Tag: France

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Face à la gare

ibis Gare Matabiau, Toulouse

It is maybe just another nice hotel of the ibis chain, but it is definitely in a prime location: the ibis Gare Matabiau. From there the main railway station (Gare Matabiau) and the main bus terminal (Gare Routière) are just across the road or better said just across the Canal du Midi. That’s of course especially great if you arrive or leave early in the morning. With that you’re having fast access to places like Andorra or the rest beautiful French cities surrounding Toulouse. You might have to figure out the right road, but it is also only just 15 minutes on foot to the city center and already around the hotel you’ll find good bars and restaurants.

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Hard to reach

Bus to Andorra, Toulouse

Andorra is potentially the country in Europe that is hardest to tick off your travel wish list. It is just a tiny country with under 80,000 inhabitants on 468 km² in the Pyrenees between Spain and France. There is no airport and no railway station, your best chance is to fly to Barcelona or Toulouse and take a bus ride into the mountains which lasts 3-4 hours. It is a bit unusual that the capital city Andorra la Vella is so complicated to reach but the trip through the mountains is very scenic and well worth the effort.

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Capitale mondiale du parfum

Grasse, France

Grasse is known to be the world capital of perfume and therefore that’s all a visit about. The region surrounding it is used to grow different kinds of flowers (mostly lavender, narcissus, cassia, mimosa, violet, iris, roses, jasmine plus bigarade oranges) used in fragrance production and whenever you stroll through the narrow streets and enjoy good views from the mountain you’ll always have a nice scent in your nose.

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Le Parfum

Musée International de la Parfumerie, Grasse

When visiting Grasse you can stop at the historic perfume factories like Fragonard, Galimard and Molinard to learn about fragrance making, but you should definitely also have a look at the Musée International de la Parfumerie; a very unusual museum and a topic I had never explored before. As the small city of Grasse at the French Côte d’Azur is considered the world capital of perfume you can have a deep-dive here and fill your nose with lots of different scents.

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Palme d’Or

Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, Cannes

Since 1946 every year at the Festival de Cannes the best movies, actors and scripts are awarded, with the Palme d’Or as the most important trophy. We all know the yearly pictures of celebrities waving from the red carpet in front of the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès at Cannes. You can find the Palais directly at the harbor after strolling through the nice streets of the city center and discovering the roofed markets of Cannes.

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Musée Picasso

Musée Picasso, Antibes

You can’t ignore the beauty of Antibes at the French Côte d’Azur, the charming old houses in the city center at the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Next to the cathédrale Notre-Dame de l’Immaculée Conception you’ll find the ancient fortress of the Grimaldi family from the 12th century. In 1608 it became owned by the French crown and since 1966 it houses the Musée Picasso, a nice art museum on Place Mariejol directly at the sea.

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Promenade des Anglais

Plage Publique de Castel, Nice

One of the best features of Nice is for sure the Promenade des Anglais, the walkway between the beach and the beautiful old city center. It is seven kilometers long and named after the English that started in the second half of the 18th century to spend their winters at the Côte d’Azur. Everyday people are strolling along the shore, having a bath at the pebble beach, playing pétanque or enjoying a drink in one of the many bars. The beach is by the way partly public and in some sections commercialized giving you the choice to either have free access or to enjoy sun loungers and bars directly at the water.

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Colline du Château

Cascade, Colline du Château, Nice

Already had your daily dose of sports? If not, it could be the time to climb up to the Parc de la Colline du Château on a 90 meters high rock above Nice. Walk to the east end of the beach where you’ll find the steps up to the Tour Bellanda from which you’ll have amazing views on the beach of Nice. Continue further up the hill, through parts of the former fortification to the park and from there continue to the Belvédère du Château with a great panorama of the city and an artificial waterfall underneath.

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Goats

Musée National Marc Chagall, Nice

Marc Chagall was a Russian-French painter born in Witebsk that today belongs to Belarus. He was travelling much and living at St. Petersburg, Paris, Berlin; in Mexico and the USA. He is seen as an expressionist and you can easily recognize his works because of his special colorful style and the symbols he continuously uses; elements coming from his hometown, the circus world and the bible. One of these is the goat that you can discover in many of his works, sometimes just as a tiny additional element, sometimes in focus playing the violin.

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