I am often asked about France. It makes sense, given that I live here and write a blog about it. When I travel to a new place, I like to have a few facts about the place in my pocket, too. A good restaurant, a must-see or do sort of thing, where to stay… a few starting bits so that I have a foot on the ground when I arrive.
The main question I am asked (outside of brocantes and where to stay) is about the secret spots, the hidden places, the off-the-beaten track, the real "France." I have thought about that question for a while. Imagine a secret spot, some hideaway, where few tourists have been, a place that captures the French essence. Somewhere where someone could go and feel France embracing them in one juicy double kiss to the cheeks.
When you are in France, it does help to know that wherever you are is most likely knee-deep with wonder and awe. With France being the most visited country in the world, what secrets remain? In Paris alone, there are over fifty million tourists a year…
"6,100 streets in Paris
13,260 crossroads
3,000 km of pavements
33.7 km of Boulevards des Maréchaux around Paris
4.4 km of Grands Boulevards (between Place de la Madeleine and Place de la Bastille)
9,884 benches, 107 clocks, and 1,856 bus shelters
109 Wallace drinking fountains
2,417 km of sewers…"
Secret places in France…
I like grocery stores. And old-style cafes, bakeries that are not famous, and sitting at the counter sipping on something, usually a hot chocolate.
Over ten years ago, I remember turning on the internet for the first time and instantly typing words such as:
France,
French,
Brocante,
Antiques,
French Antiques,
Undiscovered France,
Touring France
and not one single thing popped up; instead, a blue screen stared back.
Now, anything, everything, whatever we are searching for is ours within seconds.
But then again, the places that are not on the internet are the ones you might want to discover.
How do I answer the question I am so often asked?
The first time I went to France was with my cousin Linda. My cousin was living and working in Germany when I arrived. Linda asked, "Do you want to go to Paris? I need to go shopping."
So we went to Paris.
Linda shopped. I tagged along.
We didn't see any of the sites other than take a drink on the Champs Elysee. We walked along back streets and into little shops; we rarely saw a tourist, and the monuments we saw were from a great distance. We searched for a crepe suzette. My first experience in Paris was magical.
Paris was fantastic, and the train ride was equally mesmerizing. I was hooked.
Years later, my parents visited me when I married and moved to France. We walked every single day from sun up to sunset. Each morning before heading out, I would say, "Let's focus on Pain au Chocolat," "The perfect rose," or "The best garden bench," and off we would go without any other agenda.
What does this have to do with off-the-beaten trails and secret spots in France?
Not much.
Discovering a place is about going with your shoes off, with your hands ready to reach out. It is about closing your eyes and breathing with your heart. It is about getting lost and finding what you are looking for. Discovering a place is seeing the beauty in the minor details: Holding beauty because you see it and not because someone has told you where to look. The secret spots, the hidden places, the off-the-beaten path… they don't exist per se. Instead, I think people want to experience France of their dreams. They want to wake up to what they have read about or dreamed about, and we want to have more to carry back than a souvenir; we want to fill our hearts.
They need a brocante.
What am I saying? Forget that.
Some of my favorite places in France:
First and foremost, all brocantes
La Boutique De L'Antiquaire: 9 Rue du Grand Pré, 84160 Lourmarin
Walk along the beach in Countainville
Any Market in France
Chez Paul my favorite restaurant in Paris
and so many more…
What makes a place come alive?
The people you meet and the experiences you share.
Friends who open their doors with their hearts.
If you want to discover a place, let it soak into you and take root. Expect the unexpected as a gift. If you're going to find that secret place, that off the beaten path, where tourists don't go, if you want the place that you dream about, be it the cobblestones, the church bells, the croissants with butter-filled happiness, the berets, the baguettes, the movie set imagery than come to France with your five senses as your guide. Trust yourself to find what you are looking for; leap.
If you want to be one of few and not one in thousands,
Then explore France in the countryside, in the middle of France.
Drive aimlessly.
France.
Add your French favorites in the comment section.
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