@@AlfgardVicAenorDuFayI lived and studied and worked in Paris for 40 years, then retired to the beautiful Landes (South West)10 years ago. I now miss Paris sooo much : my usual haunts, the architecture, the monuments, museums, shops...... even the metro!
@@AlfgardVicAenorDuFay let them go to Paris please... I can't stand tourists. Paris is lost. So is côte d'azur, let them do their Eiffel tower & saint tropez thing taking photos. The real country must stay safe. Our secret bases still remain unknown
I'm a Brit who has lived for 20+ years in France (Paris, Toulouse but mostly Lyon). I absolutely love it here. There's so much to see and do, so much variety and beauty. It's always great to watch someone react to vids about the country.
It’s lovely to watch someone so passionate about architecture, history and culture. I love my country, France, but it is nice to see a foreigner who likes it too. 😊
For the "walking without a destination, walking is the destination" part, we have a verb for that : flâner. Walk, take your time, enjoy your surroundings, look at shop fronts, don't buy anything, don't do anything, just walk, relax, and enjoy. That's it.
If there is a Statue of Liberty in Colmar, it is because it is the birthplace of Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor who created it. I enjoy your videos, it’s always a pleasure to see you react.
Statue of Liberty has been designed by Bartoldi, but helped by Gustave Eiffel (Eiffel Tower). It has been a gift from France to USA. To thank France, USA made a replica about 10 meters high... You wil find it in one of the island of Paris, in the border of the Seine river...
I’ve toured France a few times from north to south , loved Carcassonne and I’ve been to two Celtic music festivals in Brittany but there’s so much still to see . I would love to stay there for 6 months , lived the country and the people . Respect from 🏴.
I lived in Scotland for a year during my studies and it was amazing ! You guys are the best and the country is so beautiful that even after 10 years now there is not a week without me saying to my future wife that she has to visit Scotland with me Scottish will always be welcomed in France ❤
Wow ! Thanks, Mr Tyke ! I hope all Northern English people are like you : cooler than many southern ones, who bash France all the time... " 'Ey up " from Brittany !
France is so big that for a country that receives so many foreign visitors , there are places that are completely off the radar of tourists even though you’ll find castles , the most beautiful villages and amazing nature there. A lot of these places are known to the French but some less so, and because France is so big that even in summer they are never that crowded. In the south of France for example a lot of places are quite isolated too and off the beaten track but just amazing . For example I was reading an English guide book with amazing photos and maps that was quite detailed suggesting routes to take but left off amazing places just a few kilometres away.
C'est un tout petit échantillon de ce que propose la France... 😊On pourrait rajouter, entre autres incontournables , La Bretagne, le golf du Morbihan, St Malo. Sur la côte Ouest La Rochelle et l'île de Ré, Arcachon et son bassin avec le Dune du pilat, la côte landaise, Biarritz,les Pyrénées, la ville de Toulouse, Sarlat, Brive-la-Gaillarde ,Rocamadour, collonge la Rousse, le massif central et le Parc des Volcans d'Auvergne, la ville d'Uzes, Nîmes, Montpellier, Orange Arles, la camargue , le pont du Gard, Aix en Provence, Gordes, Toute le côte d'Azur, Dijon, l'abbaye de Cluny , le Nord avec la ville de Lille, la côte Normande , Deauville Honfleur etc etc etc...
I'm French and from a medieval town in Brittany (Dinan), which is a jewel located about 45 minutes from Mont Saint Michel. Currently, I live in the Loire Valley near Chambord Castle. I've lived in houses that are 200 or 300 years old my entire life, made of stone, which I know will still be standing long after I'm gone. It's very comforting to think that the things around you are timeless. It gives you a sense of security and stability. To answer your question from 11:24, it's actually both very normal and extraordinary. I don't know anything else but living in a town with a castle or going to a school that used to be an ancient convent. But at the same time, I never take it for granted. I'm still so amazed and in love with French cultural heritage that I became a historian. French people, in general, are in love with their country. I know some young French people might tell you they hate France and that it's not a nice country, but they don't realize how lucky they are. That's why I became a historian, to share my love for "old stones", which you seem to appreciate too 😊. You're welcome to visit France and discover more of its wonders. Secret treasures are everywhere 😉
As a Frenchman too, I go to Dinan every day, and it really is a magnificent town (even more so with the Christmas lights), as is the whole of Brittany, and indeed the whole of France !
oui, bon, ça demande de l'entretien aussi hein ! tout n'est pas rose !! surveiller la toiture ... les feuilles dans les gouttières ... faire ramoner ... rentrer le bois .... tailler le lierre ... une vraie vie de galéri .... mais nondidiou !!! que c'est bon 😁
Bordeaux, Lyon, Paris, Marseille, Strasbourg, Vannes, Quimper, Mont Saint Michel, Bretagne, Auvergne, Vosges, Aquitaines, gorges d'Ardèche, châteaux de la Loire, calanques de Marseille.... Notre France est belle ! Et il me reste encore tant de choses à découvrir de mes yeux !
Après avoir visité une dizaine de pays (principalement en Europe), personnellement, je n'ai trouvé aucun qui regorge d'autant de beauté que la France. L'architecture et la nature française sont les plus belles que j'ai vues de mes yeux. J'ai été dans presque toute la Bretagne, Toulouse, Mont Saint-Michel, à Paris, quelques fois à l'Est de France,.. J'ai habité une année au centre de Bordeaux et pour moi Bordeaux est l'une des plus belles villes d'Europe et Paris est sans aucun doute la plus belle ville que j'ai vue.
Je suis Vannetais donc mon avis est sûrement biaisé, mais quelle ville magnifique, je n'y habite plus, et elle me manque beaucoup. Une merveille de France
In fact, this kind of videos only show you the biggest cities etc. But you can find wonderful things to see and learn in almost every single village in France.
J'ai 62 ans, j'ai été très souvent à Paris. Mon fils y habite. J'y étais encore il y a 2 semaines. Et pourtant j'ai encore découvert des choses incroyables, rien qu'en me promenant. Bien sûr il y a les classiques, Tour Eiffel, Champs Elysées, Arc de Triomphe, le Louvre, Montmartre, Notre Dame etc etc etc etc. Mais "il n'y a pas de destination, marcher est la destination" : vous avez tout à fait raison. Quant au reste de la vidéo, elle montre de très belles choses, mais il faudrait bien plus pour ne montrer qu'une infime partie de mon beau pays. Paris n'en est qu'un tout petit bout. J'aurais bien aimé voir un peu plus de la Corse (jetez un oeil sur Palombaggia), et je trouve bien dommage de ne pas avoir parlé de la Bretagne ! Vous semblez beaucoup apprécier la France. Nous vous en remercions. Merci pour vos commentaires. Venez nous voir, nous vous recevrons avec plaisir 🟦⬜🟥
La Bretagne (magique et mystérieuse) et la Provence (Vaucluse et sud-drome au charme incomparable) malheureusement pas cité (Biarritz/Dune du Pila et Arcachon également). Et je suis d'accod pour Paris, "marcher est la destination" c'est exactement ça, cette ville est juste incroyable.
Je partage votre avis sur la Bretagne bien que j'habite en Alsace (citée 2 fois). Cette région est sublime mais moins ils en feront la publicité plus tranquilles les Bretons seront 👍
For the "Take for granted" part, everytime my father went to a church or an historical site, he would touch the stone and close his eyes and say "feel the history in here son" I do the same now
Thank you for this video ! I am French and honestly, watching all those wonders made me think of organizing some visits to stunning places I have never seen yet or a long time ago. Merci !!! 😃
I live and grew up in a small village in Alsace and I go to Strasbourg very often. I even went to Uni there for a couple years. There's a documentary about the construction of the Cathedral, it's very interesting! There are many chateaux in France, not just along the Loire. The Alsace region has a bunch of them and also WW1 & WW2 memorials, museums, fortifications and bunkers that you can visit. There's so much more to see in France then just the big cities, go explore the small cities and villages. There are gems everywhere! I love my country. Mainland France is so diverse from East to West and North to South. Not to mention the others territories.
