http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp French Duck UK - maps of French locations - French wine, food, visit, travel, events, hotels, restaurants, gites........ Wed, 14 May 2008 08:29:21 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Confusing the Loire département is not where you think it might be - in the better known part of the valley with its Chateaux. It is near the source of France's longest river in the Massif Central, and is rather by-passed by the major north-south autoroutes. The main towns of the ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/rhone-alpes/42-loire/42-loire-rhone-alpes Paris is a term which applies to a region, a départment and a city. The region is properly known as Paris - Ile de France, whilst the city and département are one and the same thing. The city dominates the whole country - until recently all the major train and autoroutes ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/paris-ile-de-france/75-paris/75-paris-ile-de-france Calvados is a département of Normandie centred on the city of Caen. About 10 miles north is the ferry port of Caen-Ouistreham at the mouth of the Orne river with regular crossings to Portsmouth with Brittany Ferries. Normandy is famed for its milk and dairy produce - cream, butter and cheeses ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/normandie/14-calvados/14-calvados In the northern Loire, bordering on Normandy, the Sarthe département is named after the river Sarthe - capital town being Le Mans, worth visiting for more than just its famous 24-hour motor race every June. For our customised, searchable map - CLICK HERE Sarthe Official Tourist Office Subscribe to RSS headline updates ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/pays-de-la-loire/72-sarthe/72-sarthe-pays-de-la-loire A region of Eastern France comprising the départements of Jura, Doubs, Haut-Saone and the Territoire de Belfort. see our customised Google Map of the region Official Tourist Web site for the Franche Comté region &lt;p&gt;Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: &lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/FrenchduckUk-LatestFranchCategoriese-comt"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Powered by FeedBurner&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/franche-comte/franche-comte The Herault departement is at the heart of the Languedoc stretching from north of Montpellier down to beyond Beziers and inland - it includes wine regions such as Coteaux du Languedoc, Pic St Loup, Picpoul de Pinet, St Chinian and Faugeres. Whilst the coastal strip is flat and sandy with numerous ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/languedoc-roussillon/34-herault/34-herault-languedoc Vienne is a département in the Poitou-Charentes region with its capital at Poitiers. Other main towns include Châtellerault and Montmorillon. Lying south of the Loire Valley wine regions include the outlying parts of Saumur and the vineyards of the Vins du Haut Poitou. See our customised Google Map of Vienne ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/poitou-charentes/86-vienne/86-vienne-poitou-charentes Maine-et-Loire is a département in the Loire Valley with its capital at Angers and includes some of the major Loire Valley vineyards such as Anjou, Anjou-Villages, Coteaux du Layon and Saumur. For our customised map of the Maine-et-Loire département CLICK HERE Official Anjou Tourisme Web site <p>Subscribe to RSS headline updates ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/pays-de-la-loire/49-maine-et-loire/49-maine-et-loire-pays-de-la-loire Orne is a departement in Normandie, with its main towns being Alencon, Argenton and Mortagne-surPerche. Home to Camembert and its famous cheese. See the Orne Official Tourisme site. See our customised Google Map Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: Powered by FeedBurner http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/normandie/61-orne/61-orne-normandie The Aveyron département in the Upper Lot Valley is in the north of the Midi-Pyrenees region of France, its main towns being Rodez, Millau and Villefranche-de-Rouergue. With budget airlines now flying into Rodez, and the newly completed A75 autoroute connecting north and central France with Pezenas and Beziers on the Mediterranean ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/midi-pyrenees/12-aveyron/12-aveyron-midi-pyrenees In the east of France and to the east of Burgundy adjacent to Switzerland, the Ain is probably a little overlooked by most visitors. With Bourg-en-Bresse as its principal town it is a region of gentle hills and river valleys - which is one of the hidden parts of France. The departement ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/rhone-alpes/01-ain/01-ain-rhone-alpes Departement with Rouen as its capital and includes Dieppe and Le Havre. See our searchable Google map For more info see Seine-Maritime Tourist Office <br> http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/normandie/76-seine-maritime/76-seine-maritime-normandy The departement of the Gironde defines Bordeaux wines, and its capital is the historic city of Bordeaux on the Garenne river, which merges seaward to from the Girdone estuary to the north, Bordeaux Tourist Office See our customised Google Map of the Gironde &amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: &amp;lt;a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/FrenchduckUk-Latest33Gironde"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/aquitaine/33-gironde/33-gironde-aquitaine The Aude is also known as "Cathar Country" and straddles north and