Autumn 2023

FREE
The
Good Life France
ISSUE Nọ 35
ISSN 2754-6799
A real-life
sleeping
beauty castle
Ten years after an Australian
family were inspired to bring
the abandoned Chateau de
Gudanes back to life – it’s
utterly glorious
The Armada sails
Ships ahoy in the
historic city of Rouen
Spotlight on
Saint Malo, Brittany
Swashbuckling adventure,
romantic walks, and
scrumptious Breton fare
Autumn
IN PROVENCE
Magazine
Discover wine
and food paradise
in Burgundy…
Explore stunning alpine Ariège,
historic Picardy, charming Pasde-Calais,
and more…
Delicious recipes
Bringing you an irresistible
taste of France – including
the most mouth-watering,
moreish French onion soup
124 pages
of inspirational
features and
gorgeous photos

Bienvenue
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Bonjour and bienvenue to The Good Life France Magazine.
I am delighted to share the Autumn issue of the magazine with
you – chock full of fantastic features and fabulous photos, inspiring
destination guides, scrumptious recipes, history, culture and much,
much more.
This is a particularly delicious issue as we wind our way through the
vineyards of Burgundy along the famed route of the Vallée de la
Gastronomie, eat some of the best chocolate in the world in the town
of Valrhona in southern France, and shine a light on Tournus, a hidden
gem that’s a gastronomic destination extraordinaire. Plus we have
some utterly irresistible recipes for you including for a classic and totally
mouth-watering French Onion soup that will knock your socks off!
We catch up with an Australian family who fell in love with the
abandoned Chateau de Gudanes at the foot of the Pyrénées
mountains near Toulouse after they saw it advertised for sale on the
internet. We take a look at their ten years of renovation – and it’s
breath-taking, truly gorgeous.
Explore the swashbuckling seaside city of Saint-Malo in Brittany,
and alpine Ariège, a land of tree-covered mountains overhung with
chocolate-box-lid-pretty medieval villages. Visit the perfect place to
spend autumn in France – the Rhone Valley in Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes.
Footwear fans beware, coming up is a shoe museum the like of which
exists nowhere else in the world. Seriously - shoe heaven.
Find out why an Armada of tall ships regularly floats into the ancient
city of Rouen, discover the bucolic countryside and seaside charms
of Pas-de-Calais (my part of France) in the far north, pop to sunny
Bordeaux, historic Picardy, and lovely Languedoc Roussillon.
Discover the historic bell-makers of Normandy, traditional mat-making
in Provence, ogle a unique exhibition of French couturier Yves Saint
Laurent’s most incredible designs, plus find out how French chef
Escoffier changed the course of culinary history in France. And more…
I hope I’ve tempted you to flip the pages and that you’ll find this issue
an entertaining, informational, and inspiring read.
This magazine is totally free to read, and subscribe to, just hop on to
page 4 and sign up! And please do share this issue with your friends –
that’s free too.
I wish you a very happy autumn, bisous from my little corner in rural
northern France,
Janine
Janine Marsh
Editor
Follow us on Twitter,
Instagram & Facebook
The Good Life France | 3

ISSN 2754-6799
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CONTENTS
The Good Life France Magazine
No. 35 Summer 2023
ISSN 2754-6799
Contributors
Gillian Thornton is an
award-winning travel
writer and member
of the British Guild
of Travel Writers,
specialising in French
destinations and
lifestyle. Her favourite
place? ‘Usually where I
have just been!’
The magazine is free to read, download and share
Ally Mitchell is a
blogger and freelance
writer, specialising in
food and recipes. Ally
left the UK to live in
Toulouse in 2021 and
now writes about her
new life in France on
her food blog
NigellaEatsEverything
Jeremy Flint is an awardwinning
professional
photographer and
writer specialising in
travel, landscape and
location photography.
Published in multiple
publications, his awards
include Association of
Photographers Discovery
Award Winner, National
Geographic Traveller
Grand Prize Winner, and
five-times finalist Travel
Photographer of the Year.
Love France?
Subscribe to our lively and fun
podcast – everything you want
to know about France and
more – click the button:
NEWSLETTER
Podcast
Want more France?
Subscribe to The Good Life
France weekly newsletter for
fabulous features, recipes and
more.
SUBSCRIBE
34
8
ON THE COVER
8 The Chateau de Gudanes,
Pyrénées
The incredible story of an
abandoned sleeping beauty
castle bought back to life by a
determined Australian family.
18 Spotlight on the Drôme and
the Loire departments
The unspoiled, unknown and
surprising part of southern
France.
28 Ariège – the land that
time forgot
Discover the stunning region that’s
unknown even to the French.
34 Le weekend in: Pas de Calais
Explore an authentic,
picturesque, and welcoming
corner between the sea and
the land.
The
Good Life France
ISSUE Nọ 35
A real-life
sleeping
beauty castle
Ten years after an Australian
family were inspired to bring
the abandoned Chateau de
Gudanes back to life – it’s
utterly glorious
The Armada sails
Ships ahoy in the
historic city of Rouen
Spotlight on
Saint Malo, Brittany
Swashbuckling adventure,
romantic walks, and
scrumptious Breton fare
Autumn
IN PROVENCE
Discover wine
and food paradise
in Burgundy…
Explore stunning alpine Ariège,
historic Picardy, charming Pasde-Calais,
and more…
Delicious recipes
Bringing you an irresistible
taste of France – including
the most mouth-watering,
moreish French onion soup
Magazine
FREE
124 pages
of inspirational
features and
gorgeous photos
The Good Life France Magazine
Front Cover: Eiffel Tower, Paris
Editor-in-chief: Janine Marsh
Editorial assistant: Trudy Watkins
Press enquiries: editor (at) the Good Life France.com
Advertising: sales (at) the Good Life France.com
Digital support: websitesthatwork.com
Layout design: Philippa French littlefrogdesign.co.uk
ISSN 2754-6799 Issue 35 Autumn 2023
42
DISCOVER
42 The Grape Escape, Provence
Witness the timeless tradition
of the vendange, the grape
harvest, in Provence.
48 A tasty trek through the north
of France
Follow the route of the delicious
Vallée de la Gastronomie through
Burgundy and Beaujolais.
4 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 5

56
56 Rouen Armada
Find out why once in a while,
tons of tall ships float into the
historic city of Rouen.
62 Normandy Bells
A visit to one of the last two
ancient bell foundries left in
France.
66 Transparent Yves Saint
Laurent
Haute couture is part of the
fabric of France – and a
unique exhibition of Yves Saint
Laurent’s work reveals all.
72 Secret France: Tournus
Historic, gastronomic and
picturesque, the small town in
Burgundy that has it all!
94
GUIDES
100 French language
Looking to learn French?
Immersion in France might be
just right for you.
102 Prestige Property Show
Dreaming of buying a property
in, or living in France? Don’t miss
the brilliant Property and Lifestyle
Show in Southampton in October.
106 Good vibes in Bordeaux
Sunny, vibrant Bordeaux city
offers a laid-back lifestyle within
easy reach of glorious coastal
towns and beautiful countryside
with excellent transport links.
110 Applying for a visa for France?
Make sure you tick all the right
boxes for success.
72
78 Saint Malo, Brittany
Swashbuckling adventure,
romantic walks, and delicious
Breton fare - soak up the
maritime atmosphere of
Saint-Malo.
90 Compiègne, Picardy
Gateway to one of the largest
national forests in France,
Compiègne in Hauts de France
is full of nice surprises.
PHOTO SPECIALS
94 Your photos
Featuring the most beautiful
photos shared on our
Facebook page.
106
BON APPÉTIT
84 A taste of France: Auguste
Escoffier
A look at the life of one of
France’s greatest culinary artists.
115 French Onion Soup
A real taste of France in a bowl,
this classic dish is absolutely
scrumptious.
116 Mussel Mouclade
Mouth-watering mussel dish that’s
a speciality of Poitou-Charentes,
southwest France.
118 Pork & Ginger Crepinettes
A delicious dish from the famed
French Ferrandi School of
Culinary Arts.
78
REGULARS
96 What’s New
All the news and events you need
for your next trip to France.
122 Last word
Life in Rural France – finding
art de vivre.
115
120 Perfect Plum Tart
Recipe for Mirabelle plum tart, but
any plums will work – delicious!
4 Subscribe to The Good Life
France Magazine
Everything you want to know
about France and more -
subscription is totally free.
6 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 7

In 2010, Karina and Craig Waters flew from
their hometown of Perth in Australia to Paris,
picked up a hire car and drove to a tiny village
called Chateau Verdun in Ariège. They had
dreamed of buying a little French cottage,
something that they could visit for holidays
each year, a lock-up and go home, easy to care
for. Browsing the internet for properties one
day, their 14-year old son came across a murky
photo of a somewhat dishevelled chateau with
a majestic mountain backdrop, and something
about it made him tell his mum – and despite
it looking a bit run down, something about it
made her want to see it for herself.
A love heart seals the deal
It wasn’t what she had in mind, but it pulled
at her heart strings. However, when Karina, a
former accountant, and Craig, now a retired
surgeon, stopped at the gates to the Chateau
de Gudanes and peered through the overgrown
garden it was a shock. The murky photos hadn’t
done the decay justice.
“We couldn’t get past the first few rooms,
there was so much rubble everywhere” says
Karina. And yet they both fell in love with the
castle there and then. “I can even pinpoint the
moment it happened. In what is now the Rose
Salon, amidst the tons of rubble we could see a
red marble fireplace, and on the corner was an
engraved heart. In that moment” says Karina
“we felt that so much love had gone into this
place, we wanted to give it back its heart.”
The fairy tale
Château de Gudanes
Once upon a time, a beautiful castle in the far south of France was unloved
and forgotten. Until someone came along and woke the sleeping beauty.
Janine Marsh visits the castle ten years on…
The Rose Salon the heart of the castle
Ten years of renovation
The Château turned out to be a Class 1 Listed
Historic Monument which made just about
everything a challenge. Buying it took three
years. Getting permission to do anything from
clearing the rubble to repairing the floors
can take years – and very little can be done
without permission from several authorities.
But Karina was determined to bring this
beautiful castle back to life. Since 2013, when
8 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 9

she became its “caretaker”, she has taken
on the monumental task of restoring the
neglected rooms and the gorgeous gardens to
their former glory.
“The first job was clearing out the tons of
rubble. The roof had fallen in, trees were
growing out of the top.” But even getting
it cleared wasn’t easy. “Most renovation
teams took one look at the job and ran.” But
eventually it got done, and it was only as the
rooms started to be cleared that the couple
discovered that some rooms had medieval
beams and quite a lot of the Renaissance
décor was salvageable. Karina was hooked.
There was no going back now. Her role was
going to be much more involved than she’d
ever imagined.
For the first couple of years Karina worked
alone, overseeing every element of the
restoration, spending half her time back home
in Perth with her family and half in France,
before her daughter Jas, joined her. “I came
out for a holiday one year, and there was
The Rose Salon
mum, sleeping in a tent, wrapped up in layers
of clothes trying to keep dry and warm. I
realised that she needed help, that this wasn’t
an indulgence, it isn’t a trophy or a hobby, it’s
a vocation and it’s not just about creating a
home, but it’s about preserving, restoring -
saving the castle and its extraordinary history
for the future. In the walls are memories and
love, and our memories and love for the last
ten years are there now.”
And for all who visit, a little of their hearts are
left there too – including mine.
Because ten years on, the Château de
Gudanes is transformed. Karina and Jas host
workshops for visitors to come and experience
the castle lifestyle, discover its history, eat the
most amazing food, and explore the gorgeous
local area.
LE MOULIN
SUR CÉLÉ
An enchanting luxurious riverside retreat in the beautiful Célé Valley
Experience la France Profonde
www.lemoulinsurcele.com
Karina
10 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 11

A decade of love and
renovation
I’ve followed the fascinating story of the
restoration of the Château de Gudanes for
ten years now, since a French friend who
lives in Ariège emailed me about “a crazy
Australian lady who is trying to restore a
castle, an epic task, but oh you should see
the castle – it’s dazzling.” I contacted Karina
and she agreed that I could share her story. It
quickly became clear just how incredible her
lifelong goal to restore the building was. The
story went viral, capturing the imaginations
of millions, and Karina
has won a legion of fans
who follow the castle’s
journey via her Instagram
page, a best-selling
book and her website:
Châteaugudanes.com
You can hear my
interview with Karina on The Good Life
France podcast
And when Karina got permission to run
workshops for paying guests, I was thrilled to
be able to see the castle for real.
The utterly gorgeous
Château de Gudanes
Driving up to the now world-famous approach
to the Château de Gudanes, we entered
through the grand front doors on a rather
gloomy day, clouds hung low, almost caressing
the roof and towers of the castle. Edith Piaf’s
haunting voice rang out “Je ne regrette rien.” I
had goosebumps.
The original castle that stood here dates to
the 13th century but much of it was rebuilt
between 1741 and 1750 by Ange-Jacques
Gabriel, architect to King Louis XIV (his
creations include the Petit Trianon at Versailles
and the Bourse in Bordeaux). The owner of the
The hall
“If you have ever
considered culinary
tourism, Goût et Voyage
will be the trip of your
dreams. Excellence
at every turn!”
DS, NY
castle one Louis Gaspard de Salles, Marquis
de Gudanes, head of Toulouse Parliament,
nicknamed the "King of the Pyrenees"
because he had an enormous fortune from
his ownership of iron mines in Ariège, was
responsible for its beauty. ‘I like to think that
the Marquis was walking along the corridors of
Versailles and bumped into Gabriel and said
to him ‘hey can you come and soup up my
grandfather’s medieval castle’ and that’s how
he came on board and turned it from a rather
dour building to a pleasure palace of beauty
and elegance.”
The castle’s fortunes after the French
Revolution were never so good. Sold on
several times, it became a school camp
in the 1950s, was bought by a business
conglomerate and then became the Waters
family home.
The castle had 94 rooms, and all were in a
bad way. In the music room, giant mushrooms
were growing up the walls on which real 18
carat gold leaf had once been used to gild
A Taste of Provence. © Exquisite, all-inclusive, small group tours.
www.goutetvoyage.com
12 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 13

In the village of Château-Verdun
I felt as if I’d stepped into a time tunnel and
was wandering the corridors of the past.
Jas (who studied art history) and Karina have
done a huge amount of research to bring the
castle back to its most authentic self. They’ve
worked with French experts from Versailles,
historic authorities, and with teams of experts
from around the world to help and guide them,
restoring the medieval beams, preserving the
gilding, the frescoes, wooden panels, marble
fireplaces and other historic features. A local
plasterer in his 80s came out of retirement to
help them as the skills needed are no longer
commonly known. Guests are encouraged
to join in the supervised restoration in one of
the dining rooms where you can help with the
painstaking work of restoring the 18th century
wall frescoes – it’s a fascinating experience.
Chestnut the cat
the sculpted panels and carvings that
represented the Sun King, Louis XIV -
Gaspard de Salles had spared no expense.
Algae from the damp conditions caused by
the roof caving in had spread everywhere.
Fireplaces were hanging off the walls and
floors had collapsed.
Now those rooms are coming back to life.
Through the windows, though it was the
middle of spring, the snow glistened on the
peaks of the mountains. Clouds hung low
almost blanketing the windows. The sound of
a waterfall can be heard.
Bruce showing the way
Jas
14 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 15

The bedrooms are exquisite, think antique
beds, chandeliers, and antique furnishings.
In the hall an impressive chandelier gives off
a candlelit glow that makes you sigh it’s so
gorgeous. In the cellars, where in the 13th
century, Cathars hid from their oppressors,
there are rooms that are yet to be explored.
“When you stay here you become a part of
the family” says Karina. The close-knit team
includes top pastry chef Jennifer Pogmore
and chef Tracey Valentinawood who produce
the most fabulous feasts. The team love to
share their favourite places, so you get to see
a little of the area like Camon, officially one of
the prettiest villages in France and medieval
Mirepoix. Villages here, including Chateau
Verdun, have an alpine flavour. Though
the area is rather secret, those in the know
come for the rejuvenating mountain waters.
Prehistoric remains are not rare. Jagged
mountains and verdant valleys, castles and
forests make you feel as if you’re entering
Game of Thrones territory - it is a dramatic
and majestic landscape. Plus, the area is a
treasure chest of antique shopping and Karina
shares her favourite antique spots with guests.
But always, it’s the Château de Gudanes
that’s the star. “It’s in my soul” says Karina.
“I’m surrounded by the most beautiful nature,
and the house is full of happy animals. The
castle has an atmosphere that you can’t
explain in words. There is a life in the building,
in the foundations and the walls. It’s love
made visible.”
Head to the Château de Gudanes website
where you can book your workshop stay:
Châteaugudanes.com
Jennifer making crepes for breakfast at the château
16 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 17