Bonjour voisin(e). Joli texte, c'est vrai qu'on vit dans un pays magnifique. Mon endroit préféré en Alsace, c'est le mur païen et mon petit jardin à quelques kilomètres plus bas. ^^ Salutations 🙏
Nice reaction Connor! I love my country and we could make a similar video with 18 other places. It's frustrating to always see the same places by the way. I have seen almost all of them and I don't take them for granted. Every time I see Carcassonne I realize how lucky we are.
@@Searover749 St Malo is a very beautiful city too. I live in Montpellier but I see Carcassonne when I go to Toulouse and it take my breath away every time.
I am totally in accord with you Connor. History, architecture, culture, food, wine, etc for me. You can keep your celebrities and shopping. Who cares? 😊
In my opinion, the best feature of being Belgian, is the ability to visit France easily (and as a traveler, so you just enjoy). I've had the chance that my parents took us in almost every part of it when i was a kid, and i always loved it. Often more than some holiday in a more exotic country (the common language probably help too). If you enjoy history, there's so much to see. My favorite thing to do is set a destination, and then stop at every historical and cultural places on the way. You're just never bored. I'm 30+ years now, and there's still so many things to visit on my list, and always in awe :)
la meilleure qualité d'être Belge, c'est de pouvoir visiter la France sans être obligé d'être Français, avouez-le ! (Un belge qui dit des choses gentilles sur la France sans balancer une petite vacherie bien sentie sur les Français, c'est pas normal, c'est presque inquiétant pour un Français comme moi)
They completly miss the roman triangle of the lower Rhone Valley with lots of roman architecture almost intact : Nîmes (maison carré, the best preserved full Roman temple, the roman arenas, the tower), antic theaters and Arenas in Arles, and of course the Pont du Gard…. There are lots of romans ruins all over France but this area is a concentration of roman Antiquity only matched in Italy and Greece.
Re bonjour Je suis parisienne et j'habite à Paris depuis ma naissance Et bien juste en marchant je découvre encore des beautés que je ne connais pas Vous avez totalement raison Marcher est parfait
My hometown is missing from this : Toulouse 4th biggest city of France. It's knows as the pink city due to the red bricks the old buildings are made of. It's one of the most beautiful city in France. Elected best destination in the World for 2025
Did you know that France was the first country to recognize the United States independance, by King Louis XVI ? Yes, we can see Morocco from Gibraltar (it's only 14 Km / 8,7 miles wide) Mont-Blanc is shared between France and Italy. Its peak at 4,805.59 m / 15766 ft is the highest point of Europe (Caucasus included) The oldest cities of France are Beziers and Marseille (2700 years !), Narbonne founded by Romans as the Second Rome in 118 BC Lyon is the capital of french gastronomie You've got the right attitude about Paris ... just walk around and let yourself go as it comes ... Walking is indeed the destination and watch all around ... you can spend months and still discover something new.
Sur le continent européen il y a 5 sommets plus hauts que le Mont Blanc. L’Elbrouz, Le Dykhtau, Le Chkhara, Le Kochtan-Taou et Le Djangha dans le Caucase justement !
Louis XVI didn't just recognize US independance : he widely helped US in defeating the English army and navy ! Lafayette (Louisiana) was named from french general Lafayette, and Louisiana was named from Louis XVI...
Hope to see you soon in our country and you have so much more to discover in our small towns, in our museums. France and Italy are two sisters, you have to discover it too. Our greek and latin heritage is huge, it lives in front of our eyes and in our minds. You are open minded and it’s a pleasure to see you reacting.
For Paris you are right just walk around and discover all the treasures, there is so much to see. I am living here since almost 25 years and still discover the hidden places, tiny houses and paths. There are the well known museums but have you visited the Montmatre Museum or the museum de la Chasse?
23:30 it's "Chateau de Chenonceau" 27:12 The bridge was destroyed (and rebuilt) during the siege of avignon by Louis VIII en 1226. 29:30 The didnt build on the sand, originally Mont saint Michel was a huge rock. Everthing is built with this rock as a foundation 31:00 "Grottes de Cougnac" (in the same region) has some 30 000 years old painting that you can see up close during the visit of the caves. It's amazing and the team is lovely and take their time to answer every question.
Vous êtes très calé en histoire et géographie de la France. Vous avez raison, les Alpes sont des montagnes jeunes, comme le Jura et les Pyrénées, nous avons aussi des massifs plus anciens : Massif Central, Massif Armoricain (Bretagne), Vosges et Ardennes. Pour le château de Chambord, vous avez pu compter 10 cheminées mais il y en a 282 en tout !
22:39 I live near Strasbourg and it’s a beautiful city with lots of history between France and Germany. If you come to France I highly recommend visiting Strasbourg and the whole Region (Alsace) 👍👍
I've lived a short time in Carcassonne. Here's a fun fact : the place in the video with lots of tables of restaurants, outdoors, is in the medieval city. There are white band markings on the ground that indicate where each restaurant can place their tables, as at some point it was impossible to walk through this plazza during the summer, as well as restaurants fighting each other to take more space than the other. Besides that, the town itself also has some medieval ruins that are less intact. I believe there was an old medieval well that was found when they repaired a sidewalk, so now there's a plaque on the floor next to a round glass pane in the middle of a sidewalk, to indicate it... I would also have put Clermont-Ferrand, or at least the Auvergne region, in the list. There's quite a bit of history (there are still some debates on where did one of the last chiefs of the gauls surrender to the Romans), and some of the architecture is built with a black stone, like the cathedral. Said stone is volcanic stone, as pretty much every surrounding mountain is, in fact, a dormant volcano.
To answer you question about the homogeneity of roof's and building walls color in Lyon, we have an administration in France (we love administration, we have a lot of them !) named ABF, which stands for "Architecte des Batiments de France". Their function is to take care that whatever work which will be executed in any old and historical city center, these work MUST follow rules which will ensure that it will not ruin the historical nature of the place. It can goes as far as being obliged to use the paint chemical composition as it was in the middle age (which costs a fortune of course).
Actually everywhere in france presented here it's about walking in the streets. You have such a special feeling that you don't have while watching this video. And don't forget to stop a sec to look at some little details !
I love your videos. You don't interrupt what you are watching too much to comment, but your facial expression says everything. Also you are very curious about many things. You're brillant
Nice reaction Connor ! If you are interested, in l'Yonne, in Bourgogne, actually they are people building a medieval Castle, with the former knowledge and tools of the era : it's called Guédelon. its construction began in 1998, I visited it with my school, when i was a pre-teen. I will surely go back one day. Have a look ;)
I grew up 45mins away from Carcassonne. Highly recommended to visit the castle :) But also you close from Toulouse and close from the Mediterranean Sea. Gruissan is a nice sea port, Narbonne an old city built by Roma. The Languedoc Roussillon isn’t a popular place for foreign tourists except for English, Dutch tourists from what I remember. A lot of wonderful wineries to visit is this area of France and great food.
Yes, the older the mountain range, the less jagged and "shorter" they become. So the oldest mountain ranges in the world (Australian Alps, Pyrenees, Appalachian) are usually shorter than are the newer (Himalayan, Andes, European Alps).