south of the main A62 autoroute which runs from the Mediterranean at Narbonne through to Carcassonne and on to the Atlantic. It is home to the wine appellations of Corbieres, Minervois and Fitou. Its main towns are Narbonne, ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/languedoc-roussillon/11-aude/11-aude-languedoc-roussillon The Lot is home to Cahors and its wines, the rich tannic Malbec red wine. The Lot valley meanders its way from east to west across the departement. and offers a variety of landscapes from deep river valleys, high moorland, expansive oak forests. Recommended book: Lot: Travels Through a Limestone Landscape ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/midi-pyrenees/46-lot/46-lot-midi-pyrenees The land of Gaillac wines, the striking edifice of Albi Cathedral (and a Toulouse Lautrec museum) and the medieval village of Cordes-sur-Ciel (in the sky). Lautrec holds an annual Garlic festival. See map Domaine de Labarthe - Gaillac wines Manoir des Raynaudes - boutique B&B and apartments Tarn Tourist Information Office <p>Subscribe to RSS ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/midi-pyrenees/81-tarn/81-tarn-midi-pyrenees The heart of Gascony = wine (Cotes de Gascogne, Cotes de St Mont, Madiran, Pacherenc du Vic Bilh, Floc de Gascogne and Armagnac + duck and goose = foie gras! Les Chenes Verts de Gascogne - B&B Domaine Berthoumieu - Madiran and Pacherenc du Vic Bilh winemaker Producteurs Plaimont - cooperative wine cellar ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/midi-pyrenees/32-gers/32-gers-midi-pyrenees The Gard is a departement of Languedoc-Roussillon region with its capital at Nimes. The area includes parts of the Cotes du Rhone wine region to the east, Vins de Pays d'Oc to the south and west, and the Costières de Nimes vineyards around Nimes. It has significant Roman sites at Nimes and ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/languedoc-roussillon/30-gard/30-gard-languedoc-roussillon The Lot et Garonne departement lies to the east of Bordeaux and south of the Dordogne, with its principal towns being Agen, Duras Villeneneuve-sur-Lot and Marmande. It is home to the wines of Buzet, Cotes de Brulhois, Cotes de Duras and Cotes du Marmandais. Lot-et-Garonne Tourist Information Office See map Subscribe to RSS ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/aquitaine/47-lot-et-garonne/47-lot-et-garonne-aquitaine In the south of the Perigord area with the Dordogne river running through it, the département of Dordogne has its capital at Bergerac. Home to the vineyards of Bergerac and its sub-appellations (e.g. Pecharmant, Saussignac, Montravel, Monbazillac) the département is adjacent to Bordeaux to the west and Duras to the south-west. It ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/aquitaine/24-dordogne/24-dordogne-aquitaine To celebrate Carnaval the Parisian way, join in the fun on the processional route from Porte de Bagnolet to the Hotel de Ville on 3 February 2008 - CLICK HERE for details View Larger Map http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/paris-ile-de-france/75-paris/paris-carnaval-route One way of getting around some of the main sights of Paris is on the hop-on hop-off ferry that runs a circular route from the Eiffel Tower to St Germain-des-Pres to Musee d'Orsay, Notre Dame, Jardin des Plantes, Hotel de Ville, Louvre and Champs Elysees. See more on alternative wats of ... http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/paris-ile-de-france/75-paris/batobus-river-bus-route-in-paris Vire-sur-Lot is the home of a number of top rate Cahors wineries to the west of the town of Cahors on the River Lotsee map For more info see www.frenchduck.com and www.frenchduck.co.uk http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/midi-pyrenees/46-lot/vire-sur-lot An Englishman and his wife set up a vineyard in the little-known Côtes Roannaises appellation in the Upper Loire Valley, and now have a great success and a B&B/Gite (see www.frenchduck.com) see map http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/rhone-alpes/42-loire/domaine-du-fontenay-cotes-roannaises In deepest Gascony, Vic Fezensac in the Gers hosts a number of cultural events throughout the summer, including the Feria de Pentecote, and Tempo Latino. Whilst in the region you could also visit the Kitchener's vineyard at Domaine de Lauroux see map http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/midi-pyrenees/32-gers/vic-fezensac-32-gers One of numerous residences of the President of France near Bormes-les-Mimosas on the Cote d'Azur (83 Var, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur) see map http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/provence-cote-dazur/83-var/fort-de-bregancon The fantastic fortified medieval city of Carcassonne in the Languedoc. See articles on www.frenchduck.com See map http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/languedoc-roussillon/11-aude/carcassonne-11-aude The hills above Aubagne, east of Marseille are the setting for Marcek Pagnol's books and films such as Manon des Sources and Jean de Florette http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/provence-cote-dazur/13-bouches-du-rhone/aubagne-and-marcel-pagnol-country High up in the Dordogne valley, the village hosts an annual Strawberry Festival (Fete de la Fraise) in May. http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/limousin/19-correze/beaulieu-sur-dordogne-19-correze-limousin Compiegne in Picardie - just off the A1 autoroute north of Paris - Hotel Restaurant Au Relais Napoleon http://frenchduck.co.uk/wp/picardie/60-oise/compiegne-60-oise-picardie