Arrived in Marseille. Explored the city on foot. Beautiful neighbourhood Le Panier. Also Vieux-Port, the Old Port Of Marseille.

historic city set in the middle of Provençal villages and surrounded by vineyards, lavender fields and cliffs. NIght in Aix-en-Provence

considered one of the most beautiful villages in France. Walked around the town, visited ancient churches and Château des Baux de Provence, a 10th century fortified castle.

Visited Châteauneuf du Pape - ruins of the Pope's formal summer residence.

Last moments of strolling, with, of course, famous bridge Pont d'Avignon

Provence !

Headed to the medieval village of Eze situated up on a steep hill overlooking the Mediteranean Sea.

Spectacular views of the coast from Jardin Exotique d’Èze, a cactus garden at the top of the village.

Visited ancient some ancient castles in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.

Continued the journey on the cost towards Menton. Arrived just in time for a Mediterranean sunset. Spent the night here.

Today was the day with hilltop towns. We walked up and down the streets of the cities all day long. First Gourdon.

Moved to Grasse - another hilltop lovely town. Spent the night.

Then headed back to the coast, in Port Grimaud, the so called 'Venice of Provence'.

In the afternoon took a hike in Massif des Maures.

French Riviera Trip

Arrived in Bordeaux. Explored the city on foot. Visited Le Musée du Vin et du Négoce. Spent all the nights in Bordeaux.

Explored Bordeaux surroundings through Saint Emilion vineyards on bike.

Visited Arcachon’s Bay in the Atlantic Coast.

Climbed Pyla's Sand Dune, the biggest sand dune in Europe. 

Bordeaux and Surroundings

Our Costa Brava summer itinerary starts in Barcelona and covers some of the most beautiful coastal lanscapes, hidden gems and gorgeous beaches between the city of Barcelona and the norther coastal point of Spain.

We rented a car from Barcelona and drove to Cadaqués for about two hours. We arrived in the evening in beautiful Cadaqués, so we only found our way to our accommodation in town that evening.

The next day we explored the charming city of Cadaqués with its beautiful whitewashed buildings spreading on the steep hills, its cobblestone streets and the deep blue sea coloured by fishing boats.

After we walked the city streets up and down for a few hours, we went to visit Salvador Dalí House, where famous painter lived and worked for some 50 years. He was not the only famous artist who loved this city so much. Others like Pablo Picasso or Gabriel Garcia Marquez used to spend summers in the beautiful town.

We ate at Compartir, delicious foody prepared by famous chefs. We had some of the best seafood we have ever tried.

We spent late afternoon at Platja del Ros Beach.

Today it was hiking and exploration day. We jumped in the car and followed the coast north.

Half an hour north of Cadaques, we arrived at Cap de Creus Natural Park. It's a beautiful peninsula with amazing views, a lighthouse and nice hiking paths. We spent a couple of hours there hiking and admiring the scenery.

We spent the afternoon at this gorgeous remote beach relaxing and swimming and sunbathing.

We spent the night in El Port de la Selva.

We had dinner at Ca l'Herminda. Beautiful place with delicious food. It was a recommendation from some nice local people.

The next day, just after grabbing a breakfast, we got back on the car and headed to the north again.

We stopped at Platja de Garbet, a beautiful sandy cove. We spent some nice time in that lovely peaceful corner. 

Then we decided to head still to the north, crossing the border with France. Beautiful landscapes on the way. We stopped for a while at Les Clos de Paulilles, a beautiful seaside vineyard established in the 1800s. We tasted some good there.

We then drove a bit inland to the beautiful medieval town Castelnou. We had a nice walk on its lovely cobblestones streets up to Castelnou Castle

Our last day of the trip was mainly the way back to Barcelona.

Back to Barcelona and back home from here.

Costa Brava Road Trip

Corsica Island is one perfect summer destination, with a nice combination of seaside and mountains in the Mediterranean Sea. It has gorgeous coasline, amazing beaches and spectacular mountains.

We arrived in Ajacco by ferry from France, Marseille. The town also has an airport. We checked in and went to hire a car so that we can move easily from one place to another.

