Anthony Peregrine

Anthony Peregrine The first few times I went to France , I hitched rides in vans made of corrugated iron, lived in a haze of cheap wine, easy

The first few times I went to France, I hitched rides in vans made of corrugated iron, lived in a haze of cheap wine, easy friendships and simmering dishes, and seriously underestimated both the power of pastis and toxicity of public conveniences. Clearly, French people hadn’t mastered the use of WCs.

Markets full of local produce, generations-old crafts and even an in-town forest — Biarritz still has star appeal. We check in to the fresh-faced Hôtel Maison Chiberta

A charming old quarter, luxury hotels and the finest brandy you could hope to taste — it’s all happening in Cognac, says Anthony Peregrine

It’s not all fresh country air and fine wine – the reality entails money worries, battles with French admin and complete exhaustion

I'd just finished the last mouthful of a “Welsh”, and very good it was, too. The northern French have taken the Welsh rarebit, chopped off the second

Anthony Peregrine How the British love a French village. Of course, we love British ones too . But, there's a perception that many French villages are, I think, more village-y.

Good news from across the Channel. The French want us back. Well, maybe not all of them want all of us but, certainly, the good people of Le Touquet are very keen. In the run up to our May bank holiday – from Monday, May 25 – they’re hosting Le French Week during which much will be done to entice English-speakers to this distinguished stretch of the Opal Coast, slightly south of Boulogne.

Affordable hotels, hearty Burgundian cooking and bottles of red that age beautifully: Dijon in France is hard to beat for an indulgent weekend away

It is said that one should never meet one's heroes. I did. It turned out fine. For me, anyway.