France's Chartreuse mountain range is one of the most majestic places in the Alps. A thousand years ago, monks chose it to set up their order and made it their home. Today, 29 monks still live here and produce the famous Chartreuse liqueur, which supports the monastery. Its recipe is a closely guarded secret. As if immersed in an eternal winter, the Chartreuse mountains are home to many mysteries. FRANCE 24 takes you to discover them.

As winter continues, we head to some traditional French bars in northern France. Our evening begins in Cassel, where we eat and listen to music in a convivial setting. Manu, the owner, likes to tell local stories. In another tavern a few kilometres further on, we play traditional games that entertain young and old alike! FRANCE 24 takes you to discover these local watering holes.

Nestled deep in central France, the Cantal mountain range is made up of the remnants of Europe’s biggest stratovolcano, formed 13 million years ago. With 44 individual pistes and 60 kilometres of slopes, it’s an area that attracts plenty of skiers eager to explore its wide open spaces. But Cantal is not only famous for its great peaks. Its eponymous cheese is also a must. FRANCE 24 takes you to discover this snowy region.

Situated north of the Amazon rainforest, French Guiana is France’s only overseas territory on the American continent. Some 95% of its land is blanketed by tropical woodland. The Maroni river, which separates French Guiana from Suriname, is at the heart of people's lives. FRANCE 24 takes you to meet some of the locals, who make a living along the river's banks.

Christophe Felder is a pastry chef and a top ambassador of French gastronomy. But above all, he's a man who's remained close to his roots. We caught up with him in his home village of Mutzig, in France's eastern Alsace region. This is where he has opened his cake shop, with its mouth-watering creations.

France's Sèvres factory, just outside Paris, has been a mecca for ceramics for nearly three centuries. Every ten years, it's the scene of a very special event: the lighting of the great kiln. For the most recent edition, 40 unique pieces of pottery were created, then put in the furnace for 33 hours for a spectacular final result. FRANCE 24 takes you to discover the factory and its highly skilled team of workers.

“Cheese brings people together! You cut, and you share!” For 35 years, Bernard Mure-Ravaud has been making cheese in Grenoble. And his passion for his craft is unmistakable. Crowned French cheesemaking champion and winner of the “Best Craftsman in France” award, Mure-Ravaud has more than 150 cheeses on offer in his shop. He says the secret behind his success is the bonds he’s forged with his suppliers – all of whom he knows personally. “When you ‘live’ your cheese, you sell it differently.”

France counts some 45,000 bell towers. In the centre of villages, they are a key landmark. Some are architectural gems, looked after by highly devoted locals. FRANCE 24 takes you to discover the sound of church towers and steeples ringing their bells in the south-west of France.

In 1918, the cities of northern France were left in ruins. French citizens wanted to forget the war, enjoy the pleasures of peacetime and get on with rebuilding - fast. To do so, they could count on the emerging style of the time, Art Deco, which plays with geometric shapes, symmetry and curves. From luxury cars to a church and even a swimming pool, FRANCE 24 takes you to discover stunning Art Deco architecture in the north of France.

FRANCE 24 takes you to meet France's oldest industrial family, the Viellard. These masters of metal have been producing steel since 1796. But their story actually began during the reign of Louis XIV, when a certain Nicolas Viellard took over a foundry in the Vosges mountains. In the 19th century, the company started producing steel wire. In the 20th, it made its fortune from manufacturing fishing hooks. Today, it employs over 11,000 people around the world.