Take a blog trip through France

I FOLLOW a lot of news websites, receive many newsletter emails and follow the conversations taking place on internet forums.

But I add more blogs to my reading list than any other type of site as they offer an interesting view of life in France, and they are often written with a dash self-effacing humour thrown in.

So I thought you might want to explore the sites yourselves, below is a list, in alphabetical order, of the blogs I read that offer a touch of France through the web.

Aquitaine Diary
Fireman, builder, barrister then France. A rosbif’s frog blog.

Aude France
Living and working in the south of France.

Beauregard - the blog
France, Family, Friends...

Berry Deep France
Strangers in a strange land (don't let the alien put you off).

blueVicar
For writing and reading stories about life abroad…

chez pim
Not an arbiter of taste.

Destination Metz
Student from Australia teaching as an English assistant.

Dordogne Quilter
A quilter and her family trying to live the dream.

Tim King - France Profonde
Tim King on French politics.

French Help Services
English mum to two-year-old Alicia, living with her French man.

France This Way
Living in France and daily life for a UK expat.

French life and living in France
From a day, to a lifetime - a personal view from a Mediterranean village.

French Windows
Glimpses of my life with a bit of culture thrown in.

French Word-a-Day
Serving you a thrice-weekly slice of French life.

frogsmoke.com
The beauty and the madness behind the Gallic fumes.

Helena Frith Powell
Newspaper columnist and author living in the Languedoc.

I Prefer Paris
An ex-New Yorkers insiders guide to Paris.

IVY Paris
A site I help with but Susie knows what's happening in Paris.

Jamie Goode's Wine Blog
Mainly wine... also long-suffering Man City fan like myself.

Le Figaro - in English
News and comment from France.

Le Blog Immobilier
Site following property market.

le24
Events calendar for the Dordogne.

Life in the middle of nowhere
The delights of life in a remote and rural corner of France.

Mike and Rion
Living overseas and other notes.

Muddy Red Shoes
Family, life and painting from Brittany.

Paris Breakfasts
Paris and watercolours are Carol's twin passions.

Paris Parfait
An American living la vie Parisienne while writing a book.

ParisDailyPhoto
A brand new picture every day.

PerigordVacance
Phil and his family living life in France.

Politique
French politics from an American perspective.

Promo'Arts
Volunteer arts association near Montpellier.

Pure France Now
A look at the region of le Roannais, part of the Rhone-Alpes.

Rozier's Orléans Diary
Day by day account of life from long term British ex-pat resident.

Rue by Street
Former Ohioan getting used to her new life, one step at a time.

Running a French Holiday Gite in Rural Brittany
Diary of running a French holiday gite in rural Brittany.

Salut!
France, things Anglo-French and more besides.

SuperFrenchie
Frenchies’ adventures in French-bashing America.

The Devils of Loudon
House renovation by an ex-pat family in France.

The French Journal
A site for Francophiles.

The Paris Blog
A group blog about Paris.

The Road is Life
On and off the road for three years, currently in the Limousin.

Tongue in Cheek
Stories collected while living and loving France.

wcs
Stories and photos from the Loire valley.

Why Travel to France
Views on life in France from an American ex-pat.

Feel free to add any of your own favourites in the comments below, or if you write a similar list again post a link for others to discover more.

Comments

[Chris Late]

Craig:

Thanks for the mention of the French Journal!

Two more possibilities:

Living the Life in Saint Aignan: http://ckenb.blogspot.com/

PollyVousFrancais: http://www.pollyvousfrancais.blogspot.com/

Best,

Chris Late

[Paris Parfait]

Thanks for including my blog! I really appreciate the nod. You might also enjoy Poppy Fields at http://poppyinprovence.blogspot.com

[Sarah Hague]

Hello Craig,

Thanks for mentioning Promo'Arts!

Although you have mentioned my other humble little blog, St Bloggie de Riviere previously, it didn't appear on this list, so here's the link
http://sarahhague.blogspot.com

Sarah

[Craig McGinty]

Hi all, many thanks for posting the links, some new ones there for me.

And sorry about missing off your site Sarah your RSS feed is in my reader, but I think I was going a bit cross-eyed towards the end of the list.

All the best, Craig

[Marcus]

Good list Craig,
Some of these I know already, some I look forward to discovering...also one I can't bear to read, and one that is mine.
So a good mix
Thanks

[Jennifer]

Thanks for mentioning my blog!
I faithfully read yours, too. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas on France here.
I'll have to check out some of your links that I'm not familiar with yet...

