What to Buy as Souvenirs and Gifts From France

Because food is such a big part of French life this is always a good choice for gifts and souvenirs. But you need to find something that will survive being packed in a suitcase and doesn't need refrigeration or protection (and will be allowed back in to your home country). We have a few suggestions that might surprise you. They are all icons of French cuisine, won't cost very much, and will travel well. 

Have you thought about mustard, vinegar or sardines? 

 

Mustard probably crossed your mind...Dijon style mustard is after all known throughout the western world. Try to get one from a small artisanal producer who uses French sourced ingredients and doesn't export.

Vinegar? What's so special about vinegar? Well you need to seek out the special vinaigre d'Orléans, now made by only one factory (Martin Pouret) but once the source of vast fortunes for certain 19th century businessmen. It is the French equivalent of the better known Italian balsalmic vinegar of Modena.

And sardines? Yes, you read that right. Sardines. The premium sardines come in colourful tins designed by contemporary artists and have a vintage, just like the finest wines. And they make a great souvenir because once you've eaten the contents, the tin makes charming decorative object and talking point.

If you take a tour with us we will be very happy to include a visit to an épicerie fine (high end grocers) who specialises in French regional products. Just let us know you'd like to buy some sardines for your friends back home...We and the staff in the shop can advise about the products on offer. 

 

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Fangirling it in the Loire Valley

This is our Franco-American client Sophie. She's an ardent and lifelong fan of the Rolling Stones, and this really is Mick Jagger's front gate. Normally we point it out, but we don't stop there, but Sophie insisted! 

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

A Review From Peter

Peter and Carlos were terrific clients, and I greatly appreciate them taking the time to write one of the best  reviews I've ever had:

"Outstanding tour of the Château Royal d’Amboise, the town of Amboise and the Église Saint-Denis. Susan is a wonderful guide - knowledgeable, entertaining, charming and kind. She is the best!"

They were greatly taken by this beautiful blowsy rose in the grounds of the Chateau Royal d'Amboise. That's Peter in the background taking a photo of one of the other plants of it.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Instagrammer Watching in the Loire Valley

Instagrammers are a strange young breed apart as far as most of our clients are concerned. They are mostly old enough to be the Instagrammer's grandparents, and find their behaviour a bit vulgar. Happily, the Loire Valley is not infested with extreme Instagrammers posing ludicrously and pushing ordinary visitors out of the way. So when we encounter one we can treat it as part of the entertainment and enjoy the show. Like others in the room we proceeded to take our own doubtless inadequate photos of the proceedings for later posting on social media. This young woman had sensibly timed her arrival at Chenonceau on a busy day in May for the very late afternoon, when most visitors have gone home. Despite having a team of photographer, director, and a bloke we dubbed 'The Handbag Wrangler', she did not cause a scene or any inconvenience to anyone else. She was also wearing a classier outfit than a lot of them that we've seen. Properly professional we'd say.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Staying in a Chateau in the Loire Valley

Lots of people want to stay in a chateau when they visit the Loire Valley and one of the newest options and the most luxurious is Chateau Louise (de la Vallière), at Reugny, near Amboise. It has been restored and converted into a hotel with the utmost good taste and sympathy for the historic building. Hidden away (genuinely not straightforward to find) it provides the most tranquille and comfortable location for a break imaginable. You will need a car though, or to book a tour with us if you don't want to drive to explore the surrounding UNESCO World Heritage area.

Claudette, leaving Chateau Louise after a happy day touring with a Franco-American family.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

 

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Chateau Louise's website: https://www.chateaulouise.com/en/

 

Other chateau hotels in the Touraine Loire Valley -- Domaine de la Tortinière, Chateau des Arpentis, Chateau de Pray, Chateau de Perreux, Chateau d'Artigny, Chateau de Noizay.

Lunch with France of a Lifetime

We work with France of a Lifetime tours [link] to provide customised experiences for our mutual clients. Naturally every now and then it makes sense for us to get together to share ideas and nuture our relationship. Lunch in Loches is a good way to do that, and to familiarise Mallory and Ben with one of the restaurants we use with clients (in this case, Le George). 

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel.