Off the Beaten Path Vacation Destinations in France
Mustard Vats and Stone Wheels at Fallot’s Workshop The morning light in Beaune hits the old stone differently once you step off the main square. I had come for the wine, like everyone, but found myself pulled instead toward the low hum of machinery and the sharp tang of vinegar in the air. At the … Read more
Most people first meet Arras from above: two linked squares of Flemish Baroque façades, a belfry needle, cobbles that look good in almost any light. Fair enough. The squares are why the train stops here. What I keep coming back for sits under the same stones — a chalk maze about twelve meters down, cool … Read more
Most people race the RT10 between Bastia and Porto-Vecchio with the windows up and the radio on. Aléria sits right there on the eastern plain, easy to dismiss as a stop for gas and groceries. That would be a miss. What stays with me is not a cliff-edge citadel. It is a long, shallow lagoon … Read more
Most people meet Bonifacio from the water: a white town jammed onto a limestone blade, houses leaning over empty air, Sardinia a blue smear on a clear day. That cliff silhouette is why ferries slow and phones come out. The version I keep starts lower and harder on the legs. A steep cut of steps … Read more
I start in Colmar where the Lauch narrows between half-timbered houses and flower boxes lean over the water. Petite Venise is the name on every map, but the stretch itself is quieter if you arrive before the boat queues form: a working canal that once fed tanners and fishmongers, still lined with shutters and laundry … Read more
People arrive in Porto-Vecchio already pointed at white sand. Palombaggia, Santa Giulia, pine shade, the turquoise shelf that looks invented for a magazine cover. Fair. Those beaches earn their reputation. The version of town I keep starts lower and stranger: old salt pans under the granite haute ville, pink birds on still water when the … Read more