Exploring France’s Prehistoric River Valley Homes
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Barbara Diggs
Bordeaux, France—A Less-Expensive Alternative to Paris
I’m strolling along Bordeaux’s handsome promenade as it curves along the left bank of the Garonne river trying to imagine how the area must have looked before its glamorous makeover some 15 years ago. It’s hard to believe that this bright, tranquil esplanade was once an eyesore of a port, filled with grimy buildings and rusting warehouses...
Early Season Skiing: 5 of Europe’s Best-Value Resorts
Alpine pines dusted with sugar-snow. Inviting wooden chalets nestled on the mountainside. Noisy cafés filled with brilliantly bedecked skiers. Deep powder. European skiing can be pricy, but hitting the slopes off-season is an excellent way to shave hundreds, if not thousands, off the cost. Thanks to the soaring altitudes of the Alps, you can find snow cover in Europe as early as October, but with accommodation at a fraction of peak-season rates. What’s more, lift passes cost less in early season. Tignes and Val d’Isère charge just $350 for a week (you couldn’t get two days at Vail for that price)...
Burgundy, France
I’m standing just on the outskirts of St. Bris-le-Vineux, a picturesque medieval village in Burgundy, gazing at tumbling rows of green-leafed grapevines. Come late September, they’ll be bursting with fruit, ready to be turned into the racy, delectable wine that’s a favorite in the region...
Your Own Pied-à-Terre in Provence from $101,000
Picture a honey-colored stone cottage in a medieval village in Provence…perhaps with a frenzy of scarlet geraniums tumbling from a window box. The famous Provençal fields of fragrant lavender and olive groves surround the village...
Off the Beaten Path in Cotignac
The postcard-perfect towns of Provence, in the south of France, are a joy to explore but difficult to appreciate when you’re shoulder to shoulder with other visitors. Best to get off the beaten path. The Provençal region of Var is home to dozens of...
Where to Winter on The French Riviera From $3,200 a Month
I spread my jacket on the smooth grey stones of the beach and rest back on my elbows, gazing at the Mediterranean. The deep blue water glints as if diamonds are scattered beneath its surface. A couple wanders along the shoreline, splashing their bare feet in small waves, and a handful of sunbathers stretches out near me, bikini straps pulled down over their shoulders.
Nice: Affordable Playground on the French Riviera
With its stunning Mediterranean setting, the city of Nice is known as a playground for the rich and famous. Given this, you might think it’s prohibitively expensive. Not so. You can rent a 452-square-foot furnished apartment, just steps from the beach and with an excellent view of the water, for $822 a month.
Art and Beauty Abound in Colorful Honfleur
Whenever I visit Honfleur, one of the prettiest harbor towns in Normandy, France, I’m gripped by a desperate desire to learn to paint. I blame the light. On clear mornings, Honfleur’s light is soft and rosy, bathing the slate-fronted houses surrounding the old port in a golden-pink glow.
Snow-Capped Mountains and Fairytale Beauty in the French Alps
The Brothers Grimm themselves could not have dreamed up a more exquisite fairytale town than Annecy. Set in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alps region in southeastern France, the small medieval town is all cobblestone streets, graceful bridges arching over flower-decked canals, and bustling food markets filled with woven basket-carrying locals.