love stopping for three nights um the in sarlot s a r l a t this is um oh it’s it’s a beautiful town of about

10,000 people peppered with golden buildings and Cobblestone Lanes there’s no important site to visit on the inside except for its twice a week Market this is its principal site arrive on a Tuesday or a Friday and wake up to the plast La liberte action here the market

Gobbles up the entire Oldtown which is entirely pedestrian only except for one street and see pungent and experience truffles for sale creamy fagra and soone that you’re looking at here from everywhere in France goodness gracious there are lots of sausages in France for sale we do a self-guided tour in the

Book of the market and it’s great fun but the doron is probably most famous as the location with the greatest concentration of prehistoric artifacts anywhere um here you can trace back 20 to 30,000 years ago guys when willly mammoths and Sabertooth C roamed the Earth cavemen dug deep inside Caverns

Like this and painted animals with remarkable accuracy and beauty that you can experience in the doona valley seeing original cave art from 30,000 years ago is mindboggling this is a scene of horses running and reindeer from the uh Caves at Lasco the world’s most famous caves about 30,000 years ago

These are copycat caves because you can no longer tour the interior yet they have been done painstakingly with perfection and it makes a great first stop for any for travelers who are serious prehistorians because not only do you get a tour in English it’s busy place so book it ahead like most of

These caves and you not you also get an interpretive Center which sets the stage for the original cave art that you you might visit in other places such as I love this rhinoceros at the caves of rufing I love this place and I know virginy leads the tours here where we

Ride a clunky little train half a mile up a down a cavern so we don’t have to walk it and we see ex really exquisitely uh drawn black and white mostly paintings drawings of rhinoceros woolly mammoths bears and even see bear scratches I think as you go down this

Cave from their claws of hibernating in the wintertime Roofing Yak here doesn’t require reservations it’s about the only cave we list that doesn’t be first in line arrive about half an hour before it opens and you’ll do fine right an hour south of the do dorona Valley almost to

The Mediterranean lies this town of turrets and towers that we call carcassone Europe’s greatest fortified wall Fortress and again much like mosam Michelle this is one busy destination arrive late check into a hotel like the one we stay at on our tour here or any

One of a number that we list with great views of the wall arrive late in the day have a dinner a light dinner a not not something for somebody on a diet an old Roman concoction called culle of pork sausage mutton white beans and you name it and then get out and

Walk off that dinner of coule boy I mean if I only saw Carone at night I would be perfectly happy it is the the lighting that the French do anywhere you go it seems even my little village on on in burgundy is just lovely and this is no

Exception wake up in the morning and through the interior Castle this is a chateau within the Fortified walls and then get out of there much like Lio San Michelle by 11:00 and virgin is going to take us through the region D East by a couple of hours in provance provance yes everybody knows

About provance the land of marvelous and colorful landscapes it’s almost constant Sunshine so it makes it for a pretty neat destination for a great food and great wine it’s lots of small villages and some great towns and I’d like to take you first to AR uh which is where

We stay on the L to the south of France Tour and Al is a great base to explore Pro and to learn about the Roman World um we have two sites that you see here the the big arena in the middle and a little bit

To the left the theater so I would say first go to the the the museum and the museum gives you a good explanation of how this was built and how important the city was when actually 2,000 years ago it was the population was bigger than

What it is today uh it has very nice models of the different Roman buildings for you to understand them better such as the better here and then afterwards you get to walk in the city and explore those monuments and see how they are used 2,000 years after now in in

Provance they have bull shows that are different from Spanish uh bull fight this is more like a circus where the hero of the game is actually actually the bull and Al is is just you can work everywhere in Al there is outdoor seating uh this is where you slow down

This this is what provance is all about we actually have a big difference between northern France and Southern France and in southern France you just get to relax and then you get to walk in the footstep of Vango that you see here uh this is where he was inspired where

He got all of the inspiration from the sunshine and the colors of provance and the town of Al has a lot of easels uh showing you where he actually painted those famous pieces of art such as the Cafe teras at night here and so you can

Follow this we have most of those easels in in the guide book now 15 minutes away from AR we have the small Cliff Hill Village of Le provance one of the most beautiful Villages of France and if you look at the top left corner you see

People standing on top of the Rune of the castle and they’re enjoying some dramatic views over a field of olive trees at the small alpie mountains and views of the Mediterranean Sea so this is what provance is all about but you could also decide to stay in a different

Town uh a bit further north is Aven this is where the France MyWay tour stays and it’s a great base if you have no car because it has great bus and trains Transportation now the history of aen is not as old as the history of uh of Al if

