Heritage Days in France: ideas for visits this weekend plus photos Over 2,000 sites are set to welcome visitors for free on September 20 and 21
French architecture: the church that is not a church Explore the intriguing story of Sainte-Th茅r猫se-de-l'Enfant-J茅sus, the unfinished church in L茅ojac
Tour Alta: the new landmark making waves in Perret鈥檚 post-war Le Havre The tower block sits within a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has sparked conflicting reactions
magazine Basque houses have timeless appeal, cultural significance, and historic charm These traditional houses in the western Pyrenees are known as etche or etxe in local dialect
Exhibition: see inside the iconic pavilion of a French prefab architect Ferdinand Fillod was a French pioneer of prefabricated metal buildings. One of his most famous creations was rescued from ignominy and put on display not far from Perpignan
PHOTOS: French villagers had no idea their neighbour was an acclaimed American artist Frances Butler exhibited in some of the world鈥檚 leading museums, including the Victoria & Albert and British Museum in London
PHOTOS: the French house that looks like a yacht and is on sale for 鈧�2.2m Couple with a love for sailing want to sell their dream riverside home
Lyon building will be the first in France to achieve sustainable temperature control Innovative design promises optimal temperatures year-round without traditional heating or cooling systems
How France's high-rise housing solution to post-war boom became an urban nightmare The grands ensembles, high-rise public housing units, were meant to provide desperately needed accommodation in big cities in the 1950s but the plan was abandoned only two decades later
Blacksmith鈥檚 historic and unusual home for sale in Rouen The Maison Marrou, an iconic feature of the city of Rouen, is being sold by online auction
La Grande-Motte: How France's 'New Florida' is proving critics wrong Once derided as an eyesore, this resort in southern France is now celebrated for its unique architecture
France builds its first traditional Hindu temple It is hailed as a 鈥渂ridge鈥� between French and Indian cultures, while a Buddhist pagoda in Allier also celebrates religious diversity and receives more than 25,000 visitors per year
French architecture: Marseille's 24-year wait for mosque Infighting has stalled progress on the project in what is one of Europe's biggest cultural melting pots
How an American carpenter helped repair Notre-Dame de Paris Peter Henrikson had never been to France before he started work on the cathedral鈥檚 roof after it was destroyed by fire
'France will win Notre-Dame rebuild challenge', says general in charge We spoke to the project chief, former general Jean-Louis Georgelin, before his death in August 2023
Ch芒teau, pavillon, villa: France鈥檚 property lexicon explained Are you confused by the myriad of names for French dwellings?
See the French houses which align with sun's movements to save energy The head-turning properties promise to shape the future of housebuilding by drawing on architectural principles from the past
French heritage: long hunt for lost cloisters leads to the US Nick Inman joins in historical detective work of tracking down missing cloisters from his village church
French train station built by Mussolini looks to a brighter future Saint-Dalmas-de-Tende border station in Alpes-Maritimes was once pride of the Italian railways before falling into dereliction 鈥� now the French could bring it back to life
French planning row over ugly McDonald鈥檚 鈥榮ite cabin鈥� extension A petition to demolish the building, likened to a 鈥榳art鈥� on top of a listed property in western France, has been signed by thousands of people
Architecture of France: fake Paris fa莽ades cover up pollution secret The Parisien 'fausses fa莽ades' look clever but actually hide engineering infrastructure emitting unsafe levels of fine particles says environmental group
Mysteriously skewed Brittany cathedral continues to confound experts Archeological excavations suggest that the Cathedral of Saint Corentin was the third to be built on the site, leaving numerous riddles for archeologists to solve
Why Strasbourg鈥檚 cathedral is one of France鈥檚 greatest treasures In her series on the cultural heritage of France, art historian Julia Faiers reveals the narrative power of the medieval Notre-Dame de Strasbourg
Marseille: The cultural melting pot of France鈥檚 south In her series on the cultural history of France, art historian Dr Julia Faiers traces the fascinating past of this Mediterranean port city through three of its historic buildings
