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If you plan to visit Paris in December, wrap up warm and head out into the streets to soak up the Christmas spirit! From mid-November onwards, the City of Lights begins to live up to its name as Christmas displays are constructed in store windows, Christmas lights brighten the boulevards, and Christmas markets start popping up all over town. There are also special bus tours and river cruises along the Seine to see the Christmas lights, and several open-air ice skating rinks to choose from near Paris’s...

As I write this post, I join the rest of France and millions of people around the world who remain in shock following the fire that started on April 15th, 2019. For us, Notre Dame is more than a landmark and a place of worship. It is a work of art that has born witness to our history for the greater part of the last millennium. It is a symbol of human accomplishment and endurance across many generations. “It’s the very soul of Paris, but it’s not just for French people. For all humanity, it’s one of the great monuments to the best of civilisation,” said Barbara Drake Boehm, senior curator at...

This post is updated periodically to include current and upcoming Paris exhibitons and events. If you're planning to visit Paris in 2019 or 2020, you will surely be interested in finding out about the essential Paris exhibitions to check out this year. Here we have put together a comprehensive list of exhibitions we think people should include in their Paris itinerary, depending on the date of their visit and their specific interests. If you are doing a tour with us, be sure to let us know if you...

In 2019, the 86th annual Lemon Festival in Menton, known locally as la Fête du Citron , adopted the theme ‘Fantastic Worlds’ ( Des Mondes Fantastiques) . As soon as we know the theme for the 2020 festival, we will update this post. See below to check the dates for the events planned for the Menton Lemon Festival 2020. Video highlights: in 2019, the festival's theme was ' Fantastic Worlds' In this post, we will tell you a bit about the town of Menton, the most ‘Italian’ city in France and one of France’s prettiest hidden gems. Then we will list...

Twenty years after France won its first World Cup final at home in Paris, our team brings the golden trophy home for a second time , this time from Moscow. See this video of Paris paying homage to its national team. It was a dramatic end to an exciting month of football in Russia. The match against the strong Croatian team ended 4 - 2, including a stunning goal from Paris St Germain football club's latest star, 19-year-old Kylian Mbappé. making him the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Brazilian legend Pelé in 1958. France's manager Didier Deschamps also goes down in history...

Any mention of France, and Paris in particular, will surely conjure up an image of the most iconic of icons, a symbol of romance and geometrical elegance. The Eiffel Tower in Paris (or Tour Eiffel de Paris, as it is called in French) , which celebrates its 130 th anniversary on March 31 st , 2019. With nearly 7 million people visiting each year and 250 million visitors in total since its inauguration in 1889, the Eiffel Tower is one of the world’s most popular attractions. But not many people know the history behind it, or how the Iron Lady has managed to stay standing for so long. Here are...

France Just For You is delighted to have been awarded the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence 2019 (and also 2018) for our tours of France. The Certificate of Excellence recognizes businesses that receive consistently great user reviews. We would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to all our travelers for leaving such kind reviews on TripAdvisor! Here are a few of our favorite quotes from our TripAdvisor page : “If you want to experience France, but are hesitant because you don’t speak the language, this company is for you. Emilie will prepare an itinerary that is so detailed that even the...

Every May, Gypsy communities gather in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in Provence to worship their patron saint. Learn about the pilgrimage and about other activities you can do in the Camargue region of France.

Jean-Marie Avisard will be replacing the legendary Gilbert Vahé as head gardener at Giverny , the home of Claude Monet. The job will include keeping the beautiful gardens , which inspired so much of Monet’s work, in pristine condition. This includes the flowerbeds, water garden, and lily ponds and it is no easy task. Jean Marie Avisard, the new head gardener of the Giverny gardens - © Autour de Overblog Gilbert Vahé has been in charge of the gardens since the project was first conceived back in 1977. He then retired in 2011 and was replaced by British...

must-see exhibition at the Louvre Get your diaries ready. From March 29th until July 23rd of this year , the Louvre will host a Delacroix exhibition. For those unfamiliar with Delacroix, he is one of France’s most celebrated artists and was the talk of the town in the early to mid 1800s. For four months, Paris’s, most famous museum will be exhibiting around 180 pieces of his work. The majority of these masterpieces will be paintings and they will span the entirety of his career to give viewers a complete picture (no pun intended) of his life. Eugene Delacroix Painter (1798 -...

