France

Experience the Allure of France: A Journey Through Time and Beauty

 Map of France

Step into the enchanting realm of France, a country that has captivated the hearts of travelers for centuries. With its roots reaching deep into the annals of history, France's narrative weaves through the eras of the Gauls, the might of the Roman Empire, the opulence of the French monarchy, and the revolutionary spirit that reshaped its destiny. This land of elegance and diversity invites you to explore its rich culture, iconic landmarks, and exquisite cuisine.

The Saga of France: A Legacy of Civilization

France's story is painted with the brushstrokes of time, from the prehistoric Lascaux caves to the grandeur of the Renaissance, and beyond to the modern-day Republic. It's a history filled with artists, warriors, and visionaries, all of whom have left indelible marks on the fabric of French society.

Paris: The Heartbeat of France

The City of Light beckons with its timeless charm. Paris, France's capital, is an anthology of artistic and architectural masterpieces, with the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral, and the Louvre Museum as its crowning jewels.

The Riviera: Azure Shores and Glitzy Glamour

Delve into the chic allure of the French Riviera. Nice, Cannes, and Saint-Tropez are synonyms for sun-drenched beaches, cultural festivals, and the sparkling Mediterranean.

Provence: A Tapestry of Lavender Fields and Ancient Ruins

Provence enchants with its rolling vineyards, fragrant lavender fields, and Roman heritage, epitomized by the well-preserved Pont du Gard and the historic city of Avignon.

The Loire Valley: A Castle-Studded Dreamscape

Travel back in time in the Loire Valley, a region dotted with fairy-tale châteaux and verdant, vineyard-laced landscapes that inspired generations of royalty and artists alike.

From the windswept coasts of Normandy, rich with history from medieval times to World War II, to the gastronomic pleasures of Lyon and the snowy peaks of the French Alps, France offers a tapestry of experiences. Join us at travel.frogsfolly.com as we guide you through the cobbled streets, into the heart of French culture, and through the doorways of history. Embark on a French adventure that will leave you with memories as rich as a Bordeaux wine and as vivid as a Cézanne painting.

Recent Uploads tagged france

			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/pkitt/">Silanov</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pkitt/53617783731/" title="Strolling through boxwood lane"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53617783731_8de3d44b8b_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Strolling through boxwood lane" /></a></p>