[Craig McGinty]

Hi Marcus and Jennifer, thanks for the comments and hope you discover a couple of new sites. All the best, Craig

[Clare]

Hi Craig,

Thanks for updating the link to my blog. I forgot to tell you :-)

A newbie in Paris is http://lazygalquilting.blogspot.com/ Some stunning photos!

[Craig McGinty]

Hi Clare, many thanks for dropping by and for pointing out a new site. All the best, Craig

[Sarah]

Hi Craig
thanks for the mention!
Lots of new blogs to read and lots of familiar ones...
Cheers Sarah

[Craig]

Hi Sarah, glad I was able to highlight a few new website stops. All the best, Craig

[Gigi]

Thank you Craig...and now I'm going to spend the rest of the evening reading the blogs I didn't know about...:-)

PS - I read yours too

[Colin Randall]

Bravo et merci Craig.........but I always live in hope that people will also take a look at www.salutsunderland.com (stern corrections of my French, in my posting Thierry Henry and the Arsenal French connection, most welcome)
and www.salutlive.com which may be about folk music but does mention France now and then.

[Lesley]

Et moi, et moi! I'm a Scot in Bordeaux and my blog is called Peregrinations:

www.lezzles.blogspot.com

[Craig McGinty]

Hi all, glad there are some new sites for you to explore in the list.

And Lesley, your site was a new one for me, but anyone who has a pic of Oor Willie on their site goes to the top of the website tree :-)

All the best, Craig

[Helen]

Hello Craig

Here's another one for your list. Is there anyone who actually reads all our witterings?

My blog - www.cafeandmarmite.blogspot.com - is about life on a lottissement by an accidental resident. It's sort of part-observation, part-rant,part-everything else. Hope you enjoy it!
Helen

[Craig McGinty]

Hi Helen, you can be pretty sure there is one nosy blogger who reads your site. Thanks for the comment.
All the best, Craig

[blueVicar]

Thanks for mentioning blueVicar! Now there is a new dimension added to stories of life abroad on blueVicar...what it's like to move back to the home country. It's all about seeing and writing...love the stories that come from living in foreign lands no matter where the author lives now.

And I love these other blogs too. Great list!

Meilleurs voeux!!

[Diane Rauscher-Kennedy]

Hello Craig:

I'm not very clever on the blog, but many thanks for the little "nod" for our Promo'Arts - we certainly need it! I'm Madame la Présidente & Sarah is the Secretaire Generale and Brillantissimo Blogmeister...she's on her happy hols under the pouring rain somewhere in Great Britain!

I tried to send you a thank you mail (hopeless at that too...) but great for bashing down peoples doors to get funding for super Soirées to help research,...and apparently I paint right too!!

Thanks to you I can also visit all sorts of super Blogs - some I knew from Sarah, (Gigi, Randall, Bluevicar etc.) but your blog is a treasure trove!!!
Excuse my rusty english.....but the thank you is just as sincere, n'est pas?
Diane

[Craig McGinty]

hi Diane, many thanks for your message and glad you've been able to discover more blogs about life in France.
All the best
Craig

[Carter-Ann]

Hi! Thanks for mentioning my blog. great list.

[Craig]

Hi Carter-Ann, glad you like the piece and I hope people have been able to discover a new blog or two about France.
All the best, Craig

[brian franklin]

Hi Craig

Only just got back from France this last week-end after 3 months out in
Le Roannais.

Thanks for mentioning purefrancenow in your blog listing.

Your site is looking great, and very useful.

May be we can meet up at sometime for a chat. I'm sure I'll get a few tips from the expert!!.

Thanks again

Salut!

Brian

[Craig McGinty]

Hi Brian, thanks for your message and I've been enjoying reading about your adventures, your day out with the la chasse was particularly interesting, and if you want to chat directly just ping me an email.
All the best, Craig

[Nicola Harrington]

Craig,
Brilliant website, full of useful information.. I have read your business blog page at least three times !!.. If you can cope with another blog, http://gallicgrapevine.blogspot.com/ is about life in rural France.. both the ups and the downs !!.

Thanks for all your advice
Nicola

[francetales.com]

I'm glad to see I have seen most of these, I'm not so out of the loop. How about http://www.francetales.com and http://cyberfrance.blogspot.com ?

[Craig McGinty]

Hi there, thanks for adding the two blogs to the list, I'm sure readers will click on through.
All the best, Craig

[Lost in France]

Thanks for this, Craig, and to francetales.com for mentioning my blog.

[Emigré]

Hi there, here's my blog on France as an insider. After many years living in pompous France, you will here understand why I largely prefer Italy!
Regards,
Emigré
http://frenchconspiracy.blogspot.com/