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| Place de la Liberté © LKL |
Le port militaire de Toulon, alias arsenal, est l'une des deux plus grandes bases navales françaises (l'autre est à Brest), et le port de commerce de Toulon est le premier port français pour la desserte de Corse. La ville de Toulon, elle, est intéressante mais pas extraordinaire. La plus jolie partie de Toulon est la rade (mot du jour), le long de laquelle il y a une promenade bordée de restos et boutiques, y compris une librairie avec un nom que j'aime bien : Mona Lisait. (Je viens de le chercher en ligne et ai découvert que c'est une chaîne.)
Lire plus : Hyères - PACA - France
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| La rade de Toulon © LKL |
English translation Please scroll down for the side-by-side translation.
Toulon, France
Capital of the Var department, Toulon is the 15th largest French city, and the 3rd largest in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) region. The Toulon Provence Méditerranée (TPM) agglomeration community is the 9th largest in France and includes 12 municipalities, including Toulon and Hyères.
Toulon's military port, aka arsenal, is one of the two largest French naval bases (the other is in Brest), and Toulon's commercial port is the primary port with service to Corsica. As for the city of Toulon, it's interesting but not extraordinary. The prettiest part of Toulon is the harbor along which there's a promenade lined with restaurants and shops, including a bookstore with a name I really like: Mona Lisait. (I just did a search online and learned that it's a chain.)
Read more: Hyères - PACA - France
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Side-by-side translation
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Toulon, France
Préfecture du Var, Toulon est la 15e plus grande ville de France et la 3e de la région Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA). La communauté d'agglomération Toulon Provence Méditerranée (TPM) est la 9e de France et rassemble 12 communes, dont Toulon et Hyères. Le port militaire de Toulon, alias arsenal, est l'une des deux plus grandes bases navales françaises (l'autre est à Brest), et le port de commerce de Toulon est le premier port français pour la desserte de Corse. La ville de Toulon, elle, est intéressante mais pas extraordinaire. La plus jolie partie de Toulon est la rade (mot du jour), le long de laquelle il y a une promenade bordée de restos et boutiques, y compris une librairie avec un nom que j'aime bien : Mona Lisait. (Je viens de le chercher en ligne et ai découvert que c'est une chaîne.) |
Toulon, France Capital of the Var department, Toulon is the 15th largest French city, and the 3rd largest in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) region. The Toulon Provence Méditerranée (TPM) agglomeration community is the 9th largest in France and includes 12 municipalities, including Toulon and Hyères. Toulon's military port, aka arsenal, is one of the two largest French naval bases (the other is in Brest), and Toulon's commercial port is the primary port with service to Corsica. As for the city of Toulon, it's interesting but not extraordinary. The prettiest part of Toulon is the harbor along which there's a promenade lined with restaurants and shops, including a bookstore with a name I really like: Mona Lisait. (I just did a search online and learned that it's a chain.) |
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Comments
Je connais bien Toulon, j’y ai vécu toute mon enfance. pas une ville très belle, j’ai jaimais vraiment aimé. Le port est l’un des plus affreux de la côte. Il y a quand même de la belle architecture. Le Mourillon est beaucoup plus sympa juste à coté. Il y a beaucoup de Mona Lisait a Paris aussi.
Thank you for this lovely description of Toulon. I was there for a conference dedicated to the poet/art critic Andre Salmon this past April. Salmon and his friends formed an enclave in Sanary after spending most of their lives in Paris. The conference took place at the Universite du Sud and the theater in Sanary (on that Saturday). I am sending your article to my family and friends so that they can see a few sights–I forgot my camera!
Beth Gersh-Nesic, Art Critic, About.com: Art History
Beth – it’s too bad you didn’t email me beforehand. I live in Hyères, only 20 minutes from Toulon.
Laura K. Lawless
Learn French at About
Quand les vents froids font le guerre contre nous en l’hiver prochain, je me rappelerai cette description d’une rade au sud de la France au bord du Méditerranée. (soupir)
A few years ago I spent several days in Toulon. I had (useless) contacts with the police after my baggage stolen while it was temporarily resting on the sidewalk. Beware! This had one beneficial effect, namely that I came to know where to buy everything I needed, mostly at its market. Aside from that, a problem with Toulon at the time was the auto traffic. Getting through town was a trial, and there was no place to park. I think I remember that the Autoroute ended in town and “bouchons” were routine. Aside from all that, I enjoyed my stay there. The old town, la vielle ville, had charm. The mountain behind the town, le Mont Faron, gave a fantastic view of the “rade” and had an interesting remembrances, a museum, of the Allied landings there in WWII.
Hello Laura. We’re just wondering if you’ve now ruled out Toulon as a possible residence? As we recall it was an area you were considering earlier. Also, we just visited your area and we wonder if the islands off the coast are inhabited by the french?
all the islands off the french Riviera are french (Porquerolles, Port Cros etc). Even further south, Corsica!
Lennie – Yes, we’ve ruled out Toulon. We’ve been in Hyères for 1½ years and this area is just too cold for us in the winter.
As Sophie said, yes, the islands are inhabited. I’ve written about the largest, Porquerolles:
http://french.about.com/b/2009/07/07/porquerolles-hyeres.htm
http://french.about.com/b/2008/06/13/lile-de-porquerolles.htm
Laura K. Lawless
Learn French at About
J’ai longtemps vécu à Toulon, toute l’époque de mon adolescence… La basse ville dans laquelle je ne devais pas entrer car elle était dangereuse (nord-africains oisifs, marins en quête d’aventure…), et pas loin de là le marché lafayette. Quelle merveille!! Il descend de la Place d’Armes (adorable place provençale) jusqu’au port. Il a eté chanté par Gilbert Bécaud dans “Les marchés de Provence”. Il la chantait avec l’accent du midi, celui qu’il a toujours conservé. Toulon est coincée entre le Mont Faron et la Mer. La vue que l’on a de la ville du haut du Mont Faron est extraordinaire. Mais rien n’est plus beau que de parcourir la côte du Cap Brun à Hyère, les criques, les rochers rouges, les pins qui se penchent sur une mer d’un bleu intense et aux fonds transparents, les belles villas où l’on aimerait vivre durant toute l’année. Oui, Toulon a beaucoup de charme!
Dans le dictionnaire wordreference.com, le mot “rade” est masculin. Pourquoi?
Andy – en fait, il y a deux significations.
La rade = harbor
Le rade (argotique) = bar, bistro
Laura K. Lawless
Learn French at About
Hi Laura,
I have this question for you. When you wrote this article on Toulon, did you write it first in English then translate into French, or vice-versa? This has always been a puzzle to me when doing French hwk.
Thanks.
Valerie
Valerie – I always write in French first. That’s what “thinking in French” means – not having to translate from one’s native language, but rather saying what you want to say directly in the foreign language.
Laura K. Lawless
Learn French at About
@Flore Tristan :
Cher amie je ne sais pas ou tu as “vu” que le marché du cours Lafayette part de la place d’armes. Je suis né et ai vécu 50 ans à Toulon alors permets-moi de te dire que le cours Lafayette débute presque du port, place Louis Blanc, pour remonter jusqu’à la rue paul landrin, appelée par les Toulonnais le ”petit cours”.