Lionel takes us inside the control room where locks are filled and emptied with an intricate system of drainage and supply valves. You'll learn a lot of technical vocabulary in the process!

The lock in Réchicourt-le-Château holds a record in France. Find out what it is!

Moving on from the salt mines of his previous episode, Lionel goes to Réchicourt-le-Château to learn about the locks and waterways of the area.

We end our visit to the museum where Josef Pyrz's beautiful wooden statues are displayed. Find out why some heads are represented upside down and a few are not.

Enjoy the exquisite statues of Josef Pyrz, a Polish sculptor who finally found recognition thanks to the famous composer Olivier Messiaen who propelled his career. The statues are made of various woods and many have a religious theme.

Jacqueline explains how the building that now houses Josef Pyrz's sculptures came about.

Jacqueline shows Lionel some magnificent wooden statues by a Polish sculptor who settled in France.

The Calendar of Peace includes three figures depicted with their eyes closed, signifying their "inward-looking" lives: Jesus, Buddha, and Louis Braille.

In part two of this series, we continue our visit of the little village of Schorbach and join Jacqueline and Lionel at the Calendar of Peace Museum, which depicts famous figures throughout history, from Buddha to Louis Braille.

Lionel and Jacqueline take us to the Moselle region in the little town of Schorbach, which is renowned for its pink sandstone sculptures and its Path of the Ten Covenants.

We continue our visit to Vaucouleurs, a small town where Joan of Arc spent part of her life. Her story sparked many legends and anecdotes, one of which concerns a magical linden tree...

Nathalie explains how Joan of Arc's persistence paid off. She passed through the France Gate in Vaucouleurs to meet her destiny defending her country.

We go from Domrémy, where Joan of Arc was born, to Vaucouleurs, where her story really begins. She was called to defend France even though her hometown wasn't technically part of it.

We conclude our visit to the Joan of Arc museum with a look at Joan's influence through the ages. Did you know that the company that used Joan's image the most in advertising was Laughing Cow cheese?

Discover some more amazing facts about Joan of Arc. Did you know that she is the French figure about whom the most films and books have been made, surpassing even Napoleon and de Gaulle?

The second room of the Joan of Arc museum is dedicated to the iconography of the saint, including a bronze sculpture by Prosper D'Épinay.

Lionel and Nathalie take us to the Joan of Arc Museum, where you will discover many of her portraits. Interestingly, none of these portraits were made during her lifetime and nobody knows for sure what she looked like.

Come to Vaucouleurs and discover the crypt where Joan of Arc used to pray during her stays. Also check out the interactive museum where Joan will bring history to life and ask you questions!

We conclude our tour of Joan of Arc's birthplace with a look at the very spot where she heard divine voices for the first time. You don't want to miss this!

We continue our tour of Joan of Arc's childhood home in the bedroom she shared with her sister. Joan used to look out the window to contemplate the town church.

In this tour of Joan of Arc's childhood home in Domrémy, you'll get to see the room where the iconic figure was born.

In the final part of Lionel and Roger's tour of the Domrémy basilica, you will discover a painting depicting Joan of Arc's tragic end at the stake.

Lionel takes us inside the Saint Joan of Arc Basilica, which contains several paintings depicting events in Joan's life.

Join Lionel and Roger in front of the Domrémy basilica dedicated to Joan of Arc. You will find out some more about her family, as well as a surprising fact about Roger's!

Lionel is with Roger in the town of Domrémy, the birthplace of Joan of Arc. You will discover the statue of the three saints who spoke to Joan at the age of thirteen and a half, as legend has it.

Cyril and Lionel end our visit to the citadel by showing us where the officers of the garrison slept. And why not take them up on their invitation to visit the citadel in person during your future travels?

Lionel takes us to a bakery, not the modern kind, but one located beneath the citadel of Bitche. The four giant ovens could each bake five hundred rations a day to feed up to two thousand soldiers!

Cyril walks us through the underground passages where livestock was kept and troops were housed during the 1870-71 siege of Bitche.

We continue our tour of the citadel of Bitche deep in its underground passages, which contain a large well that dates from the Middle Ages.

You will discover in this video the great history of Bitche, a medieval city in the east of France. Its citadel, an important line of defense in the Thirty Years' War, was rebuilt on the ruins of a castle dating back to the twelfth century.

In the final episode of this series on the Clog Maker's Museum, you'll see many kinds of clogs from all over Europe, including clogs for babies!

