Markel Redondo
For the French, food is much more than sustenance; it is a link to heaven. Mealtimes take pride of place, often lasting several hours, with a starter, a meat or fish main course, and dessert. Traditional foods and wines often benefit from strict controls and aging processes, and there can be no substitution for the real thing, crafted according to centuries-old methods -- be it goat cheese from the Loire, jambon de Bayonne, or a fine Bordeax wine.
Here are but five standout food experiences from the thousands you could possibly have during any visit. Bon appetit.
Photo Caption: Moet et Chandon Champagne Cellars in Epernay, France.
There is something plainly sophisticated about eating hearty French cuisine, such as steak-frites and rum babas, under the high ceilings of an iconic brasserie in Paris. The decor tends to be sumptuously vintage -- either Belle Epoque or Art Deco
Nothing beats tasting champagne alongside those who made it; and between Reims and Epernay, dozens of family-run producteurs welcome you to their vineyards for tastings. The drive through voluptuous hills of vines is lovely, and in autumn, many houses let visitors join in on the grape picking.
Photo Caption: Champagne tasting at C. Comme Champagne in Epernay, France.
Perpignan is home to the largest wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Europe, but that doesn't interest chef Christophe Comes, who grows nearly 85 rare and unusual varieties of produce on his own. You'll see La Galinette's tomatoes, a humble staple of Catalan cuisine, in a new light when you dine at Comes's restaurant, where he serves various inventive vegetable concoctions with meat and fish.
Photo Caption: Tomatoes grown in Perpignan, France.
For lovers of seafood, France's west coast is a hot spot. From Michelin-starred restaurants and pubs serving moules-frites (mussels with fries) in La Rochelle, to the Marennes and Arcachon basins, famous for their oysters, you'll be hard-pressed to find such a dense concentration of delicious, briny delights in the whole of France.
Photo Caption: Marennes, France is a great place for fresh oysters.
Here are but five standout food experiences from the thousands you could possibly have during any visit. Bon appetit.
Photo Caption: Moet et Chandon Champagne Cellars in Epernay, France.
Photo Caption: Champagne tasting at C. Comme Champagne in Epernay, France.
Photo Caption: Tomatoes grown in Perpignan, France.
Photo Caption: Marennes, France is a great place for fresh oysters.