Welcome to Anonymous Francophiles – how great to have you here!

I don't know if you came here on the recommendation of friends, my Facebook page , or looking for information about your next trip to Paris, but I'm really glad you're here. So pour yourself a glass of wine, put on a Bressanone CD in the background, and let's get started...

So let's start from the beginning. It's very nice that my name is Zvi and I am a Francophile . Despite what many people think, Francophiles are not some kind of pedophile or necrophile, but simply people who love France and its culture. Very much. And this is exactly what this site was created for. So how do you love France? Broadly speaking, there are two main ways: the first is to book a flight ticket and travel there. The second way is to consume its culture. Therefore, it is not surprising that the site largely revolves around these two topics.

Traveling to Paris?

It is true that the site is called “Francophiles Anonymous,” meaning that it is a site that deals with all of France, but my great love story begins with Paris, which I visited more than 20 times starting at the age of 3. Since Paris is a whole world, I decided to dedicate an entire section of the site to it . There you can find travel itineraries , recommendations for restaurants, attractions, places to stay, and more. If you are traveling to Paris for the first time, I created a special category for you in which I compile all the articles that you really should read before your first trip (what are the places that you really shouldn’t miss , how to travel in Paris without going broke, and more).

And another little tip that applies to this part of the site and actually the entire site. I've done quite a bit to make it easier for you to find what you're looking for by dividing it into categories and adding a search bar at the top of the site. But just as in Paris, the great fun is sometimes just walking without a map and letting yourself get lost, so let me suggest that you do the same. Sometimes it's just fun to go from article to article, just like that without trying to find anything specific. From experience, that's how you find the most wonderful things...

Have you decided to travel to one of France's wonderful regions?

Excellent! Despite my great love for Paris, I did not forget you and created the page France – Everything Travelers Need to Know . There you will find a series of interactive maps where you can find attractions, places to stay and restaurants in Ile de France, Alsace-Lorraine, Burgundy , Brittany, Normandy, the Loire Valley, Périgord and Provence. Beyond all this, you will of course also find tips, reviews and quite a few musings of mine and other Francophiles, who have traveled in France and returned in love.

As mentioned, France is a huge country and every region in it is a whole world in terms of both culture and tourism. Since I don’t live in France and my vacation days are limited, it would be presumptuous of me to say that I know every region and area in France. And this is where you come into the picture. The website is called “Anonymous Francophiles” and not “Zvi’s Website” or something like that. Hence, my vision is not to write everything myself but to create a large and vibrant community of France lovers who share their knowledge with people like them. This is why my website is written by excellent people such as Dr. Orna Liberman , Yoel Tamanlis and others. So if you have knowledge about one or more of the regions of France and would like to share it on my website, you are more than welcome to contact me and I would be very happy to publish your articles on my website.

Do you love French culture?

When you hear the words " French culture," I imagine the first images that come to mind are stern professors talking about Emile Zola, Victor Hugo, or perhaps the paintings of Monet and his fellow Impressionists. So it's true that all of these are part of France's culture, but to me, it's just part of an exceptionally rich culture that includes more than just art, poetry, prose, or history.

I of course write about these areas, however, my vision is to talk and write about French culture in a broader sense, where we are already talking about cuisine, cinema, fashion and quite a bit of romance (French history is not only dates, kings and wars but also quite a few spicy stories about lovers).

Will our relationship remain purely virtual?

Absolutely not! There is nothing I love more than meeting Francophiles in the real world. How can this be done?

First, I would be very happy to meet you on one of the trips I organize in Paris during my vacation from real work. Unfortunately, since my vacation days do not allow me to get to Paris as much as I would like, so as of now, these are relatively rare events.

Another way to meet me is to come to lectures on French culture , chanson evenings and French film screenings, which I plan to organize from time to time in Guernsey or Israel. There you will not only meet the Francophile in the flesh, but also enjoy the rich culture of France, seasoned with a lot of humor.

And finally, if you happen to be in Guernsey and would like to spend a pleasant evening in one of its excellent restaurants and chat about France, you are more than welcome to contact me. That's it, I think I've dug up enough for you, so I'll leave you alone to plan your next trip to France to travel, discover, and love.

Have A Good Trip!