The Francophone world covers a vast expanse of territory across the globe. Indeed, there are French-speaking countries and territories on every continent. The only other language that can lay claim to that feat is English. As a result, we are excited to announce that we will be greatly expanding our community by publishing travel content in both English and French.
The foundation of our mission is rooted in building inclusive communities around the world. There is no better way to make your community more inclusive than going bilingual. English speakers, you’ll now have the entire Francophone world open to you. At the same time, French speakers will be getting travel blog content they so desperately lack.
We are Built for Producing French Travel Content
Remember how we’ve always said how perfectly our experiences and skill sets complement each other? Producing French travel content is another great example of it.
Matt studied both the French language and French culture for nearly 15 years at various levels of school. An expert on Francophone destinations all over the world, he has traveled extensively through French Canada and the French Caribbean. He’s also dipped his toes in Africa, the holy grail of Francophone travel.
Dani’s vast experience and expertise planning international trips for her employers will connect English speakers to the Francophone world. She will be coordinating our group travel adventures when they formally launch. We’re already eyeing French-speaking destinations that include Québec, Martinique, and Tunisia for possible group adventures.
We will be publishing our first French travel content to the blog this week. Much more will roll out over the remainder of the year. In fact, this post is available in French as well!
Last Year’s Zambia Trip was the Primary Seed for our French Travel Content
Yes, Zambia is an English speaking country, but that doesn’t exclude it from the Francophone world. That’s because contrary to popular belief, the heart of the Francophone world doesn’t actually run through France. It runs through Africa.
Zambia’s entire northern border is with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which is the second largest French-speaking country (by population) in the world. In the last decade, the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, passed Paris to become the largest French-speaking city in the world.
Interestingly, our batting adventure at Kasanka National Park is one of Zambia’s strongest ties to the Francophone world. Kasanka’s bat forest sits just 40 km (25 mi) from the DRC border. And those bats that make for such a magical spectacle at Kasanka? They actually live in the DRC during the winter and pass through Zambia every October as they migrate south in search of cooler weather for the southern hemisphere summer.
The most eye-opening aspect of our entire trip to Zambia was the day we went to the Kasanka schools to attend a talk on the importance of bats in both Zambia and the DRC. We were both taken aback at how much of a language barrier existed trying to communicate with the students in English. Discussions with the staff revealed that the students are actually schooled primarily in French instead of English. Not surprisingly, those communication barriers largely disappeared and many of the students opened up once you started speaking to them in French.
Lots of French Travel Content Coming This Fall from Québec, New England, and the Canadian Maritimes
If you’re looking to dive into discovering the Francophone world, we’re gonna throw you right in the fire this fall. With Matt being a native New Englander, explore destinations on both sides of the US-Canada border from a local’s perspective.
La Gaspésie: Québec’s Adventure of a Lifetime
In a location that can often feel like the end of the Earth, Québec’s Gaspé Peninsula is a breathtaking outdoor paradise where the Appalachian Mountains meet the Atlantic Ocean. More often referred to by its French name, La Gaspésie, it’s one of the most popular destinations in the country for French Canadians. With four national parks on the peninsula, it’s no surprise La Gaspésie made its way onto National Geographic’s list of Canada’s Top Adventures of a Lifetime.
If that’s not enough, the equinoxes are when the Northern Lights often dance in the sky over eastern Québec. Head over to our travel series for the full La Gaspésie experience, and to plan your own adventure.
Québec City: The European Experience in North America
If you’re planning a trip to La Gaspésie, your adventure will likely either start or end in Québec City. Regardless of whether you’re looking to get your first taste of the francophone world, dive deep into some fascinating history, or experience Europe without the hassle of actually traveling to Europe, Québec City is an ideal (and bilingual) destination for both solo and group travelers. And unlike our failed attempts to visit Québec City last winter, you shouldn’t have deal with blizzards and 55-below wind chills in September.
The European experience in North America doesn’t end there, though. Yes, you can – and should – go visit Montréal, but you can literally visit Europe in North America. Sitting about 20 km (13 mi) off the coast of Newfoundland, you’ll find the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, which belong to France.
While we recommend overlanding through Nova Scotia and Newfoundland to reach St. Pierre and Miquelon, you can also catch a direct flight from Montréal. Once you arrive on the island, you’ll speak French, pay in Euros, and use the EU-style plugs to charge your phone. While we have plans to visit St. Pierre and Miquelon, we’re not sure whether it will happen this year or not.
New England Fall Colors
The francophone world is not restricted to the Canadian side of the border, either. While Spanish is the default second language across nearly the entire US, that’s not the case in New England. Because of Northern New England’s proximity to francophone Canada, you’ll routinely hear French as far south as Boston.
This year, dive into the best fall colors in the world on both sides of the US-Canada border. Learn the locals’ secrets to get away from the crowds and see amazing foliage. While our efforts will focus primarily on Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, it would be criminal to pass over la coloration automne in Québec and New Brunswick. Whether you prefer the majestic mountains, the rugged coast, or anything in between, we’ve got you covered in both languages and both countries.
Easily Access Our French Travel Content
There are two easy places to look:
- The “Contenu en Français” (Content in French) link in the main menu, located under the “Blog” dropdown. If you’re looking to browse our French content, that’s the place to go.
- If you want to switch languages of the current page between French and English, click on the hamburger icon in the upper right corner of the screen. Look about 3/4 of the way down the sidebar for “Switch Language” or “Changez la Langue”. If you don’t see any options to change the language, it means the page is not available in the other language.
Our YouTube Channel is Already (Mostly) Bilingual
If you can’t wait for our French content to launch here on the blog, all of the videos on our YouTube channel are already bilingual. Even though we film our videos almost exclusively in English, they all have descriptions and closed captions in French, except for the first few videos we ever published. And let’s face it, those videos are not our finest work, anyways. On the other hand, our more recent videos are a much better representation of what to expect going forward.
In Addition to the Francophone World Travel Content, Our Static Pages will Be Available in French, Too
We currently do not have the resources to make 100% of our content bilingual, so for now it will be just the content from the Francophone world and our static pages that will be bilingual. We would like to make the site 100% bilingual at some point in the future. That being said, we are happy to make additional pages bilingual on request. Please get in touch with us and include the link to the English content you would like to be made available in French.
The French language pages will be rolled out in phases over the next few months. Our goal is to have the French travel content fully integrated into the main Pangea website by the end of the year. Any links to travel content that is not available in French will default back to the English version.
Our Online Store Will be Fully Bilingual As Well
Again, we will focus on the Francophone world first while we make the store bilingual. The store will eventually become fully bilingual. We also will be putting French language travel guides and other items for sale in the store. Until then, happy exploring, and please let us know in the comments section below if you have any questions, suggestion, or anything else.