I may say but the 1300 this became the new Vatican this is where uh over a century we had seven popes residing in aino in that Palace now uh it’s a thriving city today uh no major site aside from the the palace but lots of sprawling um uh squares like this one

Where again you can enjoy the life of provance and from Ain it’s an easy trip to the pugar and we’re back to this major road site I think it’s it has to be the the best Rune that we have uh uh in all over France it’s part of a 30

Mile long Aqueduct where 90% of the aqueduct is either on ground level or underground and then they have this massive part which is just uh above water and is still um Still Standing today now there is something super exciting that I love to do is uh with

Our group we get to walk if you look at the third level of the Arches there on top is where the water used to flow and they had to have the perfect slope to bring the water from the spring of uses to the big city of nim and today with

Our group we get to walk inside that Canal I think but but I’m always jealous of Steve because he always tell me about this coool story which I guess I’m a bit younger so I never got to do it ouch that hurts I’m going back to this one

Because I don’t know maybe 15 years ago you could walk across the top of that narrow expanse there are no guard rails there uh it’s 900 it’s 2,000 years old it’s the windiest part of France and there’s no sign suggesting maybe you shouldn’t be doing this seriously for

Your viewers the last time I did this and this may have what caused them to close it now you can’t do it anymore I saw a mountain biker bike across that seriously but now as you say virginy oh nuts I meant to share screen oh well now

You can walk right through the center of it and I think that’s cool that we do it on our tours it’s it’s very safe today so no problem and north of provance we have the coach Duron so maybe some of you are drinking C Duron wine uh tonight uh the

Famous wine region and this is a perfect place to hire a local guide uh to help you understand what may appear to many North American as a complex system of French wine because we don’t call Wine by the uh by the grape varietal but by the region and so we have local guid

Such as Mike who’s going to explain everything to you and make the make what maybe dating uh experience of tasting wine actually a fun experience now the small town of Von ran where we stay on the best of Eastern FRS tour is um I love this place now look at the the the

Stipple of the cath the old Cathedral right in the middle and you go down a little bit on the slide and you see a a blue sign I know what it says there the B this is where most of the groups on the best of Eastern Friends tour stay

Now for most Americans you would concert their consider this to be old town but in French standard this is not old town it’s only from the you know 1200 you go down to the river level and you have a town which is 2,000 years old um this is

Like a mini pompe uh where we have actually the runes and then where the people live today the 20th century town was actually built on top of the runes and uh you get to explore this so this is this is quite special to stay in

Vison La Roman I believe and a half hour from vison we have another Monumental site this is the theater of orange now this photo is is a bit old but I love it because uh cars cannot park there anymore but it gives you a good scale of

The size of this stage wall it’s the best preserved stage wall that we have in all over Europe from uh from the Roman time um to finish your Province uh Journey we can then go to Exon provance now Exon provance is is the bigger city

And it has a City Field where you can enjoy what the French called the AR Viv The Art of Living and um it has stylish Cafe lots of nice restaurant trendy shops and uh and you can under a farmers market you know different farmers Market almost every day of the week to enjoy

The colors flavors and smell of provance now no big museums in Exon provance however this is where sesan Paul cesan lived and where he painted lots of his main art and for example here the mtin sand vict and I think it’s a great way uh to uh to enjoy the beauty of provon

Through his paintings so uh this was the Inland part of uh the southeast of France and Steve is going to take us to the med I think now right darn right I am just just a few hours East of Exon provance which by the way is near Mar a

Great City to visit sometime if you have time that’s covered in our provance book but here on the French Riviera the capital city of nce the fifth largest in France here you can in this this is a terrific city um Rick and I spent eight

Days here in may we met you here I I remember virgin updating our guide books and we we love it’s a city that I used to really not like going to but today today you can take the escalator up to this Castle Hill here and have this

Grand View of the bay desange the the Bay of the angels and scope out your plan for the day tour wander the proma deang which lines that all those palm trees you see right on the water there down there below it’s like a playground along the pebbley beaches there are bike

Lanes that allow you to ride from one end to the other it’s a fun place to bike ride roller skate or really best just stroll and find a bench or a blue chair and hang out and watch the French it play if you look along you’ll see these little blue and yellow white

Umbrellas there are several cafes right on the beach where you can have breakfast a coffee a beer lunch or dinner that’s a great way that’s a very French way to appreciate the Riviera but there’s much more to nice than the beaches and that’s something important to understand and one reason I love this

