If you think Provence is worth a detour definately add Corsica to your wish list.

Scuba diving off the coast of the Island of Cavallo and the Lavezzi Islands will put you in the heart of a marine reserve which is ridden with "merou" or grouper in English.

From March 3 - 6th, 2011 Paris will host the Festival du Livre Culinaire or The Paris Cookbook Fair, the largest cookbook and wine book meeting in the world which draws authors, publishers and foodies from all continents.

Each July the town of  St.Remy de Provence hosts a 3 day Festival with wine and local artisans at center stage.

The online ticket sales for this world renowned music festival which runs from July 5 - 25, 2011 open at NOON (French time) on January 28th , 2011 www.festival-aix.com.

Independant winegrowers from the Bouches du Rhones, Var, Vaucluse, Alps de Haute Provence and Corsica will be exhibiting their wine in Marseilles on February 7 and 8th at the Pharo http://palaisdupharo.marseille.fr.

Wine tastings by 65 regional winemakers is planned on January 30th, 2011 at the Cloitre du Couvent de Saint-Maximin which is considered to be one of the most beautiful gothic Provençal buildings.

The 18th edition of Millesime Bio will be held in Montpellier from 24-26 January 2011. 560 vineyards from 12 countries will be present. The show is open exclusively to wine producers who use organic grapes. In accordance with current European legislation a vineyard only qualifies after 3 years of organic farming. 

In France nothing says Christmas quite like Foie Gras. The fattened livers of both ducks and geese can be found on many Christmas menus.

Just a month ago on November 16, 2010 the United Nations declared that the French meal was among the worlds most cherished cultural treasurers. You can now see The Gastronomic Meal of France on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 

The Domaine de Beaurenard (www.beaurenard.fr) which had been a family run estate for 8 generations is holding an open house this weekend. In addition to visiting the wine cellars and taking part in a wine tasting you can also sign up for a visit of the grounds with one of the Coulon Family members.

The village of Allauch, located on the outskirts of Marseille which was made famous by Marcel Pagnol in his novels turned movies « Manon des Sources » and «Jean de Florette», is hosting their tradition La Journée de l’Ane. Roughly translated it’s Donkey Day - a day when the villagers pay tribute to the animal that the ancestors most relied upon to haul water, merchandise and building supplies up the rocky slopes of the surrounding hills.