Unique luxury hotels, fashionable travel and much more

The popular Pompidou arts centre in Paris now has a smaller cousin 170 miles to the east.

The Metz Pompidou will have no permanent collection of its own but will show, in six-month or yearly rotations, parts of the vast collection of 65,000 contemporary works held by the Pompidou in Paris, most of which are never displayed.

There are also spaces in the spectacular new building for other contemporary art forms, including cinema, modern music and dance.

Metz, the capital of the Lorraine region, is hoping to recreate the success of the European arm of New York’s Guggenheim museum, which has transformed the fortunes of Bilbao in northern Spain since 1997.

The director of the Metz Pompidou, Laurent Le Bon, said: “For us it’s a little French Revolution – yet it’s such a simple thing. We are just saying that the big collections are for everyone, not just for Paris.”

This is the first stage in a drive to decentralise the French state’s enormous art collection. A branch of the Louvre will follow in 2012 in Lens, a former coal town only an hour from the Channel Tunnel.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique has an extensive selection of luxury hotels in France – including some of the best that Paris has to offer.

A theme park that’s recently opened in the Loire Valley region of France is unlike any other in the world.

The Terra Botanica near Angers is entirely devoted to plants and their role in our lives. Designed along strict environmental principles, the park takes visitors around four areas with specific headings: ‘coveted plants’, ‘generous plants’, ‘mysterious plants’, and ‘tamed plants’.

In addition, there are forty attractions including interactive games, a water trail and a treetop trail. ‘The Botanical Odyssey’ takes the guest on a virtual reality voyage across the Atlantic. In ‘Journey to the Centre of the Plant’, visitors explore what goes on inside a tree by watching photosynthesis as it takes place.

A boutique gives visitors the opportunity to buy their own plants to take home, and there are plenty of picnic spots as well as two restaurants along the way.

by Andy Moreton

Angers is about 190 miles south-west of Paris. Luxique can help you book a luxury hotel in the Loire region, with a choice of five in various towns.

The French have traditionally been fiercely protective of their language and are forever trying to halt the incursion of Anglo/American phrases.

Another campaign has just begun, with the word ‘buzz’ top of the hit-list. Linguistic experts see this as particularly crude, and intend to replace it with the word ramdam (doesn’t seem much more refined or French to me, but hey…)

Apart from ‘buzz’, there are a number of other words that young French people have picked up from their constant diet of English and American TV programmes, films, music and social networking. These include ‘chat’, ‘talk’ and ‘newsletter’. Their alternatives – to be placed in French language dictionaries – are éblabla, debat and infolettre.

Some of these alternatives emerged from a competition among schoolchildren and college students to identify French-sounding words for 21st century mid-Atlantic- speak.

The campaign has the full support of President Nicolas Sarkozy, who’s frequently pointed to the proliferation of English words as nothing less than the spread of a bland, corporate, American-style culture. “Defending our language, defending the values that it bears, fundamentally means fighting for cultural diversity in our world,” he said.

However, some Anglicisms stubbornly remain. Most common is le weekend, but there are also post-its in the office, and les air bags in cars.

by Andy Moreton

Discover France and the French language, and book a luxury hotel in Paris and many other cities through Luxique.

As the truffle season gets into full swing in France, local devotees of the luxury fungus are on the lookout for an unwelcome Chinese rival to their own ‘black diamond.’

Sold for one-twentieth of the price, the Chinese truffle looks so similar to the prized French delicacy, tuber melanosporum, that only experts can tell them apart.

In recent years, unscrupulous vendors have been found slipping Chinese fungi into baskets of black truffles - where they soak up the pungent smell - or serving them on a plate sprayed with artificial truffle scent.

In the Perigord region - where truffles can fetch up to 1,000 Euros (£926 / $1,290 dollars) a kilogramme - a dozen markets have brought in tough new controls to stop producers bulking up their harvest with the cut-price Chinese fungus.