City so much today are is the new tram system they have three lines in now and they’re building more all the tram lines erased cars from squares like this the plasma Santa which is really the centerpiece in East which connects the old city with the new city and here

There used to be cars circling around this this square and now all you see there’s no cars it’s a tram and lots of pedestrian it’s be the plasma SAA is gorgeous at night I love this and speaking of old nie which it connects to the new city here in this Italian

Influenced area you’d swear you were in Italy wandering in the old streets of nce where we recommend and I think we’ve had some good meals here I love I just love having dinner in The Old City there’s no important site oh to go into in The Old City other than exploring its

Old italianesque lanes and enjoying a meal or a gelato for example on the street and enjoying the market the K C has Market every day of the week but Monday and pick pick up your picnic for the day get some sooka and enjoy the local scene nce is has a whole pallet of

Museums for any Museum goer and the Riviera has museums dedicated to artists such as my favorite here Mark shagal which Rick has done a terrific self-guided tour too um but there’s also a museum dedicated to Ari matis and further along Pablo Pico in nearby anti

Or ferand Le or Ral DUI or AUST Renoir you can enjoy contemporary Mo art lovers the Riviera is a phenomenal place to visit nce is surrounded by memorable day trips just over that Hill there and around 10 minutes from n is this little pastel colored Village of Ville frer May

Many people prefer making this their home base and then day tripping into the big city of nce um here these pastel buildings with steep narrow lanes that spill down into the water below um uh allow travelers to have a quieter enjoyable visit to the to the French

Rivier this is maybe more what they were looking for right next to Around The Bay from lies the capat farat with the greatest Seaside walks in in in this region and notice how the Alps the mountains you see right there spill right down into the Mediterranean here

The Alps you can take you could ski until recently if the snow’s good enough within an hour and a half of nce incredible all right a little bit further east of nce is the tiny minuscule principality of Monaco a principality that’s only 3/4 of a Mile

Square you’re looking at all of it in this image right now that’s the principality right there and there’s three neighborhoods to enjoy in in Monaco which is astonishing by the way because it’s managed to remain independent since the 1200s incredible you’re looking into Italy by the way you

It’s so close you can taste the pesto right anyway there’s three neighborhoods we’re standing in Monaco Ville you’re looking down on the port where since 1929 cars have raced around its harbor in the most famous race I know of the Grand Prix of Monaco and on the other

Hill on the other side you can’t quite make it out is the neighborhood of Monte Carlo where the famous Casino lies now arrive by noon and enjoy The Changing of the Guard in this adorable little minuscule country this is a nostalgic event and and almost humorous because

There are more people in the philarmonic in the in Monaco than there are in its military still it’s a great event to enjoy and also you’ll get a sense of the Glamorous relationship between American great actress Grace Kelly and prince reineer who lived in this Palace for a

Long period of time and whose son occupies at Prince Albert today by touring the palace nearby just a walk away from that Palace in Monaco Ville is the aquarium that Jack custo made famous featuring fish from the Mediterranean it’s well worth your time with particularly if you’re traveling with

Kids a short bus ride away or about a half an hour walk down by that Port that I showed you and up the hill on the other side in the neighborhood of Monte Carlo sits the world’s most famous casino here you can tour it in the morning on your own

Without worrying about gamblers at your side maybe some slot machines or come back in the afternoon and gamble away your kids inheritance it makes a great day trip from nce and by the way the casino is truly magnificent at night and it is fun

To go in and pay the I don’t know 10ur or whatever it is and don’t even gamble just enjoy the interior and but you got to wear something nice that looks good on you and feel like James Bond I always feel all right take us to the mountains

Now Virginia I’m trying to speed us along let’s go North right into the teeth of the Alps what do you say so the French Alps what the French called the savwa region which is the border with uh Italy and Switzerland and on this Blue Lake you have the town of ani which is

With a lovely old town with lots of canals walkways and all along the the lake you have uh almost all along the the lake you have a bike lane so it’s a very sporty um sporty town with great Vistas now you can go on a boat cruise

To enjoy those views or you can decide uh so that’s what we do on one of the tour we use uh the the boat to to explore the lake or you can decide to use it as a shuttle you know put your bike on the boat go from one Village to

Another hop on and up off if you want and then you can put some pretty heavy hiking in this area H there are lots of villages and for example I know this is Steve’s favorite hike from the bottom to the top in the village of talir it’s

About a 40 minute hike and my favorite hike is just just across but this is a perfect land for hiking but an hour and a half away we are in the very high UPS uh the birthplace of maintaining the place where we had the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924 the town of

