Perched on a steep hill north of the city center is Montmartre and the beautiful Sacre-Coeur church. Montmartre remains a contained and only slightly sullied throwback to a bygone era, with winding streets, ivy-clad houses with exquisite gardens, and artists' studios that one could picture Picasso slaving away in.
Around World War I, writers, poets and artists of the avant-garde abandoned Montmartre and moved to Montparnasse, shifting the core of Paris's artistic and cultural life to the area around Boulevard du Montparnasse. Chagall, Modigliani, Lèger, Soutine, Miro, Kandinsky, Picasso, Stravinsky, Hemingway, Henry Miller and Cocteau as well as political exiles such as Lenin and Trotsky all hung out here at various times, talking endlessly in the cafés and restaurants for which the quarter is still famous (Le Dôme, La Coupole...).* Montparnasse remained an artistic center until the mid-1930s. Since the construction of the massive new Gare Montparnasse as well as the addition of many fashionable cafés and cinemas, very little remains of what used to be a bohemian nest....
From the peaks of the Pyrenees mountains and the Cevennes national park to the wide open spaces of the Camargue and the Mediterranean coastline of the Golfe-du-Lion, where Phoenician fleets and Roman galleys once made landfall, every square meter of the Languedoc-Roussillon region bears the imprints of the many civilizations that have come and gone in the long history of this hallowed region. Today the ancient and the modern co-exist side by side. Fortunately, the modern seldom impinges upon the architectural heritage of Languedoc-Roussillon. Memorable places like the Gorges du Tarn, Gorges de l'Aude, Gorges de l'Herault, Gorges de la Cèze and the creeks and caves of the Cote Vermeille preserve their ancient villages intact. (image: The Pont du Gard...
Gateway to Provence Marseilles is the second largest city in France, behind Paris, and has the varied population you’d expect in a port city which is one the major European gateways to Africa. It’s an important stop for cruise ships and freighters at the modern port, but all the charm is at the Vieux Port (Old Port), where smaller yachts, fishing boats and leisure touring boats jostle for slips. Overlooking the city is Notre Dame de La Garde, high atop a hill. How old is the Old Port? It was founded by the Greeks around 600 B.C. However, Marseilles goes back even further as far as human habitation goes. You can visit recently discovered (only in 1985) Paleolithic cave drawings...
The Midi-Pyrenees region of France is located in the heart of south-western France. The region extends from the wooded hills of the Dordogne, in the north, to the great river valleys of the center, and the majestic Pyrenees mountains and the Spanish border in the south. One of France's largest regions with a landscape dotted with ancient towns, charming villages, castles, Romanesque churches and a rich history. The Midi-Pyrenees region is known for its agriculture. The region produces a variety of crops including corn, soy, sunflowers, tobacco, wheat, tomatoes, a variety of beans, kiwis, melons, strawberries, apples, pears, plums and peaches. The gastronomic excellence of the region is unquestioned. When staying in the Midi-Pyrenees region choose an upscale Relais-Chateau or...
