The castle of Chaumont-sur-Loire
CABOURG: IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME
It has just over 3,500 inhabitants, but this seaside town in Lower Normandy, about two hours from Paris, has it all: the ocean lapping its magnificent beaches, a promenade lined with bourgeois buildings, a culinary tradition as deep-rooted as it is delicious ( the mussels in cream and the muffins with pistachios are memorable ) and a hotel, almost a palace, Le Grand Hôtel, which faithfully keeps the memory of its most illustrious guest; Marcel Proust, one of the most important French writers of the 20th century.
The author of In Search of Lost Time made Cabourg his summer resort between 1907 and 1914. In the pages of his famous work, Proust describes in detail some of the places in the area but changing the name to "Balbec". It will be here in Le Grand Hotel , where Proust first confessed his desire to be a writer and where he spent many summers, staying on the fourth floor, writing or trying to write, because as he himself told his friend Émile Mâle: “I cannot write to you in the midst of the deafening tumult and melancholy of this atrocious and sumptuous hotel".
Despite his complaints, the writer always ended up returning to drive the staff crazy, according to what they say, with his hobbies (he couldn't stand a draft, no matter how small). Today Le Grand Hôtel is a hotel that retains the bourgeois charm and literary atmosphere of the time despite the almost complete renovation that took place in 1994. Half of the rooms have views of the sea and the other half of the casino's manicured gardens . “I woke up and on the sand of the beach bathed in the prodigious light of dawn, the gentlemen of a riding school were performing equestrian exercises. Possibly one of the most beautiful images I have ever seen”, tells me an old lady, former actress and former aristocrat, who whenever she can, cannot resist the pleasure of spending the night in this hotel and of course, as a literary obsessive, visit Marcel Proust's suite, on the fourth floor, in which everything is still preserved just as he liked it.
The hotel where Marcel Proust used to walk
CHAUMONT-SUR-LOIRE OR THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN THE WORLD
Recently, during a meal and knowing that I had to write this article, I asked a photographer for a French travel magazine which was her favorite little town. The answer was automatic Chaumont-sur-Loire . "Yes, certainly the castle is from a fairy tale," I replied. "Not only that," she hastened to say, "every year the International Garden Festival is held there, a real delight for photographers."
Before following this hint, let's start from the beginning: Chaumont-sur-Loire is a tiny enclave in the Loire Valley , whose castle, which belonged to Catherine de Médicis, has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Its style exemplarily reflects the defensive architecture of the time and the Renaissance style. Formal definitions aside, I think the description that best fits is the one that her three-year-old daughter made when she saw it: "Mom, does a princess live there?"
But the charm of Chaumont-sur-Seine is not limited to its beautiful and photogenic castle or its surroundings. Every year for twenty one of the most important events in the world of landscaping, the International Garden Festival . This year 20 projects have been selected from among 300 entries from around the world. The gardens that compete are exposed to the public from April 24 to October 20. A true panache for the senses whose number of visitors reached the record number of 350,000 people last year.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FRENCH VILLAGES
To clear up any doubts in this regard and simplify our work, L'Association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (literally, Association The Most Beautiful Villages of France), created in 1982, regularly publishes a list of the most beautiful villages in the Hexagon based on three essential aspects: a singularly beautiful and intact landscape or environment, at least two monuments of historical value and the number of inhabitants ** (in no case should it exceed 2,000) **.
Currently, 157 villages spread over 21 different regions encompass this select club governed by strict rules and subject to rigorous supervision. Any suspicious alteration of the urban plan or the environment leads to automatic expulsion. The Association also organizes tours to get to know some of the towns. Especially interesting is the one organized by the Périgord region, to Domme and La Roque-Gageac to discover all the secrets of one of the most French products that exist: foie gras.
Castles and gardens: France squared