Shamoni now shamoni has two season for a tourism you have a long summer where you’re going to have some of the the greatest hiking and then if you want to be thrilled by by the Alps then you can come in the winter time here now I want

To tell you about my perfect day in the Alps on the best of Eastern French tour we have a vacation from your vacation there is a full day where you do whatever you want and I would say you know from it go early take the cable car

To the UI jidi and you’ll be at 13,000 feet in this perfect complex with restaurant Terraces uh history of mon ing that let you enjoy this you know being on the top of the world that’s really the feeling that you have when you have those paks surrounding you

You’re on top of the world and then you have two options either you want to experience the the best border crossing ever by being into this small dangling H gondolas that will take you in 45 minutes over huge glacier to Italy spend some time Italy and then come back or if

You prefer to go hiking uh we list several hikes in the guide book and my favorite one is hike number one you’re just above the tree line and you have views on the paks and on the MBL that big big mountain and then at the end of about

You know three four hours depending how fast or slow you are H you arrive at the mer the glass now the mer the glass is a even though it’s receding it’s still a pretty big Glacier and you can actually go into the the ice and after you’re

Done with this you go back on the Cog wheel train that you see here and make your way back to shamoni now of course being in shamoni after so much oxygen so much workout it’s time to experience the local specialty and that’s one of them is Fu this is cheese cheese and more

Cheese when you are in shamon shamoni area but that’s what France is all about right food isn’t it still and now we’re going to make our way uh North and we’re going to burgundy so a few hours North from the Alps at the rural region of

Burgundy which may have the best food of France right and I’m not saying that because I adopted this region as Steve did I think this is your village Steve on the canal de B right that’s right yeah we yeah and I I live an hour and an

Hour away in the in the Pu F area maybe some of you know the Pu F wine now bone is the perfect town where you will really feel at East at ease sorry uh it’s a capital of Burgundy wine talking about that I haven’t seen Steve drinking

A lot I I’m I’m doing my best I’m doing not okay so uh it has lots of Cafe Restaurant of course lots of wine bars and the town of bone has one main historical site the hotel which is the old medieval charity hospital that you can visit um now you

Have to plan your visit to Bone to be there on a Saturday morning because uh there are lots of farmers market in France but burgundy is famous for its food and its Saturday Morning Market it’s quite exceptional it’s trolled outside and on the left hand side here under the covered

Marketplace and then in the evening like many towns in France we’ve told you already it’s beautifully lit at night so this is a good way to enjoy French life have your dinner and I know that for many Americans you believe that we eat too much and we eat too late but you can

Have a s o’ 7 o’clock dinner works and then you can uh burn out the calories by walking uh into bone and seeing several facets that are that have beautiful light show like this one now bone is a great base because north and south of

Bone you have the root de van where you have those beautiful vineyards on Hillside side with those small villages and the name of the villages are actually names of wines and so you can explore on bikes I know this is um some of the the places that Steve has been uh

Biking through and I love to do that I especially when it’s a a harvest time and you you bike in the in The Vineyards and you hear all of those languages is that your favorite time Steve to go there biking um yeah it’s more importantly I mean those Vineyards are

So manicured in burgundy they and all those the the wine service Lanes make deao bike paths um and along the burgundy Canal there’s the toe path that you can bike forever it’s really I think the best region in France for biking it’s just marvelous and I can never get

Enough of it it seems like you should said the best reg of of France period right yes let’s go there we go so the root de and then you’re going to have lots of different Castles because before burgundy became part of France it was actually well and more

Powerful um than France itself so you’re going to have a lot of castles and I love it on the best of Eastern France Tour we have a private visit to this Castle the chatau de rui and we actually get to meet a count that in case you

Didn’t know we still have some people with titles in France and you get to meet a cool guy this is rul Count Raul on the left hand side and he takes us into his home and explain how you live in the 21st century in a in a medieval castle um

Talking about castle because burgundy is big I know going to tell you about a place that I’ve been visiting for 10 years but you’ve been there for a much longer time right this is one of the most remarkable thank you for letting me talk about this officially in burgundy I

Guess it’s really nowhere in France in many ways get along it well justifies the big tour to get get there here they’re building with only materials and tools from the 1200s an exact replica of a castle designed in the year 1200 again just using tools and techniques from

That area I started seeing this when it was just a quarry you guys um and in fact I Julie SVO who’s one of the one of our great France guides was a local guide here and that’s how I hired her she was the first guide I had here and

Now this wall I mean every year it gets a bit bigger it’s a 40-year project 40 years to build a castle in the style with you the materials and it’s it was designed to be an exploratory project to understand how these castles were built so after all the castles we’ve shown you

How great to understand best what it looks like and and understand how they uh built it in those days um God I love that three hours North is the beautiful region of alas that that area um bounded by by the Ry River to the east by about

Five miles from where I’m standing here taking this picture and to the west by these soft vog mountains it’s a land of beautiful Villages Hansel and greto Villages that I mentioned before like Rick V here or aashim just absolutely adorable ium draped Villages ideal for pedestrians and wine tasting this is a

Part of France like I think the provance region where you are so welcome as as a taster because they’re trying to get their wines better known in other countries particularly the United States and this is an image of of a tour of a guide on the tour that I led this year

Of Eastern France um and it’s easy though for individuals and independent travelers to taste a friendly place in those Villages Kar makes the best base I think for touring this region it’s a city of about 880,000 people with just lovely extensive pedestrian only Lanes beautifully lit at night one more time

This city have dinner and always assume you’re going to go out for a beautiful walk after dinner because darn those French know how to make a city beautiful but comar is more than a good base it has a a a heavyweight sites of its own principal Witch is the unter Lindon

Museum here once a once an Abbey it was um home now it’s home it’s a home to a uh Fine Arts Museum with art from the Roman era to Modern days but its highlight is the isenheim alter piece that you’re looking at here um this painting by Matas gunal highlights it’s

Five panels that are open on different feast days of the year and it was designed for people suffering from disease that we call today Ry artism in the Middle Ages well this was painted in the early 1500s and you can see the graphic almost surreal uh painting of

Most most unusual image of Christ on the cross because it was designed to make people understand that Christ understood their suffering while they laid in their beds and stared at this image the the unin museum is one of the great sites in colar as is the B Museum the guy from

France Hometown boy who built who sculpted the Statue of Liberty but also did so many other great works of art statues sculptures that you’ll find in squares throughout the country of France I love the museum you if didn’t do the Statue of Liberty the Bari museum is

Well worth a visit all right you’re very far east in France but halfway back to Paris when we’re end this visit lie the uh most powerful battlefields I’ve visited the battlefields at verun dedicated to World War I where over 300,000 people would die uh in less than

A year in this war that was designed to what they thought would end all wars here you can tour the where in its cemetery and imagine and understand through museums and displays the misery that soldiers in World War I suffered from today you can visit some of the

Trenches but most are covered over of course after all this time by change in land form and the good news after visiting the sad thing about Veron I think is that it’s so little Vis visited um it’s just not a happy site for people but it’s powerfully important to understand

I think an hour further west Paris lie the beautiful and nor Northerly Vineyards of champagne in this region of France yes champagne we do a self-guided tour I love my self guu a tour The Vineyards of of champagne because most people stay in grass or eper but get out

And see the small villages that produce great Champagnes then stay maybe in h this is like nce to me a city that I used to really not care much about but it was important to cover in the book so I did it but now thanks to tramways

Again and squares like this is this is taken from our hotel on the Square where we start our Eastern France tours by the way um thanks to trams like this and pedestrian Lanes you can enjoy this I can enjoy the city of R like I never did

Before here that one of the most famous maybe arguably the most famous cathedral in France it is brilliant in it’s famous because here since the 800s all the kings of France were coronated taken to H and coronated in this very historic Gothic Cathedral France has r h Ry it’s

Spelled re Ms and rhymes with France uh there are more there more several a variety of other sites I love this one this these are the war rooms or the surrender rooms where in on May 7th 1945 Dwight Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the German

Forces and it’s a it’s a u there’s a lot of artifacts and things to see in the in the war rooms but most importantly is the table what you’re looking at right now where they signed the treaty right it’s a great way to end any trip to

France and champ and this region with maybe a champagne cave tasting and tour while these are expensive by the way I’ll warn you if you want to go to Piper Heidi or bu Cleo or mum or tatan expect to pay a fair price and get a small

Tasting but hey how many times are you in Champagne right and the tours are really well done you’ll learn a lot about the history the um remarkable history of champagne and get a little tasting at the end well there you go all of these sites that Virginia and I have

Had to hustle through tonight thank you for your patience with our speed we cover on our tours whether it’s Paris City week or Paris in the heart of France Tour in 11 days or the Western France Tour as I call it the lir to the south of France Tour that Virginia noted

