E is a tricky vowel in French: sometimes it's pronounced, sometimes it's not. As Patricia explains, it's usually silent at the end of a word, and often silent in the middle of a word.

Knowing when to pronounce and when not to pronounce the letter E is key to speaking French like a native. Among other places, E usually isn't pronounced when it's between two consonants (and doesn't have an accent mark).

Learn all about olives with this olive merchant from Nice. This lovely store, "La Maison de l'Olive," has all kinds of olive delicacies from the region and across the Mediterranean basin. Did you know that the olive groves (oliveraies) in the Nice region were planted by the Greeks?

What's the difference between tapenade and olive paste? What needs to be done to olives to make them consumable? Find out in this video!

Socca is a simple dish that you can only find in Nice. A local family business has been serving this delicious, filling pastry made of garbanzo beans for generations. If you're passing through, don't forget to stop by and try it!

In this lesson, Patricia will show you how to pronounce the six French vowels and the vowel combinations ai, an, au, ain, and aim.

In this video, you will learn how to pronounce some vowel combinations with the letter E (ei, eu, eau) as well as the differences between é, è, and ê.

Patricia concludes her series on vowels and vowel groups with a discussion of the vowels O and U. She also mentions a French word that contains all five vowels, but none of them are individually pronounced. Can you guess what it is?

Come visit the neighborhood of Vieux Nice (Old Nice), with its charming village atmosphere and interesting architecture. You will notice a definite Italian influence in this French city near the Italian border.

The artist Henri Matisse lived in a beautiful building, the Palais Caïs de Pierlas, in the Old Nice neighborhood. He captured the neighborhood's colorful atmosphere in many of his paintings.

Discover the unique street patterns of Old Nice, which benefit from the Mediterranean wind and provide an ingenious and efficient cooling system for the neighborhood.

Patricia points out some architectural peculiarities in Old Nice. For example, the windows are very narrow to keep the heat out in the summer. Some houses even have special shutters with a lower part that opens separately to let in cool air.

In this video on Nice, Patricia explains the history of the city, its Italian heritage, and its typically French atmosphere.

Patricia talks about the bustling Cours Saleya in the Vieux Nice neighborhood. In the nineteenth century the Cours Saleya attracted intellectuals to its literary salons, as well as tourists from all over the world.

Patricia is on the Promenade des Anglais, the most famous avenue in Nice. The avenue is very long and stretches from the port of Nice to its airport. You can even wheel your suitcase all the way to the airport and catch your plane.