Gourmet appetites know no bounds in France, a paradise for food lovers with its varied cuisine, markets and local gusto for dining well.
Go to Burgundy for hearty wine-based cooking, Brittany and the Atlantic Coast for seafood and Basque Country for a slice of Spanish spice.
Hot on the heels of Lonely Planet’s newest book Eat France, we are highlighting a few of our favorite French food experiences.
17 best food festivals of France: where and when to go for the gourmand tour of a lifetime
Paris for pâtisseries
Parisian pâtisseries (pastry shops) are similar to bakeries but are generally up a notch on the sophistication scale. Although they sell different varieties of pastries and cakes, each one is often known for a particular specialty – Ladurée and Pierre Hermé do macarons, Gérard Mulot does cakes and tartes, and so on. A chocolatier specializes in chocolates, generally sold in 100g increments and available in over a dozen mouthwatering flavors: pistachio, lavender, ginger, orange and more.
Normandy for moules à la crème normande
Cream, apples and cider are the essentials of Norman cuisine, which sees mussels simmered in cream and a splash of cider to make moules à la crème Normande and tripe thrown in the slow pot with cider and vegetables to make tripes à la mode de Caen.
Creamy camembert is the local cow’s milk cheese, and on the coast coquilles St-Jacques (scallops) and huîtres (oysters) rule the seafood roost. Apples are the essence of the region’s main tipples: tangy cider and the potent calvados (apple-flavored brandy), exquisite straight or splashed on apple sorbet.
Burgundy for bœuf bourguignon
Vine-wealthy Burgundy honors a culinary trinity of beef, red wine and Dijon mustard. Begin with oeufs en meurette (wine-poached eggs) or snails, traditionally served by the dozen and oven-baked in their shells with butter, garlic and parsley. Savor bœuf bourguignon (beef marinated and cooked in young red wine with mushrooms, onions, carrots and bacon), followed by the pick of Burgundy AOC cheeses.
Wine tasting in the Côte d’Or vineyards, source of world-famous Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune wines, is obligatory when in Burgundy; laid-back Irancy, less known around the globe but much-loved by locals, is…
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