Shopping: Wickerwork in France

Not far from the Château d’Azay-le-Rideau, the village of Villaines-les-Rochers is the most important center of basket-weaving in France. The tradition dates to the eighth century, when crusaders returning from the Levant started harvesting willow in imitation of methods they’d seen there. Today, the Coopérative de Vannerie supplies most of the baskets you see in French bakeries, and also produces a wide variety of wicker goods.