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France

Destination guide

Paris

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Paris destination guide, Traveller.
Pot-au-feu is a simple French dish of meat and vegetables.

Feu or pho? The French dish that probably inspired the Vietnamese classic

Pot-au-feu is a French classic, a one-pot wonder, a dish of meat simmered over many hours with vegetables and a bouquet garni.

  • Ben Groundwater
Maison Empereur in Marseille is a hardware store turned general store that has been operating for close to 200 years. Now you can stay there as well as shop there.

The beautiful, 200-year-old French store where you can stay the night

If you love this traditional and beloved store’s aesthetic and philosophy, an apartment stay is the ultimate immersion.

  • Justine Costigan
It’s not a great feeling when a waiter responds to your attempt to order in the local language by talking to you in English.

I made a fool of myself attempting the local language overseas

Nothing is worse than possessing a dangerous arsenal of foreign language fragments and an over-enthusiasm for deploying them.

  • Julietta Jameson
Super spread... a wide selection of butter brands and flavours at La Grande Epicerie de Paris.

When friends found out I was going to Paris, they all wanted one thing

Butter is the hero of innumerable dishes in France, where its quality is strictly enforced by law. The big problem is getting it home to Australia.

  • Shaney Hudson
Of the nine million visitors to the Louvre each year, 70 per cent are there just for a glimpse of the Mona Lisa.

Visiting France’s most famous museum has become a nightmare

With huge numbers queuing for a glimpse of the Mona Lisa, visiting the Louvre is an ordeal. And now Australians will have to pay even more to visit.

  • Abigail Buchanan
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Limoges and its gothic cathedral.

‘Why?’: I stayed in the city that France forgot and loved it

Limoges has cobbled streets lined with half-timbered houses, a fabulous cathedral, a beautiful food market and – unlike Paris, Lyon, Nice and Bordeaux – few tourists.

  • Sue Williams
The TikTok effect … queues where you wouldn’t normally expect them.

I used social media to plan my Paris holiday. Result? Lots of queuing

Paris just closed its last tourist information office, citing social media as a better source. So I decided to put it to the test.

  • Nick Duerden
Travelling across France on the high-speed OUIGO service.

This French high-speed train is cramped, but the savings are glorious

France’s budget OUIGO train service uses the same mechanics as the original TGV and travels at incredible speeds of up to 320km/h.

  • Chrissie McClatchie
The Mediterranean glimmers beyond the arched windows at La Passagere.

The food is superb, but it’s not why I fork out for French fine dining

What price a cultural experience? People spend more on a Taylor Swift concert or a soccer final.

  • Brian Johnston
Cafe de Flore was a hangout of the intelligentsia. Picasso edited an art magazine from the back room, Trotsky and Hemmingway were regulars.

Forget the Louvre: Here is the one thing you must do in Paris

You’ll learn more about Paris culture from a cafe terrace than from a museum.

  • Brian Johnston

Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/topic/france-9ug