France Travel

Champagne is not only a bubbly, festive sparkling wine known for celebrations and hangovers, but also a lovely and lush region in France. Here countless winemakers continue the rich tradition of méthode champenoise, the method for making champagne wine. It is important for connoisseurs to note (and follow) the number one rule of the term “champagne”: don’t call any wine (especially sparkling wine) not made in the Champagne region of France “champagne,” an important designation for regional foods protected by the EU.

Champagne is made by a secondary fermentation in the bottle (with a little help from a dash of yeast and a pinch of sugar), which creates the titillating carbonation. It has an erroneous bad reputation for inducing headaches, but it is the cheap, sugary sparkling wine, wine with big “artificially” added bubbles, consumed in vast quantities at your cousin’s wedding that is the culprit. True champagne is made only with red Pinot Noir (or sometimes Pinot Meunier) and Chardonnay grapes and is delicate with small, fine bubbles. It makes a lovely addition to a warm afternoon or a rich meal. If you are staying in Paris, you shouldn’t neglect to travel for a day or two to the Champagne area. Reims is a spectacular city with a rich history located in the Champagne region. If you head this direction, you must visit Champagne Taittinger, a spectacular champagne wine house with English tours available for their wine cellar.

Are you looking for a hotel in Reims? Click here for more information: Kyriad Reims Nord - La Neuvillette.

Every time my wife's grandparents travel to Paris, they stay at the Hotel Bonaparte. When we prepared to head to Paris for our honeymoon, we followed their lead and book a room for three nights at the Hotel Bonaparte. The combination of price, location (in the heart of the upscale Latin Quarter), and charm (the same family has welcomed guests for four generations) is hard to beat. My wife and I love to walk and we could easily get to the big Paris attractions (The Louvre, Notre Dame, The Eiffel Tower) within a half hour. For those who prefer buses or subway, a bus stop is 50 meters from the hotel door and two metro stops are just down the street. If you travel one block east (to Rue des Canettes), a row of delicious and affordable restaurants cater to most palettes.

The Hotel Bonaparte ranks as a 2 star hotel and the worn interior is clear the moment you enter. However, the staff keeps the rooms very clean and our bathroom was clearly renovated (including a big tub for soaking). The manager remembered my wife's grandparents (even though it has been years since they stayed there) and was extremely helpful when it came to planning a walking tour or picking a restaurant. Everyone we encountered who worked at the Bonaparte spoke from functional to excellent English and were always eager to help. The croissants were a highlight of the wonderful breakfasts enjoyed in the quaint dining room or served to your room by a real French maid (complete with outfit).

If you are looking for a charming, quiet hotel in Paris that is comfortable enough for grandparents yet affordable enough for a young couple, give the Bonaparte a chance to impress you.

The town of Bayeaux, only a few kilometers from the beaches of D-Day, was the first French town to be liberated from the Nazis. The town has always been famous for the Bayeaux Tapestry, a seventy meter long embroidered that is almost one thousand years old. It takes several hours to see the tapestry since there is a photo display highlighting the tapestry and a film to see before actually seeing the tapestry. We ended up studying the tapestry for close to an hour since there wasn’t much of a crowd that morning. The tapestry really does read like a comic strip and the story of Harold’s betrayal is clearly told. It is truly remarkable how history can be captured in thread. 

Though the tapestry, which doesn’t look as old as it really is, is a highlight of any visit to Bayeaux, there are other attractions to keep a visitor busy for the rest of the day.

The Cathedral Notre Dame was the original home of the tapestry and is a lovely place to visit. The crypt, one of the few parts of the church remaining from the time of the tapestry, is particularly lovely. History buffs can head over to the Museum of the Battle of Normandy easily recognized by the huge guns out front. The British War Cemetery is next to the museum.

After the museum, head back to the cathedral area and have your pick of one of the many delicious restaurants serving Norman food. Beyond the delicious seafood, Norman butter, cream and cheeses are worth every pound that they put on.

Just outside of Paris city limits, the steep Montmartre hill rises out of the northern part of the Right Bank, drawing artists and visitors since the end of the 19th Century. Still an active epicenter for artists, artistic culture and a bohemian life-style, the area has retained its deliciously sordid atmosphere and revelry. Many of the great artists of our past, including Dalí, Monet and Picasso, used Montmartre at one point or another for a working and living retreat from the confines of other more rigid societies of the time.

In the late 1800’s, Montmartre became a popular drinking area, thanks in part to the local nuns who made wine and in part a lack of Paris city taxes in the Montmartre. The neighborhood never shook this attitude and feel, confirmed over the years by the steady presence of artists in both studios and on the streets. Exhibitions at the Musee de Montmartre usually feature works of artists associated with the area and the Espace Montmartre Salvador Dalí displays over 300 works by the surrealist painter and sculptor. Montmartre is also associated with the grandiose Sacre-Coeur, a Romano-Byzantine Catholic basilica dedicated to the sacred heart of Jesus.

If you are feeling more boisterous than studious, the area still has good excuses for fun. Former literary haunt Au Lapin Agile, or “The Agile Rabbit,” is now one of numerous Montmartre clubs and the famous Moulin Rouge nightclub is also in the vicinity. The Moulin Rouge  (French for Red Mill or windmill) was built in 1889 and retains the splendor of turn-of-the-century France in its décor and atmosphere. This traditional cabaret still provides musical dance entertainment for adult visitors looking to have fun and let their hair down.

If you are looking for an excellent, conveniently located budget hotel in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris close to easy walks down the Camps Elysees and the Eiffel Tower, the Elysees Opera Hotel is the best one I’ve found in the center of Paris.

As with the typical Parisian (and European) hotel rooms, these are on the small side, but are entirely practical, comfortable and very clean. As well, the rooms have all been renovated for modern comforts. The atmosphere at the hotel is warm, in both temperature and friendliness of the staff. I found the staff to be very helpful and kind, which is such a wonderful aspect of a hotel.

To top off the comfortable stay, we thoroughly enjoyed the delicious buffet breakfast (served in the breakfast room) and had a fantastic time chatting over cocktails at the hotel bar one evening before heading out for a walk and dinner. Another plus for the Elysees Opera Hotel, as I already mentioned, is the location.
In addition to the proximity of some of Paris’ most desirable tourist locations, the hotel is very close to two metro stops on two different lines, including one that will get you to the city center in about 10 minutes. If you happen to be staying over a weekend, be sure to make time for the Saturday food market that is held at the end of the street—that was an unexpected and fun experience.