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France Just For You
Table d'hôte: Enjoy a home-cooked meal at your French B&B with fellow guests
We arrange for our travelers to stay at premium B&B accommodations across France that we have tried ourselves, because we think this is the best way to get the chance to interact with French people who speak good English. We also know the B&B hosts personally, so we know they’ll extend the warmest of welcomes to all our travelers.
On at least one evening during your trip, you will enjoy a ‘table d'hôte’ at your B&B. Your hosts will cook a delicious typical French meal for you and the fellow B&B guests, and you’ll experience one of our favorite French traditions: dining with friends and enjoying good food, wine and conversation!
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France Just For You
Food market tours: Explore France's gourmet shops with an expert food guide
If you’re interested in doing a food tour in one of the places you visit on your tour of France, we know expert guides who give some of the best food tours in the world! (in our opinion!).
Whether you visit a typical French food market or not will depend on the day of the week, as these are only open once a week.
Normally the guide will take you to local stores where you can try different types of food that are popular in that region. And of course, you will learn about food traditions in that part of France and be able to ask the guide questions.
Browse our tours of Provence or Dordogne
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Mita & Bip from California, USA
Truffle-hunting in Provence & Dordogne
If you’re a gourmet, you’ll definitely know about French truffles (we don’t mean the chocolate!). If you’re doing one of our Provence tours or Dordogne tours with us, we can arrange for you to go on a truffle-hunting experience with local truffle-hunting experts (and their owners!).
The English-speaking truffle experts will explain how to find and recognize truffles - the dogs will show you where they are and you’ll get to dig them up. After the hunt, you’ll try some French delicacies served with the truffles!
Browse our tours of Provence or Dordogne
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Carol & Bruce from the USA
Wine & food pairing experiences
Many of our travelers are interested in doing wine tasting in France. We work with excellent wine-tasting experts and guides who offer unique wine-tasting and wine and food pairing experiences.
Imagine tasting wine on a traditional boat on the Loire river. Or in the cellar of an old castle. Or in an off-the-beaten-track vineyard that you’d never find on your own. We can arrange this for you as part of one of our gourmet food tours of France or part of our France wine tasting tours.
Browse our France Wine Tasting Tours
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Carol & Harry from Australia
Your personal guidebook with a whole section about French food & wine (& tips about unusual food to try!)
All travelers who book tours with France Just For You receive a personalized guidebook crafted just for your specific trip. (If you book again, you’ll receive another guidebook for that trip!).
In addition to your itinerary and recommended activities and places for each place you visit, your guidebook has a section about French food, restaurants, mealtimes and etiquette. This includes insiders’ tips, such as how to choose the perfect baguette, and suggestions for unusual food to try in France.
If you’re an adventurous eater, you may like to try cuisses de grenouille (frogs’ legs), cervelle (brains) or pied de cochon (pig’s foot). This section of the guidebook will also help you to avoid ordering anything you definitely don’t want to try!
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France Just For You
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the most popular food in France?
This is difficult to say, as each French region has its own specialties. However, a couple of delicious, common dishes in France worth trying include boeuf bourguignon (beef stew, a typical dish from Burgundy) or blanquette de veau (veal stew in a creamy sauce) or coq au vin (chicken in red wine sauce, typical in the Loire Valley and Burgundy).
For dessert, try a tarte aux pommes or tarte tatin (two different types of apple tart).
What is typical French food?
Just a few typical French dishes include soupe à l’oignon (French onion soup), soupe au pistou (vegetable soup served with a basil and egg sauce), boeuf bourguignon (beef stew), blanquette de veau, coq au vin (chicken in red wine sauce), bouillabaisse (fish stew), cassoulet (meat and bean casserole), croque monsieur and croque madame (ham and cheese toasted sandwich, with or without a fried egg on top), tarte aux pommes or tarte tatin (apple tart), crême brûlée (custard with a burnt sugar top) and crêpe (a very thin pancake). Each French region will have its own culinary specialties, so be sure to find out what these are and try them!
Why is France famous for food?
The cuisine of France is famous both for its world-renowned dishes (see the ones we mentioned above), and its wide variety of culinary techniques that give the dishes their incredible flavor. The French have developed techniques such as braising, poaching, sautéing and flambéing, which give irresistible textures and flavors to meat, vegetables, soups and desserts.
What food must you try in France?
In our opinion, some must try food in France includes boeuf bourguignon (beef stew) or coq au vin (chicken in red wine sauce). For dessert, an apple tart rarely disappoints! Look for tarte aux pommes or tarte tatin on the menu. See the questions above for more suggestions!
What are good foods to try in Paris?
Crêpe suzette (a type of thin pancake covered in orangey, buttery juice), Ile Flottante (meringue floating on vanilla custard (crème anglaise), any "à la parisienne" dish, meat in the auvergnat restaurants in Paris have the best meat.
Browse our Paris tours
What is the food etiquette in France?
We have several pages in our guidebook about food etiquette and eating out in France, which will be helpful if you book a tour with us.
Some common points of French food etiquette:
- Eating lunch between noon and 1pm and dinner between 7.30 and 8.30pm if you’re eating out.
- Eating bread with your meal - it won’t normally be served with olive oil or butter.
- Eating the dishes you order as they come, and not asking to substitute any of the ingredients.
- Bringing you the bill only when you ask for it. This is because restaurants don’t want you to feel rushed - eating well in France means taking your time.
- The service/tip is included in the price you pay for the food. If you’ve had an excellent experience, you may leave a 5-10% tip, but it is not frowned upon if you don’t leave a tip.
What not to do when eating in France?
Unless you have a food allergy, it is best not to ask to substitute anything that’s in the dish you order from the menu. It is also not common practice to eat as you are walking along, or to ask for a ‘doggy-bag’ to take leftovers with you. In France, we like to take our time to sit down and enjoy our meals.
