france travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

It’s a joyous riot of color,
abundant and flowing,
a corner of nature just barely tamed,
a paradise made to order by an Impressionist to please the eye
and provide endless motifs to paint.
Giverny is a small French village 80 km to the west of the capital city Paris, within the valley of the river Seine and the northern region of Haute-Normandie. The village is best known as the rural retreat of the Impressionist painter Claude Monet. French impressionist Claude Monet (1840–1926) developed his garden in the Parisian village of Giverny, covering his extensive grounds with brilliant flowers and profuse greenery.

Continue reading Claude Monet’s Garden in Giverny, Paris

For the last 30 years, the World Festival of Underwater Pictures has been continuously facing the Mediterranean Sea at Antibes-Juan-les-Pins, South of France. It puts in competition the world top creators, assembling numerous creations from over 40 countries, especially from International European countries but also from the U.S.A., Canada and many others.

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Aeromexico will offer the first daily non-stop service between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Mexico City (MEX) with continuing service to Guadalajara (GDL). From Mexico City, travelers will be able to connect to major Mexican destinations including Acapulco, Oaxaca, Veracruz and others.

“We welcome Aeromexico to the Northwest,” said Port of Seattle Commission President John Creighton. “Mexico City is an important destination for business and leisure travelers from the Puget Sound area. We are pleased that the airline will provide this daily non-stop flight which will serve to further strengthen business and cultural ties between Washington and Mexico.”

“Mexico is one of Washington’s largest trade partners and I look forward to flying this new route on my trade mission to Mexico and Guadalajara this summer,” said Governor Chris Gregoire. “I met with the CEO of Aeromexico when he visited last summer and discussed with him the benefits of a direct flight between Seattle and Mexico, including the ability to create more trade and cultural opportunities.”

Continue reading Seattle is New Destination for AeroMexico

This popular park started out as a development project. Eusebi Guëll, a well known Catalan industrialist, acquired a 17ha / 42acre large hilly plot in the Gràcia district, north of Barcelona. He wanted to turn the area into a residential garden village based on English models. 60 Housing units as well as several public buildings were planned.
In 1900 Guëll commissioned his friend and protégé Antoni Gaudí with the development of the project. With the support from other architects including Josep M. Jujol and his disciple Francesc Berenguer, Gaudí worked on the garden village until 1914 when it was clear the project was a commercial failure: Guëll failed to sell a single house. In 1918 the city acquired the property and in 1922 it was opened to the public as a park. The serpentine bench at Guell Park that encircles the main ground is one of the most unique features of this Alice in Wonderland-like park.

Continue reading The Guell park is one of the most intriguing parks in the world

If you saw the film Mission Impossible, you’ve already seen Europe’s “Chunnel” passenger train in action. In that movie, Tom Cruise fended off a helicopter from the Eurostar’s roof until the chopper blew up inside the English Channel Tunnel.

Most Eurostar trips are less dramatic. More than two dozen high-speed electric trains (based on French TGV designs) connect London with Lille, Paris, Brussels, Avignon, the French Alps, and the Disneyland Paris resort at speeds of up to 300 km/h or 186 mph.

Continue reading Eurostar – the fastest rail link between London and Belgium or France.

The world’s greatest bicycle race originated in 1903 because of a feud between two French sports newspapers.The original race, in 1903, had six stages covering 2,388 kilometers (about 1,400 miles).The Tour de France, a cycling competition on the FFC agenda and open to all riders aged over 18, whether they are holders of an FFC licence or not. In July each year, on the same route taken by the Tour de France champions, and three days before them, the Tour de Freance provides for some 7,500 participants the unique opportunity to live through the magic of a mountain stage on a safe route. The Tour de France grew to as many as 24 stages and 5,564 kilometers, but in recent years the distance has ranged from about 3,500 to about 4,000 kilometers.

Continue reading Tour de France – The Most Famous Bicycle Race

The State Hermitage occupies six magnificent buildings situated along the embankment of the River Neva, right in the heart of St Petersburg. The leading role in this unique architectural ensemble is played by the Winter Palace, the residence of the Russian tsars that was built to the design of Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1754-62. The basic display areas of the State Hermitage occupy 365 rooms in the Main Museum Complex located in the historic centre of St Petersburg.

Continue reading Unique 18th- century architectural monument – most important of human history

Rocamadour is a cliff-hugging medieval village that was built on a limestone cliff rising 490 feet above the Alzou canyon. Along with “St Cirq La Popie”, this is one of the most extraordinary settings in France. Legend has it that the history of Rocamadour began with the arrival of Zacchaeus, husband of St Veronica, who fled to France to escape religious persecution and lived out his last years here as a hermit. When in 1166 a perfectly preserved body was found in a grave high up on the rock, it was declared to be Zacchaeus, known in France as St Amadour.

Continue reading Extraordinary alteration in France

The statue of Christ the Redeemer is probably one of the most recognized images of Brazil . It is located in Rio de Janeiro on the top of the Corcovado Mountain . Overlooking the city, it probably has one of the best views that can be found of Rio . The statue is currently 72 years old and has gone under several extensive renovations, which included adding an elevator in 2002.
The statue was first conceived in 1921 when a campaign to gather funds from the Catholic Church was held. The idea for the statue came when the country was to celebrate 100 years of independence. Donations were not received to build the statue until about ten years later. The first person commissioned to design the statue was Carlos Oswaldo. His vision for the statue was for Christ to be carrying a cross, holding a globe in his hands, and standing over a pedestal that was supposed to represent the world. Later, the public of Rio thought that Christ with open arms would be the best representation of the city.The statue was not sculpted in Brazil ; it was instead sculpted in France by a sculptor whose name was Paul Landowski.

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Located 79km south of the Latvian capital of Riga, Rundale Palace and Museum lie just outside the town of Bauska. The Rundale Palace is one of the most outstanding monuments of Baroque and Rococo art in Latvia, built between 1736 and 1740 as a summer residence of the Duke of Courtland Ernst Johann Biron.

Continue reading The outstanding of the Rundale Palace- Museum