SPOTLIGHT ON:
Drôme and Loire
The Unspoiled, unknown part
of southern France
Janine Marsh explores the culture and
the art of living in the southern French
regions of Drôme and Loire in Auvergne-
Rhône-Alpes…
I’m not sure that you’ll find a much more diverse
region than Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Within its
12 departments and 1 metropolis, it includes
Lyon, the food capital of France, the snowy
peaks of Mont Blanc, Drôme and Ardèche,
parts of which feel like a more tranquil and
rather nostalgic part of Provence, and then
there are the lakes and volcanoes of Auvergne.
You could spend many months in this vast area
getting to know it and discovering its many
charms, fabulous gastronomy and wines, its
history and culture, chateaux and medieval
villages. But who has months? Not many of
us, so how about a road trip through two of its
most surprising and diverse departments – the
Drôme and the Loire - nothing to do with the
Loire valley though it is named after the River
Loire, the last wild river in Europe, which runs
1006km from Ardèche via the Loire Valley to
the Atlantic Ocean. You could actually drive
the entire route I’ve mapped out in 3 and a
half hours, but if you do it over a few days
or a week, you’ll discover some of the most
incredible parts of the region which gives you
a snapshot of its surprising and astonishing
natural diversity, culture, history, and a
delicious taste of its gastronomic delights…
Valence – gastronomic star
Just a couple of hours by train from Paris
brings you to the city of Valence perched on
the banks of the Rhône river. The capital of
the Drôme department and gateway to the
south of France, Valence is within reach of the
Pre-Alps, the hilly mountainous area between
the Swiss plateau and northern side of the
French Alps, and the Vercors Massif which you
can clearly see from the city’s Esplanade du
Champ du Mars park.
Head into the city centre to wander winding
cobbled streets lined with a melting pot of
Wallpaper room, Valence museum
architectural styles, and discover the history,
culture and cuisine. Don’t miss the Museum of
Valence, a former Bishop’s palace, which hosts
an eclectic collection of artworks including
a stunning early 19th century wallpapered
room – the most complete example in France.
Then head to the rooftop for jaw-dropping
views over the city and river. Transformed into
a viewing point by French architect Jean-Paul
Philippon who also oversaw the design of the
Musée d’Orsay in Paris, it’s fabulous.
“It’s a human-sized town” said guide Stephan
as he led me along medieval flower-filled
cobbled streets pointing out some of the more
unusual features. The Maison des Têtes (House
of the heads) for instance, an incredible 16th
century building, covered in carved heads.
There are ancient chapels and churches, a
statue of Napoleon, not as we usually see
him, but as a 16-year-old student reading a
book – the Emperor was once a lieutenant at
Valence artillery school and in fact stayed at
the Maison des Têtes. And don’t miss lovely
Place Saint-Jean, where a market is held on
Tuesdays, a great place to relax with a glass of
wine at one of the many cafés and bars.
18 Chateau | The de Good la Roche Life © France G Reynard, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Tourism
The Good Life France | 19

Laboutin glass slippers
Azincourt1415.com
24 Rue Charles VI
62310 Azincourt
Step back in time
and discover the past at
Azincourt 1415 historic centre
Valence is a bit of a
gastronomic delight
and is home to chef
Suisse and Pogne Anne-Sophie Pic, whose
restaurants have a total
of 10 Michelin Stars, Maison Pic in Valence
has three stars. Her presence here has brought
more top chefs to the area, so that you’re truly
spoiled for choice when it comes to eating out.
You can’t help noticing that boulangeries and
patisseries all have small dough figures in the
windows. Known as a “Suisse” (Swiss), these
orange blossom flavoured biscuity-brioche cakes
are a speciality of the area and were created in
honour of the Swiss Guard of Pope Pius VI who
died in Valence in 1789. You’ll also see pogne,
a local brioche cake, in every boulangerie in
Valence and across the whole department in
various guises, flavoured with orange blossom
and sometimes bright pink praline.
Don’t miss:
Take a wine tasting at: Les Bouteilles
with the knowledgeable and affable Eric
(who recommends a sweet white to go
with the Suisse!).
Aperitifs at: La Bastille, (19 Grande Rue), a
favourite with the locals who stop off here
while picking up some Armenian food from the
takeaway opposite.
Locals love: Chez Grand-Mere (3-5 Pl. de la
Pierre), famous for the 7-hour slow-cooked
lamb and cosy ambiance.
Stay at: Le Clos Syrah 4* hotel which has a
fabulous gourmet restaurant.
Romans-sur-Isère –
shoe heaven
20km from Valence will bring you to the
former industrial town of Romans-sur-Isere
where the no. 1 place to go is the Shoe
Museum. And I know what you’re thinking
because I did too. A shoe museum? That
doesn’t sound like a good idea. But I assure
you, you are in for a surprise, it’s fascinating!
The museum is in a 17th century former
monastery - and prepare to be amazed.
Romans-sur-Isère was once famous for
its wool and silk industries, but in the 19th
century the local economy tanked when the
silk production industry ended. In its place
the luxury leather and footwear industry
developed, and it was a huge success. You’ll
spot giant shoe sculpture dotted around
the town in homage to the heritage of shoe
production here.
20 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 21

After your visit, hot foot it to the Comptoir des
Loges, the oldest restaurant in town. It has a
zinc counter and glistening bar which looks
like they’ve been lifted straight out of a Renoir
painting. Try ravioles du Dauphiné – a cheese
and parsley-filled pasta speciality loved by the
locals since the 15th century when the recipe
was introduced by Italian charcoal burners
working in the area.
Shoes fit for a queen
The museum showcases the history of
footwear, and the collection of 20,000 shoes
is astounding (though not all are on show),
ranging from ancient Egyptian and Roman
sandals to eye-wateringly high 49cm high
platformed shoes from medieval Venice,
Queen Catherine de Medici’s silk shoes,
legendary French footballer Kylian Mbappé’s
unique football boots and Laboutin’s delicate
glass slippers made for the release of the 2012
Disney Cinderella film, plus a regal pair of
sexy stilettos created for the Golden Jubilee
of British Queen Elizabeth II. Made by Patrick
Cox, a pair were sent to the Queen though
she never wore them as far as is known. The
collection is fascinating, surprisingly fun, and
even quite emotional seeing shoes of the type
your mum wore, or that you wore through the
decades that bring back memories, the Dr
Martens loved by punk rockers and rebels in
the 70’s, and shoes that make you think of
Princess Diana.
The collection charts the changes in fashion
and is full of fascinating facts. Details:
museedelachaussure.fr
Romans-sur-Isère has another claim to
fame – its where the first strike was held.
When shoe company owners upgraded their
factory and machinery, they cut the women
workers wages by 25% to help pay for the
cost. All of the workers went on strike - and
won. It gave the locals a reputation for being
strong willed that has lasted to this day. I can
tell you that they may well be that, but they
Bernard, the 'wizard of shoe making' at Cité de la chaussure
are also very friendly and welcoming and
have an ethos of solidarity.
This is totally reflected in the town’s other
must-visit – the Cité de la Chaussure. Alas
the shoe industry here followed the pattern of
the wool and silk industries; cheaper imports
bought an end to the shoe industry here.
But a local group aiming to create new jobs
and preserve the shoe heritage bought up
old machinery, trained artisan shoemakers
and now create shoes that are unique and
fabulous. Don’t leave without a visit to see the
shoes being made and the fabulous onsite
store where you can buy shoes, leather goods,
and the most gorgeous umbrellas.
Comptoir des Loges
Then walk off the calories at the gorgeous
gardens of Erik Boraja just 10km from Romans.
This Japanese and Mediterranean inspired
garden located between the Isère valley and
the Vercors massif is astonishingly beautiful
and a zen paradise.
Art of chocolate at Valrhona
Tain-L’Hermitage – wine
AND chocolate!
A short journey south will bring you to the town
of Tain-L’Hermitage, named, according to
legend, after a French knight called Gaspard
de Stérimberg, who on returning from the
Crusades in 1224, decided to live the life of
a hermit on a local hill. He built a chapel on
the site of a former Roman temple, which he
called the Hermitage. There is still a chapel
there, though it dates to the mid-1800s, and
you can visit it via a 30-minute walk/climb
from the town.
Well the good lord must have smiled down on
the town because the hills are covered with
luscious vines that make the most delicious
wines. And within stone throwing distance is
Erik Boraja jardin zen
the Cite du Chocolat Valrhona where you can
learn about the whole bean to bar process
– did you know that there are sommeliers of
chocolate? (I want that job). And even better
– you’ll enjoy a chocolate tasting. Just across
the road, follow this up with a wine tasting
at M. Chapoutier and visit their vineyards
on that legendary hill. Harvesting is done by
hand here and it’s easy to see why – you need
to be part mountain-goat to pick grapes on
those slopes!
22 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 23

Pilat Natural Regional
Park
It’s a short journey to the Pilat Natural
Regional Park, an unspoiled area of
outstanding natural beauty where wines grow,
and mountains seem to reach the sky.
Palais Ideale du factor Cheval, Hauterives
Hauterives – a palace built
from pebbles
You can’t go to this area and not visit the
absolutely unique Palais Ideale du Factor
Cheval – a palace built from pebbles by
a postman at the end of the 19th century.
It’s an awe-inspiring accomplishment by
a determined self-taught architect who
collected stones as he delivered the post,
and a fascinating masterpiece of naive art.
Read more about this incredible palace in our
Spring magazine
Make a food stop at: L’Escale restaurant
in the pretty village of Roisey in the heart
of the park where locals go for a glass of
their favourite wine, St Joseph Blanc and to
indulge in home cooked, traditional dishes
as they’ve been made for hundreds of years,
lentils, robust sausages, rich sauces and food
that makes your heart sing and your stomach
stretch. Don’t worry about that – you can
walk it off easily here, this is country made
for hiking or for more gentle walks through
picturesque villages like Malleval. In winter
you can ski here and it’s quite astonishing
to realise you’re only an hour from the city
of Lyon by car – it feels other worldly and
isolated, utterly beautiful.
Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez ©ADT42 Masson
In the foothills of the Pilat Massif, stop off
at the historic Plus Beaux Village (a label
awarded to the prettiest villages in France)
of Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez to discover how a
former 13th century charterhouse has been
turned into a housing commune. Sold off
during the French Revolution, the monastery,
built in 1280, now consists of 44 homes. The
tourist office is housed in what was once the
monastery boulangerie, and there’s even
a school on site. Some of the buildings are
kept empty and preserved, in one there is a
beautiful fresco created in 1334, and there are
15th century stalls in the church. Like much of
the region – it’s an enchanting surprise.
Chartreuse, the charterhouse at Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez
Dine and stay at: Hotel and restaurant Elcosion
on the outskirts of Saint-Etienne. Honestly
some of the best food I’ve ever tasted. Refined,
innovative, and utterly divine dishes by the
young, rising star chef, followed by sweet
dreams in the luxurious rooms of a small
château.
The future is in Saint-
Étienne
Pilat where the vines grow on steep slopes
Saint-Étienne, the capital of the Loire
department, is a city of contrasts, cultural
24 | The Good Life France Malleval
The Good Life France | 25

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There are several excellent museums and
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housed in a former weapons factory, where
you can sit in an Apollo spacecraft-like pod
to discover how films might be viewed in
the future – with a 360-degree screen. And
climb the 32m high lookout tower at the
museum for a view over the city.
Saint-Étienne is the premier site for the
designs of Le Corbusier (whose work is
UNESCO World Heritage listed) including
a church and sports complex. I have to
confess, I never really got why Le Corbusier
was seen as an essential theoretical and
artistic reference for 20th and 21st century
architecture and the modern movement,
until I saw what he had designed in this
innovative city. From the outside, his
apartment blocks can look rather concrete
jungle, but take a tour of the Firminy Vert
housing site to discover just how much of a
pioneer of modern architecture he was. The
apartments have huge picture windows, to
create good vibes and open up the space,
and there are wide, long corridors which
acted as indoor play areas for kids who
could ride their bikes and play in them. In
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26 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 27

ARIÈGE – the land
that time forgot
changed,’ she asks, upping her volume so we
can hear the echo. ‘Our ancestors couldn’t see
very far with their flaming torches, but they
would have sensed that they’d come to a high
cavern. Now … keep your lights off, but look
towards me.’
Suddenly she turns her own lamp back on,
the beam pointed at the floor, and I blink in
the brightness. But as the light moves up the
wall, my eyes open wide. Galloping across the
rocky contours are horses, bison, and ibex,
each one so skilfully outlined that I half expect
them to canter off into the darkness with a
snort and a shake of the head. No wonder
we’ve been told not to touch the walls.
For these are not replicas, but the real deal,
painted 14,000 years ago by Cro-Magnon
man here in the ‘Salon Noir’ of the Grotte de
Niaux. The cave is open throughout the year,
but numbers are closely regulated to preserve
the environment, so pre-booking is essential at
sites-touristiques-ariege.fr.
The Grotte de Niaux is a highlight of any visit
to the department of Ariège in the Occitanie
region. Today it is one of the most rural
departments in France with a population of
barely 153,000. But whilst Ariège may not
seem crowded now, in prehistoric times the
limestone cliffs near the river were positively
buzzing. Along with Lot and Dordogne, Ariège
is one of the three most important departments
in France for prehistoric sites. Not just Niaux
but a number of sites including the Mas d’Azil,
today a drive-through cave but once a refuge
for rhinoceros, mammoths and men, although
not, one assumes, at the same time.
Foix, the county town of Ariège, is less than
100km from Toulouse airport and just 80 from
Carcassonne, and yet many Francophiles
have never heard of it. But if you like stunning
landscapes and ancient history, character
small towns and time-honoured traditions, put
Ariège high on your To Do list.
My face-to-face with the region’s extinct
wildlife took place just outside the small
town of Tarascon-sur-Ariège. Here the Parc
de la Préhistoire is the perfect complement
to the cave at Niaux with its interactive
exhibits and demonstrations. And for anyone
who doesn’t do dark caves, a replica of the
paintings at Niaux brings that Magdalanian
magic vividly to life, with the added bonus of
artwork found in galleries not often on show
to the general public.
Mirepoix © Stéphane Meurisse, Tourisme Ariege Pyrenees
Nestled beneath the snow-covered peaks of the Pyrenees, Ariège is a department
relatively unknown even by the French says Gillian Thornton as she explores its
many treasures…
Peintures Niaux © Stéphane Meurisse, Ariege Pyrenees Tourisme
Standing in pitch darkness deep inside a
mountain, I’m not sure what to expect next.
A few minutes ago I was in the bright sunshine
of the Ariège valley, now I’m inside a cave with
only a hand-held lamp to light the way through
a gloomy cavern. There are no stalagmites, no
stalactites, in fact not very much of anything
as we walk along the dry riverbed. And the
guide has told our small group to turn off the
flashlights. The blackness is absolute and it’s
strangely disorienting.
‘Can you hear how the acoustics have
Tarascon-sur-Ariege
28 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 29

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Chateau Montsegur © Oscar Rodbag, Ariege Pyrenees Tourisme
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Just 20 km away in the centre of the
department, Foix oozes atmosphere,
dominated by a medieval hilltop castle owned
by the powerful Counts of Foix. In the early
16th century, they became kings of Navarre,
the last of whom – Henri III – went on to scoop
the top job as Henri IV of France. Tour the
restored rooms, visit the interactive museum,
and walk the ramparts for a taste of medieval
power and politics.
If you’re feeling adventurous, experience
power struggles of a different kind at
Montségur, 35 minutes’ drive from Foix.
This hilltop castle was the last outpost of the
Cathars, a strict religious movement which
gathered much support in south-west France
during the early 13th century amongst people
weary of the corrupt Catholic Church. The
Cathars shunned material possessions but
took refuge from the Papal armies led by
Simon de Montfort in strongholds such as
Montségur and nearby Roquefixade.
The Cathars last stand came in 1244 after a
10-month siege at Montségur. The occupants
were given two weeks to renounce their
faith, but more than 200 refused and were
burnt alive at the foot of the hill. The steep
150-metre climb is not for the faint-hearted
but offers spectacular views across peaks and
valleys to the plains beyond.
Mirepoix market
North of Montségur, the bastide town of
Mirepoix is a must-see for its central square
surrounded by open wooden galleries or
couverts. Soak up the colourful half-timbered
facades and explore the straight streets
radiating out from the square. Don’t miss
the carved wooden heads on La Maison des
Consuls, once the council chamber and now
a stylish hotel. tourisme-mirepoix.com. Nor
St Maurice Cathedral behind the 19th century
covered market which boasts the widest nave
in France and the second widest in Europe
after Gerona in Spain – a graphic illustration
of how new Catholic churches were built to
accommodate the maximum number of souls
in a vigorous recruiting drive after the fall of
the Cathars.
30 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 31

