Looking for French blogs to help you practice your language skills – and maybe learn some other interesting things besides?
Blogs aren’t quite the hot item they used to be, but many still exist, and they can be a great way to dive deeper into a subject, as well as a language. Since they don’t follow academic or journalistic rules, French blogs can help you learn French as regular people write it (well, on a level that’s a bit more formal than texting).
Here are five French blogs we love, and three great French learning blogs, too!
5 French blogs to read
I chose these five French-language blogs because they’re relatively easy to understand and also seem to be sincere. Some of their posts might occasionally feature sponsored content, but overall they aren’t showing a fake lifestyle or values, and personally, I appreciate that.
One of the things that makes blogging stand out from other kinds of writing is the way it can combine the factual and the personal. These five bloggers do so with sincerity ease, inviting readers into their world.
Papilles & Pupilles, a French cooking blog
This blog features a wide range of recipes in simple French. You’ll find traditional French dishes, as well as meals from other cultures around the world. While the basic vocabulary is simple, some of the cooking vocabulary could be a bit challenging – but this is a great way to learn highly specific terminology that ties in to your passion.
This blog’s layout makes it easy to find recipes you’re interested in, and there’s an overall friendly vibe that’s very enjoyable.
Hungry for more? You can check out this list to find more French cooking blogs.
Paris ZigZag, a Paris culture and history blog
Paris ZigZag is my favorite French-language blog. I love reading its articles about weird Paris history and the secret stories behind monuments. It’s a fun way to get to know my favorite city better and to see certain things in a new light.
Paris ZigZag doesn’t just spotlight the city’s major landmarks. For instance, a recent post showcased a little-known old fountain on the rue Saint-Honoré that was once a place where criminals were tortured (often by having one of their ears cut off) and even executed.
Over the years, Paris ZigZag has become more popular and expanded into things like guided tours, promotional content, and so on. But its celebration of Paris’s history and culture remains.
Want more journeys into French history? This French history blog search result list is a good place to start. I’ll also mention another excellent French history blog later on in this article.
Carnet d’Escapades, a French travel blog
Laurène is a thirty-something French woman who lives in Alsace. Although she travels the world, she mostly focuses on France and nearby countries, as her motto, Il n’est pas toujours nécessaire de partir loin pour être émerveillé (It’s not always necessary to travel far in order to be filled with wonder) implies.
Carnet d’Escapades sometimes has the trappings of just about any successful influencer’s blog (there’s the occasional sponsored content, for instance), but there is something very genuine and joyful about Laurène and her travels. Carnet d’Escapades is a wonderful way to discover different places in France and Europe, rather than just focusing on the typical, nearly-expected-by-now exotic destinations found in most other travel blogs.
Want to go further? Check out this list for some other French travel blogs.
Make My Lemonade, a French fashion blog
Like many trendy French things, Make My Lemonade has an English name. But the blog is most definitely in French, written by founder Lisa Gachet and her collaborators. Make My Lemonade promotes DIY fashion and also has its own products for sale.
The blog is fun and varied, with interviews, photo shoots, and interesting analyses of fashion. Check out the article about why people still love the looks worn by Fran Fine (aka “The Nanny”), for instance.
Make My Lemonade’s articles tend to be long, but you’ll have plenty of time to read them, since new articles aren’t added often. That’s the one downside to this entertaining fashion find.
Want more fashionable reading? Check out this list of French fashion and lifestyle blogs.
Ô Mon Château, an unusual blog about French châteaux
While many blogs cover topics for broad audiences, Ô Mon Château focuses on a bit of a niche. This luxurious-looking blog is all about French châteaux, as well as the art and events that you can find in and near them.
The blog’s author, Élodie Filleul, is fascinated by this world and her articles will easily draw you into it. Although she writes in a clear way, her vocabulary choices at times are a bit old-fashioned, adding charm (and additional vocabulary knowledge for French learners!) to an already very charming and informative experience.
Whether you’re planning a trip to a French castle one day, or just armchair traveling, this blog is a great way to learn more about both French châteaux and the French language.
Where can I find more French blogs?
As other social media formats have become more popular, it’s gotten harder to find French blogs whose authors are still posting. So if you’re a blog fan looking for more French blogs, in addition to the links I shared in the previous section, here are some ways to find them:
Do an online search for “blog [subject area in French]”.
For instance, “blog animaux de compagnie”.