Hilaire shows us some of the more unusual clogs at the Clog Museum, from souvenirs clogs made for American troops in World War II to clogs made for cracking chestnuts.

We continue our visit to the Clog Museum and learn about these very old machines that are still in use today.

Hilaire summarizes all the steps in the clog-making process. The Clog Museum has descriptions with models in relief for the blind and visually impaired.

We continue our series on clog making. Hilaire explains step three, the hollowing out of the clog with special equipment, and the finishing stage, sanding the outside and drying the wood.

We continue our visit to the Clog Museum with Lionel and Hilaire who will teach you how to use some very interesting tools for clog manufacturing.

Hilaire from the Clog Museum shares some more interesting facts about clog manufacturing back in the day. For instance, clogs used to be sold without a strap—the buyer would have to put one on him or herself.

In part two on this series on the Clog Museum, we meet the last remaining clog maker in the village. And surprisingly, he isn't wearing clogs!

Lionel visits the Musée du Sabotier (Clog Museum) in the village of Soucht, where the traditional craft of clog making has been practiced for centuries.

We continue our visit to Liverdun with Lionel. The town features a lot of houses with gerbières, or hayloft windows, through which people would hoist sheaves of wheat.

The village of Liverdun has an interesting fountain with a huge underground reservoir that collects water from the nearby Moselle River. In the Middle Ages, people used the religious statues on the village's street corners to orient themselves.

Lionel is in the town of Grand, a Gallo-Roman city whose origin is puzzling, as there was no main source of water in the area.

Lionel is in the city of Schengen in Luxembourg. He talks about the Schengen Area, a group of countries between which European citizens can pass freely, without border checks.

Lionel is in the Duchy of Luxembourg in Remich, a lovely town on the banks of the Moselle River. It has a lot to offer: boat rides, walking trails, and pleasant green surroundings.

Lionel takes us to the tiny country of Luxembourg. Wedged between France, Belgium, and Germany, Luxembourg boasts one of the highest gross national products per capita and is one of the richest nations in the world.

We continue our walk around the little town of Liverdun, perched on a rock spur near the Moselle river. Françoise tells us about its collegiate church and the legend of Saint Euchaire.

Lionel is in Liverdun, a small town in the Lorraine region that dates at least to Roman times. Burial grounds called tumuli have been discovered in the area around the Moselle river, which loops around the town.

We continue our visit to Liverdun with Françoise and Lionel who will show you inside the collegiate church of Liverdun. It once housed the relics of Saint Euchaire, which were looted during the Revolution. Now all that remains is the statue of the saint with his head... in his hands!

Françoise talks to Lionel about the Church of Liverdun. Built in 1184, the church is distinctive for its two superimposed doorways: an original Romanesque one, and a Baroque one added in the eighteenth century.

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?

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.

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.

Lionel and Jean-Pierre conclude the Lindre-Basse series from the top of a wildlife observatory overlooking the Lindre pond. It's a very fragile area filled with bird life that deserves protection.

Jean-Pierre teaches Lionel some more interesting facts about the birds of the Saulnes region. For example, did you know that a swan can eat up to three kilos of grass per day? How's that for a vegetarian diet!

Jean-Pierre gives Lionel some more information about the habits of storks. These migratory birds can be trained to be sedentary so visitors have a chance to see them year-round.

Still in the Lindre-Basse region, Jean-Pierre explains the fish breeding process to Lionel. They also enjoy the beautiful sight of storks building their nests during mating season.

Lionel and his cousin Jean-Pierre continue their visit to the Lindre-Basse area with its amazing natural surroundings. The ponds teem with fish and birds for a while before being drained and then used for cultivation, which in turn will enrich the soil after they're refilled.

Lionel is in Toul, twenty-seven kilometers from Nancy in the northeast of France. This small medieval town has a pretty riverside port and a magnificent Gothic cathedral called Cathédrale Saint-Étienne. Don't miss Lionel's signature pun at the end of this video!

Lionel and Jean-Pierre talk about fish farming in the pond of Lindre-Basse. This practice dates back to the Middle Ages with an order of soldier-monks called the Knights Templar.

Lionel and Jean-Pierre try to find their bearings along the Lindre pond. Luckily they have a compass! Jean-Pierre will teach you how to use a compass and explain the difference between true north and magnetic north.

Lionel and his cousin Jean-Pierre visit a nature park in the Saulnois region with some interesting wildlife. Storks are a major attraction in the region. Unlike other storks, these storks don't migrate, but stay year-round.