Camon © Stéphane Meurisse ,Tourisme Ariege Pyrenees
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Voie verte Camon © Charles Ripon, Ariege Pyrenees Tourisme
Mirepoix and the fortified community of
Camon – listed amongst Les Plus Beaux
Villages – stand on the flat land in the eastern
part of the department, but head west and the
landscape soon becomes increasingly craggy.
For dramatic views and deep gorges, take the
scenic route from Tarascon-sur-Ariège to the
market town of Saint-Girons and neighbouring
Saint-Lizier with its Romanesque cloister
and narrow cobbled lanes, a stop-off on the
Santiago de Compostela routes.
Here in the heart of the Regional Natural Park
of the Ariège Pyrenees, you can see black
Mérens horses, a small sure-footed local
breed ideally suited to the mountain terrain.
Once close to extinction, the Mérens has
been saved in recent years, largely thanks to
enthusiasts like Jean-Louis Savignol at the
Haras Picard du Saint in Lasserre, which offers
both riding excursions and accommodation
merens-ariege.com
Cro-Magnon man was moved to paint the
forbears of today’s Mérens horses on the walls
at Niaux. See them for yourself and you could
find yourself reaching for a paint brush too.
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32 | The Good Life France The Good Life France Cassis | 33

LE WEEKEND in:
Pas de Calais
Cap Blanc-Nez © lescoflocs
Take a break in northern France this autumn and discover an authentic,
picturesque, and welcoming corner between the sea and the land says
Janine Marsh…
The department of Pas de Calais in the north
of France is a land of contrasts. The unspoiled
Opal Coast stretches for 75 miles, a shoreline
of demerara sugar-coloured sandy beaches
and dramatic cliffs, Belle-Epoque seaside
resorts and flourishing fishing villages. Inland,
the pastoral countryside is peppered with
picturesque villages and historic towns. In
Saint-Omer just 30 minutes from Calais, is
France’s last cultivated wetland, a UNESCOlisted
biosphere, a haven for wildlife and the
only place in France where post is delivered to
the island homes by boat!
There’s just so much to see and do - and I
should know, I live here! But allow me to save
you time, here are just a few favourites:
Fabulous for Families
Follow the route of the Opal Coast and you’ll
discover traditional little seaside villages
Dune, Slack © Eric Desaunois - Département du Pas-de-Calais
where kids can dash up and down sand dunes,
paddle and pootle about in rock pools, and fly
kites on the boundless breezy beaches. The
perfect outing for waterproof children and
patient parents.
At the Tour de la Horloge Museum in Guines,
discover the history of the area from the
Vikings to the Field of the Cloth of Gold in
1520 when King Henry VIII visited and jousted
with the King of France. Kids can dress up like
a Viking or a knight, play games and board a
Viking ship!
Goggle at a dragon in Calais! Yes really. A firebreathing,
eye-lid batting, 72-tonne dragon
roams the historic sites of Calais several times
34 | The Good Life France
The Good Life France | 35

a day and lives in a glass lair on the beach. Take
a 45-minute ride on the dragon’s back (kids
under 3 go free). Compagniedudragon.com
Nirvana for nature lovers
This area is great for wandering or cycling.
Meander the coastal paths of the GR120
alongside dunes and sandy beaches, or head
inland to discover unspoiled countryside crisscrossed
by a network of thousands of miles of
maintained and sign posted routes. Pop into
any local tourist office for details and maps
and look or for the Vélo © sign which flags up
bike-friendly restaurants, accommodation,
charging points, rental, and repair shops.
At the seaside resort of Berck-sur-Mer, head
down to the water’s edge on the south side of
the beach on the Baie d’Authie, to see a huge
colony of more than 100 wild seals splashing
about in the water, lazing about on the
sandbanks, and calling out to each other.
Cosy up under a blanket on the hills of the Deux
Caps, the Two Cliffs, which overlook the White
Cliffs of Dover and enjoy a picnic. Nothing says
France more than a baguette with a chunk of
cheese or some tasty charcuterie with a glass
of wine – or a flask of coffee.
Uncover the ancient history of the marshes
of Saint Omer at the Maison du Marais
interpretive centre. First dug out by monks in
the 7th century, there’s still a thriving market
garden in this horticultural wonderland. You
can tour the marshes by boat (O’Marais by
Equihen, Opal Coast, © Fabien Coisy
Seals at Berck-sur-Mer
Saint-Omer
Maroilles, stinky and delicious!
Isnor), discover the traditional wooden boat
makers, they are also the last to make boats
using Viking methods in France, and spot a
wealth of waterfowl and other wild creatures.
Fabulous for Foodies
Chocoholics will love the Beussent Chocolate
workshop. Take a 45-minute tour (in French
and English) to witness the magical bean to
bar chocolate process.
Sweet dreams are made of cheese! Try the
local fromages - from the King of pongy
cheeses Vieux Boulogne, to stinky but
scrumptious Maroilles. You’ll find plenty of
bistros and estaminets (traditional Flemish
inns) serving mussels and chips and local
dishes like beef stew cooked with locally
produced sugar and beer and a regional
regional favourite – Le Welsh. Legend has
it that Welsh soldiers introduced the Welsh
rarebit during Henry VIII’s siege of Boulogne
in 1544.
Beer – the Champagne of northern France!
They’ve made beer for centuries here and
there is a thriving microbrewery scene. At
Brasserie La Brèche in Bethune, try the craft
ales made with passion and at Chez Marcel
in Arras, meet with a ‘beerologist’ and enjoy a
tasting session.
Wander a market – you’ll find some of the
best here and there are markets every day of
the week. On Friday head to Etaples voted
best market in France in 2021. On Saturday
there are excellent markets in Montreuil-sur-
Mer, Saint-Omer, and the Sunday market in
Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Historic Cities and
Cultural hotspots
Meet the Greeters – discover the secret
hotspots only the locals know about. The
greeter system operates across the region with
volunteer guides showing you around ‘their’
36 | The Good Life France
The Good Life France | 37

France’s favourite monument in 2015, the
75m high platform is the perfect perch from
which to drink in the magnificent views over
the town. And say hello to the giants, adored
heritage figures of the north of France, who
stand guard on the ground floor.
Arras
France, sharing snippets of local history to
groups of up to six. Completely free.
Arras is the perfect small city to leave
the car behind and take a stroll. The two
main squares are unique in Europe, lined
with columned arcades and 155 houses
in sumptuous baroque Flemish style. The
cobbled Place des Héros, is dominated by
the UNESCO-listed belfry which tops the
architecturally glorious town hall. Voted
Medieval Montreuil-sur-Mer sits atop a hill
overlooking the Dordogne-like countryside
of the Seven Valleys – there is no sea despite
mention of la mer in the name. Take a
wander round the ramparts, visit the 16th
century Citadel which was fortified by Louis
XIV’s engineer Vauban, and stroll the towns
cobbled streets and squares and stop for a
mug of steaming hot chocolate in the main
square before the pretty Italianate theatre.
It was in this town in 1837 that Victor Hugo
stopped for lunch and was so impressed by
his experiences in the town, it inspired him to
write Les Miserables.
Montreuil-sur-Mer
La Coupole © La Coupole
Bring history lessons
to life:
Indelibly marked by two world wars, there are
many major remembrance sites in
Pas de Calais and many museums and
monuments pay homage.
In Arras, the Commonwealth War Graves
Commission Experience in Beaurains offers
a fascinating glimpse into the organisation’s
38 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 39

Napoleon's Column
painstaking work maintaining Commonwealth
cemeteries, monuments, and memorials
around the world. And the nearby Wellington
Tunnels are an immersive memorial to the
Battle of Arras, a step back in time to the
First World War.
La Coupole near Saint-Omer, a
55,000-tonne concrete dome with 18 feet
thick walls, is where Hitler had a secret V2
rocket base built. Today it is a fascinating and
haunting historical and scientific museum,
and home to the most advanced planetarium
in the world. With a unique 15m wide screen
with 10K resolution, watch incredible 3D films
from interactive seats.
In the port towns of Dunkirk and Calais
and all around the Opal coast you’ll find
monuments, memorials and museums
dedicated to the two world wars and offering
a fascinating window to the past. Don’t miss
the Atlantic Wall Museum in Audinghen, a
German World War II fortress with its eerily
undisturbed relics from uniforms to cutlery
and cups. Outside is an incredibly wellpreserved
and rare railway gun.
Climb Napoleon’ Column in Wimille on the
outskirts of Boulogne-sur-Mer. Here, in 1804
the great general and Emperor of France
mustered his forces and had 2000 ships
built, in sight of England. Though the planned
invasion never took place, Napoleon began
the tradition of the Legion d’Honneur medals,
and the moment is marked by this immense
column. Climb 296 steps for eye-popping
views over the English Channel.
Azincourt 1415 Museum takes you further back
in time and tells the tumultuous tale of one of
history’s most famous battles: Agincourt. Brush
up on the history of this monumental moment
in time, where the battle was over in just hours,
making the British victors and King Henry V
legends for the rest of time.
If you’re thinking ‘that’s a lot to pack in for a
weekend’ you’re right – stay longer!
Find loads more to see and do at:
www.visitpasdecalais.com
Opal Coast
40 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 41

The Vendange
in Vaucluse
© Valerie Gillet, Vaucluse Tourism
Witness the timeless tradition of the vendage – the grape harvest, in Gigondas in
the heart of Provence. It’s a great way to exercise the body and free the mind says
Jeremy Flint…
The countryside around the beautiful Vaucluse
department of Provence is home to sweeping
vineyards which carpet the landscape and
fertile territories encircling historic villages.
Within the scenic vistas of this picturesque
corner of South-eastern France lies the wine
growing commune of Gigondas, nestled
between the magnificent panoramas of
Vacqueyras and Séguret, one of the most
beautiful villages of France.
Here, in the southern Rhone Valley,
vineyards flow from the shores of the river to
the foothills of the Dentelles de Montmirail,
a small mountain range (up to 2000 feet high)
offering spectacular hikes for nature lovers.
Gigondas has been the home of winemaking
for centuries. It’s said that Roman soldiers
planted the vines and created wine estates.
As far back as 1591, records reveal that wine
commerce flourished in the area.
Gigondas wines are renowned worldwide and
they even rival the more famous Chateauneufdu-Pape
wines. And like Châteauneuf,
Gigondas wines are created mainly from the
grenache grape, supplemented by a variety of
others, but the grapes are grown at a higher
elevation than Châteauneuf’s and on different
soils. 99% of the wines grown in Gigondas are
red. In 2021, the village celebrated its 50th
anniversary as the first Côtes du Rhône village
to be awarded Cru status appellation.
Autumn is the perfect time to visit the
vineyards, especially during harvest time,
known as the vendange. Driving through this
spectacular part of Provence on my way to
explore the Montmirail mountains and passing
through Gigondas, I stopped to follow the
sound of chatter and laughter from a vineyard
and came across bobbing heads, flashes
of purple and a tractor with a large trailer
attached to the back. Grapes plucked by hand
were being filled by the bucket load. This was
the annual grape harvest, a timeless tradition.
In fact, it was the last day of the harvest at the
vineyards that are part of the unique, historic
estate of Saint Cosme, the oldest in the
region, held by the same family since 1490. 15
© Jeremy Flint
42 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 43

generations of winemakers have been active
here with Louis Barruol currently at the helm,
having taken over in the early 1990’s. The
wines are still made in the original cellar of the
estate, constructed in the Gallo Roman era,
more than 2,000 years ago.
The land of Gigondas is a geological mosaic
composed of limestone soils on the Montmirail
slopes and rocky, sandy, free-draining soils
on the flatter, lower-lying land - perfect
conditions for wine growing. This topography
and the favourable Mediterranean climate
with warm summers and bountiful hours
of sunshine offer the ideal environment for
cultivating vines and growing grapes to yield
a fruitful crop year on year. Combined with a
powerful Mistral wind, a classic feature of the
region, these factors help to keep the vines
dry, and encourage the grapes to ripen and
taste their best.
At harvest time excitement fills the air here
as the fruity grapes are cut. I watched as
bunches from the vines using secateurs. The
© Jeremy Flint
Domaine Pierre Amadieu
friendly harvesters, a mix of French, Spanish,
Europeans, and South Americans moved
swiftly along the lines of the vines under the
watchful eye of the boss. The grapes were a
deep purple, rich in taste and filled bucket
after bucket before being placed into the
trailer, ready to be turned into wine. Everyone
plays their part in creating a successful
harvest including the driver of the tractor
who drives the brimming truck loads from the
vineyards to the winery where the grapes are
poured into vats to be transformed into wine.
A stone’s throw away at the cellars and
tasting room of three-generation wine
growers Domaine Pierre Amadieu, you
can sample the wines of Gigondas and
learn more about the history and culture of
winegrowing in the area. You can also buy
their fabulous wines from the onsite shop -
and you really don’t want to miss your chance
to stock up on these wines! For an authentic
stay in the area, they have a gorgeous guest
house with a pool, the Villa Sainte Anne, a
44 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 45

© A Hocquel, Vaucluse Tourism
former winegrowers house. Details:
pierre-amadieu.com
In the centre of the village you’ll find the
Caveau du Gigondas, where you can taste
and buy many Gigondas wines. They also
run workshops and events including food and
wine pairings in the village square or in local
vineyards.
Head to the wine bar Le Nez! for tapas with
a large choice of local wines to pair them
with on a lovely shady terrace or inside the
elegantly decorated bar (1 Place du Rouvis).
The vendange is a great way to exercise the
body and free the mind. With vineyards that
have beautiful backdrops, magnificent views,
the mellow autumn sun, surrounded by the
rich and ravishing colourful fall foliage, plus
meeting welcoming winemakers, what’s not
to love?
Wine events take place in Vaucluse year-round
from festivals galore and tours of the cellars
and vineyards including at sunset, picnics and
tastings of spectacular wines, guided vineyard
walks and talks and harvest visits. If you would
like to visit the region during the vendange,
September and October are usually the best
time to go.
You can find details of wine and harvest visits
at Provenceguide.co.uk
© A Hocquel, Vaucluse Tourism
46 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 47

Burgundy, and you would be hard pushed to
find a more delicious city. You can read more
about Dijon and its gastronomic excellence
here.
Chalon-sur-Saône – wine
country…
Around 40km south of Dijon brings you to the
town of Chalon-sur-Saône – on the doorstep
of the great vineyards of Mercurey, which
takes its name from a temple built here by
the Romans in tribute to the God Mercury.
Mercurey’s wines charters go back almost
1500 years, to 557 AD, and this area is
considered the “wine capital” of Burgundy,
and one of its foremost appellations. But
enough superlatives – what’s the wine like?
Well head to the 17th century Château de
Chamirey, in the heart of the Mercurey
vineyards for a delicious tasting and to find out
more about the vines.
Vallée de la
Gastronomie
– a tasty trek
through France
Janine Marsh undertakes a gastronomic
odyssey from the north to the south…
Travelling the 620km route which follows
a 1000-year-old trade route through
France, straddling several departments, and
stopping off at historic towns, enchanting
villages, verdant vineyards, and ancient
cities, there was so much to see, do,
eat and drink, I have split the tale of my
mouth-watering meander from Burgundy
to the Mediterranean Sea into two equally
delicious parts!
Part I – the southern section of my journey
is in the Summer issue of TGLF magazine
– you can read it here. And now for the
north…
This epic-urean route of the Vallée de la
Gastronomie starts in Dijon, capital of
Amaury Devillard, Chateau de Chamirey
I met with the chateau’s owner Amaury
Devillard who explained that of the 37
hectares under the Chateau de Chamirey
label, 15 of them are premier Cru, reflecting
the diverse soils and microclimates within
the Mercurey appellation. Sipping a superb
fruity red and a fresh peachy white as we
looked out over the countryside at a mosaic
48 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 49

