That's right, France Where You Are podcast and blog has made it into the Top 100 French blogs and is currently ranked 24 out of the global Top 100. Cue (eco-friendly) confetti!
I'm immensely proud to be featured alongside such great sites as My French Life (you can find my book reviews on that site too!), big names like France 24 and France Today magazine and fellow bloggers Messy Nessy Chic and French Affaires.
As well as being so delighted to be featured, I thought this would be a great chance to share some love to other Francophiles featured in the Top 100 so you can find even more Francophile goodness in your life!
I love supporting people creating great content and by supporting others in the Francophile community, we all get a boost! Who doesn't need some love and support right now?
Talking of support, I now have a Ko-Fi (said like cof-fee) page, and some handy little buttons on the website. So if you'd like to buy me a coffee (or tea) then consider using the Ko-Fi button or page! Your support is so appreciated to maintain the blog and podcast running costs.
Anyway, today is all about sharing the love with these great bloggers / websites. I'm sending some love out to these fellow Top 100 French Blogs (in no particular order!)
My French Life / Ma Vie Française
Website: https://www.myfrenchlife.org
A popular community and a site full of intriguing articles are to be found at My French Life. Having written some content for them, how could I not include them? 😉 They feature very high up in the rankings as one the most popular Francophile websites in the world and although web content is a little skewed towards the Facebook group, there's an enormous resource of fascinating Francophile goodies on the website.
Just use the handy search tool on the site and you can uncover all kinds of gems! Lots of articles about Paris, fabulous book reviews for building your Francophile library and articles on improving your French. As well as gastronomy, interviews and Francophile travel tips. A really popular community on Facebook, but if you don't use it, just enjoy the website - there's plenty to explore!
Messy Nessy Chic
Website: https://www.messynessychic.com
A cornucopia of curiosities, this isn't like your average blog or website. My favourites are the nostalgic Paris links and the randomness that Messy Nessy finds on the internet. Great content that's often surprising, always interesting and plenty that's inclusive and quirky so she's a favourite for me! Check out the Nostalgic Paris pages here. Her immensely popular book Don't Be a Tourist in Paris (link below) is a great addition to your Francophile bookshelf, even if you don't plan to visit!
If you've heard me go on about Paris, or if you've followed me on Instagram for a while, you'll know I often talk about Paris with equal parts enthusiasm/passion and neutrality. Let me explain. I love Paris. I love it in all seasons, just like the song, but I also know it's not France. In a highly centralised country, it is the centre of administrative and governmental life and even the railways system radiates out of Paris like the sun. Yet it's not where most people live! Hence it gets a bit annoying when people talk about France when they're actually talking about Paris. From diets and style to monuments and shopping, it's often a conversation about Paris and a Parisian experience. So, nothing wrong with that in itself. But like any French person living outside of that starry centre, it feels a bit uncomfortable to be told about France through only a Parisian lens. I hope that makes sense! It's not anti-Paris, it's anti-Paris-is-the-centre-of-the-universe-itis. Phew, glad we cleared that up.
Messy Nessy can help you with living like a Local in Paris and with more hidden gems (a passion of mine!) almost everywhere!
You can follow Messy Nessy Chic on Instagram for lots of Parisian fun too.
If you liked that one, you might adore this:
David Lebovitz
Website: https://www.davidlebovitz.com
Perhaps not really needing an introduction, Lebovitz was a chef in the USA then moved to Paris and became a chef there. He started to write a book and his great chatty style, tasty recipes and what became the blog were a hit! So much so that he's written many fine books on French food, gastronomy and his adventures living in Paris. You can find out much more in his own words by following his blog at the site above, follow David Lebovitz on Instagram (lots of Live videos and special guests). He's a passionate foodie and a Paris resident, so there's plenty you can explore through his experiences.
I love his site, his recipes and his nine books so I'm honoured to be on the same list as his highly successful blog! He says:
'Having been a professional cook and baker for most of my life, I launched this davidlebovitz.com in 1999 to coincide with the release of my first book, Room for Dessert, which was updated and those recipes were incorporated into Ready for Dessert, a compendium of my all-time favorite baking recipes. The website was intended as a place to share recipes and stories. At the time, the word “blog” hadn’t been invented nor had the concept, but the blog hasn’t stopped, and recently celebrated its twentieth anniversary. In 2019, I was honored by Saveur magazine with their first-ever Blog of the Decade award.'
Find out more at his website! His list of Pastry shops in Paris alone is worth your time. Except if you're hungry and have a sweet tooth. Like me. ☺️ If that's put you in the mood for more French cookery, then remember to check out my blog post on this very subject! As a passionate home cook, I love these books and thought carefully about what to recommend.
See my wholeheartedly personal pick of Best French Cookery books here.
Lebovitz Top Book shortlist:
J'adore Lyon
Website: https://jadorelyon.com
In love with Lyon, France and Everything French. That's what expat Aga says on her site. No wonder I like this expat blog! Of course, I think it's vital to find bloggers and sites outside of Paris, right?! Well, here you can explore more about France, Lyon and its gastronomic delights with her on her blog. Exploring what there is to visit, love and appreciate about this part of France, Aga's site can take you on a virtual tour of this famous city.
Lyon is renowned as a gastronomic delight and foodie destination in its own right, so it's a great place to discover traditional French cuisine, history and culture (including the museum dedicated to the moving image as the first film was created by the Lumière brothers from Lyon; discover the museum.)
Lyon has 15 restaurants with one or more Michelin stars and is a lively, urban centre with a tram system and lots of cycleways. Two rivers run through it, the Rhône and the Saône, joining in the Confluence district. Lyon is home to the bouchon, traditional restaurants with the red and white tablecloths and Lyonnais bistro classic menus (there are 22 certified bouchon in the city but many more that aren't.) Around ten per cent of the city is a UNESCO heritage site including Fourvière hill where the Basilica of Notre Dame looks down over the city. Has this whetted your appetite for exploring Lyon?
French Affaires
Website: https://frenchaffaires.com/blog/
Is your love of France strong? Well you might feel you've found a fellow Francophile in Elizabeth New-Seitz who has a PhD in French and many years of experience in sharing her knowledge, passion and love of France on her blog and her cultural tours and visits.
The blog explores many cultural and gastronomic delights as well as parts of France outside of Paris (hurray!), which Elizabeth describes as 'many countries within a country' on her blog which is a fair enticement to discover more of France off the beaten track. There's always more new-to-you areas, customs and traditions to explore. Elizabeth makes a great guide, being so passionate and knowledgable.
I'm delighted to say that I will have the honour of welcoming Elizabeth on to the podcast in an interview this year - I can't wait to talk all things French with her. If you have any burning questions to ask, drop me a line!
In the meantime, explore more of France at her blog and join in some of the live events. I'm sure they are absolutely fascinating!
Hope you enjoyed this little shortlist of some of my fellow Top 100 French Blogs featured on Feedspot and perhaps found some new sites to explore. Do let me know which was your favourite!
If you like this kind of feature, please let me know via email hello@francewhereyouare.com if you'd like some Top 10 lists of YouTube channels, learning French resources, places to buy authentic French goods, etc. Any favourites?
Until next time, take care and stay safe!
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