For some truffle purists, however, there’s no mistaking the real thing. “I bought some Chinese truffles once - it was a disaster,” said Martine Nardou, picking up her own supply at the truffle market in Sarlat, deep in south-western Perigord. “It was a rubbery lump with no smell or taste.”

by Andy Moreton

Sample the truffles at one of the finest luxury hotels in Perigord – the Chateau des Vigiers, an internationally renowned golf and country club set in 450 acres of stunning scenery.

If there’s one upside to a downturn, it’s that the consumer suddenly has new power: it’s a buyer’s market.

Paradoxically, the eve of a recession might be just the time to consider that long-promised long weekend away because now, more than ever, those hard-pressed hotels want your business. So, in this season of mists, mellow fruitfulness and monetary meltdown, hunt around for a bargain.

Luxury hotels may not slash their rates by half, but there will be special seasonal offers and they’ll often reduce their guests’ bills in other ways such as free room upgrades, free meals or free spa treatments. The mantra is: Don’t Hesitate to Negotiate.

Many of Luxique’s selection of 60-odd luxury hotels in Paris, for instance, have special offers and packages. Le Meurice, which has a fine location on the fashionable rue de Rivoli, has a range of special offers including honeymoon and family deals as well as a Da Vinci Code package. This includes a private visit to the Louvre Museum with expert guide, a gift book about the Da Vinci Code and free access to the hotel’s sauna and fitness centre.

At another of the luxury hotels in Paris, the Plaza Athenee - located between the Champs Elysees and the Eiffel Tower - there’s a string of special offers. They include a festive winter trip that features ice skating and a tour in a horse and carriage. Fans of Sex And The City will know that part of the last TV episode was shot at the hotel, so it’s no surprise there’s an SATC package, promising a Carrie cocktail, a chocolate shoe made by the hotel’s renowned pastry chef and a ‘must have’ shopping booklet.

Even the smaller luxury Paris hotels are urging you to enter their elegant portals. The Hotel de Vigny, part of the Relais & Chateaux group, just wants you to wallow in the romance of it all. Its special offer is for a one-night stay with champagne, flowers, buffet breakfast, gourmet dinner for two and ‘a prestigious jewel.’

By the way, one of the great attractions of Paris is a visit to the magnificent Palace of Versailles, about ten miles from the city centre. It’s been undergoing a refurbishment and the latest section to be restored is the Petit Trianon, the mini-chateau where Marie Antoinette escaped for some rest and relaxation.

The neo-classical building has been renovated to recreate its intimate atmosphere. Curators said their intention was to avoid a stuffy museum feel, making it seem instead as though the 18th century queen and her entourage had ‘just stepped away for a moment.’

by Andy Moreton

The historic city of Caen in north-western France came under relentless bombardment in the Battle of Normandy in 1944.

Now, historians have unearthed a network of tunnels and caves where thousands of civilians took shelter. Numerous poignant reminders of a terrified population lie largely undisturbed.

These include packed suitcases, tins of syrup, maps and official passes and even ladies’ make-up bags containing nail varnish and lipstick. There are also children’s magazines and toys, shoes, prayer books and makeshift beds.

Caen Memorial historian, Marc Pottier, said the lost world was a hugely moving testament to the ordeal of ordinary people during the war.

He said: “During the summer of 1944 here in Caen, 15,000 refugees experienced some of the most terrible conditions imaginable. By visiting these galleries we can better understand what they went through.”

On D-Day (June 6th 1944), Caen was the principal objective for the British 3rd Infantry Division and was the scene of intense fighting right up until August. The old city, including parts dating back to the Middle Ages, was largely destroyed, with three-quarters of the buildings reduced to rubble.

Reconstruction went on until 1962, with most of the underground shelters largely forgotten. Caen University hopes that at least some of the caves might one day be opened to the public.

by Andy Moreton

For a stay in the Caen region, Luxique can offer the best rates at Relais Chateau d’Audrieu, an outstanding 18th century listed building set in lush parkland.