Chateau de Chamirey
Mercurey vineyard Chef Florian Giraud Chef Salome, Maison des Ateliers
of vineyards with eagles flying overhead and
wild birds singing joyfully, brought one of those
memorable moments of pure happiness. We
could see Mont Blanc in the distance (a sign of
bad weather apparently).
“It’s in the blood, we make wine, we drink
it, we talk about it all the time” says this
passionate wine marker. “A good bottle of
wine is an empty bottle.”
Leave the vineyards to take a wander in
Chalon-sur-Saône where Joseph Nicéphore-
Niépce was born and where a museum is
dedicated to him. You might not know his
name, but his legacy has left a huge impact.
Born in 1765,
he is known as
the “father of
photography” and
was the first to
create a permanent
photographic
image. And the
beautiful 11th
century cloisters
Cloisters of Cathedral St Vincent
of the Cathedral
are a lovely place
to relax and enjoy the artworks. The cloisters
been through several transformations, houses
were once built in the centre, and at one time
a vinegar factory was set up in the buildings.
Head to the buzzing bar and café-lined Place
St Vincent, named after the Patron Saint of
Wine, to enjoy a local tipple. Read more about
the town here: achalon.com/en
Where to stay: Le Saint Georges hotel is cosy,
comfy and conveniently for rail travellers, next
to the train station.
Restaurant Greuze, Tournus
Tournus – a hidden gem
30km on, another must-visit, is the lovely
town of Tournus, along the banks of the Saone
River, though it is just 35km from the great
abbey of Cluny. If you dream of stumbling on
a little place with fabulous food, wonderful
wines and a warm welcome, then Tournus is it.
Pickled wild garlic buds made by Chef
Giraud from his morning foraging walk
Burgundy is possibly
the stomach of France
and in Tournus, good
restaurants abound,
but three stand out
for their truly superb
dishes. Head a little
out of town to Le
Relais d’Ozenay of
chef Florian Giraud.
It’s a beautifully
decorated restaurant
in a glorious part of
the countryside. Chef Giraud knows all his
suppliers by name, locals who have a passion for
their produce. He’s typical of the hundreds and
hundreds of artisans whose restaurants, farms,
wine and beer chocolate and more, make up
your guides and introducers to taste sensations
along the route of the Vallée de la Gastronomie.
In the centre of town there are two Michelin
starred restaurants: Greuze headed up by chef
Yohann Chapuis, and Aux Terrasses run by chef
Jean-Michel Carrette. And get acquainted
with the terrific local wines at the cave des
Vignerons de Mancey. Tournus deserves many
more words so head to page 72 to read about
the incredible ancient hospital, the chefs and
charms of this ancient town.
Where to stay: You’re spoiled for choice for
fabulous hotels here – I stayed at the gorgeous
Hotel les 7 Fontaines which has a spa and
fabulous wine tasting cellar.
Mâcon – memorable for
food and wine
Mâcon is a wine town and the gateway to the
vineyards of southern Burgundy. The town
pays tribute to the history of the local wine
production with the opening this year of the
Cité des Climats et Vins de Bourgogne wine
Cité des Climats et Vins de Bourgogne
50 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 51

Delicious soup at the Maison des Ateliers
museum and tasting venue on the banks of the
River Saône. After an immersive, sensory trail
in which you’ll discover all about the viticulture
of Burgundy, head to the fabulous tasting bar.
See the website for details plus guided tours,
events and workshops.
Who can resist a chance to learn to cook
Burgundian style? Certainly not me, so I
headed to the Maison des Ateliers to take a
half day class in a gorgeous mansion house
which is also where Fabrice Sommier, one
of France’s most famous sommeliers and a
Maitre Ouvrier de France, hosts wine classes.
Monsieur Claude Poissonnet, Grand Master of the Brotherhood of
the Gaufrette Mâconnaise
Dine at: La DaMa go for the warm and
genuine welcome and the excellent food (a
fusion of Italian and French) and great wines.
Stay at: L’hôtel Panorama Head to the rooftop
bar for aperitifs and fabulous views.
Two restaurants, a hotel and holiday
residence, foodie shops including a wine
store, butchers, tableware store, boulangerie,
chocolaterie, and patisserie with some of the
most amazing cakes I’ve ever tasted (and I
take my cake tasting duties seriously!). There
is also his internationally famous L’Esprit Blanc
restaurant which has one of the greatest
restaurant wine cellars in the world, as well
as the charming and scrumptious Ancienne
Auberge. If you love food – then Village Blanc
in Vonnas must go on your must-see list.
Read more about the Chef who created a
gourmet village on our website
Beaujolais is not at all
nouveau
30km south of Vonnas, my next stop was
Beaujolais. This lovely, truly lovely, part of
France has a timeless beauty and relaxed
vibe, and deserves a whole article to itself and
so it will – in the next issue of TGLF magazine
(subscribe here for free).
Beaujolais Nouveau is known around the
world, but if you think that’s all this wine
region has to offer – then you’ll need to
unthink that because I promise you the wines
are not just of the nouveau kind, they are
exquisite, rich ruby reds, and crisp whites, an
effervescent crémant that puts sparkles in
your eyes and if you like wine – you will love
Beaujolais wines. And this region is home to
what I am sure must be the best wine museum
in the world which also has a stunning tasting
bar – the Hameau Duboeuf.
And just down the road from here you can
taste the wines of Maison Jean Loron, one of
the oldest and largest wine-growing owners
in southern Burgundy. Seriously some of the
best wines I’ve ever tasted, I managed to lug
several bottles home in my luggage which
almost broke me, but it was worth it!
Follow the route des Crêtes in Beaujolais and
the stunning wine route des vins du Beaujolais
I learned how to cook a classic volaille à la
crème (chicken in cream sauce). I was frankly
astonished at how good my cooking is (ok – I
did have help and patient guidance from chef
Salome). I picked up heaps of neat tips and
tricks, and took home a lasting souvenir - the
ability to produce a dish like a top chef.
In Mâcon, you must visit a patisserie or
boulangerie and have a nibble on a Gaufrette
Mâconnaise. Made in Mâcon since the middle
ages these delicious cigar-shaped biscuits
were abandoned for decades until they were
resurrected by Monsieur Claude Poissonnet,
Grand Master of the Brotherhood of the
Gaufrette Mâconnaise.
Village Blanc – an entire
foodie village in Vonnas
Crossing into the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
region I stopped off at the gourmet paradise
Village Blanc in Vonnas. It was here in 1872,
that the great grandparents of Georges Blanc,
one of France’s greatest chefs, opened a café
and served their home-made lemonade. The
fourth generation of chefs in the family - his
mother and grandmother held Michelin stars
and he has held 3 stars since 1981 - chef Blanc
has created a gastro-village with everything
you need to delight your palate.
L'Ancienne Auberge, Vonnas
52 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 53

'Real' South of France Tours
EXPERIENCE THE
AMAZING CULTURE,
HISTORY, FOOD
AND WINE IN
THE REAL SOUTH OF FRANCE
through tiny villages like Oingt, a plus beaux
village de France, and beautiful Theizé in the
heart of the "Pierres Dorées" which refers
to the golden stone that many buildings are
made from, and which gives the villages a
special glow. And don’t miss a visit to the
historic town of Villefranche-sur-Saône where
you can take an audio guide of the hidden
treasures…
Dine at: La Feuillée a typical Beaujolais
bistrot where the locals gather for the tastiest
of grub, a glass of wine and a good dollop of
bonhomie.
Stay at: Les Maritonnes Parc & Vignoble,
Romaneche-Thorins, a Georges Blanc owned
hotel with a fabulous restaurant.
The Vallee de la
Gastronomie
Discover inspirational gourmet
experiences, guided tours and more at:
valleedelagastronomie
Fabulous restaurant and tasting bar of the Hameau Duboeuf wine theme park
Theizé, Beaujolais
realsouthoffrancetours.fr
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54 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 55

ROUEN
Armada Notes
Tons of tall ships in the harbour, azure blue
skies, mouth-watering street food, uplifting
music, joyful sea shanties, a feel-good factor
off the charts, in a fabulous, historic city - it can
only be the Rouen Armada says Janine Marsh
For ten days the party atmosphere along
the Seine in the historic city of Rouen lures
millions from around the world to join in
the fun that takes place during the Rouen
Armada. Held every few years – the next one
will be in 2027 – this feel-good event is totally
free - and totally fabulous.
Wander along tall ship lined quays where
some 2000 sailors from a dozen countries
are in port. Soak up the atmosphere, the
smell of sizzling barbecues, buzzing bars and
restaurants full of smiling punters, the music
of the Beatles and the Bee Gees carried on
the slight breeze from the river on a scorching
sunny day.
If you like to have a good time, then this event
will float your boat!
This is one of the largest gatherings of tall
ships in the world, in one of the greatest
ports of France, but it’s also about food, wine
music, dancing, street performance, sea
shanties and more.
This was my first time at the Rouen Armada –
but it won’t be my last!
The Armada experience
Arriving at Rouen Rive Droite station I
was handed a paper sailor’s hat with a red
pompom – in France they say if you twiddle
a sailor’s pompom it’s lucky! I held on to my
hat just in case! Walking to the quaysides of
the River Seine that runs through the city, I
couldn’t help but notice how many streets
and shops were decorated in nautical style.
Even in the church of Joan of Arc there was
an Armada crossword. The port city of Rouen
loves a boat, and Rouen loves its Armada.
There is something wonderfully romantic
about tall ships, maybe it’s all those stories of
pirates and world discovery books I read as
a child, but as these magnificent ships sailed
under the monumental Gustave Flaubert
Bridge on the first night of the Armada, it was
clear that I’m not the only one who loves them.
I climbed aboard the tall ship Joanna Saturna
which had arrived from Finland - a 1200km
journey of 9 days non-stop from Helsinki to Le
Havre. She made an additional stop in Duclair
(30 minutes from Rouen by bus) to pick up
passengers before joining dozens more tall
ships on their journey into the city’s port for
the opening night.
For the next three hours we sailed serenely
along the Seine, past cliffs where we could
spot caves that were used in the Middle Ages
for the storage of wine and food. A rocky
outcrop called “Gargantua’s seat” cleft into
the cliffs came into view. Ahead of us a tall
ship from Mexico, in fact the tallest ship in
town, fired of a round of gun salutes - the
Joanna Saturna tooted her very loud horn. On
board the Mexican ship a band broke out into
56 | The Good Life France
The Good Life France | 57

a happy Tijuana style tune gaining it a massive
round of applause. We couldn’t top that!
A French naval ship sailed to our right and
behind, the mast of another tall ship came
onto the horizon. It’s an amazing feeling as
the water swells and the sun beams down,
the rigging creaks and clanks – a timeless
sound. All along the side of the river, passing
cars tooted a greeting, people were gathered
to watch the ships sail by – waving flags,
cheering and whistling. A small boat pulled
alongside ours with a group of kids shouting
“sound the horn, sound the horn”, the captain
obliged much to their delight, a long low wail
that echoed across the water.
Flags of all nations were proudly displayed
all along the river as we floated past small
towns and hamlets. I asked the Captain if the
journey was as smooth as this the whole way
“sure” he said and winked.
58 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 59

Jessica Viel - Loire Valley
As the city came into sight the cheers got
louder, crowds thronged the quayside – the
Armada had begun. I made my way to the tall
ship Thalassa, where I was sleeping that night.
She usually serves as a training ship, run by
tough salty sea dogs from the Netherlands. All
gleaming wood and polished brass. From the
deck I watched the fabulous nightly Armada
fireworks display.
From morning to midnight, the river was
awash with boats floating past these majestic
tall ships and getting a great view. Pleasure
boats, restaurant boats, lifeboats, eco boats
– collecting waste and sustainably disposing
of it, there’s a serious message here too.
There were boats full of people enjoying
chilled beers, wine, music, some have a party
atmosphere. After dark the quays throbbed
to the sound of music, uplifting and great,
great fun.
You can explore the ships during the day
and chat to the crews - the Mexican
ship was very popular! You need to get
up early to see the sailors servicing the
ships, painting their hulls and doing their
morning exercises.
This is an unmissable event. Enjoy a
boat ride, eat, drink and be merry. And
sunscreen, take sunscreen!
The next Rouen Armada will take place in
June 2027.
Details: armada.org
Don’t miss the Maritime,
Fluvial and Harbour
Museum of Rouen
Emma Horsfall - Alpes
Joanna Dalet
Midi-Pyrénées
Anne-Sophie and Nynke
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
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Helena Hermanns - Paris/Île-de-France
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Right by the Gustave Flaubert Bridge
along the river front pop into the marine
museum which is run by volunteers to gen
up on the history of the port of Rouen.
Model makers on site create incredible
ships, there are fascinating exhibitions and
artefacts, and when I was there members of
the International Guild of Knot Tiers’ were
demonstrating their skills creating knotted
rope art. 1.musee-maritime-rouen.asso.fr
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60 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 61

Jeremy Flint visits one of the last bell makers in France…
The village of Villedieu-les-Poeles in
Northwest France is home to the Cornille
Havard Foundry, one of the last two remaining
Bell foundries in France (the other is in Haute-
Savoie). It continues a long tradition of Bell
Casters who settled in Normandy in the
Middle Ages.
Cornille Havard foundry has been making
bells at its magnificent 19th century workshop
since 1865. Prior to this, bell founders worked
more freely and would travel to churches and
cathedrals to make their bells.
The company is named after Paul Havard
who, succeeding his brother-in-law César
Béatrix in 1836, and Adolphe Havard, a
polytechnical engineer who took over in
1865 and had the workshop built, developed
production and began exporting bells all over
the world.
The company passed through the Cornille
family before Marguerite Cornille sold the
foundry to Françoise and Luigi Bergamo on
June 1, 1981. Paul Bergamo is the second
generation of the family to preserve the
traditions and expertise of this unique
company whose bells are world renowned for
their aesthetic and musical qualities.
Specialising in big bells, the master bell casters
combine the craft of metal work with the art
of music using traditional techniques as well as
the best technology.
Walking into the studio, which is open to
the public, feels like you have stepped back
in time and gives a rare glimpse into this
centuries-old tradition.
The casting of a new bell is a fascinating
process that draws on ancient skills. The
bells are cast with two moulds consisting of
the inner mould (core) developed around
an interior template, and a false bell mould
placed over it. This outer mould is covered
with wax letters and decorations. The lostwax
process (also known as precision casting
or cire perdue) is applied. The wax melts
leaving the bell with indentations. The furnace
is fired to the right temperature to melt the
%
Norman
Bell Makers
62 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 63

onze, an alloy of 78% copper and 22% tin
and it is melted at 1,200°C in a double-vault
reverberatory furnace which has a capacity
of a whopping 13 tons. To withstand the
temperature of the metal, the moulds are
made of clay with horse manure and goats’
hair. The moulds, which are placed upside
down in a pit, can weigh more than 500kg.
The molten metal is poured into the gap
between the two moulds.
A brick channel built on top of the pit allows
the metal to flow by gravity from the kiln into
the moulds.
After casting, the mould is left to cool for
around a week depending on the size, then
broken open to release the raw foundry bell.
The final stages involve sanding, polishing,
chiselling and fine tuning.
These ancient techniques are combined with
modern equipment which help to analyse the
resonance enabling the foundry to achieve
musical perfection.
In renovating this fantastic heritage using
modern technology, Cornille Havard is the
first bell making company in the world to
model the layout of bells on a computer.
Doing this allows them to constantly refine
the bell profiles using CAD (computer-aided
design). The templates are laser cut, and
the sound control is carried out using an
electronic spectrum analyser.
An incredible 100 monumental bells are
made each year, making their way to peel
out from clock towers, schools and churches
around the world – including nine new bells
created for the cathedral of Notre-Dame in
Paris in 2013.
More information may be found at:
cornille-havard.com
Exhibition of bells created by Cornille Havard for Notre-Dame, Paris. Photo: Lionel Allorge - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 commons.wikimedia.org
64 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 65

