Gaëlle and François are the proud owners of a bookstore that houses nineteen thousand books. With the stiff competition of chain stores and the internet, a personal touch is essential. Gaëlle is happy to offer advice and comments on her favorite reads.

Don't miss this rendezvous with Daniel Benchimol in the town of Poissy near Paris. Enjoy a visit to a twelfth-century Romanesque church called the Collégiale de Poissy. You can also visit its priory, which now houses a toy museum to the delight of the little ones.

Lea and Lionel take a trip to the thirteenth arrondissement of Paris to visit the new National Library of France, also called the François Mitterrand Library. The library is comprised of four book-shaped towers: the Tower of Time, the Tower of Laws, the Tower of Letters, and the Tower of Numbers.

Daniel Benchimol takes us to the town of Poissy, about twenty kilometers from Paris. The town name is derived from the word poisson (fish) due to its once important fishing industry.

Daniel Benchimol continues his tour of the small medieval town of Montfort-l'Amaury, an hour west of Paris. He takes us to an unusual cemetery building that has a human skull in every corner. On a less spooky note, Daniel tells us about famous figures who have lived in Montfort, such as the composer Maurice Ravel and the singer Charles Aznavour.

Daniel takes us to another town within easy reach of Paris. Monfort-l'Amaury boasts a huge church called the Église Saint Pierre et Saint Paul with some magnificent stained glass windows. If you are a music lover, you might want to check out Maurice Ravel's house, where he composed many of his great works, including Le Boléro.

In this video, Lea takes us to the Parc de Bercy with its large stadium and interesting surroundings. This new renovated neighborhood now offers numerous concerts and cultural events. You might even be able to see Katy Perry there in 2018!

Award-winning chef Christian Le Squer shares two delicious fig recipes that will make your mouth water. Do try them at home!

Meet Daniel (still in sweltering Soissons) in front of the "Jardin du Haricot" (Bean Garden), which is not a garden but a confectionery store that sells a local specialty, a delicious jelly-bean-like candy. He also takes us to the old bishop's palace where Napoleon once stayed, then onto an eleventh-century abbey called the Abbaye de Saint-Jean-des-Vignes.

The Canard Enchaîné (Chained Duck) recently celebrated its 100-year anniversary. The independent satirical newspaper, known for its shocking headlines, survived many controversies and even censorship. It still has an avid fanbase today.

Daniel Benchimol continues to explore the town of Soissons on an exceptionally hot summer day. There's no better time to explore the magnificent twelfth-century cathedral of Soissons to cool off and admire this gothic architectural masterpiece, including the stained glass wall depicting religious scenes.

In this third segment on the madeleine, a specialty of the Lorraine region, we find out more about the history of the famous pastry. Did you know that the first madeleine appeared in the Middle Ages?

In part two of our discovery of Soissons, a very ancient town indeed (it was founded in the year 20 B.C.), Daniel Benchimol takes us on a sweltering summer day to visit some interesting places, including the Église Saint-Pierre, part of a seventh-century monastery where Charlemagne's daughter lived. He then shows us a baroque-style building on Little Red Riding Hood Street opposite a magnificent century-old fish market.

Lionel is still in Liverdun, a small village in the Lorraine, to find out some more about the madeleine. It's a specialty of the region that comes in various delicious flavors, such as mirabelle plum and bergamot orange.

Lea shows us one of the largest film libraries in the world, the Cinémathèque Française, which contains over forty thousand films. After the Cinémathèque's original home in the Palais de Chaillot burned down, it relocated to a brand-new facility in Paris's twelfth arrondissement.

Daniel takes us to Soissons, an ancient city that was the first capital of France. He shows us the memorial commemorating the victims of World War I and depicting the legend of the famous Soissons vase.

Meet Jean-Claude and Rachelle, who own a specialty store full of delicious goodies. They talk to Lionel about the madeleine, a specialty of the Lorraine region that was supposedly invented by a cook named (you guessed it!) Madeleine.

Patricia recites Louis Aragon's heartbreaking poem "Il n'y a pas d'amour heureux" (There Is No Happy Love), which has been set to music by a number of famous singers. You can listen to Françoise Hardy's version here.

In this video, you will learn about the famous poet, novelist, and journalist Louis Aragon, who lived in the twentieth century. Many of his poems were set to music by famous French singers such as Georges Brassens, Léo Férré, and Jean Ferrat.

Chef Christian Le Squer, takes us into the kitchen of his three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Cinq. You will see the cooks at work making exquisite dishes. Le Squer wants the food cooked to perfection, even "sexy," as he puts it. His job is to taste only, but it's not as easy as it looks.

Daniel finishes up his tour of Auvers-sur-Oise with an appreciation of Vincent Van Gogh, who completed an astounding eighty paintings during his two-month sojourn in the village. In this video, you'll see the inn where the artist stayed during his visit, along with some of the gorgeous stops on the "painters' discovery" tour of Auvers-sur-Oise. It's easy to see why the village was such an inspiration to the impressionists!

Daniel introduces us to the town of Auvers-sur-Oise, famous as a source of inspiration for a number of impressionist painters, notably Vincent Van Gogh. He also gives us a sneak peek into the Daubigny Museum, dedicated to the work of the pre-impressionist Charles-François Daubigny.

Patricia sheds a new light on the renowned fable by Jean de La Fontaine, "The Cicada and the Ant." Maybe the cicada isn't such a bad character after all....

Patricia recites one of Jean de La Fontaine's most famous fables, "La Cigale et la Fourmi" (The Cicada and the Ant). After spending the entire summer singing instead of storing food, the cicada is starving come winter. She hopes her neighbor the ant can help her....