So many times starts in chka covers the lar Valley the dorona carcasson ARL andise that’s a great itinerary then her favorite maybe I think she’s kind of torn between the Eastern France Tour what used to be Vineyards and Villages starting in the champagne country that we just visited staying in uh passing

Through verun spending three hours in verun doing a good job there going to the alas in Kar burgundy high outs at shamon and ending in the provance region with Von La rain and Exon provance and the MyWay tours that I get to do because boy I can get a lot of good researching

Done with people who take these tours they’re so independently oriented I love this tour it’s a bit of a mix of all the other tours in 13 days all right and he and on our tours you know here’s what we include and you can read this on our

Website more than I should spend time reading this list to you now the important things are 24 people to 28 all tips no tipping allowed everything’s included that that on the tour sightseeing wise that we do together about half your dinners a few lunches usually and all breakfasts are covered

On the tours that we offer reminder uh pay attention you may win a city tour you got to go to Paris although I like the other C and another reminder that if you sign up for a tour with by February 5th you can save $100 a person and speaking for all of our

Guides to all of you who stayed with Virginia night tonight thank you thank you and we hope that you’ll join us somewhere and allow us to turn you on to the countries that we are so passionate about and will help turn you on and embrace the cultures that you came to

Visit and a particular thanks to my dear friend and almost neighbor in burgundy uh virgin Mor virgin it’s what time 3:30 in morning your time it’s four o’clock it’s four o’clock right now but I’m having fun great Roar you are a lovely person and thank you very much for joining us

Tonight thank you Steve this was fun all right and thank you to all of you who will travel to France because of those waiters and because of how friendly those French people are in spite of what you may have been told Mery to hello I’m so glad that you ended with

That picture because there are many many questions tonight people were so thankful and complimentary about both of you and for sharing your knowledge um but there were a couple of themes that came out so since you showed that picture I’ll start with with the first one uh Franco American relationships

Some people have heard that the French are rude or judgmental and they think Americans are ignorant um and another woman said you know the best part of traveling in France has been the friendly people but is increasing tourism straining that so please if you would both address this I’d love it so

Much go ahead virginy yes I always start my tours by telling people that the French are a formal culture and I learn it the hard way when I mooved back to France after 11 years in the US two years in England I forgot one day to say

Bonj when I was addressing a stranger in theet and the lady looked at me so I asked very politely excuse Madame where is and the lady looked at me and said bonjour and I thought I was the worst person in the world we are just you know

They’re just keys to any culture and in French we’re formal we we teach two years old kids to actually say bonjour and be super polite so if you as an adult arrive and start being very efficient in your culture and just start asking what you want

This is not how it works in France and as long as you’re just not smiling too much but you’re using the right keywords people are going to be nice I mean even in Paris it’s a big city like New York but people are very helpful how many

Times did I have people telling me you know I just pulled out my map and a young French person arrived and helped me just to figure out the Metro or anything like this so it’s a stereotype which is based on the fact that we are

Formal indeed but if you if you use the right words then people are nice I how many times in the US people told me you’re not French you’re nice it’s like we’re nice people I think adding to V viry first of all the good lesson is always start anything with bonj mad B

That’s a great way to break the eyes they don’t really expect you to have know all the perfect mannerisms but also every tour I’ve done virin and I’ve done a few of them in my 40 years here every tour member is always surprised at how nice the French are it’s not because I’m

Introducing them they’re on their own a lot as you know so what you have to do is go to a country and realize that the people aren’t these stereotypes right absolutely I always tell my tour members that you must treat a French person as a human being first before you

Get down to business because we as Americans want to be efficient just like virgin says and we don’t want to waste their time they’re doing us a favor by helping us but you acknowledge them as a person first and then then you get down to business so second theme the

Olympics so so how is that going to tra change transportation in Paris and should people even go to Paris during this time if they’re not going for the Olympics how far out will it bleed into the countryside thoughts um I’ll start on this one um um

Olympics are famous by the way and I have some experience with this for for actually drops in tourism to the key sites now people want to go to the Olympics and during the Olympics they’ll see the site they’ll see the game Games Etc but I believe and hotels will be

Slammed for sure during the Olympics they’ll be slammed but in an olympic year you’ll find I bet France in general tourism is down that’s that’s the history of Olympics in Greece or wherever they’ve been um outside of Paris I bet it’s quiet they’re going to

Focus on Paris and inside of Paris I bet the Lou and even Versa are better this year because people be watching the games and not touring those sites what do you think Madame Vini I think it’s a good opportunity I mean you’ll go to Paris spend maybe a couple days it’s a

