France Travel News 07/13/2011

Here's their whole outdoor cinema schedule for the summer, starting on July 19 with Taxi Driver! Definitely a fun, quirky thing to do if you're hitting Paris.

It truly is the beautiful life in Languedoc: the region is home to long afternoon lunches, mountain walks with awe-inspiring vistas, well-preserved history from the Romans to Napoleon, luxurious Mediterranean beaches, and more wine produced than any other area of the world. Just four hours by train from Paris and three from Nice, a trip to France would be remiss without including Languedoc on the itinerary. Here are five off-the-beaten-path spots that can help you uncover another side of the French Mediterranean.

A new book, Où est Sarko? (Where is Sarko?) has captured some of the key moments of his presidency. Based on the Where's Wally? – for some reason known as Où est Charlie? in France – the book caricatures not just Sarkozy's habit of micro-managing the country, but his knack of appearing to be in several places at the same time. When he was elected in 2007 he quickly became known as Super-Sarko the Omnipresident. There is Sarko with the Roma, depicting the row that erupted a year ago when the government sent riot police into camps to forcibly evict their occupants. Sarko in the Banlieue, tackles the weeks of rioting across France in 2005 after he threatening to clear out "the rabble" with water cannon.

AIRLINE pilots in France are planning to disrupt the summer getaway with a four-day walkout at the beginning of August. The biggest pilots' union, SNPL, has issued a formal strike notice from August 5-8 – typically one of the busiest weekends of the year for air travel. They are protesting about changes to their pension regime, which is shared with that of cabin crew. An argument over contributions and payouts between high and low earners has pitted those at the controls against those who look after passenger safety. Both groups have threatened in the past to go on strike if the situation is not resolved in their favour. Meanwhile, Easyjet cabin crew based in France are planning to strike for 48 hours from July 12.

We definitely need to clean up our act before our next flight on Air France, as the airline is now pushing passengers to clean up their seats before deplaning. The head honcho at Air France wants his crews to quit cleaning up after everyone, as the airline attempts to cut costs to compete with all those pesky low cost carriers flying everywhere and anywhere across Europe.

Many Francophiles say there’s Paris and then there’s France. And while Paris is consummately lovely, it’s criminal not to explore the rest of the country when you go. I wanted to share some of my favorite towns of the French countryside and invite you to check them during your next visit. I can say that they will very likely not let you down. Stray from the traditional Paris-Nice highway and go to some of these truly treasured and very French destinations.

Check out all the tweets by the Tour de France riders. You can easily check all the tweets by day or by rider. You can indicate of which rider you are a fan and which tweets you really like.

In Paris to the Past, acclaimed writer Ina Caro (who is married to the acclaimed historian Robert Caro) guides readers through a complete, 800-year history of France, discussed in the context of 25 one-day train trips from Paris. This quick-paced and often page-turning read not only allows armchair travelers the chance to appreciate the architectural splendors and political intrigues of France, but also the charming bistros and grand hotels along the way.

On July 1, the French gastronomic group Le Fooding will be celebrating summer with a butcher, a baker and a macaron maker at their annual Bazarette du Fooding, a collection of food and drink purveyors. The Paris Bazarette — events in Arles and Biarritz will follow — takes place in conjunction with the Days Off festival, at Cité de la Musique (221 avenue Jean Jaurès) in the 19th Arrondissement. “Bazarette” loosely translates as “convenience store,” but this is no typical bodega. There will be a D.J., drinks and star purveyors from Paris and farther afield on hand to dish up samples to the crowd.

Lifestyle web TV company, After 5 TV, in partnership with the Savoie Mont Blanc Tourism Office, is set to launch a new travel series this summer – Destinations. The show aims not only to rediscover beautiful places in the world but more importantly, to encourage viewers to support tourism and visit the featured areas. In the pilot episode, Destinations will be profiling the culturally rich region of the Savoie and Mont Blanc in France while recommending must-see tourist spots, community events, boutique hotels, artisanal shops, and local restaurants in the area. Cheese tasting, liquor sampling, and mountain climbing are just some of the activities that the show promises to present.