France Travel Guide

Posts Tagged ‘Canvas’

A Gourmet s Guide to Camping in France

By: Lorraine Waddell

With its combination of haute cuisine, great campsites and spectacular countryside, camping in France is the ideal choice for a food lover who enjoys the great outdoors as much as a three Michelin starred meal.

Few countries can boast a culinary tradition to compete with France, which is regarded as having the best chefs and finest cooking in the world. Numerous cities and towns in the country are famed for their local cuisine or the quality of their restaurants, so if you are a gourmet who is intent on camping in France, make sure you camp near to one of these gastronomic centres…

Paris

Paris, of course, is a great destination for lovers of good food and fine wine. Although the very best French restaurants are to be found in Lyon, years of immigration and multiculturalism have given Paris an unparalleled level of culinary diversity, and there are restaurants for all tastes in this city. Visit Paris for a flavour of everything French cuisine has to offer, then head out into countryside to sample the produce at its source.

Vannes

Brittany is well known for its unique culture, and this extends to its food as well. There are certain dishes that are unique to the region, and it is best to sample them locally. The charming market town of Vannes is the perfect place to try out traditional Breton cuisine, which includes the best crepes in France, a wide variety of seafood dishes and sweet pastries, and the famous Breton cider. The coastal landscape of Brittany also makes it an excellent place to go camping in France, and for a holiday that combines great food with a scenic location, it is hard to beat a visit to Brittany!

Roquefort

This village is located in the beautiful Ardeche region. Famous as the home of the blue cheese of the same name, Roquefort is naturally a great place for cheese lovers, especially because of the unique and traditional way in which the cheese is produced. If you come to Roquefort, don t miss out on a visit to the local caves where the cheeses are aged!

Dijon

It is most famous as the producer of the fiery and delicious Dijon mustard, and a visit to the city will be a chance to sample some unusual condiments (such as fruit flavoured mustard) at the traditional shops that are scattered throughout the city.

Camping in France near Dijon will also place you amidst the wine lands of the Burgundy region, allowing you to combine beautiful scenery, top quality cuisine and, of course, some of the very best wines in the country.

Lyon

If you go to just one place in France to sample the cuisine, make sure you go to Lyon. Renowned as the gastronomic capital of the country, it is home to the very best chefs and restaurants that France has to offer. The best way to experience the food here is a visit to one of the many bouchons; traditional restaurants which will serve you local wine and local cuisine.

Author Resource:-> Lorraine Waddell is the brand and advertising manager of Canvas Holidays, a leading European camping operator that provides the best selection of sites for camping in France (http://www.canvasholidays.co.uk/destinations/france-604-0.aspx).

Article From The Article Depot

5 Cathedrals to Visit in France

By: Lorraine Waddell

France is famous for its towering gothic cathedrals and considering that there are nearly 200 of these breathtaking buildings located throughout France, it can be hard deciding which are worth visiting while on your French camping holiday. Here is a list of our top five French cathedrals:

Notre Dame

If you are camping in France with your children, you may find yourself dragged round Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral for reasons other than the architecture. Thanks to Disney (and a little help from Victor Hugo), Notre Dame has gained popularity among kids because of the cast of friendly characters that frequent its bell tower. But if it takes Quasimodo and company to get your children begging to spend a day in Notre Dame on your French camping holidays, then it can’t be all bad.

Chartres

Chartres, located 50 miles from Paris, is believed to be one of the great achievements in the history of architecture. This is because the cathedral still looks exactly the same as it did on the day it was built. The fantastic stained glass windows are all originals and the cathedral is therefore perfectly preserved. If you take the day off from your French camping holiday you can see visitors here from all over the world, due to the international appeal of the tunic of the Blessed Virgin Mary, housed here since 876.

Bourges

On a French camping holiday you may also want to visit the unique gothic cathedral of Bourges. The cathedral is unique because, although gothic in design, it is horseshoe shaped. This feat was later copied by the cathedrals of Le Mans and Toledo. The great tower is a copy of one found in the Louvre and symbolises royal power, whilst the tympanum of the last judgement is one of its most valued possessions. It is possible to spend a couple of days around Bourges when camping in France as the town boasts five free entry museums with attractions to offer the whole family.

Albi

Albi Cathedral boasts the accolade of being the largest brick building in the world. This may be down to the fact that it was originally built as a fortress after the Albigensian Crusade. If you choose to visit the cathedral when camping in France, then chances are that you’ve come to visit the famous mural of ‘The Last Judgement’. This mural covers both sides of the rounded west wall of the nave and was painted during 1474 to 1484 by unknown Franco Flemish artists. Despite the fact that the artists remain unknown, it is still considered to be one of the most important works of the last century. The other murals in the church are equally fascinating and contain some haunting depictions of hell and the seven deadly sins.

Angers

On a French camping holiday in the Loire Valley, you should take some time to visit the unique tapestries located in Angers Cathedral. This cathedral is a mixture of Romanesque and Gothic architecture and was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. The famous tapestries were designed by Jean Bondol, based on an illuminated manuscript. Eleven of these manuscripts still hang on the cathedral walls, whilst hundreds of tapestries are stocked elsewhere in the cathedral.

Author Resource:-> Lorraine Waddell is the brand and advertising manager of Canvas Holidays, a leading European camping operator that provides the best selection of holidays (http://www.canvasholidays.co.uk/destinations/france-604-0.aspx) camping in France. With over 40 years of experience, Canvas offer superb camping

Article From The Article Depot