Climate : most people claim that the reason why France is milder than many other areas at the same latitude is because of the gulf stream, but it is actually far to be the main reason. The gulf stream is not the main reason why western Europe in general is less cold in winter than areas located at similar latitudes on the east coast of the USA. It is mostly because we are located on the west side of our continental landmass (Eurasia). Because the dominant winds come west to east due to earth rotation. This means that the western sides of continents tend to have dominant winds from the oceans, while the eastern sides have dominant winds from the inside of the landmass. If we compare france climate with the same latitudes on the western coast of north America instead of the eastern coast of north America there wont be such differences. For exemple I live in France at the latitude of 47°40, which is about the same latitude as Seattle, and, in fact we do have about the same winter temperature in Tours as in Seattle (average mini of 4°C and average maxi of 8-9°C). It means that the relative mildness of our winter temperatures here in northern France are not an exception, and are as expected for a city located on the western coast of a continent and located at 47°40, no need the gulf stream for this. The gulf stream would make a difference for the areas located further north in north-western Europe, such as Scotland or Norway. Without the gulf stream, those places would be colder than they are, but concerning France and south-western Europe it wont make much difference. What would be different in my city compared to Seattle, are the summer temperatures, which are in my city around 27c in daytime, while in Seattle it would be cooler, more around 22c. These higher temperatures are not due to the gulf stream (it would cool down the heat in summer and not make it warmer) but it is the presence of the Sahara desert located just 1000 miles south of us. The sahara is like a hot dust and sand ocean located below all of Europe, 5000 km wide. Its influence on European climate, especially on southern Europe (but not only) is huge, more important than the influence of the Atlantic. In summer, this boiling huge desert spread high pressures all over the mediterranean sea and big parts of Europe, drying the atmosphere and heating the mediterranean sea (which, as a almost closed sea tend to keep this heat and diffuse it during winter much way more than the gulf stream or the atlantic would do). The Sahara and the mediterranean sea makes the climate of south eastern France much dryer that what it should be, not necessarily milder, but dryer and sunnier. Which means that the presence of sahara+mediterranean sea somehow cancels the wet influence of the Atlantic. Those south eastern areas of France (Provence, côte d’Azur) are where the winters are the mildest, but also are the ones that have the least Atlantic influence, with almost no gulf stream at all. Those mediterranean regions are also protected from the cold eastern winds from the central parts of Eurasian continent by a serie of mountains ranges. So the reason of why palms, citruses, olives trees, and cactae can grows in the south east of France has nothing to do with the gulf stream (which would brings way too much wet for these plants of dry climates) but a lot to do with the fact that these regions are merely a few hundreds of miles from the world’s biggest hot desert, whose influence is somehow moderated by the mediterranean sea.
13:10 We have palm trees and cacti in Germany as well. Some kinds are pretty resilient and can withstand snow. I heard there are even some native cacti in Canada.
@fablb9006 There's an outdoor cacti garden in Horb am Neckar displaying many hardy cacti. And here in Stuttgart we have many palm trees around the TV tower and in the Wilhelma (I mean the outdoorsy ones ^^). It can be freezing cold in desert areas at night so maybe that's why many cacti can withstand the cold and being covered in snow as well 😊
I am French, and I know many of the places you see in this video. It is very moving for me to watch you admire these places, and dream of going there. If I were rich, I would offer you the trip. The video does not talk about Brittany (French Brittany), like Morlaix, Quimper, Locronan, the Iroise coast. Rather than Nice, I also think of Antibes, on the French Riviera. Landscapes, cultures, gastronomy, history, you change universes and eras each time you go from one region to another in this country. And in stages of 3 to 4 hours of driving, you can visit them all. Thank you for this very simple video that touched me a lot.
Etant Française, j'ai déjà visité une partie de ces lieux. Il y a tellement de choses magnifiques à voir en France. J'habite en Nouvelle Aquitaine (région représentée par Bordeaux dans la vidéo), dans le marais Poitevin, qui a été aménagé par l'homme dès le XI siècle. Quand on se promène n'importe où en France, il y a un morceau d'Histoire à découvrir.
Thank you for your kind comments, enthusiasm and open-mindedness! There is an American youtube channel that gives excellent advice to discover France, the most beautiful sites, its gastronomy etc. I'm French and I really like the advice they give. They are an American couple, the man is of French origin. He emigrated to the USA and married an American. Their RUclips channel is called "Les Frenchies". In recent years, they have returned to live in France
As a Frenchman expatriated for more than 20 years, through your videos, we rediscover France and truly realize that France is a magnificent country. Being a fan of French history myself, especially the monarchy and Napoleon Bonaparte, which are the subjects of my research and favorite readings, every time I visit France, I spend hours in museums and never miss a little visit to the tomb of our Emperor ;) Beautiful video, thank you for your interest in our country. Best regards, Kriss
34:54 It makes more sense than you think in the late 1800, some one wrote a book about the beauty of going for a walk, just for the sake of walking in the streets of Paris without going realy anywhere.
The Liberty Statue was designed and built in 1871 by Auguste Bartholdi who is born and lived in Colmar, reason why there is a smaller copy in that town (and Paris too). Gustave Eiffel helped to the conception of the original statue which was offered to the USA in 1886 for the anniversary of the American independence, and is today worldwide one of the most known symbols for representing the USA, like the Eiffel tower is for France 😘
I used to live and study in Versailles, if you go to the castle of Versailles don't forget to visit the city, it's also a superb place to have a drink, eat or just walk around like "place du marché notre dame", "cathédrale saint louis", "le hameau de la reine", "la pièce d'eau des suisses" and so many others.
It was really touching for me to see your smile during the whole video. I think most of us in France take this diversity and this history for granted, as you said, and it is super interesting to see the point of view of a American guy ! Thanks a lot for your curiosity, keep the good content mate 🤝🏼
First, I want to say thank you for you work; your comments about France in various videos are generally smart and accurate. Your interests prove you have an open mind. I am a French corporate teacher working in the USA since 28 years; along other subjects such as Business, Economy, Political Sciences, etc., I propose workshops to help people and VIP's in preparing a trip to France. As for example, in this Travel video they forgot to mention that Bartholdi who designed The Statue of Liberty was born in Colmar. To answer yours questions, yes France is the #1 world destination for tourists; also yes, one can see Morocco from some southern Spanish coasts (such as Tarifa). One final comment: I am sorry they didn't mention Burgundy (Bourgogne), capital Dijon, where I was born. Believe me, there is a lot to see in this region, such as castles, fortified villages, and superb valleys, besides a rich cuisine and superb wines that most experts consider as the best in the world - and also the most expensive of course. Sorry Bordeaux and California! :)
Hi Connor! I've been watching your videos for quite some time now, and I always love to see your (and other people in the comments) point of view on our country, which, you seem to know quite a bit about! I live near Paris, but I am from Champagne-Ardennes (Reims, precisely) and I've always been to Dordogne on holidays when I was a kid. My father and I are both history lovers and he always tried to take me to historical places whenever he could. There are so many things to see in France, and it also depends on what you want to see or learn about! If you ever need some advice on what to visit when in France, feel free to ask! Also, I don't know if you know about this, but there's this "park" called Puy du Fou, that is really interesting to visit. It's all about our country's history through the years, with astonishing shows. There are some videos on RUclips about it, you might like it! Looking forward to see you in your next video! 😊
I live in Marseille, was born in Nice and have visited most of the places in this video. It is so touching to see your emotion ! And to answer your remarks: yes, we know we are surrounded by history. Marseille is three thousand years old, it makes us proud 🙂 / yes the "promenade des Anglais" is in reference to the British aristocrats who spent their winters on the French Riviera (as well as Russian nobility, we have the biggest Russian orthodox church in western Europe, and I passed my baccalaureat in the tzar's winter palace that has been converted into a high school).
Promenade des Anglais - yes it does mean 'of the English'. Love, love, love France. We went to France every year for a month each time for about twenty years and only our own circumstances stopped us going. We travelled to every region and when not on holiday there, we would grab a few extra long weekends from work and go just to Paris. Happy days! PS if you go to Versaille Palace wear VERY comfortable shoes - it truly is vast.
I live in Alsace, and there is lot of beautiful villages or ruins of old castles to visit. Look for exemple the military town of Neuf-Brisach to see fortress in star form. And, pretty rare for the time, his straits streets. Comme in Alsace, it will be a pleasure to show you the region.
The Strait of Gibraltar is only 9 miles long so yes you can see Morocco very well from Spain (well UK technically 😉). Versailles Castle property is very big around 12000 yard square. And there is other sites on the property that are less crowded and beautiful like Le Hameau de la Reine (the Queen Garden) and Le Grand Trianon (an other castle).
15:22 yes you are right. The sharper the mountains are, the younger they are (because less eroded). Alps are very young, in fact they are still under pressure with "plaque Adriatique" and African plaque, Jura a bit older, and Vosges are quite older. Dunno about Pyrenees, but they seem quite young for me (not as young as Alps though) 19:40 when you create or renew buildings in france, especially if you're in a historic neighbourhood, you must submit your plans for approval, which will check if the apperance of your resulting work will fit in the surrounding place. In historic places, you must conform to a list of allowed material specific to the place (style, color, roofs, walls, windows or doors, etc...). Here you can't build whatever you want wherever you want, you must respect the place
As a Frenchman I am so proud of my country. We are the only European country that represents different cultures (Latin, Germanic and Celtic). Diversity is our strength. There are so many different and at the same time beautiful places to visit that it would take a lifetime to see everything.