Yves Saint Laurent
in Calais…
“Fashions fade,
style is eternal”
Yves Saint Laurent
Dress worn by Karen Mulder.
1996 Spring-Summer haute
couture collection. Photograph
by Claus Ohm © Yves Saint
Laurent © Claus Ohm – DR
Evening gown worn
by Gurmitt Kaur
Campbell. 1990
Autumn-Winter
haute couture
collection. © Yves
Saint Laurent ©
Rights reserved
At the internationally renowned Museum
of Lace and Fashion in Calais, northern
France, a major exhibition dedicated
to the late great French couturier Yves
Saint Laurent is eye-poppingly fabulous
says Janine Marsh.
The French have been famous for dressing
well for centuries. As long ago as the 17th
century – not long after the Mayflower carried
pilgrims to North America and Isaac Newton
published one of his most important scientific
works Philosophiae Naturalis Principia
Mathematica (1687) – the French were turning
fashion into an industry.
The modern fashion show dates to the Paris
in the 1860s, though it was a pioneering
Englishman, fashion designer Charles Frederick
Worth, who kicked it things off by using live
models instead of mannequins to present his
creations. 130 years later, on July 12, 1998,
the great French designer Yves Saint Laurent
created a monumental runway show at the
Stade de France ahead of the Football World
Cup final between France and Brazil. Lasting 15
Workshop specification sheet
referred to as a “Bible page”
of a short evening dress. 1966
Autumn-Winter haute couture
collection. © Yves Saint Laurent
minutes, the event involved 300 models, 900
backstage hands and 4,000 stadium staff. It
was televised live to about 1.7 billion people.
Yves Saint-Laurent was a showman and fashion
visionary whose legacy lives on.
The exhibition
The Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Paris has
teamed up with the Museum of Lace and
Fashion in Calais for an exhibition that focuses
on transparency - the way Yves Saint Laurent
used nude effects in his designs. It will run
until 12 November 2023. A second exhibition
(which will not be the same as this one), will
open in Paris in February 2024.
Seductive, sensuous, and
shocking
Born in Algeria in 1936, Yves Henry Donat
Mathieu-Saint-Laurent was destined for
fashion. Whilst still at school he won a
66 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 67

prestigious international design contest and
when a Vogue magazine executive showed
Christian Dior some of the schoolboy’s
sketches, Dior hired him immediately as his
assistant. He was 17 years old.
Dior died in 1957 and Yves Saint-Laurent was
named head of the House of Dior at just 21
and exploded onto the fashion scene. In 1962
he opened his own fashion house and became
one of the most influential Paris designers. He
made trousers and the tuxedo (Le Smoking
in France) fashionable for women, created
Mondrian-inspired shift dresses and many
more looks that defined the fashions of the
1960s until he retired in 2002 and which
continue long past his demise. One of his most
enduring themes was that of transparency.
Transparent fabrics were prominent in his
late 1960’s collections. Sometimes his designs
were seen as scandalous and shocking as he
pushed couture to new extremes but ultimately
influenced fashions of the late 20th century
and into the 21st century. A flick through images
of gowns worn by Hollywood glitterati at big
events this year reveals just how much the
transparent look is still a big theme.
The exhibition is astounding – some 60
original outfits (10 of which belong to the
Museum), original sketches, collection
boards, swatches of material and invoices
give an intimate window to the designs.
Wonderful photographs of models and
clients such as Catherine Deneuve wearing
Saint-Laurent, together with anecdotes
plus catwalk film footage bring to life the
designer’s creations in a way that still shocks
at times, but in which you can’t help but fail
to see just how incredibly sophisticated the
designs were and the exquisite tailoring that
made him the King of fashion for decades. I
could easily imagine Lady Gaga or Dua Lipa
wearing just about anything and everything
in the show. From topless blouses to barely
covered bottoms in gorgeous evening gowns
using lace and sheer materials.
“Transparences” presents an incredible
window into the world of one of France’s top
“Nothing is
more beautiful
than a naked
body,” the late
couturier once
declared.
“A nude woman’s body, that I
have to dress without hindering
the freedom of her natural
movements. In short, my
profession is a loving dialogue
with this naked woman, using all
the magic of my rolls of fabric.”
Yves Saint Laurent
Handwritten note kept at the
Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Paris.
designers showing how he worked to ‘reveal’
the body of the woman wearing his costume
with both elegance – and audacity.
Dresses that look demure from the front,
astonish when you see the back, the derriere
barely covered by sheer Chantilly lace.
Sublimely cut robes with bodice inserts,
evening and day wear that pushed the
boundaries of design and required a daring
customer – though these outfits were
impactful, you were unlikely to see many
women wearing the more daring costumes
out in public. The Nude Dress of 1968, made
entirely of transparent chiffon provided
‘modesty’ in the form of ostrich feathers.
Even in 2010 when French model/actress
Laetita Casta wore a transparent 1968
Saint-Laurent dress – it caused a sensation.
This is an outstanding exhibition, an
astonishing collection and a fascinating
window into French haute-couture and
fashion history.
Evening gown. 1980 Spring-Summer
haute couture collection. Photograph by
Patricia Canino.© Yves Saint Laurent.
Collection Cité de la dentelle et de la
mode ©Patricia Canino
llustrative sketch of a “smoking” from the
1968 Spring-Summer haute couture collection
created by Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 for the
catalogue for the exhibition Yves Saint Laurent
25 Years of Design at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York.
© Yves Saint Laurent
Calais Museum of Lace
and Fashion
Calais became famous for its lace making in
the 19th Century when English lace makers,
famous for their lacemaking, smuggled one
of their new-fangled looms into France and
set up shop at Saint-Pierre just a stone’s
throw from the museum. The Anglo-French
collaboration was immensely successful and
completely transformed the French lace
making industry which had previously been
handmade only. Calais lace and tulle became
renowned, desired by the rich, famous and
royalty, and the lace making industry in Calais
employed some 40,000 workers in its heyday.
Today Calais is still an important centre for
the production of lace and is much sought
after. Clients of Calais lace include Valentino,
Jean Paul Gaultier, Lacroix and Calvin Klein,
and the majority of the lace produce is
exported to countries around the world to be
68 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 69

Illustrative sketch of a “smoking”
from the 1968 Spring-Summer
haute couture collection
created by Yves Saint Laurent in
1983 for the catalogue for the
exhibition Yves Saint Laurent
25 Years of Design at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in
New York. © Yves Saint Laurent
used in the production of wedding dresses and
lingerie.
The museum is located in a 19th Century
lace factory renovated by the architects who
designed Jean-Paul Gaultier’s HQ and the
Champollion Museum in Figeac. In the vast
museum galleries, you can discover the history
of lace making - from the handmade lace of
the 16th Century right up to modern times.
Gorgeous antique dresses with lace collars,
bodices, and petticoats and up to the minute
Outfit worn by Naomi
Campbell. 1999 Spring-
Summer haute couture
collection. © Yves Saint
Laurent © Rights reserved
designer haut couture, brocade gowns, velvet
frock coats and rolls of exquisite, delicate lace
in all colours are on show.
The museum also has a unique collection of
nine huge 19th century industrial looms of
which five are still working - and making lace
to this day.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Exhibition Yves Saint Laurent: Transparences
From June 24th to November 12th, 2023
Cité de la dentelle et de la mode (Museum for
Lace and Fashion) 135 quai du Commerce -
62100 Calais (about 10 minutes from Calais
car-ferry port – well worth a detour.
Open every day from 10am to 6pm (5pm from
1 November/closed Tuesdays)
On site: restaurant, fabulous shop, and
resource centre.
See the Museum website for opening times:
cite-dentelle.fr
Find out more about this unique exhibition at:
Calais-cotedopale.co.uk
24.06 - 12.11 2023
Robe du soir, collection haute couture automne-hiver 1970
© Yves Saint Laurent © Estate Jeanloup Sieff / Graphisme Studio Tovar
70 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 71

Secret
France:
TOURNUS
The little-known town of Tournus in Burgundy
is a huge surprise with its stupendous 17th
century Hotel Dieu, winding cobbled streets
lined with ancient buildings, superb local wines
and an inspired gastronomic scene with an
international reputation says Janine Marsh.
Tournus in the Saône-et-Loire Department
is overshadowed somewhat by neighbouring
Cluny, home to one of France’s greatest
abbeys. But stray a little because Tournus, a
town of some 6000 people that sits astride
the Saône River, surrounded by vineyards and
glorious countryside, is a well-kept secret that
deserves a detour.
Tournus has its own Abbey – Saint-Phillibert,
one of only two churches left in France
with this type of Romanesque architecture
which spans from the 11th and 12th centuries.
There’s also a fascinating bike museum where
you can even take a ride on some unusual
bikes. Tournus’ picturesque alleys are home
to beautiful buildings, artisan shops and art
galleries. But for me, the real surprise was the
incredible Hotel Dieu, certainly a rival to the
famous Hospices de Beaune.
Hotel Dieu of Tournus
This ancient hospital has been restored to look
just as it did in its heyday in the 17th century.
You can only visit by guided tour, but it is so
worth it, taking in the atmospheric sick wards,
the extraordinary apothecary, and exquisite
plate room and medicinal gardens.
There’s a rather horrifying collection of
medical instruments on display and frankly,
there is nowhere I’d like to have those nozzles
inserted! The guide takes great pleasure in
explaining what all the needles, hooks and
jagged metal implements are for, and if you’re
in any doubt about how utterly awful medical
treatment might have been a few centuries
back, he will enlighten you.
I was quite sure I could smell the smoke from
the ancient fireplace in the men’s ward, and
it’s easy to imagine these wood panelled
rooms lit by candle. The beds are made as if
The apothecary
waiting for an intake of 17th century patients,
very short beds as was the fashion of the
day when people slept half sitting (lying flat
was associated with death). There is also an
incredible plate room full of 18th century
pewter treasures. And the apothecary is full
of sparkling glass bottles and blue and white
porcelain jars that once stored ointments
and potions where I spotted a beautiful jar of
Vinaigre des Quatre Voleurs – Four Thieves
The plate room
72 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 73

The Chapel
Vinegar – which is still used to this day in
France for various ailments including colds
and lice. Legend has it that in the 14th century,
four thieves from Marseilles robbed corpses
during a plague epidemic, without themselves
ever being contaminated. They claimed
to have discovered a remedy, the famous
‘vinegar of the four thieves’, which they took
daily, containing herbs such as garlic, mint,
lavender, sage, rosemary and thyme steeped
in cider vinegar.
With its 300 jars, and ancient wood panelled
walls, this is one of the oldest and most wellpreserved
apothecaries in France.
There is also a truly stunning chapel, and a
pretty medicinal garden.
Incredibly the hospital functioned until the late
20th century, closing its doors to patients only
in 1982.
This is as extraordinary a place as you will find
in France and yet it is hardly known even to
those who live nearby. Ben, the guide, says
there is a soul to this building and whispered
‘au revoir’ when he closed the doors. I
whispered it too, I think he’s right.
(Audio guide is available in English, German,
Dutch, and Italian, book your tour at Tournus
tourist office).
Wine tasting
Burgundy is wine country, and at Vignerons
de Mancey you can sample and buy the finest
local wines, white, red and a superb crémant
made the same way as Champagne. Here
you can also taste Aligoté – a traditional white
wine, “a local thing” says the guide adding it’s
better used in cocktails. I highly recommend
the delicious wines served with creamy local
goats’ cheese, salty comté from neighbouring
Jura, and cheese gougères which Burgundians
tuck into at the drop of a hat – a brilliant
cheese and wine tasting tour.
Tasting sessions are held daily. Reserve in
advance if you want a tour in English - by
email direct at lesvigneronsdemancey.fr or
via the very helpful tourist office and believe
me you do not want to miss this one!
The Good Life
France podcast
Everything you want to know about
France and more...
thegoodlifefrance.com
Tournus is a taste
sensation!
Food and wine lovers are spoiled for choice
in this little town. From the fabulous wine
tasting cellar of the elegant Hotel les 7
Fontaines, to the cute brocante café where
you can browse the second hand treasures
as you sip a coffee and nibble on a homemade
biscuit.
However, Tournus is a gastronomic giant
with not just one, but two Michelin starred
restaurants in the centre of the town. The
kitchen of Restaurant L’Ecrin in a historic
building, now the hotel Maison Greuze, is run
by Yohann Chapuis. The menu serves divine
classic dishes but with an innovative twist,
featuring herbs and spices that make your
tastebuds tingle.
74 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 75

QUALITY FRENCH
MANUFACTURED
FIBREGLASS
SWIMMING POOLS
And at Aux Terrasses hotel and restaurant,
there is absolutely nothing remotely ordinary
about Chef Jean-Michel Carrette’s dishes.
At this restaurant there is no menu, chef
makes what he is inspired by according to the
seasons and produce available using local and
organic ingredients. You can of course notify
the staff of any dislikes or allergies and chef
will create a dish for you that suits your taste.
This is a chef with a conscience who cares
deeply about the planet and ‘the part we play
in it.’ His philosophy is to “have a good life and
a happy customer”, both of which he works
hard at, and his ethos is to 100% recycle what
comes from his kitchen - with zero waste.
Chef Carrette
OPERATING
THROUGHOUT FRANCE
5 STAR REVIEWS
1 WEEK INSTALLATION
OVER 30 POOL MODELS
10 YEAR GUARANTEE
POOLS DIRECT
(+33) 6 42 50 04 31
www.poolsdirect.online
contact@poolsdirect.online
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S I R E T : 9 0 4 9 5 3 9 5 7 0 0 0 1 9
An adventure on the table
I honestly didn’t want the experience of
eating spicy tiny pancakes with the freshest
of peas to end. A lightly braised leek whose
leaves were individually teased to create
a flamboyant concoction was as beautiful
as it was tasty. Every course was a work of
art and a delectable adventure. The food is
truly outstanding, at times playful, ethereal
even, and occasionally bonkers. The chef is
clearly a genius in the kitchen and his food is
outstandingly, mouth-wateringly delicious. He
sings well too!
And it’s at a tempting price too for a Michelin
starred menu – from 42 euros for three
courses.
tournus-tourisme.com
76 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 77

City of
CORSAIRS
Swashbuckling adventure, romantic
walks, and delicious Breton fare.
Gillian Thornton soaks up the maritime
atmosphere of Saint-Malo.
With its imposing ramparts and towering
waterside properties, few ports pack quite
such a picturesque punch as Saint-Malo on
Brittany’s north coast. Today the marina is
packed with gleaming pleasure craft, but in
centuries past, dozens of tall ships jostled for
space along the crowded quaysides.
Strategically located on the eastern side of
the Rance estuary, Saint-Malo was named
after a 6th century monk, the early settlement
quickly fortified against potential invaders.
But it was in the 16th century that the town
became famous for its wealthy ship owners or
armateurs, its daring privateers, and skilled
craftsmen. Within a few decades, Saint-Malo
was the busiest seaport in France.
Arrive by sea and it’s an easy walk from the
harbour to the historic walled town – the
Intra Muros – which today combines with the
neighbouring communes of Saint-Servan and
Paramé to form Grand Saint-Malo, a town
of some 50,000 people. Pitch up by car and
you’ll find public car parks just outside the
ramparts which largely leaves the Intra Muros
to pedestrians.
Before you head inside the city walls, stop
off at the tourist office just outside the town’s
main entrance, Porte Saint-Vincent, for an
annotated map. The earliest fortified town
was an island at high tide, the gate accessed
by drawbridge and guarded by a fortress
that now serves as the Town Hall. Eagle-eyed
visitors might notice that the town flag – an
ermine wearing a scarf – is allowed to fly
above that of the Republic, thanks to the city’s
contribution to the national economy under
Napoleon.
Step inside the main gate and the painted
facades of Place Chateaubriand come in
bright contrast to the sober stone around
them. Romantic author François-René
de Chateaubriand was born in 1768 in a
house adjacent to the Hôtel France et
Chateaubriand. He died in 1848 after an
active political and literary life and rests
beneath a simple stone cross on the Ile de Bé
just offshore.
78 | The Good Life France
The Good Life France | 79