Good good opportunity to experience what France is all about it’s it’s not just the big cities it’s the beautiful countryside small villages we’ve shown you tonight and the Olympic Games won’t be there and there might be even less people there as you said and Lisa can I

Add something I realized I had a major Gap or FAA I didn’t mention that this is also the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings which I should have done during that talk but I was trying to catch up on time that will make the D-Day beaches a mess for travelers although it’s a

Marvelous time to be there a week before four days before 3 days after June 6th otherwise the D-Day beaches are totally quiet and fine so don’t worry that that doesn’t spill over either Beyond just right around June 6th that said if you can go during that time it’s pretty

Exciting to see the events that happen there and there’s a time where the French J and a place where the French love Americans yes oh that sounds wonderful I would love to be there at that time okay uh another question is how is the rebuilding of notra going maybe you

Mentioned this a little bit and I didn’t hear everything but um people in the chat were also mentioning that they’re using Artisans and crafts people that are trained at galon to help rebuild notra so uh I heard that somebody said that notr was going to be open by this summer but what’s the

Latest so the the latest is actually December 8th which is an important day for Mary uh that’s when it will reopen we don’t know yet exactly how it will be reopened will be like before where we had a line to go through uh the stipple

Will be visible by this summer so by the Olympic Games uh but it’s supposed to reopen now Steve and I had the chance to experience something great so if you go before it’s reopen or if the lines are too long you can still see the cathedral

And just uh under the the bigest plan in front what used to be a parking lot has been transformed into a uh virtual reality tour and you spend 45 minutes going through the history of notredam and it’s it’s just you get face Toof face with how they build the stain glass

Windows and your guide is an architect from the well a Mason from the Middle Ages so until it reopens in 2024 there’s still lots of way to enjoy nram differently that’s such a do you think good call Virgin and I hope they continue it well after the the cathedral

Opens who knows but it and I’m skeptical of those uh virtual reality things and this one was astonishing have you seen it Lee I can’t remember did you go yes I did it this year it was amazing I you could hear the raindrops and you could almost feel them it was just like

Stepping back in time I thought it was so well done it’s listed in our book too if if readers want to know it’s it’s well described in the book thanks to virgin’s research yeah I think until notredam reopens it’s it’s just a good way because you you you step in the

Cathedral and it’s it’s quite you know so um there were also two questions about winter travel so Elise wanted to know if the markets run in the winter season or if they move inside and Rebecca wanted to know if smaller towns like V franch Sur or anti close down completely in the

Winter it’s a two-part question you want to start the markets Madam and then I’ll take the second part so the markets are all year round they’re not made for tourists they are made for French people who love going to the market and they you know there is one Costco in France

In the outskirt of Paris people don’t shop at Costco they don’t buy so much stuff so it’s it’s I mean it’s great for tourists to enjoy but this is actually made for the locals so it’s all year round yes it’s a really good point and one of the reasons people don’t shop at

Costco is they don’t have room in their houses to store all that stuff that we do as americ amans their refrigerators are a tiny fraction of the size of ours Etc so they need the markets right yep what was this oh the second part oh I

Would in a heartbeat go to V Fran and antib in the winter are you kidding me absolutely great idea otherwise though a lot of that stuff outside of Paris and N in the big cities in the winter is pretty darn quiet um you’ll find pretty sleepy towns stick to the main towns or

The Riviera I think don’t you think Virginia and you’ll do fine okay this is a question that I know is right at both of your alleys so Jennifer wants to know if we love the outdoors and have already enjoyed the Alps the Pyrenees and the gorge du verun

What other gems should we explore in France the Alps the PES and the gorge D done wow they’ve done a lot the aresh oh good call yeah for me the aresh is a couple of hours north south of Leon and it has almost no people at until the

1970s there was no road so you just had Trails where goats you know wild goats were were just there and they built a road in the 70s just along the gorge beautiful Gorge and um it’s still you know not very traveled and it’s beautiful hiking nice scener they have a

Um prehistoric site that was open open n 20 14 I believe replica of of a cave yeah that’s a good call I also that’s a good traveler whoever that is I’d like like to meet that person because I share and I know viny we are we love the

Outdoors I love the gorge dutar T RN take a look at that I used to include that in the book but had to reduce pages but I like your suggestion also and the ardesh is not far away but focus on that part of France um canoes kayaks on the

Gorge detar as well and good hiking I must add also this year you sent me I did the research and I drove from the dordon area to the lir doing book research and I went into the lot l o oh yeah yeah it’s beautiful yeah I just

