In this trip report, Annie Sargent is joined by Matthew Gamache, a seasoned traveler to France who began exploring the country with his daughters when they were young—now they're teenagers. The focus of their recent journey was medieval France with teens, featuring visits to several iconic Medieval Cathedrals, the Cluny Museum in Paris that specializes in Medieval art, the Unterlinden Museum with its remarkable Medieval Altarpiece, and Guédelon—a one-of-a-kind project where artisans are constructing a 13th-century-style castle using only period-appropriate techniques and materials.

The adventure unfolded over the last week of June and the first two weeks of July 2023, totaling three weeks—a fantastic duration for a French vacation. To prepare, the family tuned into this podcast, watched YouTube videos, and engaged in family discussions about the sites they were eager to explore. They had a grand time and share their secrets for a successful family vacation in France that includes many off the beaten track locations.

Table of Contents for this Episode

• Intro
• Today on the podcast
• Podcast supporters
• The magazine part of the podcast
• Interview with Matthew Gamache
• Previous episodes Matthew has been a guest on
• France West to East
• How do you book your apartments?
• Driving in France
• Rental car in Orly
• Favorite things to do
• Discuss the places you’ll visit with your teens before you go
• Improvements in museography in France in the last decade
• Finding great places to eat in Brittany
• Rose Granite Coast hike
• Bayeux Tapestry, American Cemetery, D-Day Museum
• D-Day might be best saved when the kids are into their teens
• Guedelon Castle: Watch Secrets of the Castle on YouTube
• Jura region
• Arbois – home of Louis Pasteur
• Unterlinden Museum
• The Bayeux Tapestry
• How a visit to the Bayeux Tapestry takes place
• Bartholdi Museum
• Europa Park
• Renting bikes to visit Burgundy and Brittany was easy
• Walking through Paris on Bastille Day
• The Marie Curie Museum
• Thank you Patrons
• New Patreon Reward
• Personal Itinerary Consultant Service
• The gare du Nord is a hot mess
• Copyright