Do you have a secret place to share?
On the cycle route coming into St-Martin-de-Ré from the west, along the coast (from the direction of La Couarde, Loix, and Ars-en-Ré) a series of enterprising oyster farms have set up open-air pop-up restaurants where you can eat fresh seafood with a glass or two of Ile de Ré wine overlooking the sea – perfect for a long and lazy and very informal lunch.
Where would you live in France if it could be anywhere and what sort of house would you choose?
Laon, in the department of Aisne, fascinates me, and recently, as I wandered
the streets filled with grand and beautiful 18th and 19th-century townhouse mansions, I fantasized that this is the sort of spot I’d like to hole up in for a few years, absorbing its history as a former bishop’s seat and a military town, and its views out over the landscape of Picardy from its high ramparts, and contemplating what role this kind of proud historic place can play in modern France.
Antony Mason is the author of some 80 books on travel, history, art and… well, basically whatever people ask him to do. antonymason.com
The 12th century cathedral in the centre of the old city was the model for later versions notably Chartres and Notre Dame in Paris.