Thank you for sharing... I am french and I live in Chatenay-Malabry where Voltaire used to live... The poète Chateaubriand has had his little garden and castle... à muséum today... sooo beautiful... 5 minutes walks from where I live... we have a mini Versailles called : Parc de Sceaux... so so exquisite... it’s not far from Paris (south)... I have been to most places you shared... and I enjoyed very much your feelings about France !!! 🫶🫶🫶🫶❤❤❤ During summer time we have classical music and other all around ... in Chatenay-Malabry !!! People seems happy there despite the économic crises !!!
Hello, and thanks for this video. I'm writing to you this little message simply to let you know that I was impressed by all the different things you knew about France, and all the intellectual curiosity you displayed throughout the video. I will discover more your channel later, and I'm sure I'll like it. PS : You confused the Spanish region of Léon and the French city of Lyon ;)
I am an old lady from L'Isle sur la Sorgue in south east of France, I was born there when there were only 3000 inhabitants now it's world wide known for its international antics fair, Barack Obama and his family visited about 10 years ago and Johnny Depp with Vanessa came to buy a house, I met them in the street near my family house. We have now 20 thousands people permanent and 100 thousands in summer. Tourism is becoming a problem , the open market on sundays is so crowded that I can't go anymore, but my city is so beautiful, an island on the river Sorgue 25 kms from Avignon. I love my wonderful country, I travelled the world , from Mexico, the States, to China, I lived in England and 7 years in Turkey but no country is as beautiful as France and its way of life, food, architecture, true freedom of speech . Big hugs to you all 🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤
i live in britany , the same latitude as seatle . he never freezes here and never snows ; because of gulf stream . there are palm trees here . and we are aware of oldness and culture around us . my house is 200 yo and the church across the road was build in 1158, almost 900 yo
@@Marguerite-tv4tq nothern cities tend to be underrated. Brittany cities are all great, poeple there a so welcoming and nice plus it is a beutiful region. La region de la loire for their castle is aslo a nice historical place. I wouldn’t recomand a part of the south of france (maintly the region St tropez, nice, toulon, antibes.) but still better than Paris. What is the problem with those cities in the south? Poeple mainly. They are not welcoming. Plus it is very expenive for no real reason ( its nice cities but overpriced for what they can offer) Whats wrong with Paris ? Almost everything. The city is not clean, not well structured, polluted. Poeple in Paris are the worst in France, maybe in europe even. Plus, its overly expensive, tourists get stolen more often than anywhere in Europe. And in general the popular places in Paris are overrated. If you like Paris, go to Rome or London you will see how bad Paris is in comparaison.
@@JohnLcx-n4v Thank you very much for your detailed comment! I've never been in Bretagne region, but might travel there in future. I've visited mainly cities in the South of France: Toulouse, Bordeaux, Narbonne; the South-West Atlantic coast: Biarritz, Arcachon, Dune du Pilat; also Cote d'Azur: Cannes, Nice, Antibes, and the French Catalonia too. I never had any problems with French people, and I didn't go to overpriced places. Despite of its flaws, France is the most beautiful country in the world, and Paris is its soul ❤ I was in Paris five times, and will fly again this spring. Rome creates mixed feelings, but London is horrible, I lived there for a while. Please forgive me, but I hate London and hope never return there.
If you ever go to Marseille, it's worth taking the train and getting out of the town. In 20 minutes, you can reach Cassis or Niolon, and they are adorable.
The big white castle in the Loire Valley is called the Château de Chambord. It was built during François the 1st's reign and designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci even had a residence nearby, it's called Clos Lucé and you can visit it too. Clos Lucé is where many of Da Vinci's inventions are exposed. 😁
@NaelysBlack Chambord wasn't built by Da Vinci actually, you might be talking about Amboise instead, which he hasn't built either, but renovated. To make it short, François the first has commanded François de Pontbriand to "build" a palace in his honnor, Chambord.
@NaelysBlack « based on » and « designed by » are rather different. I have worked there and the staff there is so annoyed to hear that 1000 times every day
Definitely visit Carcarsonne if you can-stunning. Little crusader towns up in the hills in that region are amazing too- I went to St Guillaume-le-Desert and Le Couvertarade, both worth a visit.
Thank you for your comments and your interest in French culture and history. French passionate about history living in Paris, I will be happy to show you around if you come back to Paris.
What is remarkable in France is that each region has different landscapes, architectures, cuisines, traditions... It's incredibly varied !
exactement
Nous avons un pays magnifique ❤
Forget Paris, please, leave Paris... it's bad !
@@AlfgardVicAenorDuFayI lived and studied and worked in Paris for 40 years, then retired to the beautiful Landes (South West)10 years ago. I now miss Paris sooo much : my usual haunts, the architecture, the monuments, museums, shops...... even the metro!
@@AlfgardVicAenorDuFay let them go to Paris please... I can't stand tourists. Paris is lost. So is côte d'azur, let them do their Eiffel tower & saint tropez thing taking photos. The real country must stay safe. Our secret bases still remain unknown
I'm a Brit who has lived for 20+ years in France (Paris, Toulouse but mostly Lyon). I absolutely love it here. There's so much to see and do, so much variety and beauty. It's always great to watch someone react to vids about the country.
I’m very happy to see you’re loving to live in our country ! Don’t forget to visit our overseas states 😀
It’s lovely to watch someone so passionate about architecture, history and culture. I love my country, France, but it is nice to see a foreigner who likes it too. 😊
the Chambord chateau (24:12) does not have a few dozen chimneys but more than 400 ^^
Chambord castle's estate is larger than Paris ! (with woods, lakes, fountains, parks...).
@@Searover749 ta vue ça ou 🤣🤣🤣
@@Searover749 The domain of Chambord is half the size of Paris.
Le mur qui entoure le domaine de Chambord fait 36 km !! 👍
For the "walking without a destination, walking is the destination" part, we have a verb for that : flâner. Walk, take your time, enjoy your surroundings, look at shop fronts, don't buy anything, don't do anything, just walk, relax, and enjoy. That's it.
vagabonder too?
@arkdeso2864Vagabonder is more walking around when you have nowhere to live. Flâner is walking with no purpose but for pleasure
@BigglesAboutTown oh yeh I see
If there is a Statue of Liberty in Colmar, it is because it is the birthplace of Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor who created it. I enjoy your videos, it’s always a pleasure to see you react.
Statue of Liberty has been designed by Bartoldi, but helped by Gustave Eiffel (Eiffel Tower). It has been a gift from France to USA. To thank France, USA made a replica about 10 meters high... You wil find it in one of the island of Paris, in the border of the Seine river...
ah vraiment
I’ve toured France a few times from north to south , loved Carcassonne and I’ve been to two Celtic music festivals in Brittany but there’s so much still to see . I would love to stay there for 6 months , lived the country and the people . Respect from 🏴.
Auld Alliance 💪 🏴 🇫🇷
Festival interceltique de Lorient ? (i'm from Lorient)
@ yeah once and Quimper once . Brilliant .
I lived in Scotland for a year during my studies and it was amazing !
You guys are the best and the country is so beautiful that even after 10 years now there is not a week without me saying to my future wife that she has to visit Scotland with me
Scottish will always be welcomed in France ❤
This video reminds me how much i am proud of my country and how beautiful it is ! Glad that anybody can look at it from anywhere.
As we say in Yorkshire (North England) - Vive La France !
You say that ? You're supposed to hate us 😅
What a nice comment thank you :)
Hi from Paris
Wow ! Thanks, Mr Tyke !
I hope all Northern English people are like you :
cooler than many southern ones, who bash France all the time...
" 'Ey up " from Brittany !
I'm a Wessie Tyke and love France. Watching to see how many I've visited on my travels. Vive La France! 🇫🇷
So all hails England!!!
