It's back to the past, with the Once Upon a Time series. How did America get its name? Take a trip back to Renaissance Italy in this first episode of The Explorers to find out.

Honfleur is a Norman town whose beauty was immortalized by the Impressionists. Come take a trip with Daniel Benchimol through this historic town that inspired an entire art movement.

He may not know it yet, but Amerigo Vespucci's life is about to change. Though he works as a successful banker, Amerigo feels restless and aspires to greater things. Luckily, Lorenzo de' Medici has offered him the opportunity of a lifetime: a trip to Spain to help Christopher Columbus prepare for an expedition to the Indies.

Amerigo Vespucci sails for the New World to explore new territories discovered by Columbus, draw accurate maps, and find the true route to the Indies. As his ship approaches "Little Venice," or Venezuela, the crew comes into contact with some local natives.

The explorers are exploring a new territory, full of lush vegetation, exotic wildlife, and, to the joy of a few explorers, gold! Perhaps they could use a lesson on the dangers of greed...

Amerigo Vespucci sets foot for the first time on the American continent. He collects all manner of plants and animals, only to drop them into the Amazon River.

Amerigo and his crew continue exploring the New World. Their water is almost gone. Fortunately, the river they're sailing on turns out to be the Amazon, so they won't die of thirst after all.

A traditional Provençal Christmas would not be complete without the Santons Festival. In Marseille, you can wander through the downtown market and marvel at these Christmas clay figurines and enjoy the true spirit of Christmas.

This video describes a Christmas celebration at the Secours Populaire, an organization in France that helps underprivileged children and families, without passing judgment on their plight. Here they are celebrating Christmas with a big snack, gifts, chocolates, and a magic show.

Vespuccia or America? In the last episode of this fun cartoon, we find out how the name of the new continent now known as "America" came about.

Nicolas introduces some specialties of the Alsace region at the Alexandre Dumas Catering, Hospitality, and Tourism College. In this episode, pastry chefs bake some delicious cookies called "mannele" and "bredele." It's never too early to start planning your next New Year's fête!

When a film shoot comes to town, it often brings a lot of jobs along with it, from hiring locals as extras to enlisting the services of caterers, hotels, and other businesses. The numerous film shoots near the town of Saint-Cyr-du-Gault have supported the area's economy and put many people to work.

Margaux and Manon recite "The Crow and the Fox," a famous fable by the French poet Jean de La Fontaine, and explain some of the more difficult lines for us. It's a good poem to memorize to improve your French!

Margaux and Manon are playing shop. Margaux is the lucky customer buying shoes and Manon settles for second best, playing the shopkeeper. Now you're all set to go shoe shopping on your next trip to France!

A group of high school friends from the Haute-Savoie town of Scionzier are trying to stop the destruction of a small farm building they discovered and restored. One of their efforts is the organization of a community yard sale for the town.