French Living, Wherever You Are
Welcome back to The Velvet Runway and our guide to Where the French Go on Holiday: France’s Quieter Summer Escapes. When people think of summer in France, what comes to mind is usually the quiet streets of Paris in August or the glamour of the Côte d’Azur in July. But beyond these well-known destinations lies another side of …
Welcome back to The Velvet Runway and The Velvet Edit July 2026: The Art of Coastal Living. If June feels like the beginning of summer, July feels like settling into it. Days feel longer, meals become simpler, suitcases stay half packed, sand lingers in the car, morning coffee drifts outdoors and evenings arrive slowly. July …
Welcome back to The Velvet Runway and this feature where we are delving into the A to Z of French Food: Letter J – Joie de Vivre & Joyful Flavours. The letter J is full of everyday French favourites, from iconic sandwiches and slow-cooked classics to timeless culinary techniques, regional wines, and delicious pastries. In …
Welcome back to The Velvet Runway and this feature about How to Pack for a Spontaneous Trip: The Art of Last-Minute Travel. Updated July 2026: This guide has been completely refreshed with new packing advice, practical tips and a more intentional approach to travelling light. Some of the best journeys begin with very little planning. A …
Welcome back to The Velvet Runway and this feature where we are delving into the A to Z of French Food: Letter I – Island Indulgences & Iconic French Favourites. The letter I brings with it the idea of an island somewhere in the sun, the air warm with vanilla and caramel, and that’s because …
There are hotel addresses that announce themselves loudly, and those that reveal themselves quietly, like a secret worth keeping. Hôtel de Silhouette Biarritz, tucked into one of the town’s oldest streets just steps from Les Halles, belongs firmly to the second kind. Tucked quietly within the historic heart of Biarritz, just moments from Les Halles …
Welcome back to the Velvet Runway. In this summer wellness guide, I’m sharing simple French-inspired rituals to help you create a gentler seasonal reset. As nature all around us shifts with the days getting longer and the air getting warmer, it seems to nudge us to reconnect with ourselves as well. But there’s not need …
Welcome back to The Velvet Runway and our guide to A Long Weekend in Biarritz: Where the Atlantic Meets the Basque Country. There are cities that seduce you with grandeur, and cities that seduce you with something harder to name — a particular quality of light, a feeling that life is being lived here with genuine pleasure and …
Welcome back to The Velvet Runway and this feature where we are delving into A to Z of French Food: Letter H – Hors-d’œuvres & Humble French Classics. When exploring French food beginning with the letter H, it quickly becomes clear that this quiet letter has far more flavour than first expected. From comforting family …
Discreetly tucked away down a quiet street just steps from the historic Piazza della Repubblica, in the heart of Renaissance Florence, lies one of the most romantic hotels in Italy, La Gemma Hotel Florence. Florence is a city where beauty is so densely layered, so insistently present at every turn, that the act of simply …
