Yokainoshima, Spirits of Japan Exhibition, Confluence Museum, Lyon, France If there is an exhibition on about Japan – I want to see it. I have an old, old fascination with the country, and its wonderful culture, and this exhibition at the Confluence Museum promised to be fun. After all, it was advertised with this lovely photograph: Gee, ain’t they cute?…
Confluence Museum, Musée des Confluences, Lyon, France When planning a trip to Lyon, you will be struck by the hype for the Museum of the Confluence. It’s a striking new glass building, opened in 2014, perched on an island on the Rhone, and it has a glossy modernity that promises an attractive museum-going experience. In France, where so many museums…
Shepherd’s Festival, Zermatt, Switzerland Be prepared for cute sheep. Be very prepared. When I first found out that we were coming to live in Switzerland a few years ago, I spent a great deal of time looking at Swiss culture on Pinterest. One of the things that popped up was a picture of a sheep. It looked like a cross…
Caesar and the Rhône: Masterpieces of Ancient Arles, César et la Rhône: Chefs-d’œuvre antiques d’Arles, Geneva, Switzerland When walking around the clean, tidy and efficient city of Geneva, it’s easy to forget the fact that it has ancient origins. There are no obvious outdoor remains, like amphitheatres or even walls, but the fact remains that it was an important place in…
The Nora Archaeological Site, Area Archeologica di Nora, Pula, Sardinia Finding out that there was a Roman site to visit near the Sardinian city of Cagliari was quite exciting. Finding out that it was next to the sea made it even better – having visited a number of sites along the Turkish coast, I figured that I’d be in for…
Aigues Mortes Salt Marsh, Salin d’Aigues Mortes, Aigues Mortes, France Quite honestly, one of the coolest experiences of my travels in the south of France was the visit to the salt marshes near the quaint and perfect walled city of Aigues Mortes. First you have amazing pink waters… and then you have flamingos. Flamingos! In their real environment – not…
Aigues Mortes, France The little walled city of Aigues Mortes doesn’t get much of a write-up in English guide books – it comes across as being a somewhat dull afterthought in the Camargue region. Therefore, when I disembarked my bus, I was surprised to see how bustling it was – it was full of French tourists. So. The French are…
The Domain of Vizille – Museum of the French Revolution, Domaine de Vizille – Musée de la Révolution française, Vizille, France Not far from the tranquil city of Grenoble is a museum dedicated to the history of one of France’s most bloody chapters. The château that houses it is linked to significant pre-Revolutionary events, and also served as a summer…
The Old Bishops’ Palace Museum, Musée de l’Ancien Évêché, Grenoble, France The history of the Isère Department is sweepingly and excellently looked at in the building that used to be home to the bishops of Grenoble. The collection is not vast, but very well presented, and makes for a good starting point for further exploration of the city. The building…
The Archaeological Museum of St Laurent, Musée archéologique Saint-Laurent, Grenoble, France Across the Isère river, in the quaint streets of the St Laurent quarter of Grenoble, is a fascinating little museum which serves as a heartening example of what can happen if you dig down under the buildings of cities with ancient origins. The museum is proud of the fact…
Towers and Ramparts of Aigues Mortes, Tours et remparts d’Aigues-Mortes, Aigues Mortes, France The most impressive feature of the little city of Aigues Mortes is its admirable walls. These may not be on as grand a scale as those of the much-lauded Carcassonne – but I’ve not been there, so I’m in no position to compare them. They’re certainly dinkier…
Dauphinois Museum, Musée dauphinois, Grenoble, France A little way up the slopes of the Bastille is the 17th century Convent of St Mary. Since 1968, this charming building has housed an eclectic collection which looks at the history of the Grenoble region, known until 1790 as Dauphiné. At that point the region was divided and it now covers the departments…