Because it satisfies a need out there for great, quality addresses – wherever we happen to find ourselves at a particular time or if we’re preparing a trip.  Because our friends are not always available to give us their tips, but also – and especially – because we like to share the experiences that we think are special with others.  And, OK, we might as well be honest about this: we don’t share the values and recommendations of another well-known travel site (whose name we won’t mention!).

Because we don’t want to share our special addresses with just anybody and everybody.  We don’t mind telling you, but we don’t want our confidential addresses shouted from the rooftops.  So, rest assured, your “secrets” will not be blasted to the general public. They’ll remain in this private club, shared only among members. That’s one of the reasons why there is a subscription fee to be paid and why the website is closed.  We can make a selection among those who are willing to play our game by the rules.

This website is a private club. To be a member in any club, you need to pay a subscription fee and/or participate in the club’s activities. The subscription fee serves to maintain a level of quality as well as that of the site’s technical platform and its content. Also, as the site is bilingual, we need to translate all the original French content into English and vice-versa.  As we have chosen not to sell ads on the site, nor to re-sell your data, nor to publish any sponsored articles, we need to have a small bit of income. That’s basically what the annual subscription fees are: 60€ to access 9 categories of secrets and 30€ to access 4.  

First off, because you’ve decided to play our game by the rules and therefore, you get to access the private addresses of other founding members.  By doing so, you want other members of FPLD to benefit from the same remarkable experiences, places and things as you!   Second, by becoming an active member you will only have the first subscription fee to pay.  We’ve put in place a system of credits whereby as soon as 2 of your contributions have been validated, your subscription will be automatically prolonged by a month.  Contributions can take several forms: 1 secret validated, 1 sponsorship activated, 1 membership given.  So, for example, if during the first year you’re a member you share 10 secrets, sponsor 4 people and give 2 memberships at 30€ or 60€, your membership will be prolonged by 8 months…

You’ve surely encountered the dilemma of  “what gift can I give to somebody who already has everything?” or who doesn’t want to add more “things” to his or her already bulging lifestyle closet.  Well, for people like these, a membership to FPLD is the ideal gift.  It will appeal to the youngsters as well as the oldsters, to travelers and stay-at-home’s.  The addresses featured in our 9 categories come from all 4 corners of the globe and from the end of our street – they’re just great tips that will enrich anybody’s life.  It’s incredibly easy to give a gift certificate, just click on this link.  You can personalize it if you wish – or not – with a code that will be sent to your giftee. The person needs just a smartphone or a computer to start his or her explorations, starting the next day!

We do not re-sell them.  We do not give them to anyone.

Your data remains in a secure space as long as you are a member.  Afterwards, we delete it.  

Your email serves as a means of communication, and the other information we request helps us to better orient our club.

The responses you provided on your Membership form are those that you don’t mind sharing with other members.  That information is only accessible to other online FPLD members.  They can help you emphasize your different skills, your network (a little bit like LinkedIn), but it’s you who chooses what you want to say about yourself.  

To know more about the management of your personal data, go to the designated chapter by clicking on this link.

How to use the magnifying glass, research by category or by geo-localization? Let yourself by guided by instinct or by necessity.  Or just rely on serendipity! Otherwise, avail yourself of the magnifying glass located on the Home Page.  There, you simply enter the name of the place you are looking for or the city or its principal characteristic.  You’re not happy with the result? Then go into the closest heading then filter by city or scroll down and let yourself be inspired.  Explore… you’ll find some unexpected gems! You can also simply do a round-up of whatever is around you, you’ll stumble on secrets that are nearby or far away.  You can also select by category, for example all Food secrets (and there are a lot of them – they make up over half of our secrets!)

The sources of our secrets are diverse. The members who have posted them are French or foreign.  Their secrets span the entire globe.  What seems obvious or commonplace to a native Parisian or New Yorker at home may seem totally exotic for that same Parisian or New Yorker once he sets off traveling.  So don’t hold yourself back – post all your special addresses.  Those that are next door to those that are far away, what’s important is the quality of the experience.  To date, we have over 1750 secrets posted online by more than 500 members worldwide, representing over 600 cities and places in over 80 countries.  

