I awakened one morning last July in a large, soft four-poster bed to the sound of almost complete silence. I climbed out from under my quilt and down a narrow staircase to the kitchen, heated some water on an old gas stove and took my coffee out to a stone terrace where I could see a tiny church up the lane under a shimmering blue sky. A neighbor’s dog barked nearby. A farmer rolled slowly by, dragging hay with his tractor.

Between the giant gregarious mice of Disneyland, Claude Monet’s delicate rose gardens and Louis XVI’s sumptuous palace, there are plenty of attractions to keep you amused if, perish the thought, you need a break from the City of Light for a few hours.

Paris is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. But like all large, cosmopolitan cities (think New York, London), Paris has a reputation for being expensive. And rightly so. But there are ways you can afford luxury in Paris, for less than you’d spend on a budget trip at home. If you don't believe me....

Two-and-a-half hours southeast of Paris is a lovely little village where Pierre Auguste Renoir and his family spent many of their happiest days. Today it offers the same quiet, peaceful ambience and inspiring landscapes that nourished the creative genius of not just one but two world-famous artists. Off the beaten track, at the center of an extraordinarily beautiful but little-known world, lies Essoyes (pronounced ESS-wah).

Walking through southern France is how I described the theme of my trip to Languedoc, yet no one could quite envision the journey I was on. Languedoc-Roussillon, the land of olives, wine and Mediterranean cuisine, is also a region of rich cultural heritage and historic pathways. My group of six travelers set out to explore the ancient pilgrim path, Chemin de St. Jacques (Camino de Santiago in Spanish), making discoveries on and off the trail.

"Kensington House Hotel: A Splendid Hotel with a Golden Heart" is the first review in our “Paris Getaway” series that has us hopping a plane from Paris for a change of scene.

I’d been living in La Rochelle for about two months when I realized that I knew barely anything about this city-on-the-sea. So I spent one pleasant Sunday in February doing what I love most, visiting museums and learning about the vibrant history that characterizes Le Pays Rochelais. Lucky for me, on the first Sunday of the month, museums in France are free. First on the list? La Rochelle’s most iconic image, a series of towers that dot the coast and serve as a reminder of the town’s exciting navel history.