Annette Charlton | A French Collection

Odette Pastry Store – The Best Cream Puffs in Paris

Can you imagine a pretty Parisian store filled with display shelves of only creme puffs? Well, Odette, is such a store. Nestled in amongst its surrounding buildings, Odette is at 77 rue Galande, and is well known for selling only creme puffs, or as they are as named in French, choux à la creme.

Odette - A True Parisian Pastry Store

Yes, while there are pastry shops and bakeries everywhere in Paris, almost on every other street corner actually, Odette is different because instead of the array of eclairs, macarons, croissants and baguettes, Odette only bakes and sells creme puffs and because they specialise only in choux à la creme, they excel in both flavour and creative flair.

Saint Sulpice – Paris’ Second Largest Church

Saint Sulpice Church - The Largest Church in Paris

Saint Sulpice is the second largest church in Paris (only second to Notre Dame Cathedrale) and it's just off the main tourist drag along the Seine. Saint Sulpice is worth a visit for many reasons. Here is a brief history, a description of the main areas within the church and some interesting, quirky facts you may not know. As I stay not far from Saint-Sulpice a few times a year when I'm in Paris, I've come to know and love this huge church.

The Second Largest Church in Paris, Saint-Sulpice

Saint-Sulpice was built to replace the village church which was not large enough for its growing district and the surging Catholic revival at the time. Rector Jean-Jacques Olier (1608-1657), Master of the French School of spirituality and founder of the seminary of the Society of the Priests of Saint-Sulpice was the inspired originator of the new church.

Gorgeous French Gift Box For Lovers of French Style

Review of French Gift Box by Janine Marsh of The Good Life France

You may already know about our French gift boxes, but if you're new to our site, this review by Janine Marsh, editor of popular website The Good Life France and multiple best selling author, will tell all...

"If you love gorgeous French style and exquisite French things, from stunning scented candles to homeware, authentic flea market finds, art, stationery and accessories, then you’re going to love this globally available, lovely French gift box: My Beautiful French Collection Box.

Parisian VIP Shopping Experience at Galeries Lafayette

Parisian VIP Shopping Experience at Galeries Lafayette Haussmann

Paris is the home of style and fashion and the grand and glamorous department store Galeries Lafayette, is home to some of the most stylish and modern fashion in Paris. Not only does the store offer the latest in apparel, footwear, accessories, beauty and perfume, it is all artfully displayed in the breathtakingly beautiful Georges Chedanne and Ferdinand Chanut designed store. The glass and steel dome and Art Nouveau staircases were finished in 1912.

This flagship store on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris always impresses me with its new merchandise displays, lovely cafes and stunning Christmas displays. I've shopped in Galeries Lafayette stores in a few countries including Dubai, Beijing and Paris, and I must say that Galeries Lafayette Haussmann remains my favourite store.

Guémené-sur-Scorff: A Beautiful Small French Town

Guémené-sur-Scorff is a small French town of character or petite cité de caractère in the south of Brittany (Bretagne), and it’s part of our series on these small towns of character. To be included in the Association Petites Cités de Caractère de Bretagne, a town must be rural in terms of their small population while at the same time urban in terms of their history and heritage.

Guémené-sur-Scorff: Petite City of Character

Guémené-sur-Scroff, or simply Guémené, as it’s sometimes called, fits these qualifications nicely and there is so much I love about this town which is only about 20 kilometres away from the bustling and popular town of Pontivy (which is situated beside the Napoleonic Canal de Nantes à Brest (the Nantes to Brest Canal).

Annette Charlton

Annette lives with her family between their homes in France and Australia. She’s been featured in International magazines including French Property News, on ABC National Radio, numerous blogs and travel websites. You can connect on Instagram or Facebook.

www.afrenchcollection.com

Honfleur – The 8 Best Things to See & Do

Honfleur is a picturesque town in Normandy in the northwestern region of France at the mouth of the Seine Estuary and it's a popular place to visit with many things to see and do. I've put together the best things to see and experience in Honfleur after my own visits to this wonderful French town. Here are the best things to see in Honfleur.

The 8 Best Things to See and Do in Honfleur, Normandy

With its pretty harbour and timber framed townhouses around the Vieux-Bassin (old port), some up to seven stories high, ancient churches and religious buildings, Honfleur has long been a favourite with artists and photographers and it's easy to see why it is still so popular today.

Le Clos de Montmartre – One of Paris’ Last Remaining Vineyards

Did you know that there is a hidden vineyard at Montmartre? It’s called Le Clos de Montmartre and you can find it at the junction of rue des Saules and rue Saint-Vincent. The wine from this remaining and very pretty Paris vineyard is called Clos Montmartre.

Le Clos de Montmartre: One of Paris’ Last Remaining Vineyards

This interesting area of Montmartre is home to the charming pink café, Le Maison Rose, the famous Cabaret Au Lapin Agile and the almost secret vineyard, le Clos de Montmartre. The vineyard covers a steep area on the corner and is quite small for a vineyard, covering only 1600 m2. But while it may look like it’s been there forever nestled in amongst the surrounding houses, it was actually only planted in the early 1930’s.

Le Clos Montmartre was the clever idea of the Major of Paris together with the Commune Libra and the Republic of Montmartre to save the site from developers and create a ‘green space’. ‘Clos’ or enclosed vineyards were originally maintained by Monks throughout the city.

Les Machines de l’Ile Nantes – A Steampunk Wonderland

Imagine giant mechanical animals roaming with lights flashing, wheezing steam and constructed out of natural materials that you can ride, sit on and operate. This describes the amazing artistic and creative steam punk wonderland called Les Machines de l’Île Nantes which is in the city of Nantes in France.

"It is the only place where you'll find Jules Verne's "Invented Worlds", the mechanical universe of Leonardo da Vinci, and Nantes' industrial history, all on the exceptional site of the city's former shipyards." - Les Machines de l’Île Nantes

Les Machines de l’Île Nantes

Les Machines de l’Île Nantes is in Nantes, in the Département de la Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire and is still known as the capital of Brittany even though it is in a different region. This attraction with all its machines is open for tourists, as is the workshop where the mechanical machines created out of recycled metal, leather and handcrafted wood with their pulleys ropes, hydraulic cylinders and welded metal frames are made and repaired.

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