France Experience

Of ponts and pontiffs

Advantages: Full of interesting things
Disadvantages: But not to the very young

...it. Avignon was home to the papacy for nearly a century, at a time notorious for papal greed and corruption. The church was big business: apart from quasi-legitimate income from tithes and bequests, a spiritual protection racket was in full swing with the sale of pardons and indulgences, plus religious relics and similar trinkets, not to mention back-handers for clerical appointments. As you might expect, the hub of such activities acted like a magnet ...
...the city’s prosperity. Avignon had been having a thin time of it, having suffered the consequences of backing the wrong side in the Albigensian Crusade, but now the population surged, multiplying tenfold to about 40,000, making it one of the largest cities in Europe at the time. With this came a boom in construction – ecclesiastical, civil and military. Many of the monuments that visitors flock to see today date from this period. Avignon’s importance ...

torr 08.11.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: exceptional
Review of Avignon (France)

A day in La Rochelle

Advantages: Plenty to do
Disadvantages: Expensive shopping

La Rochelle is a town on the West Coast of France. It is a large harbour town, and at one point in its history it was the largest harbour in France. We visited La Rochelle twice during our stay in France, one day was spent in the Aquarium which I have reviewed separately, and one day was spent around the market and the harbour. Driving into the town is relatively simple, the car parks are well signposted, and we decided to park right on the harbour ...
...things), and the view over La Rochelle was amazing. We actually thought we’d reached the top, until one of the kids shouted down from higher up. So after doing a full circuit of that terrace we eventually found the entrance to the top level, and if the view from the terrace below was great, the one from the top was amazing, you could see right across the bay and right across the town. They had installed a telescope at the top, but it wasn’t very ...

Fiver29 16.06.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of La Rochelle (France)

Cathedrale de Metz

Advantages: beautiful
Disadvantages: very far away

First, excuse me for my bad english. Please would you correct my mistakes ? I really appreciate that. Well, I'm talking about a cathedrale which is in Metz in France. Metz is between Strasbourg and Paris in the North of the France. The stained-glasses windows are lush and splendid. Marc Chagall created two of them. Those stained-glasses windows are various : 13th to 20th Century. Because of the stained-glasses windows, this cathedral is called 'Good ...

racine 21.01.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of General: France

Pau - Vroom Vroom!

Advantages: Motor racing is abolutely fantastic, not too expensive, nice shops
Disadvantages: Not really a tourist town, limited places to visit

Pau is a is a large French town, situated next to the Pyrenees. It is the capital of the Pyrenees-Atlantiques departement. It started out as a small village in the 15th Century, then Gaston Febus built a chateau there and the town grew. Henry IV of France was born there in the 16th Century. In the 19th Century, Pau became popular with the British because of its mild climate, but then they transferred their affections to Biarritz. Now Pau is a university ...
...industry. The two main reasons to visit Pau are to winter sports, as the Pyrenees are so close, and motor racing. How to get there ++++++++++++ Pau has its own airport - Pau Pyrenees - which is about a 20 minute drive from the town centre. Ryanair fly direct to Pau from Stansted. It is also possible, and sometimes cheaper, to fly to Toulouse airport, which is about a 2 hour drive away. Easyjet fly there from Gatwick. I haven't taken any public ...

depurple2 21.11.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Pyrénées (France)

Nature at Bay

Advantages: Accessible, attractive, atmospheric
Disadvantages: Covers too small an area

...the far side of the bay of the Somme. * Why go, and how? * Even the most enthusiastic advocates (like me) of overnight shopping/eating/drinking trips to France have to admit that the area around Calais and Boulogne does sometimes become a bit overrun with English visitors (like me). If we want to avoid ourselves, or at least each other, we have to venture a bit further afield. Fortunately there are places easily accessible for a short stay to ...
...of these places is the bay at the mouth of the river Somme. An hour's cruise southwards down the A16 autoroute (and a few euros toll) will whisk you away from the hubbub of the Channel ports to a much more relaxed and far less anglicised environment. No complicated navigation is needed to find your way. When you reach the service area called 'Aire de la Baie de Somme' you have just missed the ideal exit, sign-posted Rue. No matter, there is another ...

torr 10.03.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: exceptional
Review of Bay of the Somme