A nearby street is named after another famous
malouin, Jacques Cartier, born here in 1491.
The son of a fisherman, Cartier’s naval career
saw him promoted by François I and today he
is hailed as the discoverer of Canada, landing
first in Newfoundland and then in the St
Lawrence estuary.
Cartier lies today in Saint-Vincent Cathedral,
along with René Duguay-Trouin, a malouin
corsair – or privateer – who served under Louis
XIV and, in 1711, took possession of Rio de
Janeiro. Unlike pirates who plundered foreign
ships for their own gain, corsairs were licensed
by the king to attack enemy ships in times of
war. In peace time, many prospered as ship
owners and merchants.
Look out too for the round tower that marks
the house of Duchesse Anne, now a private
home but once temporary lodgings for Anne
of Brittany whilst she supervised construction
of the castle. And maybe visit the imposing
Hôtel Magon de La Lande, the former
townhouse of a wealthy corsair, for a taste of
the 18th century good life.
Wherever you go, you can’t help but notice
the edible temptations of this maritime city,
whether you are shopping for souvenirs or
taking a refreshment break. La Maison du
Beurre in rue de l’Orme is a malouin institution
run by master butter maker and cheese refiner
Jean-Yves Bordier, proprietor too of Le Bistro
Autour du Beurre.
Saint-Vincent Cathedral is one of Saint-Malo’s
treasures, not just for the adventurers who
rest there but for its magnificent stained-glass
windows. And yet it was almost lost for good
in 1944 when some 80% of Saint-Malo was
destroyed by Allied bombing, including parts
of the cathedral. Happily, post-war town
planners rebuilt the city to its former glory
using recovered stone wherever possible and
today, the joins are almost seamless.
If, like me, you enjoyed reading All the Light
We Cannot See by American author Antony
Doerr, you will remember the blind French
refugee girl from Paris who comes to live with
family during the German occupation of the
city and is befriended by a young German
soldier. Download a walking trail (French
only) from the website to follow in Marie-
Laure’s footsteps. Just remember to keep
your eyes open!
The Intra-Muros area is all very foot-friendly.
You’re never far from the city walls and the
cathedral spire is an excellent reference point
for those who just like to wander at will. Just
outside the cathedral, I came across the
Enclos de la Résistance, a memorial garden
and granite megalith honouring the city’s
Resistance volunteers. Behind it, stands an
arched 17th century gallery, part of an old
Benedictine monastery discovered in the ruins
of the bombardments.
Historic street © SMBMSM Saint-Malo Tourism
Ar Iniz Hotel
View from the castle walls ©SMBMSM Saint-Malo Tourism
High speed snack? I enjoyed a traditional
buckwheat pancake or galette with savoury
filling at Crêperie Chantal in Place des
Herbes. And if you can’t resist a locally made
ice cream, head to Sanchez in rue de la Vielle
Boucherie for flavours that include liquorice,
tiramisu, and gingerbread, as well as more
conventional flavours.
Sooner or later you’ll find yourself back
at the city ramparts, so nip up one of the
staircases around the 2km loop for one of
the most spectacular seaside strolls you’ll
ever do. The broad ramparts offer glorious
views over Saint-Malo’s four sea forts, two
of which can be visited on foot at low tide –
Fort National and Fort du Petit Bé. Admire
the homes of the armateurs beside the ferry
harbour and look out for the sundial on the
chimney of a house on Rue de Dinan that
marks the home of Robert Surcouf, ‘King of
the Privateers’, who harassed British ships off
India as well as Europe.
Surcouf’s statue points out to sea from
the ramparts whilst Jacques Cartier is
immortalised in stone on the Bastion de la
Hollande, one of the best places to view the
sunset. Few hotels within the Intra Muros
have sea views however, so I recommend
heading outside the walls along the Plage
du Sillon where I found my perfect French
seaside hotel.
80 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 81

Part of a small portfolio of boutique Breton
hotels, Ar Iniz (‘small islands’ in Breton) has
a front row seat on everything – the huge
expanse of golden sand, that spectacular
sunset, and a broad promenade that passes a
flamboyant selection of Belle Epoque villas.
If you can tear yourself away from the view,
you’re less than half an hour by car from the
small resort of Cancale, famous for its tasting
kiosks beside the oyster beds. Maybe visit
La Ville Bague in Saint-Coulomb, one
of several mansions or malounières
commissioned by the maritime gentry as
summer homes in the countryside beyond
the Intra Muros. Then return along the scenic
coastal route via tranquil unspoilt beaches.
I end my day of exploration with a chilled
glass of rosé on the terrace at Ar Iniz before
relaxing over a six-course tasting menu that
includes local mussels, sea bream and pork
fillet, all in manageable portions with sublime
flavour combinations. And when at last I’m
feeling comfortably full, I fall asleep to the
sound of the waves right outside the window.
Perfect day, or what?
Loire Brakes
Gillian travelled overnight from Portsmouth to
Saint-Malo with brittany-ferries.co.uk; had
breakfast at hotel-bristol-union.com;
and dined and slept at Ar Iniz, part of
arcollectionhotels.com. For visitor
information, see saint-malo-tourisme.co.uk
https://frenchcountryadventures.com/
Loire Brakes
Slow Down And Enjoy The View
Tour the beautiful Loire Valley at your own pace with a guided e-bike holiday
loirebrakes.com
82 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 83

Ex-chef Ally Mitchell looks into the life of one of France’s greatest culinary artists
Taste
of
FRANCE:
Auguste Escoffier
The chef who changed
French cuisine forever
Auguste Escoffier was the instigator of
classical French dining. He modernised
professional kitchens. It was he who
masterminded the famous British desserts
Peach Melba and Cherries Jubilee. He
brought glamour to the culinary stage and
pushed restauration into the 20th century.
However, in the 88 years since his death, his
innovative practices, unswerving dedication to
flavour and his belief that “above all, make it
simple”, a phrase we don’t often associate with
elegant French cooking of the 19th century,
have largely been forgotten.
Born in 1846, Auguste was thrown into the
world of professional kitchens when he
was only a child – aged 13, he started an
apprenticeship at his uncle’s restaurant in
Nice. Torture is the word to best describe
his experience. Restaurant conditions were
abysmal as the profession involved negligence,
alcoholism and vulgarity, and the apprentices
bore the brunt of it. His uncle even laughed at
Auguste’s “diminutive stature” as he struggled
to see over the stoves. Even so, almost
immediately, Auguste proved he was brilliant.
He later wrote, “I said to myself, ‘Although
I had not originally intended to enter this
profession, since I am in it, I will work in such a
fashion that I will rise above the ordinary, and
I will do my best to raise again the prestige of
the chef de cuisine’.”
In 1865, aged 19, he was invited to work at
the most fashionable restaurant in Paris,
Le Petit Moulin Rouge. At the outbreak of
the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, he was
appointed chef de cuisine for the army based
on the Rhine in Metz. He even continued to
cook for his brothers-in-arms once captured.
It is highly likely that during these times
of scarcity, Escoffier learnt the value of
reducing waste. He became the first chef to
study canning techniques in order to preserve
ingredients, and later established a canning
side-business, which in 1893, started selling
tins of crushed tomatoes.
Returning to civilian life, in 1880, he met
and married Delphine Daffis. It is rumoured
he won her hand in a game of billiards, but
whether this worrisome story is true or not,
they remained together until their deaths. I
say ‘together’ loosely, as Escoffier’s career
eventually whisked him away from her for
around 30 years. First though, they moved to
Monte Carlo. Escoffier had been headhunted
as Director de Cuisine at the Grand Hotel, the
new and flourishing casino hotel. There, he
met the person who would have the biggest
impact on his life: Cesar Ritz.
The two men, a chef and a hotelier, shared
a visionary outlook on hotel operations,
and used the Grand as their playground to
trial new ideas. Escoffier fashioned the prix
fixe menu and the new dining service of à
la russe in which each dish appeared one
after the other. This was highly unusual as
84 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 85

Paris Ritz garden party at the time of Escoffier
everything normally arrived together in the
fashionable à la française banqueting style.
Presentations too were simplified, dishes
became lighter, and anything inedible was
removed from the plates.
they opened the Carlton Hotel. Escoffier
devised a simplified dining experience that
was considerably easier for chefs to produce
quickly: à la carte menus were a modern
creation for guests to select specific dishes.
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By 1890, Escoffier and Ritz were summoned
to London’s Savoy Hotel. It was here that
Escoffier’s name became legendary,
promoting the elegance of French cuisine on a
global stage.
Escoffier transformed not only the Savoy into
one of the most fashionable dining spots in
London, but also rewrote the rule book on
British dining culture. The unsophisticated
British palette fell in love with his Cuisses
de Nymphes à l’Aurore (‘Nymph Thighs
at Dawn’) – frogs’ legs on a glassy pool
of champagne jelly. Both royalty and the
nouveau riche were his clients. As such,
his food instigated a transition in societal
dynamics. Women, who throughout the
19th century would have been deemed
unrespectable if they dined in a restaurant,
were swept up in that shift, and what we
now recognise as modern restauration was
arriving, all thanks to Escoffier.
His and Ritz’s creative efficiency was an
unbelievable success, and their hotels
bloomed around the world, yet in 1898, they
were sacked for alleged malpractice. In 1899,
He introduced English clientele to more
simplified French food – fresh vegetables
and the five mother sauces, the most popular
today being bechamel. For his modernising
views and peculiar attitudes towards
fashionable society, he was deemed an
eccentric. He loved to attend the theatre and
opera and collected celebrities as companions
which he usually accomplished by naming a
dish after them, such as the Peach Melba,
dedicated to the famous Australian opera
singer Nellie Melba.
Since his apprenticeship, he wore platform
shoes so he could see over the stoves,
adding a flamboyance to his attire. Residing
in London, this Frenchman was outspoken
(quelle surprise), openly holding traditional
English cuisine in contempt. In 1903, he
published a 5000-recipe masterwork
Le Guide Culinaire (‘A Guide to Modern
Cookery’). Although it was scattered with
peppery remarks about the English upper
classes, it also cemented his core techniques
and confirmed his culinary mastery.
It was in the kitchens where his influence
86 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 87

Cherries jubilee
is greatest – he developed la brigade de
cuisine and streamlined kitchen organisation.
Kitchens had to quickly serve haute cuisine
to clients with limited time. Escoffier believed
that the food should never be jeopardised
and his new system ensured that no specific
tasks were repeated. Instead, duties were
delegated depending on the station. He
created numerous roles – a pâtissier, saucier,
rotissier, and a garde manger who organised
the pantry. He banned alcohol and instead
served a refreshing malt drink to keep his
chefs hydrated. Bad behaviour was forbidden
and whenever he himself felt angry he would
leave the kitchen to calm down. He insisted
chefs keep their whites clean and change to
go home. It is thanks to Escoffier than kitchens
became considerably more humane places to
work, and his rules have become a matter of
instinct for chefs today.
Despite all of these incredible breakthroughs
in gastronomy and service, for which he
Scan of British postcard, circa 1905, showing the Carlton Hotel, London
was the first chef to be awarded Legion
d’Honneur, Escoffier’s reputation
has tarnished with time. In 1914, an
abbreviated version of Escoffier’s Guide
was published. Although the authors
insisted that the original was of more
value – and for a time, the post-WWI
society of the 1920s lived by Escoffier’s
teachings of good food and lavish
excess – it was eventually forgotten in
favour of the simplified version. This had
the problematic effect of destroying
Escoffier’s legacy. Not only were many of
his recipes outdated, but the abbreviations
redacted his enthusiasm and passion,
his dedication to food and flavour. His
lifetime’s work became associated with
old-fashioned, rigid instructions devoid of
reasoning. Accordingly, the French devised
Nouvelle Cuisine in the 1960s, while British
gastronomy, which continued to cling to
the Escoffier practices, fell into a rut.
Escoffier died in 1935. He was an
eccentric character ahead of his time.
He shaped our culinary repertoires, and
it is thanks to him that we all know how to
make a bechamel sauce!
Love French food? Have a listen to our
A-Z of French food podcast!
We can help with:
• Moving to France or Spain
• Setting up and running a business
• Help with VISA, residency and
work permits and taxes
• Legal advice and Insurance
• Healthcare advice
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88 | The Good Life France
The Good Life France | 89

Gateway to one of the largest national forests in France, Compiègne in Hauts de
France is full of nice surprises. Gillian Thornton explored on two legs and four.
Easing my amiable mount to a standstill, I
relaxed the reins for a few moments to take
in the view down the broad grassy avenue
towards the distant chateau of Compiègne.
After all, it’s not every day I get the chance to
ride in the hoof prints of kings and emperors,
nor to explore the vast natural paradise that
lay at their back door.
Some 85 kilometres north of Paris in the
department of Oise, Compiègne Forest is
bisected by more than 300 km of footpaths
and 130 km of cycle tracks. Walk it, bike it,
or do as I did and book a guided hack from
the Pôle Equestre du Compiégnois astride
a French breed of horse ideally suited to a
relaxed forest adventure.
Native to the Baie de Somme in Picardy, the
Henson is a small, good-natured and suitable
for both novice and expert riders. Our small
group walked and trotted along quiet forest
trails to a soundtrack of birdsong, before
eventually emerging from the trees for our
distant view of the vast chateau.
Hensons back in the paddock, I headed into
town for a close-up view. The first chateau was
built here in the 15th century under Charles V,
keeping its medieval appearance until the 17th
century when Louis XV commissioned a new
building. Most kings of France until Charles
X in 1825 stopped over in Compiègne on the
way to their coronation in Reims, with ‘Sun
King’ Louis XIV visiting no less than 75 times,
starting in 1646.
But whilst Louis XIV made some minor
improvements, it was Louis XVI who
masterminded a whole new wing and made
changes to the interior décor, only to have the
collections dispersed after he and his Austrian
Le Weekend:
COMPIÈGNE,
Picardy
90 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 91

wife Marie-Antoinette were parted from their
heads during the Revolution.
Enter Napoleon I who repurposed
Compiègne’s vast chateau first for the military,
then as a school for arts and crafts, before
deciding to redesign the former Royal palace
as an Imperial residence with new spaces,
décor, and furnishings.
But it was his nephew, Napoléon III who really
put the château at the forefront of court life.
Together with his wife Empress Eugénie, he
organised a weekly gathering or ‘Series’ for
around one hundred guests for four to six
weeks each year. Days were spent hunting
in the forest, playing games and going to
concerts, all the guests being accommodated
in the chateau.
Walk through the colonnades and courtyards
today, the ballroom and Imperial apartments,
and you get a real feel for what life must
have been like here for the favoured invitees.
Largest of France’s neoclassical chateaux,
Compiègne is a must-see of the Hauts de
France region, ranking with the Château de
Versailles and the Château de Fontainebleau
as one of the three most important Royal
and Imperial residences in France. So allow
plenty of time to discover its four very
different collections.
I began with a journey from the 18th century
through the Second Empire inside the
Royal and Imperial Apartments, each room
furnished in the period for which the most
comprehensive collection of furniture and
artworks was available. Tapestries woven for
Louis XV in the Gobelins factory in Paris show
the king hunting in the Compiègne forest – the
perfect wall covering for a monarch with local
connections. And I have a real ‘wow’ moment
inside the lavish red and gold bedchamber
of Empress Marie-Louise, wife of Napoleon
1. Refurbished in 1810, it’s the last word in
Imperial bling.
Follow in the footsteps of prestigious guests
attending the ‘Series’ to visit the Museum of
the Second Empire, a behind-the-scenes peek
into art, history and court life under Napoleon
III. But I’m particularly moved by the Empress
Museum which reveals the private life of the
last Imperial family through collections begun
by local resident Doctor Ferrand. Covering
the birth of the Empire to the family’s exile in
England after 1870, it shows the fragility of life
at the top of the political food chain.
After the Second Empire fell at Sedan in 1870,
Napoleon and his wife Eugénie settled at
Chislehurst, near London, with their teenage
son. Born in 1856, the Imperial Prince was
also named Napoléon but quickly nicknamed
‘Loulou’ by his adoring parents. In 1873,
Eugénie lost her ailing husband after a kidney
stone operation and in 1879, Loulou was killed
fighting the Zulus in South Africa with the
English, his bloodstained uniform poignantly
displayed here beside a Zulu spear beneath a
painting of his final moments.
Don’t leave the chateau without taking a
walk through the history of transport at the
National Car Museum with its collection
of horse-drawn vehicles, cars and bicycles
from the 18th to early 20th century. And
make like an emperor with a stroll in the
scented air of the landscaped park that
opens onto the forest.
The adjacent town of Compiègne, bisected
by the river Oise, today numbers some
40,000 inhabitants, and is home to yet
more unusual collections, so you’ll need
a couple of days to do them justice. Try
the Antoine Vivenel Museum, packed with
art and archaeological items; the Historic
Figurine Museum with over 100,000 military
and civilian figurines; or maybe the Cloister
Museum at Saint-Corneille Abbey.
I finished my short break at a unique heritage
site in the forest just 6km from the town
centre. The two Napoleons were no strangers
to war but the conflict remembered here
at the Armistice Clearing would have been
beyond even their wildest imagination.
Having recently been refitted as an office, the
Wagon-Lits train carriage reserved for Marshal
Foch was chosen for the signing of the
Armistice in 1918. Normally such a surrender
would have taken place at the headquarters
of the commander-in-chief at Senlis, but the
forest clearing ensured calm and isolation
away from the capital.
When peace returned, the Armistice Clearing
was opened as a memorial on 11 November
1922, and five years later, the historic train
carriage was restored and rehoused in a
purpose-built shelter. A statue of Marshal
Foch by Michelet followed in 1937, but more
upheaval was to come with the Occupation of
France by Germany during World War II.
On 22 June 1940, a French delegation
signed a second Armistice at the exact
location of the first. Only this time the roles
were reversed. Now the site of Germany’s
1918 humiliation was a symbol of the Third
Reich’s victory over France. The clearing was
destroyed on Hitler’s orders and carriage
2419D taken to Germany where it was later
lost in a fire.
Today visitors can imagine those historic
events, thanks to a similar carriage refurbished
in 1950 to replicate the original. The
centrepiece of a fascinating small museum,
it is just a short walk from the statues and
memorials of the Armistice Clearing.
Kings, Emperors and Dictators have all left
their mark on Compiègne, a small town
that is big on history, but also on outdoor
adventure, ideal for a weekend break. Don’t
even try to resist!
Gillian stayed at Aiden by Best Western
@ T’Aim Hotel on the banks of the Oise in
Margny-Les-Compiegne. bestwestern.com
Château de Compiègne:
chateaudecompiegne.fr. Closed Tuesdays,
but open all year round apart from public
holidays.
Armistice Museum:
musee-armistice-14-18.fr
For local visitor information, visit
compiegne-tourisme.fr;
oisetourisme.com;
hautsdefrancetourism.com; or
frenchweekendbreaks.co.uk
92 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 93