It's always been a brotherly friendly rivalry with the UK@@ChachouLP
Seeing your eyes lighting up while watching the video is so sweet. Really moving for the French guy that I am.
France is so big that for a country that receives so many foreign visitors , there are places that are completely off the radar of tourists even though you’ll find castles , the most beautiful villages and amazing nature there.
A lot of these places are known to the French but some less so, and because France is so big that even in summer they are never that crowded. In the south of France for example a lot of places are quite isolated too and off the beaten track but just amazing .
For example I was reading an English guide book with amazing photos and maps that was quite detailed suggesting routes to take but left off amazing places just a few kilometres away.
One of the nicest videos I’ve seen in a while. I loved your sincerity, simplicity and curiosity, so refreshing and humane. ❤❤❤
C'est un tout petit échantillon de ce que propose la France... 😊On pourrait rajouter, entre autres incontournables , La Bretagne, le golf du Morbihan, St Malo. Sur la côte Ouest La Rochelle et l'île de Ré, Arcachon et son bassin avec le Dune du pilat, la côte landaise, Biarritz,les Pyrénées, la ville de Toulouse, Sarlat, Brive-la-Gaillarde ,Rocamadour, collonge la Rousse, le massif central et le Parc des Volcans d'Auvergne, la ville d'Uzes, Nîmes, Montpellier, Orange Arles, la camargue , le pont du Gard, Aix en Provence, Gordes, Toute le côte d'Azur, Dijon, l'abbaye de Cluny , le Nord avec la ville de Lille, la côte Normande , Deauville Honfleur etc etc etc...
I'm French and from a medieval town in Brittany (Dinan), which is a jewel located about 45 minutes from Mont Saint Michel. Currently, I live in the Loire Valley near Chambord Castle. I've lived in houses that are 200 or 300 years old my entire life, made of stone, which I know will still be standing long after I'm gone. It's very comforting to think that the things around you are timeless. It gives you a sense of security and stability.
To answer your question from 11:24, it's actually both very normal and extraordinary. I don't know anything else but living in a town with a castle or going to a school that used to be an ancient convent. But at the same time, I never take it for granted. I'm still so amazed and in love with French cultural heritage that I became a historian.
French people, in general, are in love with their country. I know some young French people might tell you they hate France and that it's not a nice country, but they don't realize how lucky they are. That's why I became a historian, to share my love for "old stones", which you seem to appreciate too 😊. You're welcome to visit France and discover more of its wonders. Secret treasures are everywhere 😉
As a Frenchman too, I go to Dinan every day, and it really is a magnificent town (even more so with the Christmas lights), as is the whole of Brittany, and indeed the whole of France !
Les jeunes Francais qui n'aiment pas la France sont pour la plupart des immigrés ou des descendants d'immigrés.
oui, bon, ça demande de l'entretien aussi hein ! tout n'est pas rose !!
surveiller la toiture ... les feuilles dans les gouttières ... faire ramoner ... rentrer le bois .... tailler le lierre ...
une vraie vie de galéri ....
mais nondidiou !!! que c'est bon 😁
Are you french or britton....cause it's not the same :)
Bordeaux, Lyon, Paris, Marseille, Strasbourg, Vannes, Quimper, Mont Saint Michel, Bretagne, Auvergne, Vosges, Aquitaines, gorges d'Ardèche, châteaux de la Loire, calanques de Marseille.... Notre France est belle ! Et il me reste encore tant de choses à découvrir de mes yeux !
Les banlieues incontrôlées, la saleté des villes et l'invasion de rats! De surmulots, devrais-je dire!
Après avoir visité une dizaine de pays (principalement en Europe), personnellement, je n'ai trouvé aucun qui regorge d'autant de beauté que la France. L'architecture et la nature française sont les plus belles que j'ai vues de mes yeux. J'ai été dans presque toute la Bretagne, Toulouse, Mont Saint-Michel, à Paris, quelques fois à l'Est de France,.. J'ai habité une année au centre de Bordeaux et pour moi Bordeaux est l'une des plus belles villes d'Europe et Paris est sans aucun doute la plus belle ville que j'ai vue.
Quimper ?
Lol🫣
Je suis Vannetais donc mon avis est sûrement biaisé, mais quelle ville magnifique, je n'y habite plus, et elle me manque beaucoup.
Une merveille de France
In fact, this kind of videos only show you the biggest cities etc. But you can find wonderful things to see and learn in almost every single village in France.
In the 19th century, rich english people were attracted to Nice to escape the dark english winters…. It is called promenade des Anglais since then
That’s bloody correct. I’d prefer to call it the English walk
@@christophermichaelclarence6003 Why do you prefer to call it by the wrong name? That's a bit dumb.
@@Derry_Aire It’s not silly to say it. It’s bloody long to pronunce it in french
La promenade des Anglais
@@christophermichaelclarence6003 So we can add lazy to dumb. Touché.
@@christophermichaelclarence6003 " booldy long " ??
you use your car to take out the trash right ?? 😁
J'ai 62 ans, j'ai été très souvent à Paris. Mon fils y habite. J'y étais encore il y a 2 semaines. Et pourtant j'ai encore découvert des choses incroyables, rien qu'en me promenant. Bien sûr il y a les classiques, Tour Eiffel, Champs Elysées, Arc de Triomphe, le Louvre, Montmartre, Notre Dame etc etc etc etc. Mais "il n'y a pas de destination, marcher est la destination" : vous avez tout à fait raison.
Quant au reste de la vidéo, elle montre de très belles choses, mais il faudrait bien plus pour ne montrer qu'une infime partie de mon beau pays. Paris n'en est qu'un tout petit bout. J'aurais bien aimé voir un peu plus de la Corse (jetez un oeil sur Palombaggia), et je trouve bien dommage de ne pas avoir parlé de la Bretagne !
Vous semblez beaucoup apprécier la France. Nous vous en remercions. Merci pour vos commentaires. Venez nous voir, nous vous recevrons avec plaisir
🟦⬜🟥
St Malo aussi est magnifique
La Bretagne (magique et mystérieuse) et la Provence (Vaucluse et sud-drome au charme incomparable) malheureusement pas cité (Biarritz/Dune du Pila et Arcachon également). Et je suis d'accod pour Paris, "marcher est la destination" c'est exactement ça, cette ville est juste incroyable.
Je partage votre avis sur la Bretagne bien que j'habite en Alsace (citée 2 fois). Cette région est sublime mais moins ils en feront la publicité plus tranquilles les Bretons seront 👍
For the "Take for granted" part, everytime my father went to a church or an historical site, he would touch the stone and close his eyes and say "feel the history in here son" I do the same now
Such a badass father
Nice story !
Thank you for this video ! I am French and honestly, watching all those wonders made me think of organizing some visits to stunning places I have never seen yet or a long time ago. Merci !!! 😃
This is my country and I love it, thank you so much for sharing this video of these beautiful places and cities.
I live and grew up in a small village in Alsace and I go to Strasbourg very often. I even went to Uni there for a couple years.
There's a documentary about the construction of the Cathedral, it's very interesting!
There are many chateaux in France, not just along the Loire. The Alsace region has a bunch of them and also WW1 & WW2 memorials, museums, fortifications and bunkers that you can visit.
There's so much more to see in France then just the big cities, go explore the small cities and villages. There are gems everywhere!
I love my country. Mainland France is so diverse from East to West and North to South. Not to mention the others territories.
Bonjour voisin(e). Joli texte, c'est vrai qu'on vit dans un pays magnifique.
Mon endroit préféré en Alsace, c'est le mur païen et mon petit jardin à quelques kilomètres plus bas. ^^
Salutations 🙏
my france is so beautiful
Nice reaction Connor! I love my country and we could make a similar video with 18 other places. It's frustrating to always see the same places by the way. I have seen almost all of them and I don't take them for granted. Every time I see Carcassonne I realize how lucky we are.
I live in St Malo, a very nice walled city,
but I must admit Carcassonne is next level !!
So large, and impregnable !
@@Searover749 St Malo is a very beautiful city too. I live in Montpellier but I see Carcassonne when I go to Toulouse and it take my breath away every time.
