In combat, you will act without relish of your task, or hatred; you will respect the vanquished enemy and will never abandon neither your wounded nor your dead, nor will you under any circumstances surrender your arms (French Foreign Legion Code of Honour).

In June this year I took advantage of a rambling holiday in Provence to take a day off and visit the retirement home for ex-French Foreign Legionnaires near a small and dusty town called Puyloubier in the Département des Bouches du Rhône. The country bus from Aix-en-Provence deposited me early one morning, after a journey of 15 km costing only three Euros, in a desolate but beautiful spot overlooking a valley full of vineyards extending up to the foothills of spectacular white mountains (Cézanne apparently painted the main peak of Mont Sainte-Victoire over 60 times from the top of a hill near his studio).

The entrance archway proudly proclaims that this is the 'Institution des Invalides de la Légion Etrangère'. Just inside the gateway on the right are the Commandant’s quarters; and on the left is a map of the site and a memorial to Capitaine Danjou. Straight ahead I saw what looked like a good first port of call, Dog's Bar, set on a magnificent terrace, and which I soon found sells beer and coffee at about a quarter of local hotel prices. A large black dog (the source of the name?) ran about greeting every ex-legionnaire enthusiastically but instantly showing his wariness of the English stranger at the gates. In the event, I was the only visitor that morning and had a good reception from the non-canine population.

After a brief sojourn at Dog's Bar, I took a promenade round the site and then visited the uniform museum. This is a small but beautifully formed collection of uniforms from 1831 to the present day, presided over by an ex-sergent-chef. He delighted in showing me items of British kit used by the Legion, including a very dilapidated Vickers .303-inch machine-gun and a flag dedicated to British volunteers in the Legion in the Great War (that must be an interesting story).

The shop, called La Boutique, is a treasure trove of Legion items and memorabilia, which really knocked me over. I was particularly interested in the books and the Legion Côtes de Provence wine, which is sold in presentation boxes containing a red, a rose and a white with a grenade motif embossed on the bottles and absolutely superb labels illustrating the exotic postings of the Legion throughout the world (at a modest 15 Euros per box of three bottles, compared with 35 Euros plus postage and packing on the Internet - when it is available, which is very infrequently as most of the wine goes to Legion regiments throughout the world). How I ever got numerous books and nine bottles of wine, plus all my other gear, home on the 'plane, train and underground is still a source of wonder to me.

True to its traditions, the Legion looks after its elderly, wounded and infirm and the buildings on the Puyloubier site house about 200 ex legionnaires who have nowhere else to go. They receive a small pension and in return do various small jobs such as watering the roses, producing wrought iron work, and bookbinding. In due course they will join their comrades in the stony ground of the country that needed them to provide an expendable force to fight its little and not so little wars (Vietnam, Algeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Kosovo, Djibouti, Chad etc).

The buildings are far less grand than the Royal Hospital Chelsea buildings, which is our nearest equivalent, but the idea is the same and the site is a beautiful one. I could have spent a long time there sitting in the sun, drinking the grand coffee crème, and admiring the view. The ex-legionnaires are very friendly and keen to shake hands but I found my limited French a distinct disadvantage in seeking out detailed information. Fortunately the museum exhibits are well labelled (in French but the military terms are easy to understand).

Some 30 km from the Puyloubier site (Institution des Invalides de la Légion Étrangère, Domaine Danjou, 13114 Puyloubier, France, telephone: 04-42-66-38-27) is the Legion's Museum of Honour (Musée de la Légion Étrangère, Quartier Viénot, Route de la Thuilière, BP 78, 13400 Aubagne, France, telephone: 04-42-18-82-41.), which also houses a small museum and Capitaine Danjou's wooden hand. Every 30 April the hand is brought out and paraded in front of the men. The Museum has four sections: the Hall of Command, the Little Hall, the Hall of Battles and Flags, and the Temple of Heroes, which houses the wooden hand. In the centre of the parade ground is a huge stone ball on a memorial plinth commemorating the Legion's dead, with four stone military guardians at the corners of the plinth and the words 'Honneur et Fidelite' emblazoned on the side.

The Aubagne museum can be reached by bus from Marseilles station or from Aix-en-Provence. Like Puyloubier, the Museum is open daily (except Monday) from 1 June to 30 September from 10.00am to 12 noon and 3.00pm until 7.00 pm. In Winter the opening hours are 10.00am to 12 noon and 2.00pm to 6.00pm on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is free to both sites and unlike our military museums, photography is positively encouraged (why are we so stuffy?).

A few facts about the Legion

As you undoubtedly know, le Capitaine Jean Danjou and 59 legionnaires of the 3rd Company died in a famous last stand at a small hamlet called Camerone in Mexico on 30 April 1863, rather than surrender to an attacking force of 800 Mexican cavalry and 1,200 infantry. His wooden hand, fitted when he had lost his hand in an earlier accident, was found by a relief column. The motto of the Legion is 'Legio Patria Nostra' or 'The Legion is our Homeland', indicating that once in the Legion your country of origin and previous misdeeds are now irrelevant.

Henceforth the Legion is your family. Many men serve out their full 20 years and gain French citizenship. The colours of the Legion are red, symbolising sacrifice and green symbolising hope. Its main badge is a seven-pointed grenade. But the most distinguishing features of the Legion are the white képi worn in full dress and its singing on the march, particularly the slow tempo Le Boudin (the Black Pudding - don't ask!). The Legion's magazine is called 'Képi Blanc'.

So next time we have a game with a French connection, expect some tipple with the grapes personally trodden by great hairy legionnaires (no, I joke, the EU wouldn't allow it - I hope). Both Puyloubier and Aubagne are fascinating visits if you are in that part of the world. I found Puyloubier more evocative than Aubagne but I haven't seen a 30 April parade at Aubagne yet. I imagine this would be quite something as it symbolises the whole spirit of the Legion.