Your Photos
Every weekend we invite
you to share your photos
on Facebook and X – it’s a
great way for everyone to
“see” real France and be
inspired by real travellers
snapping pics as they
go. Every week there are
utterly gorgeous photos
being shared, and here we
showcase just a few of the
most popular. Share your
favourite photos with us
and the most ‘liked’ will
appear in the next issue
of The Good Life France
Magazine.
Sacré-Coeur, Noemi Potier
The white stone of the Basilica of
Sacré -Coeur, perched on the highest hill
in Paris, lights up the city skyline.
Read about the history of Sacré-Coeur.
Vieux Arcole, Emma Budgen
Au Vieux Paris d’Arcole restaurant in
rue Channoinesse is a stone’s throw
from Notre Dame. The wisteria here was
planted in 1946. It even has its own special
license to grow this large!
Mougins, Provence Marianne Furnes
Not far from Cannes, Mougins is a village
of winding medieval streets, restaurants,
artists stores and boutiques. It’s considered
a centre of the art de vivre, the art of living
well, in Provence.
Join us on Facebook and
X to like and share
your favourite photos of
France...
94 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 95

What’s
NEW
Autumn 2023
© Vins du Beaujolais / Fabrice Ferrer
Summer’s over and it’s la rentrée in
France – the time to return to work
and school after the long, hot summer
holidays and to harvest the grapes for
wine. There’s plenty going on this season!
National events in Autumn
Rugby World Cup: 8 September – 28
October 2023
Semaine du Gout – Taste Week: 10-
16 October. 2022. Discover the art of
gastronomy with cooking classes, tastings, and
entertainment. Details: legout.com
1st November La Toussaint – All Saints’ Day.
All over France, pots of chrysanthemums are
placed on graves as loved ones who have
passed on are remembered.
11th November Armistice – commemorative
services will be held all over France in honour
of those who lost their lives in World War I and
other wars.
Beaujolais Nouveau: the new season’s wine
arrives on the third Thursday of November
each year and the festivities start at midnight
on Wednesday. Cafés, bars, and restaurants
all over France encourage a taste!
CHAMPAGNE HOUSE
A Unique, Champagne Themed
19th century Townhouse in the centre of
historic Condom, Gers, Southwest France.
Offering a Luxury Boutique B&B,
• full house rental
• writing and mobile photography retreats
• upmarket Hen do’s/girly getaways.
All with a welcome glass of bubbly.
champagnehouse.fr
Listen to the most beautiful
French songs on your mobile,
Smart TV, Radioline, TuneIn etc.
parischanson.fr
96 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 97

Beaune: Wine Auction (Burgundy). 17-19
November 2023. Founded in 1443, the former
charitable hospital Hospices de Beaune is
now a museum. During its long existence,
many donors bequeathed vineyards to the
Hospices. In 1859, for the first time, the wines
of the new vintage from these holdings were
sold at auction. Now the hospices de Beaune
wine auction is a major moment of Burgundian
pageantry and the focal point for launching
the new vintage plus tasting events. Book
online at beaune-tourism.com
What’s on?
© Ragnhild Monsen’s
Monet inspired tapestry
Paris - Le Carousel du
Louvre Art Fair, 20-22
October 2023. Shop for art
in the heart of Paris and see
the extraordinary artworks
of artists including Ragnhild
Monsen, tapestry maker.
Paris Nuit Blanche is
held annually on the first
Saturday night in October.
Museums, public buildings,
monuments, swimming
pools, cinemas, parks, universities, and historic
sites are open to the public all night – an art
and culture party!
Details: quefaire.paris.fr/nuitblanche
vineyard of Paris, with dance, food, fireworks,
and a lot of fun. This event has been going
since 1934! Read our review of the Fetes des
Vendanges here.
Picardy, Amiens: Grand Rederie Amiens –
the second largest flea market in France held
first Sunday every October.
grande-rederie-amiens.com
Special offer
Book a 2024 CroisiEurope cruise before
30 September and get 15% off all Europe
cruises – use code “EARBOOTRAVEL” at
croisieurope.co.uk
AURA Invalides_
“palazzo” that’s strangely dreamlike, and
utterly mesmerising, until 7 Jan 2024.
Working with cardboard, the monumental
sculptures are beautiful and astonishing.
Cultival and the Musée de l'Armée – will open
a new immersive night-time sound and light
experience in the heart of the 17th century
Dôme des Invalides September 22, 2023.
Places are limited, tickets at:
aura-invalides.com
The Chateau de Chantilly (Oise) Plant Days
event brings together nearly 200 nurserymen
and exhibitors from all over France and
Europe. October 6-8, 2023
America celebrates Halloween – in Moselle
they celebrate Rommelbootzennaat – the
night of the grinning beets! This traditional
festival with Celtic origins which takes
place all over the department. Traditionally
celebrated on October 31, the eve
of All Saints' Day, it marked the
end of the luminous season and
the beginning of the dark season.
For one night, it was believed, the
door between the world of the
living and that of the dead was open…
Now celebrated from October 21 to November
5, some people light candles and place them
in a hollowed-out beet or pumpkin!
Christmas is coming…
Christmas lights to be switched on in Paris 17
November 2023
We’ll bring you lots more Christmas info in the
next issue of The Good Life France Magazine
(subscribe here for free).
WANT AN AFFORDABLE WAY TO ADVERTISE?
Paris - Fetes des Vendanges, 11-15 October
2023. This is one you definitely should
not miss if you're in Paris at this time. A
celebration of the wine made in the secret
Exhibitions
© OTresson / Avignon Tourisme
Catch the
extraordinary
Eva Jospin
exhibition at
the Palace of
the Popes, a
monumental
cardboard
Promote your business to more than a million
Francophiles every month without breaking the bank
Find out how we can help
Contact Mark@thegoodlifefrance.com
98 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 99

An IMMERSIVE
EXPERIENCE
Learning French was never
so much fun!
and aim” says Celtina Massardo of SL
Immersion. “All are professionally qualified
and highly experienced in teaching French as
a foreign language whether you’re learning
for fun, want to pass exams, speak French for
a job, or for moving to France and want to
learn fast, or even want to teach French.”
“Learning French with an immersion homestay
chez the teacher is the most effective way to
learn and to discover the authentic culture.
The locals open their homes and share the
secrets of their village, gastronomy, and
heritage. It is a wonderful exchange. We share
a lot. And the student is immersed in the
language 24/7.”
There are loads of opportunities to discover the
most beautiful villages and historic cities. Visit
markets, museums, and vineyards. Enjoy great
French gastronomy, go wine tasting and discover
real France. But this time it’s with the help of a
local, someone who knows the area, its people,
and its culture. You’ll get to know France in a
way you never thought possible as a visitor.
Every stay is adapted to suit the needs of the
visitor. Every stay is tailor-made, and students
can choose how many formal lessons to
undertake (from 5-30 a week) on an individual
or very small group basis with the pace of
learning adapted to you.
Go as an individual, with your family and
friends or as a group! At the end of your stay,
you’ll be amazed at the incredible difference it
makes to your French!
Find out more and book your French
immersion stay at:
slimmersion-france.com
Learn French while living the life of a
local: it’s a great way to pick up the
nuances of everyday French and really
focus on your French language skills,
while you have fun!
SL Immersion are the leading company for
homestay immersion courses in the French
language. They offer homestays in locations
range from Paris to Provence, via Normandy,
Burgundy, Brittany and Bordeaux, the
French Alps and more. And staying with a
French teacher in their home gives you the
opportunity to live the French lifestyle like a
local – and learn French at the same time.
All the courses are officially certified by the
French Government Tourism agency Atout
France to ensure quality and security of
the stays – and that’s not something that all
immersion courses offer.
As a student, you stay with the teacher and
family in their home. You still take classes
because that’s an important part of learning.
But you get to practice your French in a reallife,
authentic environment.
“Our teachers provide personalized lessons
that are adapted to each individual’s need
FRENCH IMMERSION PROGRAMS
• Homestay at your certified private tutor’s residence
• Learn French & discover culture in the most beautiful places in France
PLUS ONLINE LESSONS
Tailor-made courses, guided conversations, French life
slimmersion-france.com
100 | The Good Life France
The Good Life France | 101

French property and
lifestyle show 2023
The Good Life France is proud to be a partner
along with some of the most trusted names
in French property and lifestyle services
including Currencies Direct, Prestige Property
Services and LBS French Administrative
Services. We will also have on hand several
visa specialists to assist you with your
transition. It’s the perfect place to meet the
experts in one place – at the Novotel Hotel,
Southampton on October 7 and 8.
Meet the experts
Longing for a dose of southern French
sunshine, a more laid-back way of life,
a holiday home, a new life or a relaxed
retirement? Whatever your dreams and plans,
come and explore the possibilities of moving
to France and get expert help and advice.
BUYER’S AGENT FRANCE
LUXURY FRENCH REAL ESTATE
Prestige French
Property and Lifestyle
Show October 2023
For anyone dreaming or planning to buy a property in France or move to France, the
French property and lifestyles show is a must-do. Taking place over the weekend of
7 and 8 October in Southampton this is the event to help you make your dreams of a
new life in France come true.
And we’ve got 300 tickets to give away for free – click here to get your free ticket.
AN EXCLUSIVE & CONFIDENTIAL BUYING SERVICE TO ACQUIRE YOUR HOME IN FRANCE
BUYER’S AGENT FRANCE is a bespoke concept, created to meet the specific needs of
discerning international buyers, stress-free, one point of contact & discreet service.
buyersagentfrance.com
102 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 103

Prestige French Property
& Lifestyle Show 2023
French Properties for sale
Holiday rentals throughout France
Employment opportunities
Visa requirements
Currency exchange
300
FREE tickets
give away
Property agents are on hand to inspire with
a huge range of properties available from
chateaux (aren’t we all just dreaming of
escaping to the chateau?!), gorgeous village
houses, properties with land, and bargain
doer-uppers for those keen diy-ers.
French property is surprisingly affordable,
we’ve even seen plenty of properties that cost
less than a year’s rent for an average property
in London.
Post-Brexit, it’s absolutely doable to move to
France, albeit with a few more administrative
requirements. You’ll find all the experts you
need at the French Property and Lifestyle
show to help you negotiate the buying
process, paperwork, and visas. And yes, you
do need a visa now to go to France for longer
than three months out of six, but once you
know how it all works, you’ll find it’s just an
administrative process – and there’s plenty
of support and help on hand so that you
can relax and enjoy the adventure. And for
those looking to work in France, experts
will be available to talk about employment
opportunities. With optic fibre roll out right
across France – working from home on the
internet has never been easier!
If you’re dreaming of buying a property or
moving to France don’t miss this show.
And if you’re longing for a holiday in France or
want to rent while you search or wait to move
into your dream home – that’s taken care of
too, with holiday rentals throughout France
being showcased at the show.
Walking to the boulangerie for your early
morning coffee, shopping at the market for
local seasonal produce, sitting at a café
watching the world go by, relaxing in a hot
tub watching the sun set – it’s a way of life in
France, and it could be your life.
Get your free tickets exclusively from The
Good Life France: click here, choose date and
when you get to the ticket section - choose
the option The Good Life France to get your
free tickets.
See you there!
Find out more at prestigepropertynetwork.com
Free buyers pack for buying in France
Other professional services
(Banking, insurance, Investments etc)
Find out more at
prestigepropertynetwork.com
WHERE
Novotel - Southampton, SO15 1RA
WHEN
7th and 8th October 2023 10am - 5pm
REGISTER NOW
authorised financial servcies provider
104 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 105

SPOTLIGHT
on Bordeaux
Sunny, vibrant Bordeaux city offers a laid-back lifestyle within easy reach of glorious
coastal towns and beautiful countryside with excellent transport links.
Bordeaux is a magnet for tourists drawn to its
top-class museums, including the renowned
Cité du Vin, and glorious architecture. It has
the largest urban area listed on the UNESCO
world heritage encompassing some 1810
hectares. The Port of the Moon, once the
main port for shipping wine from Bordeaux,
has been regenerated and former warehouses
transformed into shops, bars and restaurants.
The quaysides are busy with runners, cyclists
and walkers and families splashing in the
Miroir d’Eau, a water sculpture in front of the
impressive Place de la Bourse.
Alongside this, the city has numerous green
spaces and is teeming with smart shops and
chic restaurants. Plus it’s a family-friendly city
with excellent private and public schooling with
an increasing offer for classes taught in English.
Trains to Paris take around two hours, and
there’s also an international airport as well as
excellent auto route links.
Properties here are popular with the French
and with international buyers. American Brad
Turner who works for Leggett Immobillier’s
Bordeaux based agency says “Knowing
where to look is the key to finding your dream
home. Especially if you want a traditional
style property like wood floors and high
ceilings – but with modern facilities such as air
conditioning and a great fitted kitchen! There
are lots of different property styles, multiple
neighbourhoods that are quite distinctive within
the city and a great choice in villages and
towns no more than 50km away from the city
centre and increasingly accessible by public
transport. Even the airport is now only 25
minutes away on the newly opened tram line A
making Bordeaux the perfect place for second
homeowners – no need to keep a car here.”
The Fondaudege and Chartrons
neighbourhoods have been rejuvenated thanks
to tram service access and renovation, and
despite being in the centre of the city, still
retain a villagey-vibe. Recently there has
106 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 107

