- Torch Lily
A lovely pharmacy garden in the hospice. - Beaune
Usually one would not want to connect driving school and vineyards. Usually. - Château de Chenonceau
Everywhere in the castle were huge bouquets of wonderfully arranged flowers. They give the castle a royal touch :-) - Château de Chambord
The residences of François Ier include a large wardrobe and closet. They surely dressed ... royally. - Château de Chambord
Wallpaper in the 18th century apartments. - Château de Chambord
My kids were fascinated by the 'minecraft trees'. - Château de Chambord
View of the castle from the road. - Mont Dol
An almost 400 years old chestnut tree. - Plage de Cherrueix
Such an impressionist view! Hot air and water reflections do their magic. - Route D673
One cannot not stop here. What a lovely place. On the road D673 just south of Calès. - Mont Blanc
Mt Blanc as seen from Chamonix. We stayed in Camping de la Mer de Glace and walked to the town centre. - Flégère
We took the cable car up the Flégère (1877 m) and started our hike to Lac Blanc. With spectacular views: from Grandes Jorasses over to Mont Blanc. - Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc and blooming Rhododendron - Beaune
Remparts de la Comédie, the ramparts around the town is actually a street with some charming houses. - Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune
The reason why we came to Beaune: The hospices. Founded in 1443 as a hospital for the poor by Phillip the Good was in use until 1971. - Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune
View of the glazed-tiled hospice roof from the cour d'honneur, the main inner court. The roof type probably has central European origins, but is now a trademark of Burgundy. - Tapestry
A magnificent almost 8 m long "thousand flowers" tapestry is from the 16th century. What an interesting motif... - Meursault
A lovely town known mostly for its wine. - Côte-d'Or
No wonder these (and nearby) parts are called Côte-d'Or. - Pont-Canal de Briare
The water bridge is lavishly decorated. - Briare
What a lovely place Briare is. This is Pont du Rialto, one of the many bridges in town. - Château de Chenonceau
La tour des Marques The only remaining (and renovated) part of the medieval castle owned by the Marques family. - Château de Chenonceau
View of the castle from the gardens of Catherine de Médicis. - Château de Chenonceau
Such a wonderful lavender. - Château de Chenonceau
The avenue leading to the castle. Great shade in the summer heat. - Château de Chambord
Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley. Built in 1519–1547 as a hunting lodge for François Ier. A hunting lodge! - Château de Chambord
The residence of François Ier, built between 1539 and 1545. This is how the rooms looked like when the king came to stay. Super cosy. - Château de Chambord
The view of the French gardens. Louis XIV had a similar view from his bedroom. Not bad. - Falaise
View from the falaise of the Falaise castle. - Arromanches
Arromanches beach was the landing area during the D-Day Normandy Invasion. - Arromanches
The endless windy beaches are perfect for flying kites! - Les Roches de Ham
A lovely walk. A wonderful view. Delicious galettes. And cidre. - Fougères
Now THIS is a castle. Built from 12th to 15th century, it occupies an area of two hectares. - Cherrueix
I really like this town. - Mont Saint-Michel
This was my third time visiting Mont Saint-Michel and every time there was a different parking regime. With free shuttles one can finally enjoy the natural surroundings. - Digue de la Duchesse-Anne
The constructions of these dykes started in the 11th and 12th century. The dykes still separate cultivated polders and salty marshlands. And of course offer a great opportunity to hike or cycle :-) - Pointe du Grouin
A lovely walk close to Cancale. And some wild currents in the sea! - Pointe du Grouin
GR34. So so so tempting, but we needed to move on. - Le Fort du Guesclin
As everything in Brittany, this place is also full of history. Romans, destroyed, fortress in 800s, destroyed, fortified castle built by Bertrand du Guesclin in 1100, destroyed in 1598, this one built in 1756... - Cap d'Erquy
If you can, take a walk on Cap d'Erquy. You will not regret it. - Cap d'Erquy
- Cap d'Erquy
- Côte de granit rose
What a vibrant colour! - Cairn of Barnenez
It is considered one of the oldest man-made structures. And yet not many visitors! - Cairn of Barnenez
Early Neolithic monument (4800 BC). It's 72 m long, up to 25 m wide, and over 8 m high. - Cairn of Barnenez
Art exhibition by local kids. Love it! - Mont Saint-Michel de Brasparts
The consequences of a terrible fire in 2022. - Manoir de Kervaudu
Close to Le Croisic close to the Guérande salt marshes. - La Dordogne
Dordogne river. What an interesting place this part of France is. View of the river from our campsite. - Château de Montfort
There are numerous castles along Dordogne. The Montfort castle was first destroyed in 1214. And three more times. So far. - Château de Beynac
The castle was built in the 12th century by the barons of Beynac, and later remodelled and enlarged. - La Roque-Gageac
Oh, another spectacular village. - La Roque-Gageac
A truly spectacular village. - La Roque-Gageac
If you have the time, hire a canoe. We unfortunately didn't. Next time :-) - La Roque-Gageac
Le manoir de Tarde from the 15th century. - Dordogne river
Climbing the exposed stairs might be scary for some. For me it was just insanely hot. But the views are rewarding. - Dordogne river
- Dordogne river
- Le fort de la Roque-Gageac
What an interesting curtain. And one of the modern pillars, keeping the fort stable. There were way too many collapses in recent past. - La Roque-Gageac
What a charming old town. - La Roque-Gageac
A lovely place to rest and enjoy a drink. Especially in such a heat! - La Roque-Gageac
A lovely shade indeed. - Château de Montfort
- Rocamadour
Another fascinating place: Rocamadour. - Rocamadour
How green the valley of L'Alzou is! - Rocamadour
One could go down the stairs. And up the stairs again. Or not. - Rocamadour
Spectacular place. Already inhabited in the Paleolithic. The town peaked in the 12th century. 12th century! - Puy de Pariou
One of the most photogenic volcanoes around there. Unfortunately the weather was quite meh so (this time) we didn't climb the Puy the Dôme. - Puy de Pariou
What a lovely place for a walk. We climbed up the hill from the back side, returning down the stairs. - Puy de Pariou
Puy de Pariou with Puy de Dôme in the background. Of course once we decided not to climb the Dôme but the Pariou, the skies cleared. - Puy de Pariou
I'm happy we chose this path for the way down. - Puy de Pariou
Dianthus (pink) on the sunny side of the volcano. - Puy de Pariou
What a lovely and tranquil place this forest is. - Pointes d'Orient
View from the Galibier road towards Les Pointes d'Orient (2942 m) and Crête de Lacha (2938 m). - Le Galibier
Le Rabel (2539 m) and Roche Olvéra (2662 m) - Col du Galibier
Roche de la Gardette (3050 m), Pic Est de Combeynot (3145 m), Pic Ouest de Combeynot (3155 m), Roc Noir de Combeynot (3112 m); in the back Pic de Neige Cordier (3613 m), Roche Paillon (3636 m), Barre des Écrins (4102 m), Sommet Sud-Est de la Roche d'Alveau (3619 m), and Pointe Nérot (3537 m). Thanks to Peakvisor. - Col du Galibier
View towards Les Pointes d'Orient (2942 m), Crête de Lacha (2938 m), Aiguille Noire (2869) and Pic du Thabor (3207 m) on the right. - Le Col de l'Échelle
Being a fan of Alex Hugo, I wanted to see Vallée de la Clarée. This is already towards Italy, behind Col de l'Échelle. Oddly enough, the border is not on the col but in the valley below. - Le Mauvais Pas
A steep descend towards Italy - and then home.