By 2024, Paris’s main airport, Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle will have a fourth terminal. This will come just in time for the arrival of the Olympic athletes when Paris hosts the 2024 Olympic Games. The summer games are expected to take place between July 26 th and August 11 th . Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport Currently, Charles de Gaulle airport is the 10th busiest airport in the worl d and the second busiest in Europe, after London. On average, the airport receives almost 70 million passengers per year. Its busiest routes are to New York, London, Barcelona and Dubai. The...

Disneyland Paris is about to get an impressive new $2.5 billion expansion over the next few years. Those in charge have remained tight-lipped about the details of this expansion but we have managed to extract the basic gist from the powers that be. It looks like three brand new areas are going to be added to the park in the biggest expansion since the park first opened in 1992 . Situated just outside the French capital, Paris, Disneyland Paris has long been captivating visitors from around the world. Did you know that Disneyland Paris alone accounts for...

Have you ever wondered what Paris looks like from up above? Well, thanks to FlyView’s new virtual reality experience, now you can find out. The premise of this spectacular new attraction is simple – let people soar over Paris, without a plane. Of course, you won’t actually be attached to a jet pack as you gaze down upon this bustling metropolis, but it will feel like you are. FlyView over Paris This new type of cultural attraction has already taken off in North America with FlyOver Canada and FlyOver USA. The simulator lets individuals feel like they are zooming through the air...

Did you know that King Louis XIV got married in Saint-Jean-de-Luz? Well, wouldn't you? In 1660, King Louis XIV of France was wedded to the Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain . The title infanta was given to the children of the king in Spain and Portugal. While the marriage itself was not a particularly happy one – King Louis had numerous public love affairs – the story of the wedding has gone down in history as being somewhat legendary. The reason the marriage was arranged in the first place was to ease the growing tensions...

Situated in the South of France, most people think of Provence as a summer destination . With abundant nature, there is plenty of fun to be had exploring the region’s diverse and beautiful landscapes under the never-ending sunshine. Yet, there is a lot more to Provence than just days out in the sun. Come Christmas time, the whole region transforms into a winter wonderland. The region has its own special Christmas customs and this makes the festive season here particularly magical. The festivities run from the 4 th of December right through...

As we are always working to improve our tours and looking for new places of interest to include, we decided to pay a visit to the city of Nantes, at the border between Pays de la Loire and Brittany, to see ‘ Les Machines de l’île’ , a unique and ever-growing world of mechanical animals. Engineering enthusiasts will be fascinated by this place, developed by artists François Delarozière and Pierre Orefice. It evokes both the imaginary, invented world of Jules Verne and the mechanical universe of Leonardo da Vinci , and is a tribute...

Located in Indre-et-Loire district is the château of Azay-le-Rideau, a castle built between 1518 and 1527, to protect the town of Chinon and surrounding area. In 1791 the ruins of the castle were purchased by Marquis Charles de Biencourt in the hope that he would restore the castle to its former glory. The family worked hard and added an English inspired garden to the grounds. Azay castle was finally restored and descendants of the Biencourt opened it to the public in 1850. In 1905 after having several owners, Azay-le-Rideau castle was purchased by the state and given protective and...

When is the Cannes Film Festival 2019? In 2019, the Cannes Film Festival will take place from 14-25 May. One of the most glamorous events on the entertainment calendar, the biggest names in world cinema will once again congregate in the south of France for the 72nd edition of the Cannes Film Festival 2019. What do you need to know about this year’s 11-day event? Let’s take a look. Who is on the panel of judges ("Le Jury") in 2019? Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu has been confirmed as President of the Jury for the 72nd Cannes...

Chambord Castle is located in the Loire Valley and has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1981, welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. On March 20th 2017, the newly restored French gardens will open to the public for the first time. This exciting new addition to the castle grounds was based on original drawings and years of architectural and archeological research. The gardens occupy six and a half hectares on the north side of the castle, and there are more than 600 trees, 800 shrubs, 200 rosebushes and 15,250 plants along the border. This is the largest garden project...

A new thrilling glass floor at the first level of the Iron Lady Since yesterday (Monday October 6th), the Eiffel Tower – Paris’ most visited tourist site – unveiled its renovated First Floor allowing visitors to look down through a solid glass floor. To increase the frisson of walking on air still further, the glass safety barriers have been inclined outwards. Previously the first floor was the least visited part of the tower and this new floor should attract more people. The €30-million ($37.5-million) refit - which took two years - includes shops, restaurants and a museum...