This video takes an in-depth look at the curious French idiom mener une vie de bâton de chaise (to lead a chair-pole life). Though the life of a chair pole might not seem very interesting, the history behind the idiom certainly is!

In this episode, Daniel Benchimol shows us Paris's seventeenth arrondissement. He points out the beautiful church of Notre-Dame de la Compassion as well as the former Bank of France building. According to legend, the bank's safes were protected by a ditch filled with crocodiles!

Lionel gives us a tour of Strasbourg, the largest city in France's northeast region. He shows us its beautiful canals, bridges, half-timbered houses, and squares, as well as its famous cathedral.

Daniel Benchimol shows us around the André-Citroën Park in the fifteenth arrondissement of Paris. The park contains a series of beautiful gardens organized by color as well as the largest hot-air balloon in the world!

This episode of "Le saviez-vous?" (Did You Know?) is about French gastronomy. You will learn a lot of useful vocabulary relating to food, and you can look forward to sampling delicious dishes.

According to Lionel, we hear far too much about Charlie Hebdo and not enough about Le Canard Enchaîné, which is about to celebrate its centenary in 2016. This quality satirical newspaper is in a similar vein to Charlie Hebdo. Both papers even shared the same cartoonist, Cabu, who sadly did not survive the January attack on Charlie Hebdo. Le Canard Enchaîné was no stranger to extremist threats either.

Take a stroll with Daniel Benchimol through Georges Brassens Park, built on the site of the former Vaugirard slaughterhouses. The park includes one of Paris's many jardins pédagogiques (educational gardens) run by local schoolchildren. It's also a few steps away from the famous artists' colony known as La Ruche (The Beehive).

In the last part of his tour of the town of Gisors, Daniel shows us an interesting structure called a cabinet de verdure (greenery chamber) as well as a waterfall that served as the major driving force of the town's economy for centuries. Daniel also tells us the story of Philippe Auguste and the Golden Virgin, which you won't want to miss!

There's a lot to explore in the Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais Church in Gisors, including a towering wooden organ, a magnificent mural, and a spiral staircase. Daniel Benchimol gives us a detailed tour of this stunning work of architecture, which he counts as one of the most beautiful churches in Normandy.

This video will give you an introduction to one of the most important aspects of French grammar: conjugating verbs in the present, past, and future tenses. It's full of fun and practical examples that will help you master conjugation!

Daniel Benchimol braves the freezing temperature to show us around the beautiful medieval town of Gisors in the Vexin region in the north of France. The highlight of the town is its eleventh-century castle, which is currently undergoing major restoration work. The castle was once surrounded by a moat, and some of its towers still remain, with imposing names like "Prisoner's Tower" and "Chilly Tower."

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.

In this tour of the town of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, you will discover a very old castle built by King Francis the First as well as a quintessentially French marketplace, whose numerous fountains make it the perfect place to cool off in the summer.

It's been said that Paris is the most romantic city in the world. In this video, you will discover the origin of the word "romantic" and learn about the romanticism movement, which originated not from France as one might expect, but from England and Germany and later took hold in France.

Marion takes us along Paris's Canal Saint Martin, which is part of a waterway network that measures one hundred thirty kilometers long. In their heyday, the Parisian canals were the main means of transportation of goods and materials, and even drinking water! Nowadays, historic buildings, restaurants, and concert halls are the main attractions along the canals.

A few kilometers from Paris, on Chatou Island (also known as Impressionists' Island), Daniel Benchimol has a nice surprise for you.... Watch this video to find out what it is!

This video is all about the people of France, from the ancient Franks and Gauls to the present-day population, which currently numbers over sixty-six million inhabitants.

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.

Daniel Benchimol is in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where France's King Louis XIV was born. The Parisian suburb is also the site of the summer art exhibition Nouvelles folies à la française (New French Follies). This year's exhibition includes, among other things, a giant four-poster bed floating in the middle of a fountain!

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.

Daniel Benchimol stops by the thirteenth arrondissement of Paris and takes us inside Mireille Bailly-Coulange's sculpture studio. You'll see her exquisite art made out of Plexiglas and learn about her fascinating technique. And... don't be alarmed if you hear her dog's loud bark toward the end of the video. He's just sharing his enthusiasm.

In this episode, Pierre Esparre, a fine mosaic artist, explains how he discovered his talent and how he gets his inspiration from everyday life, whether it's a street scene, a YouTube video, or an Internet page. Watch this video to see how Pierre translates his ideas into quirky, humorous, and eye-catching creations.

Daniel Benchimol takes us to the quiet village of Carrières-sur-Seine, a mere twenty kilometers from Paris. He points out a fun bench called Le banc des menteurs (The Liars' Bench), where one can sit and presumably tell lies until closing time at 7 p.m. Then the liars can take cover in one of the nearby cave dwellings carved straight out of the cliffs.

In this fourth and final episode on the medieval town of Provins, Daniel Benchimol takes us inside the Tour César (Caesar Tower). From this tower, you'll have an amazing view of the whole city and its surroundings. You can also climb up the tower and discover its three-ton bell.