History

How Queen Elizabeth II's love of France won over the French

Royal biographer recalls the late Queen's lifelong francophilia

How volunteers are keeping France's steam train heritage alive

Association has preserved Provence steam trains since 1975

Is Mont Blanc in France or does it belong to Italy?

Discover the history of the 160-year border dispute over western Europe’s highest mountain and why the summit remains contested

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Why France’s water towers are gaining heritage status and new life

"Châteaux d'eau" are being reappraised as industrial heritage, with some gaining protected status and others converted into homes, gîtes and tourist attractions

Family in the French Alps has lived in the same valley for 700 years

Meet the Suiffet family of Val-Cenis and their remarkable alpine history

Dormillouse: discover France’s most isolated village in the Hautes-Alpes

Find out how to reach this remote mountain hamlet in the Écrins National Park, what to see and why it is one of southeast France’s most unusual destinations

Teacher and students revive historic ‘Gratitude Train’ project

A teacher and 250 students in Amiens have rebuilt a historic Merci Train carriage, reviving a symbol of Franco-American friendship

Recreation of a missing scene from the Bayeux Tapestry reaches halfway point

The woven work measuring 25m² is on track to meet next year’s deadline marking the millennium of William the Conqueror’s birth in Normandy

Jeanne Calment: Why France’s oldest person claim still stands

French woman remains the oldest person ever recorded at 122, despite repeated claims her age record is false

Explore France the Robert Louis Stevenson way... and not just by donkey

Follow in the footsteps of the famous Scottish author from Brussels to Paris along rivers and canals

Why France's 'Cathar castles' will no longer be called Cathar

Sites in south-west expected to receive Unesco World Heritage status

Large tree beside a pond with cottages and reflections under a cloudy sky.

Tulip tree from George Washington uncovers hero in France

Dutch historian brings new nuance to the US's 250th birthday

What to see and do in Confort-Meilars, the Brittany village with a 1560 Calvary

Historic gem hosts an annual horse show and is set in the lush Finistère countryside

'It was like a hallucination': French curator tells how he found Mozart manuscript by chance

Composition written by Mozart and his student given world premiere earlier this week in Paris

Over 1,000 events in France for European archaeology festival 2026

The 17th edition of Journées européennes de l’archéologie will be held this weekend (June 12 - 14)

A legacy of history: why are there unique laws in Alsace and Lorraine?

Legal and cultural exceptions stem from historical ties with the German Empire, including differences in secularism, healthcare and holidays

Saint-Malo: exploring Brittany’s city of corsairs

For a few centuries Malouin privateers were the bane of the English

Test your knowledge: fun French facts

Intriguing facts about France's history and heritage, from an iconic cathedral to the Battle of the Somme

Fashion figures: five French female couturières

Discover the legacy of five pioneering female fashion designers who transformed couture and empowered women through innovative style and elegance

Part of Eiffel Tower’s original staircase could fetch €150,000 at auction

The fragment is set to go under the hammer at an auction in Paris next month

Interview: Stéphane Bern, the face of French heritage with royal connections

Discover the historian's influence on French culture and heritage, his thoughts on the British royal family, and his impact on tourism

Saint-Emilion: home to Europe’s largest underground place of worship

Explore the monolithic church of Saint-Emilion, carved from limestone and steeped in history and spirituality

France’s Lascaux cave museum celebrates 10th anniversary with year of events

The International Centre for Cave Art contains a full-scale replica of France’s famous cave paintings

Paris exhibition shows Napoleon’s final will

58-page document covers Emperor’s final wishes expressed in exile

Lascaux IV: replica of the original Dordogne prehistoric cave

An educational and authentic experience for families and history enthusiasts

The five other capitals of France before Paris

Several other cities have held the honour for various reasons

Saint-Aubin-des-Châteaux: rural French village with historical and natural charm

Step back in time to explore Neolithic, Roman, and Templar traces... but you will not find any châteaux

Owners of French mill seek help tracing history

'We are looking for old photographs from before it closed,' say couple who restored the building

One of the most notorious meals in the history of French gastronomy

How hard times inspired an outrageous festive feast in 1870

Brouage: inland fortified French village was once a major European salt port

Some 400,000 tourists visit every year - many of whom are Canadian

A view of the chateau, keep, gardens, and river

The Paris region has one of France’s ‘most beautiful’ villages

It is an official ‘plus beau village de France’

