Vauban’s Citadel: The Great White Whale of Besançon
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Vauban’s Citadel: The Great White Whale of Besançon

How do you stand with military architecture? I mean: fortresses, fortifications and the way in which they have been constructed through history: how much does this interest you? Not all that much? All right, then that makes two of us already. It is not the naturally most fascinating topic on earth, is it? Personally, however,…

Besançon – Between Paris and the Bayou
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Besançon – Between Paris and the Bayou

Unusual travel suggestions are missions from God. You may be familiar with this quote (it comes from Kurt Vonnegut). But the Easy Hikers have always gone one further: rather than waiting for someone to make such an unusual suggestion, we actively search for pretexts to go to places where one would not normally go. Because…

The Good and the Ugly of a River Walk Along the Var
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The Good and the Ugly of a River Walk Along the Var

River walks are popular, and it is easy to understand why. There is always a variety of scenic motives on show (inland and water landscapes). Villages, boats and other elements of river (bank) traffic provide a constant stream of entertainment. Plus you can concentrate on the sights because the trails are always easy to follow….

Travel Tips for Your First French Riviera Visit
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Travel Tips for Your First French Riviera Visit

A practice-oriented post today… … featuring our travel tips for your first French Riviera visit Never forget that most current residents were not born here either so have also been first time visitors at some stage and were, in all probability, as confused as you must be when you take the coastline train, faced with…

Your Lush Mediterranean Dreams Realised in the French Riviera
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Your Lush Mediterranean Dreams Realised in the French Riviera

This week, we are bringing you more lush Mediterranean Dreams from the French Riviera Garden Festival: having visited the western section of the Festival des Jardins de la Cote d’Azur  last week, today we present the remaining six gardens in Nice and Menton as well as all the other news from the festival. Flamboyant theatrical…

Viewing the 2nd French Riviera Garden Festival
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Viewing the 2nd French Riviera Garden Festival

Two years ago, the French Riviera Garden Festival premiered to considerable national and international acclaim. Over five weeks in the spring, 500,000 visitors attended the 5 exhibition sites, and a press corps of 150 journalists from more than 30 countries generated content (nearly 250 articles and radio / TV programmes) with an “advertising value of…

A Walk Along the Baie des Anges towards Nice Port
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A Walk Along the Baie des Anges towards Nice Port

Six weeks ago, we finished our walk down the most celebrated stretch of the French Riviera in the place where the Promenade des Anglais, while continuing down the Bay of Nice, becomes the Quai des Etats Unis. “To the casual observer,” I finished the post, “this is a mere change of name: a barely perceptible…

The Little Prince Walk – The Calanques in a Minor Key
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The Little Prince Walk – The Calanques in a Minor Key

If you have the time to spend an entire weekend exploring the Calanques National Park near the southern French port city of Marseilles, we recommend you take the Three Calanques Hike that we described last week. This is without a doubt one of the most glorious and rewarding walks anywhere on the coast of the…