Felt this was June there was almost nobody and I I just felt it was bad that you only gave me four days I know I three weeks hiking going so the lot lot so that’s a s yeah Virginia I really thought you were going to tell me about the pink GR Coast in

Britney well I was thinking hiking well you could do what we call in Britany the tro bra so I’m from Britany and the tro bra means the tour of Britany where we have the old uh custom Trail um all along the coast of Britney you can walk

This and this yeah but you know just Britney is in my heart it’s not so visited so maybe that’s why I don’t talk too much about it because I want to keep it just for myself I don’t know I can to what she’s saying throughout France there there’s what they call the gr

Trail gr stands for GR Rondon through burgundy through anywhere great and there’s good information on those Trails people walk them for weeks or days at a time and that includes good information on uh accommodations along the trails Etc I’ve ridden them on my mountain bike

A couple times too and done some of the walking but there’s I think it’s almost Limitless in France don’t you think VY the the gr the the biggest one is the Cora if you want to hike all of Corsica you can go south to North in Corsica north to

South hiking yeah okay we hit that one pretty well can we okay do you need a car to travel in France or do the trains go everywhere okay why don’t I this is very well a car helps certainly but you don’t need one uh we do the research we do it

Half year by one part by car one part by train Virginia’s done both too as well um you can you just have to have patience and probably limit your expectations of every place you’re going to get to here’s where all the minivan tours and local guides come in so handy

Though and every region in France that we cover we list great local guides in these little minivans to take you to those places that that you’d want a car for it’s such a pleasure not to have to mess with a car isn’t it Virginia when you’re doing

Research yeah yeah it’s true that you can work in the train it’s quite handy not to have to drive but I would say that you know when you think about the US you have a lot of big cities in France you have Paris then you have Leon

And Marseilles and then any other city I mean that you I’m thinking of Orange right now because we were talking about Orange Theater earlier it’s small for American Standards and there’s a train going there and several times a day so it’s just a different perspective from

Your train travel in the states which is not very existent right she makes a really good point though and and I should have said it is a very rural country compared to Spain or Italy where a lot of your destinations are big City so trains work really well there a car

Is darn handy I don’t want to pretend that it’s not for getting around as a followup question I’m going to do two more questions um Robin wants to know can you day trip from Paris to the D-Day beaches or should you stay overnight oh I would stay overnight

That’s a long you can the the right answer is you can and the way to do it by the way is you take the bullet train to K caen and start your tour were there you can hire a guide service or a taxi service from there Baya that I described

It’s just another further yeah you can start there as well but it’s just a little bit further away it makes you’re going to spend um seven hours probably six seven hours on the trains that one day uh but but sleeping on the beaches I didn’t mention this in my talk but we

List hotels right in aromos right on the water that with one night with one night that’s where I’d stay and sleep right there at the artificial Harbor here J yeah you get to see the tides and you know you arrive at high tide let’s say and then you don’t see the artificial

Harbor and then six hour later you just feel like you know 75 years ago just yeah here’s the problem inance Lisa is that their technological accomplishment with the bullet train system which is the greatest in Europe can allows this kind of day tripping to the lir valley you can tour the Chateau

Of the lir you could go to monan Michelle that’d be crazy but you can do it in a day trip as wellc you can tour bone all these places because of this 220 mph speed trains that allow you to do it but boy that’s very American I

Think we’re back to that bonjour thing like slow down travel at a French Pace to enjoy France and the French you just need to slow down and that’s part of traveling uh I know we have I mean we the most visited country in in the world

So we have lots of sites but the beauty of traveling is just to stop down have a glass of wine a cafe and just meet people and that’s part of of traveling too I think well I agree with both of you quite seriously um I’m going to ask this last

Question you have to pick your favorite I’ll give you two regions in France in France okay go ahead I say Britany and burgundy Britany because that’s where I’m from and I I must say I miss the sea every day because Britney has a beautiful Coastline uh and a different

Culture but I adopted burgundy and even though there is no sea we have rolling Vineyards the people are super friendly uh there is a jiv people drink a lot of wine so maybe that’s why it helps and so burgundy and Britney yes and I I would

Say the dorona um River Valley that area with the prehistoric art and Normandy and Normandy because I just can’t get enough of the history there from um the the Battle of H ttings tapestry to D-Day beaches to Mo s Michelle it’s just incredible well thank you both very very

Much for answering all of our questions and taking the time to share your love of France with us remember folks we have tomorrow night we have Germany Austria and Switzerland and we hope that you join us for That