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Known world-wide for its 7km Promenade des Anglais, Nice also has strong links with the US – dating from the 1780s when future president Thomas Jefferson paid many visits while ambassador here and advised Americans to “spend a few days here”.

This crowded room is perfect for Jean-Jacques Megel-Nuber who had been searching for a new adventure after a life working in the theatre and events – so he set up a tiny mobile library and bookshop and takes it round festivals.

The wi-fi and phone reception is not always great - but Jane Hanks discovers that's what some people want these days

Get to grips with the lingua franca of l'hexagone's big annual sporting event

With the annual Les Rencontres d’Arles photography festival kicking off this month, here we look at some useful photo-related phrases and French expressions.

Do you find yourself cursing more easily in French than your native tongue? If so, Catherine Caldwell-Harris, Psychology professor at Boston University in the US, knows why: emotional distance.

Lot-et-Garonne town welcomes planet's finest confitures to annual jam festival

There is still plenty to do in the vineyards, even if the biggest job - the harvest - is yet to come

Wine has been made in the capital since Roman times - and the mairie now owns the city's four main vineyards

David Suchet, the actor who defined Hercule Poirot for a generation, has been filming a French TV police series in Périgord. Michael Delahaye met him at his front door

What did we make of François Ozon's romantic mystery Frantz and other recent releases?

Both craftsman and performers, marionnettistes or puppeteers make puppets and also use them in shows. The art is thought to date back 3,000 years to ancient Greece or Egypt and modern puppeteers use a blend of ancient techniques and newer technologies.

Jean-Michel Bertrand endured months of frustration and cold to capture rare footage of wolves in the French Alps. He tells Jane Hanks why the resulting documentary was worth the hardship

There are 14 Unesco ‘Man and the Biosphere Reserves’ in France, which cover some of the most beautiful parts of the country and nearly 10% of the mainland.

Europe’s only water maze is to be found in an extraordinary garden devoted to lotuses and water lilies in the heart of the Dordogne, not far from Sarlat, at Carsac.

The Marcel is an iconic piece of French clothing with a name which is far more evocative than the English term, string vest or singlet. 

One of Napoleon’s last surviving uniforms, and one he wore in exile on the Atlantic island of St Helena, has been restored but is still so fragile it can only be shown for a few days before being stored in the dark.

From the 12th century to the 21st, these colourful houses in the Tarn town of Castres have been called home by residents on the lowest incomes

From the poster museum in Toulouse, to the glove museum in Millau, and not one but two tiny museums, Samantha David checks out some of the quirkier educational and informative venues in France

A contemporary chandelier-maker was thrilled to be asked to help with the restoration of historic lighting at the famous Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley.

At very low tides, shipwrecks still appear on the beaches of Dunkirk, ghostly reminders of one of the most famous episodes of the Second World War.