In some cases, like finance, business, sports, you may find that you’re getting only English-language results, since many of the words associated with these subjects are the same in both French and English. In that case, you can add “en français” or “France” (or the Francophone country or region of your choice) to help you get better search results.
See if a French person you know has a blog.
This doesn’t necessarily mean a French friend or acquaintance, but a French celebrity, artist, internet personality, author, or specialist in a particular area.
See if a French organization or group you like has a blog.
Some French companies, cultural institutions, and organizations have blogs. These may be less personal than an individual’s blog, but it will still give you interesting information and, of course, help you practice French.
For instance, Gallica, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF)’s free online historical document resource, has an awesome blog full of posts about French history, especially strange and obscure history. It’s one of my favorite French blogs!
That’s just one example. You might also be able to find blogs from favorite French/Francophone sports teams, politicians, websites, and so on.
● Here’s an article with a few more links that can lead you to some additional French language blogs. One thing to keep in mind is that many bloggers stop after a while, so not all of these blogs may still be up and running, unfortunately.
● Search Overblog. Overblog is a major French blogging platform, so you’ll be able to find lots of personal blogs on a wide range of topics here. There’s a lot to sift through, but the blogs are divided into categories, as well as “most read”, which could be helpful.
● Search other blogging platforms for French-language blogs. Whether they’re popular in France or another Francophone country or region, or international heavyweights like WordPress, many blogging platforms will probably have at least a few French-language bloggers among their users. Depending on the platform, they may not be easy to find, but it could be worth a try.
To get started, this article contains a list of blogging platforms it claims are currently popular with Francophones.
Some French learning blogs worth following
Maybe you’re not ready for a French-language blog just yet, but you still want to read a blog that will help you hone your French language skills and brush up on your knowledge of French culture.
French learning blogs are an excellent way to do this. Here are three good -and very different – French learning blogs, plus a bonus one you might already know….
French Today
Written by Frenchwoman Camille and her husband and bilingual daughter, this blog has a fun, busy look to it that sets the tone. It’s packed with information about French grammar and vocabulary, as well as more personal posts, like this one about Camille’s husband Olivier’s struggle to find a turkey in France at Thanksgiving.
If you’re looking for an informative but friendly and down-to-earth French learning blog, this is a great choice.
Lawless French
With its straightforward articles on French grammar, as well as some interesting features on French culture, Lawless French makes for a helpful and interesting blog reading experience. The blog has countless posts, but there’s a handy “search” feature so that you can find the topic you’re looking for.
French Iceberg
Mostly written by Sacha, a Frenchman, this blog features articles about French culture – especially popular culture and music – in English. French Iceberg is an excellent and fun way to get to know what everyday life really is like in France, from what people are listening to, to where they like to shop for discount sporting goods. The only downside is that posts aren’t published extremely often.
Bonus: The French Together blog
We don’t always like to toot our own horn, but it seems weird in an article about French and French learning blogs not to mention the very blog on which this article appears!
The French Together blog is packed with articles about French language and culture, written by teacher and French Together founder Benjamin Houy, or by me, a real-life American in Paris. If you know our blog already, we hope you like our articles and that they’ve helped you with everything from mastering the subjunctive to understanding just what’s so great about French butter.
Where can I find more French learning blogs?
It’s a lot easier to find French learning blogs than it is to find blogs in French. An online search for “French learning blogs” will bring up a lot of results. After that, you can choose the blog(s) you like best.
Should I read French blogs?
Reading French blogs is an excellent way to see how French people express themselves in everyday writing. And because blogs tend to deal with a specific subject or subject area, they also make for a great way to build vocabulary.
That said, you might not find a French blog that interests you, or there might be a French blog that interests you but whose author stopped writing a few years back. This is sadly quite common.
But if you manage to find that magic combination of a French blog you like that’s still up and running, go for it! You’re bound to enjoy yourself and learn a lot!
And if you can’t find one, fortunately there are a lot of other ways to enjoy French writing, from books and short stories to newspapers and magazines — not to mention websites for every interest out there.
Should I read a French learning blog?
French learning blogs are great for practicing French and learning more about French culture, often in a more personal and friendly way than textbooks or academic sites might allow. Subscribing to a French learning blog could also be a way to motivate yourself to practice and learn French on a regular basis.
If these points sound good to you, find your favorite French learning blog (or two, or three…) and subscribe or follow it/them on social media to know when new posts are published.
Do you have a favorite French or French learning blog? Feel free to share in the comments!