I am totally in accord with you Connor. History, architecture, culture, food, wine, etc for me. You can keep your celebrities and shopping. Who cares? 😊
In my opinion, the best feature of being Belgian, is the ability to visit France easily (and as a traveler, so you just enjoy). I've had the chance that my parents took us in almost every part of it when i was a kid, and i always loved it. Often more than some holiday in a more exotic country (the common language probably help too). If you enjoy history, there's so much to see. My favorite thing to do is set a destination, and then stop at every historical and cultural places on the way. You're just never bored. I'm 30+ years now, and there's still so many things to visit on my list, and always in awe :)
la meilleure qualité d'être Belge, c'est de pouvoir visiter la France sans être obligé d'être Français, avouez-le ! (Un belge qui dit des choses gentilles sur la France sans balancer une petite vacherie bien sentie sur les Français, c'est pas normal, c'est presque inquiétant pour un Français comme moi)
@@mfcq4987 J'avoue il est suspect ! :D
Your soft smile during this was adorable. You seem genuine and smart. Thanks for your reaction!
It’s so cool to see someone so genuinely interested and enthusiastic !
I also love your knowledge and your guesses!
Most beautiful country in the world
They completly miss the roman triangle of the lower Rhone Valley with lots of roman architecture almost intact : Nîmes (maison carré, the best preserved full Roman temple, the roman arenas, the tower), antic theaters and Arenas in Arles, and of course the Pont du Gard…. There are lots of romans ruins all over France but this area is a concentration of roman Antiquity only matched in Italy and Greece.
As a French person I can say that Paris is the largest city in France but Lyon is the most beautiful
Re bonjour
Je suis parisienne et j'habite à Paris depuis ma naissance
Et bien juste en marchant je découvre encore des beautés que je ne connais pas
Vous avez totalement raison
Marcher est parfait
My hometown is missing from this : Toulouse 4th biggest city of France. It's knows as the pink city due to the red bricks the old buildings are made of. It's one of the most beautiful city in France. Elected best destination in the World for 2025
C'est l'effet Antoine Dupont et Léon Marchand.😉
@ado6017 entre autres oui 🙂
You've got the right attitude.
By the way, I went to a house on the hills just above Eze. On a clear day you can see Corsica.
Did you know that France was the first country to recognize the United States independance, by King Louis XVI ?
Yes, we can see Morocco from Gibraltar (it's only 14 Km / 8,7 miles wide)
Mont-Blanc is shared between France and Italy. Its peak at 4,805.59 m / 15766 ft is the highest point of Europe (Caucasus included)
The oldest cities of France are Beziers and Marseille (2700 years !), Narbonne founded by Romans as the Second Rome in 118 BC
Lyon is the capital of french gastronomie
You've got the right attitude about Paris ... just walk around and let yourself go as it comes ... Walking is indeed the destination and watch all around ... you can spend months and still discover something new.
Sur le continent européen il y a 5 sommets plus hauts que le Mont Blanc. L’Elbrouz, Le Dykhtau, Le Chkhara, Le Kochtan-Taou et Le Djangha dans le Caucase justement !
Louis XVI didn't just recognize US independance :
he widely helped US in defeating the English army and navy !
Lafayette (Louisiana) was named from french general Lafayette,
and Louisiana was named from Louis XVI...
@@bo4721 oui, par exemple l'Elbrouz fait 5.643 mètres
@@Searover749Louis XIV....not Louis XVI...
What ? Louis XIV was already dead in 1776. It was Louis XVI.
Le plus beau pays du monde
Qui se dégrade peu à peu… malheureusement
@@marlau8044 je suis belge d'origine italienne, la France est un grand pays et l'a toujours été Elle se relevera comme toujours
Un des plus beaux
@@marlau8044 C'est triste à voir, tout ce qui est beau et grand sont des héritage du passé, maintenant ça se dégrade peu à peu
Hope to see you soon in our country and you have so much more to discover in our small towns, in our museums.
France and Italy are two sisters, you have to discover it too.
Our greek and latin heritage is huge, it lives in front of our eyes and in our minds.
You are open minded and it’s a pleasure to see you reacting.
For Paris you are right just walk around and discover all the treasures, there is so much to see. I am living here since almost 25 years and still discover the hidden places, tiny houses and paths. There are the well known museums but have you visited the Montmatre Museum or the museum de la Chasse?
23:30 it's "Chateau de Chenonceau"
27:12 The bridge was destroyed (and rebuilt) during the siege of avignon by Louis VIII en 1226.
29:30 The didnt build on the sand, originally Mont saint Michel was a huge rock. Everthing is built with this rock as a foundation
31:00 "Grottes de Cougnac" (in the same region) has some 30 000 years old painting that you can see up close during the visit of the caves. It's amazing and the team is lovely and take their time to answer every question.
I was in Gibraltar yesterday
Africa clear as a bell !
Vous êtes très calé en histoire et géographie de la France. Vous avez raison, les Alpes sont des montagnes jeunes, comme le Jura et les Pyrénées, nous avons aussi des massifs plus anciens : Massif Central, Massif Armoricain (Bretagne), Vosges et Ardennes.
Pour le château de Chambord, vous avez pu compter 10 cheminées mais il y en a 282 en tout !
22:39 I live near Strasbourg and it’s a beautiful city with lots of history between France and Germany. If you come to France I highly recommend visiting Strasbourg and the whole Region (Alsace) 👍👍
mate, you need to learn about the "lubéron" which might be one of the most charming place in France.
I've lived a short time in Carcassonne. Here's a fun fact : the place in the video with lots of tables of restaurants, outdoors, is in the medieval city. There are white band markings on the ground that indicate where each restaurant can place their tables, as at some point it was impossible to walk through this plazza during the summer, as well as restaurants fighting each other to take more space than the other.
Besides that, the town itself also has some medieval ruins that are less intact. I believe there was an old medieval well that was found when they repaired a sidewalk, so now there's a plaque on the floor next to a round glass pane in the middle of a sidewalk, to indicate it...
I would also have put Clermont-Ferrand, or at least the Auvergne region, in the list. There's quite a bit of history (there are still some debates on where did one of the last chiefs of the gauls surrender to the Romans), and some of the architecture is built with a black stone, like the cathedral. Said stone is volcanic stone, as pretty much every surrounding mountain is, in fact, a dormant volcano.
To answer you question about the homogeneity of roof's and building walls color in Lyon, we have an administration in France (we love administration, we have a lot of them !) named ABF, which stands for "Architecte des Batiments de France". Their function is to take care that whatever work which will be executed in any old and historical city center, these work MUST follow rules which will ensure that it will not ruin the historical nature of the place. It can goes as far as being obliged to use the paint chemical composition as it was in the middle age (which costs a fortune of course).
Conor you would LOVE france. Its beautiful 😍
Actually everywhere in france presented here it's about walking in the streets. You have such a special feeling that you don't have while watching this video. And don't forget to stop a sec to look at some little details !
I love your videos. You don't interrupt what you are watching too much to comment, but your facial expression says everything. Also you are very curious about many things. You're brillant
Ce n’est qu’un minuscule extrait de toutes les merveilles à voir en France…
La France plus beau pays du monde, 1ère destination touristique du monde !
It's not even half of what France can offer you ! And I'm French my country is a gemstone that I'll cherish and fight for ♥
Nice reaction Connor ! If you are interested, in l'Yonne, in Bourgogne, actually they are people building a medieval Castle, with the former knowledge and tools of the era : it's called Guédelon.
its construction began in 1998, I visited it with my school, when i was a pre-teen. I will surely go back one day. Have a look ;)
Thank you very much. Loved to spend some time with you admiring France:)
I grew up 45mins away from Carcassonne. Highly recommended to visit the castle :)
But also you close from Toulouse and close from the Mediterranean Sea. Gruissan is a nice sea port, Narbonne an old city built by Roma.
The Languedoc Roussillon isn’t a popular place for foreign tourists except for English, Dutch tourists from what I remember.
A lot of wonderful wineries to visit is this area of France and great food.
Cordes sur Ciel in south west of France (in Tarn département) is gorgeous.
And so much more to visit and discover !! Thx for the tour.
