220 episodes

City Breaks: a podcast which covers the historical and cultural background you need to really appreciate your city break.

City Breaks Unknown

    • Society & Culture
    • 5.0 • 2 Ratings

City Breaks: a podcast which covers the historical and cultural background you need to really appreciate your city break.

    Marseille Episode 03 The Old Port, the Canebiere and Notre Dame de la Garde

    Marseille Episode 03 The Old Port, the Canebiere and Notre Dame de la Garde

    This episode centres on Marseille’s most popular sights, the Old Port, the hilltop church of Notre Dame de la Garde, and the Canebière, the wide avenue leading back from the port into the heart of the city. After a few snippets of history, we tour such sights as the fish market, the iconic canopy built to mark Marseille's year as a City of European Culture in 2013, an ancient tower and a surprising link to Odessa in Ukraine.  We might take the little ferry across the harbour, we'll certainly walk - or maybe take the 'petit train' - up the hill to Notre Dame de la Garde, where a huge golden statue of Mary the Virgin watches protectively over the city.   
    Reading Suggestions
    The Wicked City by Nicholas HewittMarseille Port to Port by William KornblumTotal Chaos by Jean-Claude Izzo
    Links for this post
    The Saint Jean FortDeportation MemorialThe Petit Train  Notre Dame de la Garde  Boat trips from the Old Port  
    City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
     
    We love to receive your comments and suggestions! You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.ukAnd if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

    • 31 min
    Marseille Episode 02 10 Places to Find History in Marseille

    Marseille Episode 02 10 Places to Find History in Marseille

    There are 26 centuries of history in Marseille, which is the oldest city in France!  This episode runs through 10 places where you can find traces of key moments in the city's past.  They range from the plaque commemorating the founding of Marseille in about 600 BC to the site where you can still see bullet holes from the fight to liberate the city from German occupation in 1944.  They’re listed in chronological order, with a few of their stories attached and although this makes a good overview, we've saved some of the 'big-hitters’ such as Notre Dame de la Garde and the Château d’If for later episodes where they'll get a fuller treatment.
    Reading Suggestions
    The Wicked City The many Cultures of Marseille  by Nicholas HewittMarseille Port to Port by William Kornblum   
    Links for this postRoman Docks Museum   Saint Victor Abbey Memorial of the Marseillaise   Provencal Museum Deportation Memorial Museum of Marseille History  
     
    City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
    We love to receive your comments and suggestions! You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.ukAnd if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   
     
     

    • 26 min
    Marseille Episode 01 Introduction to Marseille

    Marseille Episode 01 Introduction to Marseille

    Bienvenue à Marseille. Welcome to Marseille, the lively southern French city whose name rhymes with 'soleil'.   There's beauty in the Old Port and the stunning coastline, there's history and culture a-plenty in the museums, there's a Provencal feel - boules and bouillabaisse - overlaid with a vibrant multi-ethnic mix.  There's a little grit too, for this is the home of Marseille Noir crime fiction and the notorious Château d'If so graphically portrayed in The Count of Monte Cristo.  
    This introductory episode will help you get your bearings and pick up the basic facts which underpin everything. As the French say, 'On y va!' - Let's go!
    Links and Reading Three useful websites for touristMarseille Tourist Office   Marseille Tourisme.fr   About France: a short guide to Marseille  
    3 Guide BooksThe Rough Guide to Provence and the Côte d’AzurMarseille Travel Guide by Angela J ReaMarseille Travel Guide by Betty Vanslyke     4 books on Marseille Culture   The Wicked City The many cultures of Marseille by Nicholas Hewitt    Garlic, Mint and Sweet Basil by Jean-Claude Izzo     Unveiling Marseille Your Insider’s Guide to the Multicultural Marvel by Tailored Travel Guides Taste the World in Marseille by Vérane Frédiani 
    City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
    We love to receive your comments and suggestions! You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.ukAnd if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

    • 25 min
    Bordeaux Episode 10 Literary Bordeaux: an Anthology

    Bordeaux Episode 10 Literary Bordeaux: an Anthology

    Our introduction to literary Bordeaux begins with the 3 most famous Bordeaux authors, the ‘3 Ms’, that is the philosophers Montaigne and Montesquieu and the novelist François Mauriac.  There are statues of them all in the city.   There are mini biographies and pointers to their works.  Then we follow up with more books set in and around Bordeaux - historical fiction, two very different detective stories and the true account of the web of spies – French, German, British – operating in Bordeaux during World War II.  
    Reading Suggestions
    The Essays A Selection by Michel Montaigne  How to Live A Life of Montaigne in 1 Question and 20 Attempts at an Answer by Sarah Bakewell     Persian Letters by Montesquieu  The Knot of Vipers by François Mauriac   Thérèse Desqueyroux by François Mauriac      The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick   Bordeaux Private Eye by Rorie SmithGame of Spies by Paddy Ashdown   Death in Bordeaux by Allan Massie    
    Link for this postMusee d'Aquitaine  
    City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!Check our website for the blogpost accompanying this episode, to find more episodes from our Bordeaux series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
    We love to receive your comments and suggestions! You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.ukAnd if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated! 

    • 36 min
    Bordeaux Episode 09 St Emilion and other Day Trips from Bordeaux

    Bordeaux Episode 09 St Emilion and other Day Trips from Bordeaux

    This post gives ideas for day trips from Bordeaux, focussing first on nearby St Émilion, attractive both for its history and its world-renowned wine industry.  To wander its cobbled streets is to find photo opportunities on every corner, both architectural gems and splendid scenery.  Then we cover ways to explore the countryside around Bordeaux and also the beaches and resorts along the nearby Atlantic coast.  Hikes and bike rides, boat trips and oyster tastings are all ways to enjoy the Nouvelle Aquitaine culture surrounding Bordeaux.
     
    USEFUL LINKS
    Guided Tours in St EmilionIntroduction to St EmilionThe King’s KeepLes CordeliersMacarons de St ÉmilionMacarons Moulierac     St Èmilion Open Doors FestivalBan des Vendanges FestivalHot Air Balloon FestivalFinding Beaches near Bordeaux Cycle route from Bordeaux to Lacanau Hiking trail around BordeauxOyster tasting in ArcachonBoat Trips from ArcachonMore ideas for trips out from Bordeaux
     
    City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!Check our website for the blogpost accompanying this episode, to find more episodes from our Bordeaux series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
     
    We love to receive your comments and suggestions! You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.ukAnd if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   
     
     

    • 24 min
    Bordeaux Episode 08 Food and Shopping

    Bordeaux Episode 08 Food and Shopping

    Food and Shopping: two of the major reasons for visiting Bordeaux! This episode lists some of top-notch products from Bordeaux’s Atlantic coastline and the rich agricultural land surrounding it and highlights the areas of the city and some of the restaurants where you can enjoy them. Then we do the same for shopping, listing specialities and highlighting the shopping streets and markets you should look out for in different areas of the city. Don’t forget, there’s already been an episode on Bordeaux’s wine.
    Useful Links 
    Bordeaux Food Tours   The Épicuriales Festival   Le Chapon Fin   Grand Hotel, Place de la Comédie   Brasserie Bordelaise   Café du Levant   Les Halles  Le 7 (Restaurant at Cité du Vin )  
    Galéries des Grands Hommes   L’Intendant   Librairie Mollat   Quai des Livres
    City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!Check our website for the blogpost accompanying this episode, to find more episodes from our Bordeaux series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
    We love to receive your comments and suggestions! You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.ukAnd if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   
     
     

    • 32 min

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