Lionel concludes his discussion of train rides in France at the Rémilly station. Built in 1851, the station now has a special significance for film lovers.

We continue our series on train travel in the Moselle region, where we'll accompany Lionel on a short train ride from Faulquemont to Rémilly. Many commuters travel to and from work by train each day, some even to Germany, which is just a few miles across the border.

If you wish to travel in France by train, you will find Lionel's video very useful. He will teach you the necessary vocabulary for buying a train ticket from a ticket machine. Happy travels!

Lionel is at a local market in Toul near Alsace, where he samples a beer from a local micro-brewery that sells its products at several markets in the area. The beer goes by the name of "Coin Coin" ("Quack Quack") for no other reason than catching people's attention. The young lady, who brews the beer herself, reassures Lionel that consuming her beer will not give him webbed feet...

Lionel visits a vineyard in Bruley near Toul. In this video, the wine grower Isabelle explains the advantages of high vines versus low ones. The high vines are easier to maintain.

Lionel visits a winery in the Lorraine region, which was full of vineyards in Roman times. Only a fraction of those vineyards remain today. This particular winery produces a wine called "Gris de Toul" (Toul Gray) due to the grayish color of the grapes during the fermentation process.

Astrid gives us a detailed description of the Toul Cathedral, its history, and its special features. Though its gargoyles may look scary, they serve a special purpose: draining rainwater off the roof. A light and sound show takes place every year, highlighting the gargoyles and the cathedral's amazing architecture.

Still in Toul, Lionel takes a closer look at the Saint-Étienne Cathedral in Toul. Its construction started in the thirteen hundreds and was completed around 1495.

Lionel takes us inside an amazing store filled with multicolored candies called dragées, or sugared almonds. This confection is very much a part of French tradition as it is offered at weddings, baptisms, and communions. A good-quality dragée is made from a top variety of almond like the Avola. Larger almonds require a thinner layer of sugar, which is considered a sign of quality as the delicate almond flavor won't be overwhelmed by the sugar.

Lionel takes us inside a shop that sells "dragées" (sugared almonds), which are the specialty of Verdun. These treats come in all colors and flavors, from chocolate to marzipan to hazelnut. If you want to try the famous "dragées," be sure to visit this shop in Verdun on your next trip to France!

Lionel stays in Verdun for part two of this series. You will see the remains of the famous Battle of Verdun, which took place in 1916 and lasted ten months. The French soldiers were called poilus or "hairy men" because of their unshaven faces. Verdun also has a magnificent cathedral with stained glass windows.

Lionel Brigeot takes us to the northeast of France to the town of Verdun, where the famous Battle of Verdun took place during World War I. Follow Lionel up the Victory Steps, commemorating the battle in which more than one hundred sixty-three thousand soldiers lost their lives.

We continue our visit to Metz with Lionel, who takes us inside the Saint-Étienne Cathedral, famous for its huge stained glass windows. After that, if you don't feel like walking, you can take the little tourist train and enjoy the sites at a leisurely pace.

Lionel takes us to the historic part of the city of Metz and to the Galerie Saint-Jacques, where you can browse the shops and go to restaurants. The shopping mall is located on one of the largest squares of the city, the Place Saint-Jacques.

Lionel takes us to Metz, a city that was once part of Germany, being only some sixty kilometers from the German border. In this video you will learn a few facts about this Germanic city, and you will add a lot of useful terms to your going-about-town vocabulary.

Lionel takes us to the small town of Wissembourg (or "Weißenburg," since it's situated in Alsace where German is spoken as well). It boasts a beautiful church and a nice restaurant where Lionel goes to be "crowned." Another one of his signature jokes and puns await you in this video.

Lionel shows us around a family farm that spans three generations. This traditional dairy and cattle farm takes good care of its animals, which enjoy a special "cow wash." Nursing cows are allowed a break from milk production prior to calving, and nothing is left to chance as the sex of the newborn calf is predetermined thanks to artificial insemination.

Lionel takes us to an Alsace flea market and unearths some shopping gems: old vintage postcards painted by a student of Picasso, a set of tires, a few saucepans, and a makeup kit that he buys for his four-and-a-half-year-old daughter, or so he claims...

Fénétrange is a medieval town near the German border that was once the site of dungeons and witch hunts. But don't let that keep you from visiting: Lionel will be there to show you around this charming little village.