Our latest properties for sale in and around Bordeaux
chalet villa château farmhouse apartment vineyard gîte cottage coast country city
Full of Charm
Cadillac €435,000
Ref: A22010 - Charming 3-bedroom tastefully
renovated home with heated pool.
5% agency fees included paid by the buyer.
Fantastic Location
Bordeaux €950,000
Ref: A05383 - 4-bedroom 190m² house
with office, garage and garden.
Agency fees to be paid by the seller.
Coming Soon!
Our NEW Bordeaux office
is opening soon…
Watch this space!
been development in several central areas,
for instance the Bassins à Flots area, home
to the newly opened Bassin des Lumières art
venue. Popular with young people, the area
offers excellent investment opportunities with
new apartments, shops and bars and several
companies have opened workspaces. The area
behind Bordeaux-Saint-Jean train station has
also benefited from investment in apartment
and office space plus a fabulous new food
hall. And on the right bank, the Darwin area
overlooking the river is undergoing a renovation.
The Saint-Seurin, Ornano and Saint-Genès
are quieter neighbourhoods, long popular with
families with all the benefits of the city right
on the doorstep. And the residential district
of Nansouty which has a large central square,
great infrastructure, and is also popular with
families wanting more space.
Families seeking bigger gardens and proximity
to private schooling tend to house hunt
around the biggest park in Bordeaux, the Parc
Bordelais in the Cauderan area of Bordeaux
and neighbouring town Le Bouscat which has
a new Tram line. An up-and-coming family
area is Bègles which has fantastic local shops,
transport and a community atmosphere.
Increasingly the suburbs and areas further
away from the city are becoming more
popular, especially with remote workers.
‘Property prices are lower outside the city and
in towns and villages up to 50km away, they
are as much as 30-50% lower. Many of these
areas have excellent road, train and tram
connections. We have some fabulous properties
in areas surrounding Bordeaux, including the
seaside resort of Arcachon, the wine growing
area of Medoc, Entre-Deux-Mers and even
Landes, all these places have been made
accessible with superb transport options” says
Brad. “Plus, we offer a bespoke search service
for overseas clients looking for properties in
Bordeaux and surrounding areas.”
A great choice of property, laid back lifestyle,
excellent weather, wine, and access to the
coast, with prices about half the price of Paris
– welcome to Bordeaux!
Leggett Immobillier will open a new office in
Bordeaux, next to the city hall, in October.
Leggett Immobillier Bordeaux Office address:
15 Rue Montbazon, 33000 Bordeaux
Brad Turner’s Bordeaux Property portfolio
Find properties all across France at
award winning Leggett Immobillier:
frenchestateagents.com
Prestigious Address
Bordeaux €1,299,000
Ref: A18000 - 3-bedroom duplex with
510m² garden, 100m from Parc Bordelais.
Agency fees to be paid by the seller.
Close to the Beach
Hourtin €770,000
Ref: A19337 - 4-bedroom 177m² villa
with pool, 11min by bike to the marina beach.
4% agency fees included paid by the buyer.
Architect-Designed
Andernos-les-Bains €1,595,000
Ref: A18022 - Stunning 4-bedroom 179m²
villa with pool and landscaped gardens.
Agency fees to be paid by the seller.
Golf Lovers
St-Sulpice-et-Cameyrac €630,000
Ref: A18686 - Fabulous 3-bedroom
house with garden and pool.
Agency fees to be paid by the seller.
Turnkey-Ready
Le Bouscat €799,000
Ref: A18944 - 3-bedroom architectdesigned
home with garden and garage.
4% agency fees included paid by the buyer.
Sought after Area
Talence €472,500
Ref: A20925 - 3-bedroom apartment in gated
residence with pool, tennis courts and gym.
5% agency fees included paid by the buyer.
Start your property search today!
+33 (0)5 53 60 84 88 · leggettfrance.com · info@leggett.fr
Information on the risks to which these properties are exposed is available on the Geohazards website:
www.georisques .gouv.fr
108 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 109

Applying for a visa
for France?
Make sure that you have the right level of
insurance for success
© macrovector on Freepik
Don’t let French administration
hold you back!
If you’ve always dreamed of making the move to France but don’t
know where to start, we’re here to help.
Our friendly English-speaking team at French Connections HCB
offers a support service in every aspect of French administration,
visa applications, setting up a business, car registration,
healthcare, buying and renovating a property,
and much more.
For help simply visit
frenchconnectionshcb.com or
call us on +33 1 85 65 74 98
to get started.
Janine Marsh explains how there’s one thing that people often miss in their
application – and it’s the major reason for a visitor visa being denied, and the second
main reason for a business visa issue.
Earlier this year a reader contacted me in a
complete panic. She and her husband had
applied for their long-term visa for France
– and they’d been turned down. They had
sold their house in the UK and bought a
house in France that they couldn’t wait to
move into. And they were devastated to be
told ‘non’. With a deadline to reapply, they
had no idea what they should do and asked
me if I could help.
This is not the first time I’ve had a cry for help
message when it comes to visas, and I doubt
it will be the last time. But I always start my
reply the same way – did you get the proper
healthcare insurance?
“We do have fully comprehensive insurance
that covers Europe and the Schengen area”
came the reply.
And that right there is the problem. It seems
it’s not always clear what insurance you need.
And when you’re turned down, you’re not
given a reason.
“I am just guessing at what might be
missing?? How do you know if they have
not itemised what is needed. I thought we
fabulously easy.
Insurance services for English speakers in France
Medical Insurance
Home Insurance
Car Insurance
Visa Insurance
and more
We work with more than 30 insurers and many more
providers so we are always able to find the best and
most affordable solution for your situation.
We’ve got you covered.
33 (0)5 35 65 50 50
hello@fabfrenchinsurance.com
www.fabfrenchinsurance.com
110 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 111

had ticked everything on the list from the
visa application centre.”
Fully comprehensive insurance is needed, but
it’s not enough. You must also have insurance
that covers your healthcare. It’s called by
many names: visa healthcare insurance,
medical insurance, health insurance, private
health insurance, healthcare insurance or
even visa insurance and sometimes insurance
for visa applications.
But it all boils down to the same thing –
without it, your visa application will not be
approved.
I recommended Fabien Pelissier of FAB
French insurance to the couple. After a free
30-minute consultation with one of the team
(who all speak English), they realised that they
had in fact completely missed the requirement
to make sure that they had health cover in
France. Once you move to France with your
long-term visa, you need to apply for your
Carte de Sejour (residency permit) and Carte
Vitale (which covers you for healthcare in
France. Once you have that – you no longer
need to have the medical insurance.
Medical insurance is not cheap. But you must
have good cover to prove that you will not
be a burden on taxpayers in France. And you
need to be prepared to wait from 6-9 months
(sometimes more, so it’s best to allow 12
months for your healthcare insurance cover)
for the residency permit and entry to the
healthcare system to be come through. Note:
You can only apply for the Carte de Sejour/
Carte Vitale after moving to France.
The couple scoured the internet for quotes but
in the end went back to FAB saying “it's the
cheapest we have found - the others are too
much!”
Fabien says
“Brexit didn’t just impact the British, when it
comes to applying for a visa, it also resulted in
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including those from the US and Australia.
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Most successful applications have the
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the certificate should mention that the visa
insurance policy is scheduled for automatic
renewal.
• It mentions that you're covered for medical
expenses and hospitalisation (not just
hospitalisation).
• The medical cover should be for at least
€30,000.00. Note that some visa centres
(New York and London for instance) may
expect more than this for no particular
reason (up to €100k) and for that reason
it's twice as important to work with an
insurance agent or broker that knows the
drill about French visas.
• The certificate should not mention any
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• It must cover include a repatriation plan.
If you fulfil these five requirements and if the
rest of your file is complete, you should be off
to a flying start with your visa application.”
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112 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 113

Your one stop shop for the finest quality
food from Britain and Ireland.
ONION
Soup
Serves 8
Preparation time 10 min
Cooking time 1 hour
INGREDIENTS
1 ¼ lb. (600 g) large onions
3 tablespoons (50 g) butter
10 cups (2 liters) clear white stock
1 bouquet garni
16 slices of baguette, toasted to make
croutons
5 oz. (140 g) grated Gruyère cheese
Kosher salt to taste
Fine salt, freshly ground pepper
METHOD
Peel, wash, and slice the onions. Sweat them
in butter.
Add the light white stock, the bouquet garni,
and the kosher salt. Simmer for 45 minutes to
1 hour. Adjust the seasoning. Set your oven
to broil.
Pour the broth into individual ovenproof bowls.
Place two croutons in each bowl of soup and
sprinkle with the grated cheese. Place in the
oven until a gratin crust forms on top.
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Extracted from
The Complete Book of French Cooking
by Hubert Delorme and Vincent Boué (Flammarion, 2023).
Photo credit: © Clay McLachlan
114 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 115

Mussel mouclade
Serves 4
Preparation time 30 min
Cooking time 30 min
INGREDIENTS
2 lb. (1 kg) mussels
2 shallots
A few sprigs flat-leaf parsley
6 tablespoons (90 g) unsalted butter
Scant ½ cup (100 ml) dry white wine
1⁄3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream
2 teaspoons (10 g) curry powder
Freshly ground pepper
?
Did You Know?
This mouclade is a specialty
of the Poitou-Charentes region,
but other coastal regions have
their own variations.
METHOD
Scrape off the dirt from the mussels and
remove the beards. Finely slice the shallots
and chop the parsley. Sweat the shallots in 3 ½
tablespoons (50 g) butter and then pour in the
white wine.
Add the mussels and half the chopped parsley.
Cover and cook over high heat, stirring
regularly.
Check that all the mussels are open,
discarding any that aren’t, and transfer them
to a dish with a slotted spoon.
Filter the cooking liquid to remove any traces
of sand. Reduce it by half. Add the cream
and reduce further, until it is thick enough
to coat the back of a spoon. Whisk in the
remaining butter.
Sprinkle half the curry powder into the sauce
and leave it to infuse. Season with pepper.
Serve the mussels on the half shell (remove
one half of each shell) and arrange them all in
a serving dish or in soup plates.
Sprinkle the remaining the parsley over the
dishes, and pour over the hot sauce. Sprinkle
with the remaining curry powder.
Chef’s Notes
Use the finest mussels you can
find for this tasty regional dish.
Allow about ½ lb. (250 g)
of mussels per person for an
appetizer
Extracted from
The Complete Book of French
Cooking by Hubert Delorme and
Vincent Boué (Flammarion, 2023).
Photo credit: © Clay McLachlan
116 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 117

GINGER &
LEMONGRASS
CRÉPINETTES
Crépinette au gingembre
et à la citronnelle
Serves 4
Active time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Storage: 2 days in the
refrigerator
EQUIPMENT
Meat grinder + medium plate
INGREDIENTS
Crépinettes
1¼ lb. (600 g) pork shoulder (échine de porc)
7 oz. (200 g) pork fatback (lard gras)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
1¼ cups (300 ml) dry white wine
1 tbsp finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 tbsp finely chopped lemongrass
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
2¾ tsp (14 g) salt per 2¼ lb. (1 kg) farce
3½ tsp (8 g) ground Voatsiperifery pepper per
2¼ lb. (1 kg) farce
7 oz. (200 g) pork caul fat, rinsed
Wilted spinach
1¾ lb. (800 g) fresh spinach
5 tbsp (2½ oz./70 g) butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Sauce
½ tbsp (50 ml) olive oil
Generous ¾ cup (200 ml) sweet soy sauce
3 tbsp (1¾ oz./50 g) butter
To serve
1 tsp (3 g) buckwheat groats (kasha)
1 oz. (30 g) baby spinach
Extracted from Charcuterie: Pâtés, Terrines, Savory Pies –
Recipes and Techniques From the Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts
by Ferrandi Paris (Flammarion, 2023)
Photography credit © Rina Nurra
METHOD
Preparing the crépinettes
Cut the pork shoulder and fatback into pieces
and grind through the meat grinder into a
bowl. In a skillet, cook the onion with the
olive oil over medium-low heat until softened
but not browned. Deglaze the pan with
the white wine and reduce until the onions
are completely soft and all the liquid has
evaporated. Let cool completely, then stir into
the ground meat. Add the ginger, lemongrass,
cilantro, salt, and pepper and stir to combine
without overmixing. Shape into 4 balls, each
weighing 5¼ oz. (150 g), then flatten into disks.
Cut the caul fat into 4 equal squares and wrap
around the disks, enclosing them completely.
Chill until cooking.
Preparing the wilted spinach
De-stem and wash the spinach leaves, then
spin dry. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over
medium heat, add the spinach, and cook
until wilted. Season with salt and pepper and
keep warm.
Cooking the crépinettes and preparing the
sauce
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/Gas
Mark 4). Heat the olive oil in an oven-safe
non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, add
the crépinettes, and brown them on both sides.
Place the pan in the oven for 8 minutes to
finish cooking. Remove the crépinettes from
the pan, skim the fat off the pan juices, and
add the soy sauce. Bring to a boil, then stir in
the butter until melted. Return the crépinettes
to the pan to coat them with the sauce.
To serve
Place each crépinette over a bed of wilted
spinach, sprinkle with buckwheat groats, and
garnish with baby spinach leaves.
118 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 119

ALSATIAN
mirabelle plum tart
Serves 8
Preparation: 40 minutes
Resting: 20 minutes
Cooking: 25 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Creamed sweet short pastry
1 stick (125 g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
1 egg
2 ¾ cups (250 g) cake flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
Sweet custard base for baking
1 scant cup (200 ml) milk
1 scant cup (200 ml) whipping cream, min.
35% fat
4 eggs plus 4 yolks
Scant ½ cup (80 g) sugar
A few drops of mirabelle plum brandy
½ vanilla bean
1 lb. (500 g) mirabelle plums
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
?
Did You Know?
Mirabelle plums, a small, very sweet variety
of plum, are grown in the Alsace-Lorraine
region in eastern France. They are much
appreciated for their juicy flesh and are
used to make preserves and eau-de-vie.
You can use other plums or even other fruit
to make this tart—but it will no longer be
called a mirabelle tart!
METHOD
Prepare the creamed sweet short pastry
Place the butter, sugar, and egg in the bowl
of a food processor and cream together
until smooth. Sift the flour and add it with
the salt to process for 1–2 minutes further,
until smooth.
Press down the dough with the palm of your
hand, pushing it away from you, until the
ingredients are thoroughly blended. Chill,
covered, for 20 minutes. Roll out the dough
very thinly (about 1⁄8 in./3 mm) to form a disk.
Use a rolling pin to transfer it from the working
surface to the baking pan or circle: drape it
round the pin and then unroll it in place. Make
decorative patterns around the edge.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Prepare the sweet custard base for baking.
Combine the milk, cream, whole eggs, egg
yolks, sugar, and bitter almond extract until
just mixed. Do not allow the mixture to form
bubbles. Pour the mirabelle brandy in to the
batter and scrape the seeds out of the vanilla
bean to flavor it. Strain it through a fine-mesh
sieve, cover with plastic wrap, and chill.
Wash the plums. Arrange them at the base of
the pastry crust and pour the batter over. Bake
for 20–25 minutes. If you are using a pastry
ring, remove it for the last 5 minutes so that
the edges can brown slightly. Remove from the
oven and dust with confectioners’ sugar. Turn
onto a cooling rack.
This tart is best served
warm, and is delicious
with ice-cream.
Extracted from
The Complete
Book of French Cooking
by Hubert Delorme and Vincent
Boué (Flammarion, 2023).
Photo credit: © Clay McLachlan
120 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 121

Last
Word
When my last book came out – Toujours la France – I had a little party in the
garage. We were almost finished renovating the house and garden, but not quite,
so the garage was the best place for more than a handful of people, less chance of
falling over a paint pot.
Claudette, my 90-year-old neighbour had insisted that we mark the occasion with
a little get together. She arrived with her daughter Bernadette and son-in-law Jean-
Claude, closely followed by Mr & Mrs Pepperpot (that’s not their real names, but
they are a diminutive couple and that’s what we call them!). Thierry the farmer two
houses along parked his tractor (thankfully without its usual load of dung) outside our
gate and hopped in for a quick glass of beer and a slice of Claudette’s strawberry
cake. Bread Man, the man who delivers our bread, parked his little van outside and
brought in a box of Speculoos and salted crème éclairs. Madame Bernadette, who
lives at the house at the bottom of our hill, arrived with Constance and Guillaume
and they brought Opera and mille-feuille cakes and perfect little macarons. I’d
expected just a few people to turn up but, in the end, there were 26 of us, as more
neighbours stopped to say hello on their way from their way home from work,
causing a queue of tractors lined up outside our little house.
At the bottom of the garden, the chickens watched and clucked, keen to join in
the fun. “Zut alors” said Bread Man as Barbara Streisand, a long feathered and
rather belligerent bird, belted out her usual shriek, “that one sounds like it’s singing
Je Suis Une Femme Amoreuse” (I am a woman in love), and he hummed happily.
I ignored how many calories there were in all those cakes, and simply enjoyed the
moment and being a part of this lovely community I now call home...
Well I have a new book out this Autumn and it’s a bit different from my usual
memoirs. It’s called How to be French: Eat, Drink, Dress, Travel, Love. It’s a
celebration of the French lifestyle, cherishing food and culture, and a lesson in
the joy of art de vivre, taking things slowly. We may well still be in the garage for a
‘launch party’ since the renovation is ongoing (I am starting to think it will never be
entirely finished), but joie de vivre is assured – we are after all in France!
Janine Marsh is Author of My Good Life in France: In Pursuit of the Rural Dream,
and My Four Seasons in France: A Year of the Good Life, and Toujours la France:
Living the Dream in Rural France.
Janine
Janine Marsh lives in France with her husband and around 60 animals. Her books My Good Life
in France, My Four Seasons in France and Toujours la France are available at Amazon and all
good book shops. Her new book How to be French will be published in October 2023.
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122 | The Good Life France
The Good Life France | 123

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