All those which are qualitative and at the moment you discovered them – hopefully recently, as their pertinence depends on it – secrets that elicited a “Wow!”

In short, any address that you would recommend to a good friend by saying, “You absolutely MUST go here, try this, see this, buy that…!”

There are 9 categories of secrets: Food, Night, Drinks, Shopping, Nature, Culture, Leisure, Itineraries and Tips & Recipes.  These categories are not restrictive, just the opposite.  If you go into each one of them, you’ll see that each goes beyond its appellation.  For example, the category “Leisure secrets” encompasses sports activities, well-being, spa treatments, beauty tips… Another example: “Shopping secrets” proposes everything from commercial stores to artisan’s workshops to retail websites to individuals who sell their produce from their home/farm/atelier.

Well, that would mean that you benefitted from several experiences-in-one! And if each of them is truly fantastic, make a post for each one of them.  For example, if you stayed in a great hotel with a famous restaurant and an exceptional bar, post a secret for each experience in a different category (Night, Food, Drinks) with photos illustrating each experience. If you weren’t able to sample these experiences first-hand but they seem good, mention them in your post by saying that they intrigued you.

Your heading needs to be an attention-grabber.  It has to arrest the reader by communicating the most compelling feature of your secret.  Warning: don’t reveal the location name of your address but describe its principal feature in less than 90 characters.  Draw inspiration from other posts that you’ve noted.

Depending on your writing skills and the potency of the experience, 3 to 15 lines should be enough.  Avoid mentioning the name of the place (its name would allow anybody to find it) in the first 200 characters of your post as the first 2-3 lines of the post will be accessible also to non-members.  What tone should you adopt?  Well, yours! Simple and direct, you should simply describe your experience and the emotions that it elicited.  Don’t hesitate to employ the first-person (“I” or “We”).

Your own! Publish between 1-6 photos but if possible make sure that the first one doesn’t feature the name of the place anywhere (it’s name would make it easier for non-members to find).  

What quality of photo?

Ideally, pictures in a horizontal format, in JPEG, in relatively high resolution but less than 1980X1080 and with a weight of less than 2Mo.  In the case of a recommendation of a website or an app, a screen shot can be used.

How to add a video?

You can add a video by sending it directly to the site administrator.  You just need to click on the “Add video” link.  This will open your mailbox and you can add your video (if it weighs less than 8Mo) or copy/paste the link to the platform you already uploaded it.

Because we still need some time to check it out, to make sure that it’s appropriate for the site, and that your photos are authorized.  We also need to correct any little blips (please let us know if you come across any that have slipped through our hawk-like gaze!) and translate your secret as the site is bilingual.

Sorry, but that can happen, but there must be a valid reason behind our refusal, which we sent to you by email so that you could modify your secret.  But please note: we will not publish any secret if it is self-promoting or involves advertising in any way.  At FPLD, it’s simply impossible to recommend any place or thing in which you have a direct or indirect personal interest.

We’ve thought about this possibility!  In response to requests from members who came across an address while coming out of another and who despaired of ever finding their notes on the place, FPLD has come up with an ingenious solution.  Act as if you are posting a secret on the site by taking a photo of the façade or the business card (if, for example, it’s a store or a restaurant), or take a screen shot of the article that talks about the place.  Geo-localize the spot or note the address and the telephone then validate it in our “Secret to test” section.  That way, the next time you’re in the area, by geo-localizing yourself, it will pop up among your “Secrets to test”.  You can also review your list of “Secrets to test”, filtered by category – or not.  Thanks to this handy tool, you’ll never lose your notes again or your press clippings or scramble to locate photos in your bulging “Photo” file.  If the address is a good one, after you’ve tested it, you merely need to return to your post, complete the posting with additional photos, add your brief text and wham! It’s validated! One more secret added in less than 2 minutes!

We’re Juliette and Patrick, a couple in real life and business partners in Fautpasledire.  Seasoned travelers and sharers of experiences.  Both of us work in communication and advertising, we decided to launch this site 4 years ago.  Find our secrets at here for Juliette and here for Patrick.

It’s possible, and any and all suggestions are welcome.  Send us word thru this form and we’ll get back to you ASAP!