''Chansons de Printemps'' was first exhibited at the famous Paris World Exposition in 1889.

FORBES: Pricey Printemps

They know and love the traditional chansons by Piaf and Brel.

BBC: Can we learn to love French pop music?

But if the French arts, from the chansons of Maurice Chevalier to the ballet of the collaborationist, Serge Lifar, survived the Nazis, how lasting was their victory?

ECONOMIST: Paris under the Nazis

In one day, I got a free curling lesson from a moustached Quebecois man, saw a dogsled race on snowy 400-year-old lanes, ate a juicy caribou steak in one of the continent's oldest restaurants, watched boites a chansons (local folk music) shows with hipster locals and yelled "allez allez" at a wild minor-league hockey game.

CNN: Why you should visit a new destination