Corrèze village was the last independent fiefdom in France

Turenne is known for its powerful history, hilltop views, and charming chateau

Unpublished drawing by Michelangelo pupil discovered in western France

Artwork valued at €500,000 but sold for €3.1 million at Paris auction

Locronan: Brittany’s movie-set village with a rich history of its own

Local traditions stemming from Celtic legends are still practised today

guillotine on display was constructed in 1872

1872 guillotine on public display at French museum

Execution tool has been on show only three times since France abolished the death penalty in 1981

Rouffach: tower marks spot where witches once gathered

We recount the dark history of the Haut-Rhin village which burned 60 people at the stake for practising witchcraft

Explore the historic battlefields and memorials of Verdun

Guided tours and visits to forts, cemeteries, and the Citadelle Souterraine de Verdun

Discover this amazing mosaic house - the life’s work of a cemetery sweeper in Chartres

Maison Picassiette is a mosaic masterpiece of naïve art

Heritage Days in France: ideas for visits this weekend plus photos

Over 2,000 sites are set to welcome visitors for free on September 20 and 21

Photo of honorary mayor Jean-Pierre Laparra at memorial

‘I am a gatekeeper of this village’s memory’ – French honorary mayor

Mayor Jean-Pierre Laparra talks to us about representing a town that was wiped out in the battle of Verdun

Test your knowledge: 3 fun French invention facts

Explore the intriguing stories behind three French innovations: the first camera phone photo, Napoleon's canned food solution, and the evolution of the pencil

French architecture: the church that is not a church

Explore the intriguing story of Sainte-Thérèse-de-l'Enfant-Jésus, the unfinished church in Léojac

Five curious facts about Napoleon Bonaparte

Discover five intriguing facts about Napoleon Bonaparte, from his card game antics to his unique accent and more

Why are so many places in Normandy named -ville?

Unique history of region sees many settlements with same name ending

Fort de Brégançon: inside the presidential private island

President Macron is currently enjoying the secluded fortress on the Riviera which has welcomed French politicians for decades

Veules-les-Roses: a floral village home to the shortest river in France

This coastal Normandy village is dotted with thatched cottages, watermills and rambling roses

Underground dwellings: explore the oldest troglodyte site in France

In the 18th Century, half the inhabitants of the small town of Doué-la-Fontaine (Maine-et-Loire) lived in caves

Basque houses have timeless appeal, cultural significance, and historic charm

These traditional houses in the western Pyrenees are known as etche or etxe in local dialect

Uncovering France's Easter Island statues

There are five statues in various locations across France

Split: Voltaire home plaque and sketch of Voltaire portrait

Five famous historical French figures who were exiled to Britain

From Voltaire to De Gaulle, we share the stories of five exiles who fled across the Channel

This French hilltop village sits between heaven and earth

Art historian Julia Faiers unpicks the threads that weave together the Roman and medieval settlements of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges in the Pyrenees

La Fête Nationale: 14 facts about France's national holiday

The July 14 'Bastille Day' celebration features a military parade in Paris and means a day off work

How a post-1918 ‘adoption’ scheme of French towns left its British mark

A UK project to help rebuild devastated French towns after World War One was not without controversy

New virtual reality Napoleon experience a hit in Bordeaux

Connexion columnist Samantha David visited Napoléon, L'Epopée Immersive – a 'fun and fascinating' way to explore the historical events surrounding the French general

Bayeux Tapestry to be loaned to British Museum: things you may not know about iconic artefact

The tapestry - which may not be that French after all - is not the only one of its kind. The Connexion speaks to a woman who has spent ten years creating an exact replica

American donates her father’s WW2 photos to French resistance museum

The Musée de la Résistance is set to open in Cahors in early 2026.

Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue: the 'most beautiful harbour in France'

This picturesque coastal town, not far from Cherbourg, has a war-trodden history as an ancient English landing site

Grimod de La Reyière: France’s restaurant review pioneer

The legacy of this French cultural icon reshaped culinary history

This weekend’s European archaeology festival sees hundreds of events in France

Dig sites usually closed to the public will be opened up, many with tours and workshops

Rodez: a tale of two small pink-tinted cities

Art historian Julia Faiers marvels at the cathedral and medieval treasures of this city in Aveyron (Occitanie), once split in two

One of Europe's oldest churches is found in France's 'City of 100 Spires’

Poitiers (Vienne) has a unique blend of medieval charm and modern vibrancy, from ancient churches to bustling nightlife

Magic of 800-year-old natural light display returns to historic French abbey

Art historian Dr Julia Faiers discovers how a medieval PR campaign about a saint’s holy relics determined the rags-to-riches story of Vézelay Abbey in Burgundy