Yes, the older the mountain range, the less jagged and "shorter" they become. So the oldest mountain ranges in the world (Australian Alps, Pyrenees, Appalachian) are usually shorter than are the newer (Himalayan, Andes, European Alps).
les pyrénées sont pointues comme les alpes : aussi nées de la poussée de la plaque africaine sur l'europe...
Strasbourg and Colmar have beautifull and famous chrismas markets
Climate : most people claim that the reason why France is milder than many other areas at the same latitude is because of the gulf stream, but it is actually far to be the main reason.
The gulf stream is not the main reason why western Europe in general is less cold in winter than areas located at similar latitudes on the east coast of the USA. It is mostly because we are located on the west side of our continental landmass (Eurasia). Because the dominant winds come west to east due to earth rotation.
This means that the western sides of continents tend to have dominant winds from the oceans, while the eastern sides have dominant winds from the inside of the landmass. If we compare france climate with the same latitudes on the western coast of north America instead of the eastern coast of north America there wont be such differences.
For exemple I live in France at the latitude of 47°40, which is about the same latitude as Seattle, and, in fact we do have about the same winter temperature in Tours as in Seattle (average mini of 4°C and average maxi of 8-9°C). It means that the relative mildness of our winter temperatures here in northern France are not an exception, and are as expected for a city located on the western coast of a continent and located at 47°40, no need the gulf stream for this.
The gulf stream would make a difference for the areas located further north in north-western Europe, such as Scotland or Norway. Without the gulf stream, those places would be colder than they are, but concerning France and south-western Europe it wont make much difference.
What would be different in my city compared to Seattle, are the summer temperatures, which are in my city around 27c in daytime, while in Seattle it would be cooler, more around 22c. These higher temperatures are not due to the gulf stream (it would cool down the heat in summer and not make it warmer) but it is the presence of the Sahara desert located just 1000 miles south of us. The sahara is like a hot dust and sand ocean located below all of Europe, 5000 km wide. Its influence on European climate, especially on southern Europe (but not only) is huge, more important than the influence of the Atlantic. In summer, this boiling huge desert spread high pressures all over the mediterranean sea and big parts of Europe, drying the atmosphere and heating the mediterranean sea (which, as a almost closed sea tend to keep this heat and diffuse it during winter much way more than the gulf stream or the atlantic would do). The Sahara and the mediterranean sea makes the climate of south eastern France much dryer that what it should be, not necessarily milder, but dryer and sunnier. Which means that the presence of sahara+mediterranean sea somehow cancels the wet influence of the Atlantic. Those south eastern areas of France (Provence, côte d’Azur) are where the winters are the mildest, but also are the ones that have the least Atlantic influence, with almost no gulf stream at all. Those mediterranean regions are also protected from the cold eastern winds from the central parts of Eurasian continent by a serie of mountains ranges.
So the reason of why palms, citruses, olives trees, and cactae can grows in the south east of France has nothing to do with the gulf stream (which would brings way too much wet for these plants of dry climates) but a lot to do with the fact that these regions are merely a few hundreds of miles from the world’s biggest hot desert, whose influence is somehow moderated by the mediterranean sea.
you forgot to talk about the "mistral stream" 😁
13:10 We have palm trees and cacti in Germany as well. Some kinds are pretty resilient and can withstand snow. I heard there are even some native cacti in Canada.
Where ??
@fablb9006 There's an outdoor cacti garden in Horb am Neckar displaying many hardy cacti. And here in Stuttgart we have many palm trees around the TV tower and in the Wilhelma (I mean the outdoorsy ones ^^). It can be freezing cold in desert areas at night so maybe that's why many cacti can withstand the cold and being covered in snow as well 😊
Someone told me cactus depend more on dryness than warmth
Some nights in "hot" deserts are quite cold, close to 0° C !
And cactae can bear that without any damage...
I am French, and I know many of the places you see in this video.
It is very moving for me to watch you admire these places, and dream of going there.
If I were rich, I would offer you the trip.
The video does not talk about Brittany (French Brittany), like Morlaix, Quimper, Locronan, the Iroise coast.
Rather than Nice, I also think of Antibes, on the French Riviera.
Landscapes, cultures, gastronomy, history, you change universes and eras each time you go from one region to another in this country. And in stages of 3 to 4 hours of driving, you can visit them all.
Thank you for this very simple video that touched me a lot.
You would love Carcassonne. Its a great place to walk at night just lit by the streetlights.
Etant Française, j'ai déjà visité une partie de ces lieux. Il y a tellement de choses magnifiques à voir en France. J'habite en Nouvelle Aquitaine (région représentée par Bordeaux dans la vidéo), dans le marais Poitevin, qui a été aménagé par l'homme dès le XI siècle. Quand on se promène n'importe où en France, il y a un morceau d'Histoire à découvrir.
Thank you for your kind comments, enthusiasm and open-mindedness! There is an American youtube channel that gives excellent advice to discover France, the most beautiful sites, its gastronomy etc. I'm French and I really like the advice they give. They are an American couple, the man is of French origin. He emigrated to the USA and married an American. Their RUclips channel is called "Les Frenchies". In recent years, they have returned to live in France
As a Frenchman expatriated for more than 20 years, through your videos, we rediscover France and truly realize that France is a magnificent country. Being a fan of French history myself, especially the monarchy and Napoleon Bonaparte, which are the subjects of my research and favorite readings, every time I visit France, I spend hours in museums and never miss a little visit to the tomb of our Emperor ;) Beautiful video, thank you for your interest in our country. Best regards,
Kriss
34:54 It makes more sense than you think in the late 1800, some one wrote a book about the beauty of going for a walk, just for the sake of walking in the streets of Paris without going realy anywhere.
The Liberty Statue was designed and built in 1871 by Auguste Bartholdi who is born and lived in Colmar, reason why there is a smaller copy in that town (and Paris too). Gustave Eiffel helped to the conception of the original statue which was offered to the USA in 1886 for the anniversary of the American independence, and is today worldwide one of the most known symbols for representing the USA, like the Eiffel tower is for France 😘
Un lugar bello de Francia es la Bretaña Francesa. Lo más bello junto a los Alpes.
I used to live and study in Versailles, if you go to the castle of Versailles don't forget to visit the city, it's also a superb place to have a drink, eat or just walk around like "place du marché notre dame", "cathédrale saint louis", "le hameau de la reine", "la pièce d'eau des suisses" and so many others.
It was really touching for me to see your smile during the whole video. I think most of us in France take this diversity and this history for granted, as you said, and it is super interesting to see the point of view of a American guy !
Thanks a lot for your curiosity, keep the good content mate 🤝🏼
First, I want to say thank you for you work; your comments about France in various videos are generally smart and accurate. Your interests prove you have an open mind. I am a French corporate teacher working in the USA since 28 years; along other subjects such as Business, Economy, Political Sciences, etc., I propose workshops to help people and VIP's in preparing a trip to France. As for example, in this Travel video they forgot to mention that Bartholdi who designed The Statue of Liberty was born in Colmar. To answer yours questions, yes France is the #1 world destination for tourists; also yes, one can see Morocco from some southern Spanish coasts (such as Tarifa). One final comment: I am sorry they didn't mention Burgundy (Bourgogne), capital Dijon, where I was born. Believe me, there is a lot to see in this region, such as castles, fortified villages, and superb valleys, besides a rich cuisine and superb wines that most experts consider as the best in the world - and also the most expensive of course. Sorry Bordeaux and California! :)
Colmar is the city where is born Bartholdi. The architecte who create Lady Liberty.
Hi Connor! I've been watching your videos for quite some time now, and I always love to see your (and other people in the comments) point of view on our country, which, you seem to know quite a bit about! I live near Paris, but I am from Champagne-Ardennes (Reims, precisely) and I've always been to Dordogne on holidays when I was a kid. My father and I are both history lovers and he always tried to take me to historical places whenever he could. There are so many things to see in France, and it also depends on what you want to see or learn about! If you ever need some advice on what to visit when in France, feel free to ask! Also, I don't know if you know about this, but there's this "park" called Puy du Fou, that is really interesting to visit. It's all about our country's history through the years, with astonishing shows. There are some videos on RUclips about it, you might like it!