French architecture: Pont du Gard is country鈥檚 most visited roman site It is the highest aqueduct built in the Roman Empire, and is situated just 20km from Avignon
French ski slopes gave architects a platform to build boldly Modern techniques and pioneering ideas defined many of the ski resorts built in the 1960s and 70s in France, with some even classified as historic monuments
One tower per family in this noble medieval site in France Tours de Merle still stands in the Corr猫ze today, letting us explore its history as quite the complex settlement
Why do French restaurants have such bright lighting? 'A blight on France' is what former Minister of Culture of France, Jack Lang, called France's suburban developments, which he connects to a lack of serious art training in the French education system
Ch芒teau de la Mercerie: Folly of brothers who could not stop building Work to repair a crumbling chateau and its 220m classical fa莽ade 鈥榝olly鈥� has reached the stage where the property can soon be hired out for weddings and corporate events
鈧�180million facelift for WW1 bombarded French basilica Notre-Dame de Brebi猫res basilica in the Somme was hit by 2,000 bombs but its golden statue held true to 'prophecies' not to fall until the war ended
The French photography project that captures oddball constructions 鈥楢tlas des R茅gions Naturelles鈥� captures architectural curiosities throughout France and it will eventually contain 50 photos of each of France鈥檚 50 鈥� r茅gions naturelles 鈥�
Explore Ch芒teau Royal de Blois and its trio of architectural styles Ch芒teau Royal de Blois is the perfect chance to take in and understand the changing architectural styles of France in a single glance
Historic French river bridge rebuilt too low for barges to pass easily The 鈧�8million restoration project to boost water transport of goods ended with the bridge being 38 centimetres lower than previous version
Notre Dame fire: New cause investigated as 2024 service date confirmed On the second anniversary of the fire, claims have emerged that electric bells inside the spire could have caused the blaze, as authorities insist on a 2024 rebuild deadline
Brittany seeks funding to save historic timber-frame houses The heritage buildings date back to the 15th century and are a symbol of the region
Notre-Dame: Centuries-old oak trees chosen to restore spire The eight oak trees are the first of 1,000 to be felled for reconstruction of the fire-stricken spire, but critics have condemned their use as environmentally 鈥榙amaging鈥�
France's oldest lighthouse is 'unique in the world' The Cordouan lighthouse, at the mouth of the Gironde estuary, is France鈥檚 2021 candidate for a place on the Unesco World Heritage list
Sacr茅-Coeur: A monument that still divides Parisians Connexion's Jane Hanks explores why - despite its appeal to tourists - Sacr茅-Coeur has long been the centre of controversy in Paris
France鈥檚 vanishing pigeon palaces For the past 30 years, Michel Lucien has roamed the south west region of Occitanie, photographing its historic pigeonniers
Major work needed to ensure safety of France's bridges Between 20,000-25,000 bridges across France still need major work doing to ensure they are safe, a senator has said, one year after the Mirepoix-sur-Tarn collapse tragedy
New French site makes finding an architect easy Finding an architect when you need one for planning permission for house restoration projects can be frustrating.
Did you know? France's favourite village used to be Swedish The story of the Bas-Rhin village of Hunspach, France's favourite village, and how it was Swedish before it was French.
Historic French chateau to open for European festival Heritage Loto grant-winning chateau will be open to the public as part of this month鈥檚 Journ茅es du Patrimoine.
Trouville-sur-Mer: Building the Parisian Riviera Exploring how the 鈥榥ouveau riche鈥� built grand villas to display their wealth in France's Trouville-sur-Mer.
Nantes Cathedral fire: Man questioned as enquiry continues A man is being questioned in connection with the fire that started at the Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul Cathedral in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) yesterday (Saturday July 18), as investigations into the incident continue.
Behind the scenes at G卯tes de France's new B&B project Carole and David Movrel run G卯tes de France鈥� s best city break chambre d鈥檋么tes , in Mont-de-Marsan, Landes. We spoke to Carole about how the project came to fruition.