<p>The Château de Marqueyssac on the right, surrounded by the the Jardins de Marqueyssac (in English: &quot;Gardens of Marqueyssac&quot; in the municipal area of Vézac, Dordogne, France<br />
<br />
<u>Some background information:</u><br />
<br />
The Château de Marqueyssac is a little 17th-century château which is mainly renowned for its gardens. It is located at Vézac, in the French department of Dordogne. The château was built at the end of the 17th century by Bertrand Vernet de Marqueyssac, who was Counselor to Louis XIV (the so-called &quot;Sun King&quot;). It is situated on cliffs overlooking the Dordogne Valley. The original garden à la française was attributed to a pupil of the famous French landscape architect André Le Nôtre. It featured terraces, alleys, and a kitchen garden surrounding the chateau.<br />
<br />
In the first half of the 19th century, the gardens were reshaped. Between 1830 and 1840, Julien Bessières constructed a chapel and a grand alley one hundred meters long for horseback rides. In the 1860s, the new owner Julien de Cerval began to plant thousands of boxwood trees and had them carved in fantastic shapes, many in groups of rounded shapes like flocks of sheep. Today there are more than 150,000 boxwood trees. But de Cerval also added linden trees, cypress trees, and stone pine from Italy. Furthermore he introduced the cyclamen from Naples. Following the romantic style, he built rustic structures, redesigned the parterres, and laid out five kilometers of walks.<br />
<br />
In the second half of the 20th century, the house was rarely occupied and the gardens were not well maintained. Beginning in 1996, the new owner Kleber Rossillon, restored the gardens to their old character and added some new features including an alley of santolina and rosemary and, in the romantic spirit of the 19th century, a course of water descending from the belvedere and ending in a cascade. In 1996, the gardens were opened to the public and since 1997, the gardens have been classified amongst the Notable Gardens of France by the Committee of Parks and Gardens of the French Ministry of Culture.<br />
<br />
Located on a rocky spur 130 meters above the river, the gardens offer a view of the valley as well as its castles and neighboring villages, including Beynac-et-Cazenac, Fayrac, Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, La Roque-Gageac and Domme. Today, the Jardins de Marqueyssac attract about 250,000 visitors per year, making it the fourth most visited tourist site in the department of Dordogne.<br />
<br />
The village of Vézac was most likely founded in the Early Middle Ages, when it was an agricultural dependency of the neighbouring parish of Beynac and its powerful lord of Beynac. In the 14th century, Vézac was on the front line of the Hundred Years' War, as the southern bank of the Dordogne river with the well-fortified Château de Castelnaud was often in English hands, while the Lord of Beynac and the Bishop-Count of Sarlat-la-Canéda on the northern bank supported the King of France.<br />
<br />
In the summer of 1789, the inhabitants of Vézac refused to uproot the &quot;May trees&quot; that the communities of the Sarlat area had planted as a sign of solidarity with the anti-feudal movement. Hence, the authorities sent troops to do so. These &quot;May trees&quot; were a prefiguration of the so-called Liberty Trees that would be planted everywhere in France shortly afterwards. <br />
<br />
In 1884, the railway line from Bordeaux arrived in Sarlat and it was at Vézac, where the station was built to serve all the nearby municipalities. At that time, tobacco and cereals found easy outlets. Like elsewhere, it was the period of construction of beautiful agricultural buildings in blonde limestone under slate or tile roofs. Concurrently, river navigation, which made the Dordogne river a centuries-old means of transportation, died out due to competition from roads and railways.<br />
<br />
Nowadays, the more than 500 residents of Vézac are proud on living in the &quot;Valley of the Five Castles&quot;. The village has equipped itself to welcome tourists. Country hotels and rural bed and breakfast houses provide quality accommodation, Additonally several campsites allow for increasingly less rustic stays. Thanks to its natural and heritage assets as well as its classification as a zone of protection of architectural, urban and landscape heritage, Vézac has resumed its path to demographic growth.<br />
<br />
<b>A Happy Easter 2024 to all of you! I wish you some relaxing days together with your families! </b></p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/pkitt/">Silanov</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pkitt/53618117174/" title="A maze of boxwood hedges"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53618117174_ba7cf96b60_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="A maze of boxwood hedges" /></a></p>