Our first destination on the island was, of course, a beach. We drove straight to Agosta Plage, took our time to relax in this wonderful landscape with white sand beach and a view over Ajaccio and the mountains. We witnessed a spectacular sunset here as well.

We returned to Ajaccio in the evening and spent the night here.

The second day, after a late breakfast in Ajaccio, we decided to spend another day at the beach. We chose Mare e Sol.

We drove straight to Plage de Mare É Sole beach or Plage d'Argent. It's a superb beach with crystal-clear water and mountains in the background. It'a a pretty wild beach where we relaxed for hours and hours swimming and reading and sunbathing.

We checked Route des Sanguinaires beach as well, somewhere in the afternoon towards the evening. We admired a great sunset with a view over Sanguinaires islands.

We retuned to Ajaccio after the sunset. In the evening, they have a flea market open in Ajaccio, it's a a nice way to do some shoppings after you spend all your day at the beach or visiting around.

Today was road triping day. We packed our things and left Ajaccio. We drove south through spectacular Corsican landscape with mountains and villages.

Our first stop for the day was Roccapina and its spectacular coastal views. There's also a bar where you can enjoy a drink watching the wonderful landscape. We took our time to enjoy the stunning views of the mountains and the turquoise sea.

We then drove further to Bonifacio, where we spent the rest of the day and the night. Once settled, we walked up the old town Bonifacio and admired those typical Corsican houses. We also went to The Marina for some shopping and had delicious seafood dishes there.

Today we visited some of the great spots on the south coast of corsica with their great views and spent time at the beautiful beaches in the area.

We visited Plage de Sutta Rocca - Arinella di Sutta Rocca, an absolutelly stunnig spot on the island with gorgeous cliffs and rock formations.

We took a hike in another beautiful place, Passaggiata a Picco Sul Mare.

And then went to explore and relax at the beautiful beach of Plage de Saint-Antoine. We had to do a bit of hiking from the parking to the beach. It's an amazing beach. Beautiful sunset.

Today was the last day on the island. We packed and had time for just another beach before leaving.

We went to another paradise like beach, where we spent a few hours before heading to the port.

Summer Days in Corsica

Visited Château Royal d'Amboise, a 15th-century chateau, with tapestry rooms and panoramic terrace.

The last castle built during the Renaissance in the Loire Valley.

built on an island with a blend of French tradition and Italian decoration.

former royal palace with multiple towers and cupolas and amazing double spiral staircase leading to the royal apartments.

one of the most famous monuments in the Loire Valley due to its two-story gallery standing over the Loire River.

Back in Amboise, we visited the home of Leonardo da Vinci and walked in the beautiful green park where the artist hosted parties for King Francis 1st.

Loire Valley Château Tour

Because we had just half day in Paris, we took a guided tour around the city. It was quite nice.

Visited the city. It's an attractive town with beautiful 13th to 18th century buildings and a fine gothic cathedral. Visited Bayeux Tapestry.

Visited some of Normandy’s best WWII sites, like Pointe du Hoc

One of Normandy’s coastal battlefield grounds.

Visited German cemetery and the American cemetery in Colleville.

Day trip to beautiful Mont Saint-Michel Island. It was a spectacular day. Visited Mont Saint-Michel Castle on top of the island.

Normandy

Arrived in Paris. Had time to stoll a bit on Seine River bank.

Visited the Cemetery, the resting place of many celebrities, like Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Maria Callas.

Walked the streets of Marais Neighbourhood and Place des Voges Park, one of my favourites spots of Paris.

Paris Itinerary

Ile de Ré is a small tranquille French island on the Atlantic coast. It's a beautiful corner of this world with dunes and pine forest, nice villages and paths. It's easy to get on the island as it's connected to the mainland by road. 

Once on the island, the best way to explore it is by bike. There's a  100 km network of excellent cycle paths and the land is quite flat. 

For the first day, well, what was left of it after we arrived, after we got accommodated and went to rent bikes, we made our way to Plage de la Conche des Baleines. The beach a long strip of sandy beach backed by dunes and pine forests

We stayed in Ars-en-Ré so we made our way here in the evening.

