Greetings from my rental in Antibes, France, where I’m staying for three days. My rental is terrific, and I will be giving it a full review after I leave (next stop is Provence, and I just came from Avignon). But first, I wanted to share with you my five tips for finding a great vacation rental. In addition to Antibes, I’ve stayed in rentals in Lisbon, Seville, Copenhagen, Newport, Breckenridge, Park City and St. John, USVI, so I consider myself somewhat of a pro.
Here are the five things that I always ask about when I inquire about a rental (even if it’s in the listing):

Remember when I was worrying about how difficult it would be to travel with a two-and-a-half-year-old? Well, I got over that… Switzerland and France, here we come!

Every time I thought about where I wanted to go this summer, my mind kept coming back to the South of France. I was last there 12 years ago with my sister, and I just loved it. I knew I needed some sort of beach destination for my beach-loving toddler, but I also needed some culture to satisfy my own wanderlust.

Why do I want to take my toddler to Paris? Chasing him around Luxembourg Gardens. An excuse to eat French fries. Plenty of poodles to make him squeal. Getting lost on long walks while he naps in the stroller. I could go on and on about my romantic notion of a vacation in Paris with […]

When my friend Brady Russell, the artist behind the webcomic “Eat the Babies!”, told me that he went to Nice and stayed in the best hostel in France, I was immediately intrigued. Yes, that’s right Nice’s Villa Saint Exupéry Gardens (named for Antoine de Saint-Exupéry who wrote Le Petit Prince) has won the HOSCAR (Hostelworld.com […]

Paris is one of those cities that is impossible not to love. Whether it’s your first time or your tenth time in the City of Light, there are certain landmarks you just have to see. If you’re planning a trip to Paris or even just daydreaming about one, I hope you’ll enjoy  this sponsored guest […]

(photo by A Lady in London) When I wrote about which restaurants to dine at along the route of the NYC Marathon, I intended the guide to be for spectators not participants. But after hearing about the Medoc Marathon (pictured above) in southwestern France, I may have to rethink this. Julie, who writes the entertaining travel blog, A Lady […]

(photos by Pete and Libby) In mid-May, Pete and Libby took a trip to the Basque region. First, they explored San Sebastian, Spain, which you can read all about here. Then they set out for Biarritz, France, which they liked even better. Here they explain what makes Biarritz, a chic resort town on the southern […]

(Photos by Amanda Lobell) When it's your first time in Paris, you're under a lot of pressure. You have to see the Louvre, Notre Dame, Luxembourg Gardens, Montmartre — and that's usually just in the first 24 hours. But when you've visited Paris (or any other great city) several times before, you can relax and […]

(photo by LWY/Flickr) When guest blogger Risa Chubinsky visited Paris this spring, she wanted to feel like a local — just like she did when she studied there for her junior year abroad. So, she decided to rent a bike to cruise around the city like the Parisians do. Here, she describes her experience with […]

(photos by Marla Decker) Is there anything more romantic than Paris in the springtime? Marla and Erik Decker returned yesterday from their first-ever trip to the City of Light. They had a wonderful time staying at the Hotel D’Aubusson, a charming boutique hotel in the 6th arrondissement, just a short stroll to the Notre Dame. […]