La Belle Vie is our regular look at the real culture of France – from language to cuisine, manners to films. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to your newsletter preferences in “My account”.

Every year, France votes on its favourite village in the hit-show Le Village Préféré des Français, and it is a great way to get an insider look at France’s hidden gems.

There are 14 different villages in the running, each showcasing a different French département.

France’s top 14 favourite villages for 2024

There are a few things that mark July in France – from the start of the school holidays (and increased traffic on the roads) to the Fête nationale (Bastille day, or 14 juillet). Of course, you also have the Fêtes de Bayonne.

The festival is a mid-summer staple in France. A five-day celebration in Basque country, there is plenty of music, partying, traditional dances, a famous bull run, and fireworks. If you look at photos of the crowds, you will notice that many festival-goers are wearing the traditional Basque colours of red and white.

5 things to know about France’s Fêtes de Bayonne

Basque identity in France is less visible than in Spain, in part due to its smaller geographical size, as well as a long history of the French government suppressing their language. 

Still, the pays basque has managed to cling to its unique culture over the years, including its own style of cooking. Unlike a lot of other French cuisine, Basque dishes are not afraid of adding a bit of spice, thanks to locally grown espelette peppers.

Do the French really hate all spicy food?

As for the rest of southern France, unsurprisingly you get a lot of seafood along the Mediterranean. The warm weather also lends itself to a near continuous crop of fresh vegetables, making the ratatouille and juicy tomatoes in the Salade Niçoise irresistible.

Other parts of the south are known for heartier dishes, like the Languedoc’s Toulouse sausage or the filling stew that is cassoulet (meant to only be eaten during the winter).

Regional cuisine: What to eat and drink in southern France

Part of southern France is also known as the pays de l’ours (bear country). If you go hiking in the Pyrenees, you will see plenty of stickers on signs and inside cabins warning you that you have now entered the dangerous pays de l’ours. They conveniently forget to tell you that bears almost went extinct in southern France, and reintroduction efforts have yielded an estimated 83 brown bears in the Pyrenees mountains, as of 2024. 

Sorry Frenchies, but I have to disagree. The real pays de l’ours is Alaska, with a grizzly population of over 30,000. 

That being said, I am on alert when I go hiking in the Pyrenees. Not because I am worried about running into a bear, but more-so out of concern for the patou (Pyrenees Mountain dogs). They guard livestock and do not take kindly to hikers (or their dogs) getting too close to the sheep.

Reader question: Do I need to worry about wolves and bears in the French countryside?

And finally, most languages have developed idioms and expressions that were originally inspired by animals. French is no exception.

Like bears, the wolf population in France diminished greatly in the 19th and 20th centuries. But the two predators had many centuries before that to influence French culture, and by extension, expressions. For example, if you are really hungry, you might say j’ai une faim de loup. Basically, it means you are hungry like a wolf and would eat anything put in front of you.

15 everyday French expressions inspired by animals