Offbeat France

Explore the unusual and quirky side of France at offbeatfrance.com, your stop for stories, anecdotes, and backstory ‘à la française’.

I run this channel and website! My name is Leyla, but don't be fooled by that... My Turkish father may have won the naming battle but my mother, with 10 centuries of Frenchness behind her, won the education war.

And she passed on her fascination with France to me. As a journalist for decades, I'm putting my skills to work towards my passion - from French escargots and cheeses to chateaux of the Loire to the hidden corners of Lyon or Bordeaux, I criss-cross France so that I can bring her experiences to you.

Together, we'll uncover curiosities, oddities, and mysteries, searching for legends and backstories, all wrapped up in a passion for history. (Along with plenty of food stops and many castles – I am French, after all.)

Please visit my blog (see link below) to find out more and experience France as you've never seen her.