 last three years of his life living in France at the service of King Francis I? The monarch was an avid fan of the talented artist and invited him to come live in Amboise as his ‘Premier Painter and Engineer and Architect of the King’. Da Vinci was based in the Chateau du Clos Lucé, a short 300 meters from the King’s residence, le Chateau d’Amboise in the Loire Valley. Visitors can tour the manor house and get a glimpse into the life of this genius – his workshop, his rooms as well as many lifesize replicas of his inventions in the beautiful gardens.
This is an absolute must on your France bucket list! A quarry in the beautiful town of Baux-de-Provence was converted into an art museum of sorts. The walls of the quarry provide the backdrop to a stunning art and music show. We visited when they were showing exhibitions on Van Gogh, Starry Night and Dreamed Japan.We strongly recommend you book your tickets ahead online to avoid large queues!
The Jean Cocteau Museum in Menton in French Riviera, France.
The iconic Mont St Michel!
The Dordogne, the land of 1001 chateaux! You’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to visiting chateaux in the Dordogne. You’ll find everything from chateaux, fortresses, fairy tale castles to manor houses. Check out our comprehensive guide of must-visit chateaux in the Périgord!
A number of years ago, cars were actually allowed to drive across the aquaduct!
Located in the South of France, this amazing feat of engineering was built by the Romans some 2000 years ago. It’s an ancient aqueduct bridge which was built to carry water from Uzès to Nimes, over 50 kms away. It’s as wide as 3 jumbo jets, as tall as the Statue of Liberty and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Oh, and it’s on the 5 euro note! Check the website for further details on opening hours, prices and access.
This temple looks as though it’s been transported straight out of Rome!
The Palace of Versailles, wow. Two words: stunning and overwhelming. This place oozes grandeur, opulence, over-the-topness (is that a word?). Apparently half of France’s GDP was spent on the Palace. It actually started out as a fairly modest hunting lodge until King Louis XIV became its owner and started adding additional wings, acres of formal gardens, impressive fountains with mythical creatures. A visit to the chateau de Versailles is a must if you’re planning a trip to Paris – it’s an easy day trip from the French capital.
Wow, wow, wow! The Chateau de Chambord gives the Palace of Versailles a run for its money! With its 440 rooms and 282 fireplaces, this impressive chateau took 1800 workmen 15 years to complete.
This beautiful Renaissance villa, located in St Jean Cap Ferrat, was owned by Beatrice Rothschild and was donated to the Académie des Beaux Arts following her death in 1934. During the 2nd World War, in 1943, the town of St Jean Cap Ferrat was evacuated and remained empty for 2 years. The grounds fell into disrepair and great work ensued to restore the gardens to their former glory. The main garden was designed to resemble a ship’s deck with the Mediterranean sea surrounding the deck. You can see it clearly when viewing from within the Villa. There are also a total of 9 different gardens including French, Spanish, Florentine and Japanese ones.
The burnt-out doctor’s car. Left as it was on that fateful day.
Chilling and haunting. Oradour-sur-Glâne, the village where time has stood still. On 10th June 1944, the German SS descended on the small town located near Limoges and rounded up all the inhabitants. They told the mayor they were carrying out a check but the reality was far grimmer. Women and children were sent into the church while the men were rounded up into a barn.  Following this horrendous massacre, the town remains as a memorial village to this atrocity committed during World War II.
One thing’s for sure, the French know how to do camping. We’ve been to a fair number and have been very impressed with the standard and caliber. Read this post if you want to find out about one of our favourite campsite’s. And because we’re nice, we’ve also compiled a guide to some of the top campsites in the Dordogne.
Menton, literally on the Italian border, is one of my favourite towns in the French Riviera. The colours, the seaside, the atmosphere – there’s not much to not like about this place. There’s a famous lemon festival that takes place there in February. I’ve heard that a lot of the lemons are now imported so it may have lost some of its authenticitiy, however, a stay on the riviera is never a bad thing.
L’Île de Nantes is a fun, vibrant, arty neighborhood in the trendy town of Nantes, West of France. L’Ile de Nantes is home to the whimsical ‘Les Machines de l’Ile’ where you’ll get to see a giant mechanical elephant wander around. Apparently, the elephant ride was inspired by the 1880 novel “The Steam House” by Jules Verne. The story is about a house which is pulled by a steam-powered mechanical elephant in India.
Have you heard of the two famous gauls, Asterix and Obelix? You’ll usually find them on the screen or in the pages of Goscinny’s comic books, however, did you know that there’s a large theme park dedicated to these two fellows? The Parc Asterix is located 30 minutes north of Paris and is the second largest theme park after EuroDisney with 14 million annual visitors! A visit is definitely on our kids’ French bucket list!
So have you booked your flights yet? What’s on YOUR France bucket list? Please let me know in the comments if I’ve missed anything and provide me with some more wanderlust inspiration.
Pisco Bar is proud to present a purveyor of all things amazing, resident of the ever so prestigious Potato Head Bali, Dean Dixon on the 26th May 2018. Originally hailing from Canada by way of Australia, Dean Dixon’s DJ style espouses diversity. He wholeheartedly believes there’s great music in every genre and takes great joy in sharing his worldly treasures with others.
His DJ style espouses diversity and he believes there’s great music in every genre & that you simply require the passion to dedicate time & patience to lay your fingers on it. He loves sharing his worldly treasures with others and providing glorious sonic surprises, where you can expect the unexpected and prepare yourself for anything.
On the Australian scene, Dean ran HAHA Industries and played regularly alongside Dave Fernandes. As D&D, they forged a musical pathway down the side streets, forgotten laneways and dark warehouse spaces that made up the more unique aspects of the Sydney late night party scene over the last decade. They’ve warmed the floors alongside some of the most prominent international electronic music artists. He now holds DJ residencies and Potato Head Beach Club & Rock Bar in Bali among others. His endless passion to find the weird & wonderful & share it with others creates special moments each time he plays.
Supported on the night by Dj Soothsayer @ Jamie Allan. Originally from the UK, DJ Soothsayer has been spinning on the wheels of steel for over 15 years. Drawing inspiration from Hip Hop, Funk, Disco, UKG, House and Techno the main aim is to disrupt the norm and keep the dance floor grooving.Sleep problems are highly prevalent among school-attending youth, and impact on school performance and outcomes. Sleep-competing behaviours are likely factors in the inadequate sleep time and related functional outcomes observed in this population. We examined a range of sleep-competing behaviours and their associations with sleep variables in Australian school-attending youth. We also assessed whether these behaviours indirectly affected mental health and daytime functioning through poorer sleep quality. A total of 353 school-attending youth (mean age = 14.6 years, 53% female) were recruited from high schools in Australia, and completed a range of self-report measures. Approximately 50% of the youth obtained sub-optimal levels of sleep and reported having a problematically long sleep onset latency. Sleep competing behaviours, related and unrelated to electronic media use, were reported as occurring frequently, and were associated with a range of sleep variables. These behaviours were also related to poorer mental health and daytime sleepiness, with this association explained by indirect effects through sleep quality. Sleep-competing behaviours are prevalent on school nights in Australian youth, and may have adverse associations with mental health and functioning. Prevention and intervention programs might address the risk factors identified in the current study.
The Cleantech Open has long been a breeding ground for successful startups, including Adura Technologies, GreenVolts, and Cool Earth Solar. So we should all probably keep a close eye on EcoFactor, this year’s National Prize Winner. The startup, selected from 12 finalists in the Cleantech Open’s business plan competition, has developed a personal residential energy management system for heating, air-conditioning, and ventilation. In other words, it’s an intelligent HVAC system.
As we’