<p>A walk through the Jardins de Marqueyssac (in English: &quot;Gardens of Marqueyssac&quot;) in the municipal area of Vézac, Dordogne, France<br />
<br />
<u>Some background information:</u><br />
<br />
The Château de Marqueyssac is a little 17th-century château which is mainly renowned for its gardens. It is located at Vézac, in the French department of Dordogne. The château was built at the end of the 17th century by Bertrand Vernet de Marqueyssac, who was Counselor to Louis XIV (the so-called &quot;Sun King&quot;). It is situated on cliffs overlooking the Dordogne Valley. The original garden à la française was attributed to a pupil of the famous French landscape architect André Le Nôtre. It featured terraces, alleys, and a kitchen garden surrounding the chateau.<br />
<br />
In the first half of the 19th century, the gardens were reshaped. Between 1830 and 1840, Julien Bessières constructed a chapel and a grand alley one hundred meters long for horseback rides. In the 1860s, the new owner Julien de Cerval began to plant thousands of boxwood trees and had them carved in fantastic shapes, many in groups of rounded shapes like flocks of sheep. Today there are more than 150,000 boxwood trees. But de Cerval also added linden trees, cypress trees, and stone pine from Italy. Furthermore he introduced the cyclamen from Naples. Following the romantic style, he built rustic structures, redesigned the parterres, and laid out five kilometers of walks.<br />
<br />
In the second half of the 20th century, the house was rarely occupied and the gardens were not well maintained. Beginning in 1996, the new owner Kleber Rossillon, restored the gardens to their old character and added some new features including an alley of santolina and rosemary and, in the romantic spirit of the 19th century, a course of water descending from the belvedere and ending in a cascade. In 1996, the gardens were opened to the public and since 1997, the gardens have been classified amongst the Notable Gardens of France by the Committee of Parks and Gardens of the French Ministry of Culture.<br />
<br />
Located on a rocky spur 130 meters above the river, the gardens offer a view of the valley as well as its castles and neighboring villages, including Beynac-et-Cazenac, Fayrac, Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, La Roque-Gageac and Domme. Today, the Jardins de Marqueyssac attract about 250,000 visitors per year, making it the fourth most visited tourist site in the department of Dordogne.<br />
<br />
The village of Vézac was most likely founded in the Early Middle Ages, when it was an agricultural dependency of the neighbouring parish of Beynac and its powerful lord of Beynac. In the 14th century, Vézac was on the front line of the Hundred Years' War, as the southern bank of the Dordogne river with the well-fortified Château de Castelnaud was often in English hands, while the Lord of Beynac and the Bishop-Count of Sarlat-la-Canéda on the northern bank supported the King of France.<br />
<br />
In the summer of 1789, the inhabitants of Vézac refused to uproot the &quot;May trees&quot; that the communities of the Sarlat area had planted as a sign of solidarity with the anti-feudal movement. Hence, the authorities sent troops to do so. These &quot;May trees&quot; were a prefiguration of the so-called Liberty Trees that would be planted everywhere in France shortly afterwards. <br />
<br />
In 1884, the railway line from Bordeaux arrived in Sarlat and it was at Vézac, where the station was built to serve all the nearby municipalities. At that time, tobacco and cereals found easy outlets. Like elsewhere, it was the period of construction of beautiful agricultural buildings in blonde limestone under slate or tile roofs. Concurrently, river navigation, which made the Dordogne river a centuries-old means of transportation, died out due to competition from roads and railways.<br />
<br />
Nowadays, the more than 500 residents of Vézac are proud on living in the &quot;Valley of the Five Castles&quot;. The village has equipped itself to welcome tourists. Country hotels and rural bed and breakfast houses provide quality accommodation, Additonally several campsites allow for increasingly less rustic stays. Thanks to its natural and heritage assets as well as its classification as a zone of protection of architectural, urban and landscape heritage, Vézac has resumed its path to demographic growth.<br />
<br />
<b>A Happy Easter 2024 to all of you! I wish you some relaxing days together with your families! </b></p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/semvatac/">Semvatac</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/semvatac/53616894897/" title="Iveco Bus Crossway LE – Transdev Royan Atlantique / Cara’Bus n°1401"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53616894897_88f9d7902f_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Iveco Bus Crossway LE – Transdev Royan Atlantique / Cara’Bus n°1401" /></a></p>

<p>sur la ligne 9 à destination de Meschers-sur-Gironde – Longée, <a href="http://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=45.625947&amp;mlon=-1.0188&amp;zoom=14" rel="noreferrer nofollow">boulevard Georges Clemenceau, Royan (Charente-Maritime (17), Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, FR)</a></p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/chrism111/">chris murkin</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrism111/53616752032/" title="Canadair CL-13B Sabre 6 FU-675 USAF F-AYSB, Messerschmitt Me 262A-2a D-IMTT &amp; Lim-2 MiG 15 SP-MIG Polish Air Force 602, Messerschmitt Me 262A-2a D-IMTT &amp; Lim-2 MiG 15 SP-MIG Polish Air Force 602"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53616752032_352a00b995_m.jpg" width="240" height="135" alt="Canadair CL-13B Sabre 6 FU-675 USAF F-AYSB, Messerschmitt Me 262A-2a D-IMTT &amp; Lim-2 MiG 15 SP-MIG Polish Air Force 602, Messerschmitt Me 262A-2a D-IMTT &amp; Lim-2 MiG 15 SP-MIG Polish Air Force 602" /></a></p>

<p>Canadair CL-13B Sabre 6 FU-675 USAF F-AYSB, Messerschmitt Me 262A-2a D-IMTT &amp; Lim-2 MiG 15 SP-MIG Polish Air Force 602, Messerschmitt Me 262A-2a D-IMTT &amp; Lim-2 MiG 15 SP-MIG Polish Air Force 602<br />
Photo taken at Air Legends Paris-Villaroche Melun Airshow France September 2023<br />
GAC_4727</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/100672308@N07/">T.O. Images</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/100672308@N07/53617970604/" title="0029wm"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53617970604_7ed0f5617d_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="0029wm" /></a></p>

<p>A rare shot of an Air France A330 and Air France A320 on the runway at SXM at the same time</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/fogelnet/">fogelnet</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
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