Looking forward to see you in your next video! 😊
I live in Marseille, was born in Nice and have visited most of the places in this video. It is so touching to see your emotion !
And to answer your remarks: yes, we know we are surrounded by history. Marseille is three thousand years old, it makes us proud 🙂 / yes the "promenade des Anglais" is in reference to the British aristocrats who spent their winters on the French Riviera (as well as Russian nobility, we have the biggest Russian orthodox church in western Europe, and I passed my baccalaureat in the tzar's winter palace that has been converted into a high school).
Bordeaux citizen here ! If you like wine, I highly recommand you ti visit the castles with vines like st emilion or medoc, they are stunning.
Thank you for your interest in our beautiful country 🥰🥰😀
Promenade des Anglais - yes it does mean 'of the English'. Love, love, love France. We went to France every year for a month each time for about twenty years and only our own circumstances stopped us going. We travelled to every region and when not on holiday there, we would grab a few extra long weekends from work and go just to Paris. Happy days!
PS if you go to Versaille Palace wear VERY comfortable shoes - it truly is vast.
Thank you for your comments which are always so positive. Love from France!
I live in Alsace, and there is lot of beautiful villages or ruins of old castles to visit.
Look for exemple the military town of Neuf-Brisach to see fortress in star form. And, pretty rare for the time, his straits streets. Comme in Alsace, it will be a pleasure to show you the region.
The Strait of Gibraltar is only 9 miles long so yes you can see Morocco very well from Spain (well UK technically 😉).
Versailles Castle property is very big around 12000 yard square. And there is other sites on the property that are less crowded and beautiful like Le Hameau de la Reine (the Queen Garden) and Le Grand Trianon (an other castle).
Of course you see Africa from Andalousian's high spots ! 18 km. Somedays, with clear sky, you see Corsica from Côte d’Azur high spots !!
15:22 yes you are right. The sharper the mountains are, the younger they are (because less eroded). Alps are very young, in fact they are still under pressure with "plaque Adriatique" and African plaque, Jura a bit older, and Vosges are quite older. Dunno about Pyrenees, but they seem quite young for me (not as young as Alps though)
19:40 when you create or renew buildings in france, especially if you're in a historic neighbourhood, you must submit your plans for approval, which will check if the apperance of your resulting work will fit in the surrounding place. In historic places, you must conform to a list of allowed material specific to the place (style, color, roofs, walls, windows or doors, etc...). Here you can't build whatever you want wherever you want, you must respect the place
Native Parisian here and tour guide: free tour for you and hidden spots ! PM
Greetings from Lyon! Great video!
That's why I declined a PhD in Miami after my internship at UM, I was not ready to loose all these things (+ the food) ^^
As a Frenchman I am so proud of my country. We are the only European country that represents different cultures (Latin, Germanic and Celtic). Diversity is our strength. There are so many different and at the same time beautiful places to visit that it would take a lifetime to see everything.
Thank you for sharing... I am french and I live in Chatenay-Malabry where Voltaire used to live... The poète Chateaubriand has had his little garden and castle... à muséum today... sooo beautiful... 5 minutes walks from where I live... we have a mini Versailles called : Parc de Sceaux... so so exquisite... it’s not far from Paris (south)... I have been to most places you shared... and I enjoyed very much your feelings about France !!! 🫶🫶🫶🫶❤❤❤ During summer time we have classical music and other all around ... in Chatenay-Malabry !!! People seems happy there despite the économic crises !!!
Leon in Spain, Lyon in France near Switzerland. And yes, there are very strict building codes in order to preserve the architectural landscape.
Lyon ❤️
Hello, and thanks for this video. I'm writing to you this little message simply to let you know that I was impressed by all the different things you knew about France, and all the intellectual curiosity you displayed throughout the video. I will discover more your channel later, and I'm sure I'll like it.
PS : You confused the Spanish region of Léon and the French city of Lyon ;)
Hello! Nice job from France. Bonjour! Need to add "Golfe du Morbihan"! Gorgeous place.
"The walking is the destination"... Hmmm... very interesting and makes a lots of sense. Well-done ;)
I am an old lady from L'Isle sur la Sorgue in south east of France, I was born there when there were only 3000 inhabitants now it's world wide known for its international antics fair, Barack Obama and his family visited about 10 years ago and Johnny Depp with Vanessa came to buy a house, I met them in the street near my family house. We have now 20 thousands people permanent and 100 thousands in summer. Tourism is becoming a problem , the open market on sundays is so crowded that I can't go anymore, but my city is so beautiful, an island on the river Sorgue 25 kms from Avignon. I love my wonderful country, I travelled the world , from Mexico, the States, to China, I lived in England and 7 years in Turkey but no country is as beautiful as France and its way of life, food, architecture, true freedom of speech . Big hugs to you all 🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤
Hiii French Moroccan here and yes it is possible to see spain from morocco and vice versa, especially in the summer
Love your video !
We take nothing for granted as we take great pride in our culture heritage, monuments, landscape, food and so on!
i live in britany , the same latitude as seatle . he never freezes here and never snows ; because of gulf stream . there are palm trees here . and we are aware of oldness and culture around us . my house is 200 yo and the church across the road was build in 1158, almost 900 yo
Paris is not just a beautiful city, it has the soul ❤
Paris is overhypted. One of the worst city of france.
@@JohnLcx-n4v What do you think is the best city of France?
@@Marguerite-tv4tq nothern cities tend to be underrated. Brittany cities are all great, poeple there a so welcoming and nice plus it is a beutiful region. La region de la loire for their castle is aslo a nice historical place. I wouldn’t recomand a part of the south of france (maintly the region St tropez, nice, toulon, antibes.) but still better than Paris. What is the problem with those cities in the south? Poeple mainly. They are not welcoming. Plus it is very expenive for no real reason ( its nice cities but overpriced for what they can offer)
Whats wrong with Paris ? Almost everything. The city is not clean, not well structured, polluted. Poeple in Paris are the worst in France, maybe in europe even. Plus, its overly expensive, tourists get stolen more often than anywhere in Europe. And in general the popular places in Paris are overrated. If you like Paris, go to Rome or London you will see how bad Paris is in comparaison.
@@JohnLcx-n4v Thank you very much for your detailed comment! I've never been in Bretagne region, but might travel there in future. I've visited mainly cities in the South of France: Toulouse, Bordeaux, Narbonne; the South-West Atlantic coast: Biarritz, Arcachon, Dune du Pilat; also Cote d'Azur: Cannes, Nice, Antibes, and the French Catalonia too. I never had any problems with French people, and I didn't go to overpriced places.
Despite of its flaws, France is the most beautiful country in the world, and Paris is its soul ❤ I was in Paris five times, and will fly again this spring.
Rome creates mixed feelings, but London is horrible, I lived there for a while. Please forgive me, but I hate London and hope never return there.
If you ever go to Marseille, it's worth taking the train and getting out of the town. In 20 minutes, you can reach Cassis or Niolon, and they are adorable.
The big white castle in the Loire Valley is called the Château de Chambord. It was built during François the 1st's reign and designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci even had a residence nearby, it's called Clos Lucé and you can visit it too. Clos Lucé is where many of Da Vinci's inventions are exposed. 😁
Wrong. Da Vinci didn’t design Chambord at all. Not even the double revolution staircase
@NaelysBlack Chambord wasn't built by Da Vinci actually, you might be talking about Amboise instead, which he hasn't built either, but renovated. To make it short, François the first has commanded François de Pontbriand to "build" a palace in his honnor, Chambord.
@@rob9853 It was based on many of Da Vinci's innovations though. Unless the Tour guids there are lying, that is. 😅
@NaelysBlack « based on » and « designed by » are rather different. I have worked there and the staff there is so annoyed to hear that 1000 times every day
Definitely visit Carcarsonne if you can-stunning. Little crusader towns up in the hills in that region are amazing too- I went to St Guillaume-le-Desert and Le Couvertarade, both worth a visit.
Thank you for your comments and your interest in French culture and history. French passionate about history living in Paris, I will be happy to show you around if you come back to Paris.
24:44 was my daily view for several years, since the offices of my web agency were situated in a barge facing the cathedral of Angers.