Rural conservation charity launches architecture competition The annual Architecture et Patrimoine competition for buildings that respect tradition and fit their surroundings harmoniously has been launched by rural conservation charity Maisons Paysannes de France.
Architecture in France: the churches of the north east Explore the fortified churches of La Thi茅rache.
Inside the houses that Le Corbusier built... Charles-Edouard Jeanneret 鈥� better known as Le Corbusier (1887-1965) 鈥� was a pioneering Swiss-French architect who can be said to have invented the concept of modern architecture, including the use of reinforced concrete and the provision of open-plan living spaces.
Large and small scale marvels on show at French museum A rare V茅nus statue is to be showcased at the Mus茅e de Picardie, just reopened after a 鈧�26million refit
Secret history of French villages: Village des Bories True story of the farmers鈥� stone houses of Bories...This month we explore the real, hard-life history behind the very pastoral stone huts built by peasant farmers in the Vaucluse
Hollywood stars film at French ch芒teau Hollywood actors Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Adam Driver are currently filming scenes from new Ridley Scott film The Last Duel at the Ch芒teau de Berz茅, in Sa么ne-et-Loire, eastern France.
Architecture of France: Bastides French medieval new towns ageing well. Take a step back in time with some of France鈥檚 most beautiful villages
French manoir restoration could win 鈥榟istoric鈥� status A single-handed restoration of a 14th-century manoir has been done to such a standard that the building and the complex around it are heading for monument historique status.
Building a home in France with glorious, good wood Wood houses were first promoted in France in the 1990s to boost the market for timber from the nation鈥檚 forests, and now form a small but steady part of the newbuild market.
Bordeaux鈥檚 past recreated in all its historic glory It is not so much back to the future as forward to the past in Bordeaux, as The Connexion discovers
Renaissance of Noisy鈥檚 iconic edifices near Paris The Connexion visits the Paris suburb where extraordinarily original architecture is alive once more
Tomb tales restore life to France鈥檚 buried past The cemeteries of France offer more than a brief history of people鈥檚 lives, as The Connexion discovers
Teenager killed in bridge collapse in southwest France Two vehicles plunged into river when suspension bridge failed in Haute-Garonne
Knight鈥檚 iron giants may guard Brittany鈥檚 shores British sculptor Sir Antony Gormley, best known in the UK for his Angel of the North statue, hopes to build four giant sculptures that would sit on the coast of northern France and look towards Britain.
Chateaux-filled valley marks French Renaissance links Half-a-millennium after the death of Leonardo da Vinci in Amboise, The Connexion reveals how the Loire Valley is celebrating French links to a stunning period in European history
Secret history of France's cities: Albi In the second of a series revealing the history of France鈥檚 cities, art historian and medievalist Julia Faiers visits Albi, in the Tarn
French entrepreneurs confirm 鈧�300m Notre-Dame pledge Two of the most high-profile French entrepreneur donors, who together pledged to give 鈧�300 million to help reconstruct the stricken Cathedral of Notre-Dame, have formally confirmed their donations.
We built our off-grid French straw house for 鈧�30,000 A three-day course on how to build a straw house on a foundation of old tyres helped a British couple with no construction experience create their own home in France.
Rouen Cathedral acts to stop visitors spying Rouen Cathedral has been forced to alter the angle of its new telescopic devices after it emerged that some people were using them to spy on the neighbours.
A 鈥榯win鈥� of Notre-Dame clock found A clock almost identical to the one lost in the fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral has been found in a nearby church
French eco-designer presses for return of earth bricks Industrial designer Etienne Gay could not find a machine to make high-insulating compressed earth bricks
France passes Notre Dame restoration law A new law setting out the definitive reconstruction plan for the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris has been passed by the French government.
Burgundy rules in French architecture鈥檚 game of stones The beauty of a building often stems from the material used to build it and Pierre de Bourgogne limestone is a classic example.
Fire damages tower in medieval French city Carcassonne A tower in the medieval city of Carcassonne (Aude, Occitanie) has been damaged by a fire caused by a fireworks display held to celebrate the F锚te Nationale on July 14.