In the morning we explored the village of Ars-en-Ré. It's officially one of the most beautiful villages in France. The village is known for the black and white bell tower of its church which used to ben as a point of reference for ships. There are pretty streets in the viollage filled with fantastic little bars and restaurants.

In the afternoon we headed to Plage de Gros Joncs Beach. It'a a wide fantastic beach.

We returned to our beautiful village in the evening.

Saint-Martin-de-Ré is the main town on the island. We explored the beautiful town with its UNESCO heritage  fortifications, beautiful waterfront and great views from the church tower.

Ile de Ré

Lyon is one of the largest cities in France and one of the major destinations in the country. It's a beautiful city with several UNESCO World Heritage sites and situated on a nice location, at the confluence of Rhône and Saône Rivers.

Where to start the exploration of a city? I always like to begin with the very center and the biggest attractions. Place Bellecour in the heart of Lyon is the largest pedestrian square in Europe situated in Presqu’île Peninsula, between the two rivers, Rhone and Saone.

Place des Jacobins is one of the city's prettiest squares with a beautiful fountain in the middle and surrounded by 19th century buildings. It's a nice place where you can feel the atmosphere of Lyon.

I took a lovely walk on Saône Riverfront, it's definitely one of the best places to walk and observe the beauty of Lyon with all those beautiful buildings by the river and the river itsself and the bridges that cross it.

Vieux Lyon or Old Lyon is the main tourist destination in the city. It's a very well preserved neighbourhood. It's the area where rich merchants and bankers used to live. And it's also the area where you can find some of the fine cultural museums, like Gadagne Museum and Movies & Miniature Museum.

Traboule is a very cool spot of Lyon. An old passageway with streets art and unique staicase. Open only during the day, you can admire nice views of the city from upstairs.

Lyon Cathedral is a medieval cathedral, dating from 14th or 15th century situated in one lovely small square. Beautiful interiors and magnificent astronomical clock.

The last spot I visited in my first day in Lyon was the Ancient Theatre of Fourvière. I visited the remains of Roman ancient theatre, which is still in use for some events in the city. From its top rows, there are nice views over the area.

I started my second day in Lyon with another beautiful square in the city center, Place Des Terreaux. It's the place where the city hall stands and also the Museum of Fine Arts, with its impressive collection of artworks.

Amphitheater of the Three Gauls is another Roman theatre that you can visit in Lyon. It's free to visit the remains.

This is a cool spot of the city, where once use to live the working class, silk workers and merchants. Now it's an area where the young ones like to hang out and express themsevlves in streets art and not only.

Mur des Canuts in an huge mural depicting the life of silk workers in the neighbourhood back in those years.

Gorgeous views over Lyon and Saone River from here.

I ended my time in Lyon at Péniche Loupika, a beautiful bar located on a boat with nice views over the river.

Two Days in Lyon

We visited the capital of Alsace region of France and we were really impressed. Being very close to Germany, the city an has an interesting blend of French and German culture.

We arrived in the city center and first noticed this impressive Strasbourg Cathedral. It's a gorgeous Gothic masterpiece with a 16th century astronomical clock, a rose window and huge beautiful interior. It was the tallest building in the world from 1647 to 1874. Fantastic views from  the top of the Cathedral tower.

We explored the island in the center of Strasbourg with its churches, nice streets, cafes and shops. We enjoyed a walk along the waterfront that circles the Grand Île.

Place Kléber is the largest public square in the city center, a popular meeting point and a nice place to stay and observe life in the city. 

The district of Petite France is probably the most beautiful area in the city. With waterways, half-timbered houses, idyllic cobblestone streets and charming briges, the neighbourhood seems out the postcards.

We could not miss the covered stone bridge of Barrage Vauban. It's a pink sandstone bridge built in the 17th century, now housing historic sculptures.

Palais Rohan is an elegant Baroque palace hosing a different museum on each floor. Archaeological Museum in the basement, ceramics and silverware exhibits on the ground floor, and the fine art of the Musée des Beaux-Arts on the first floor.

In the end, we paid a visit to this renowned wine cellar below the Strasbourg’s hospital. We had a tour of the cellar visiting the gallery of barrels and we also tried some local wines. 

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