Introduction
Beautiful by name, beautiful by nature, la belle France is still turning heads. Whether it's gastronomic greatness, artistic endeavour or cultural cachet you're looking for, there's no doubt that France still sits right at the top of the European heap. France is the country for which the word chic was invented - seductive and aloof, old-fashioned and forward-looking, but always characterised by a certain je ne sais quoi.
The country that gave the world Champagne, casseroles and Camembert is justly famous for its cooking, and you'll find there are plenty of places to indulge yourself. But while France is undoubtedly a place to eat and drink to your heart's content, there's much more to this fascinating country than cutting-edge cuisine.
Geography:
France is the third-largest country in Europe after Russia and the Ukraine. The country is surrounded on three sides by the sea; the English Channel to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the sparkling Mediterranean to the south. Spain broils across the Pyrenees to the southwest, and Switzerland and Italy lie to the east over the jagged eastern Alps and Jura ranges. France's relatively flat northeastern borders abut Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium. The country's longest river, the Loire, runs 1020km (630mi) from the Massif Central to the Atlantic. The Seine, Rh ô ne, Garonne and Rhine are France's other major waterways, draining the plains and funnelling huge mountain run-offs.
Destination Facts
Capital: Paris
President: Nicolas Sarkozy
Prime Minister: Francois Fillon
Government: republic
Time zone: GMT +1
Area: 547030
Population: 60400000
People: 92% French, 3% North African, 2% German, 1% Breton, 2% other (including Proven ç al, Catalan & Basque)
Currency: Euro (€)
Major industries: Oil refining, steel, cement, aluminium, agricultural products & foodstuffs (wheat, barley, maize, cheese), luxury goods, chemicals, motor manufacturing, energy products, tourism.
Major Trading Partners: EU (especially Germany, Italy, UK), USA
Country Dialing Code: 33
Getting there and away
Air France and scores of other airlines link Paris with every section of the globe. Other French cities with international air links (mainly to places within Europe) include Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Strasbourg and Toulouse. In France, inexpensive flights offered by discount airlines and charter clearing houses can be booked through many regular travel agents.If you are doing a lot of travel around Europe, look for discount bus and train passes, which can be combined with discount airfares. Buses are slower and less comfortable than trains, but they are cheaper, especially for people under 26, over 60, teacher and students.Rail services link France with every country in Europe; schedules are available from major train stations in France and abroad. You can book tickets and get information from Rail Europe (www.raileurope.co.uk, www.raileurope.com) up to three months ahead.Tickets for ferry travel to/from the UK, Channel Islands and Ireland are available from most travel agencies in France. In some cases, return fares cost less than two one-way tickets.
Getting around
Air France (tel: 0820 820 820; www.airfrance.com) controls the lion's share of France's domestic airline industry although British budget carrier easyJet has flights linking Paris with Marseille, Nice and Toulouse. France is eminently easy to cycle around. On train timetables, a bicycle symbol indicates that bicycles are allowed on particular trains. The SNCF baggage service Sernam (tel: 0825 84 58 45) will transport your bicycle (or any other luggage) door-to-door or station-to-station for a fee. Buses are used quite extensively for short-distance travel within d é partements, especially in rural areas with relatively few train lines (eg Brittany and Normandy) - but services are often slow and few and far between. Having your own wheels brings freedom but it's expensive, and city parking and traffic are frequent headaches. Many of France's main motorways are subject to tolls based on the distance travelled - remember to factor in these costs if you're driving long-distance. Motorcyclists will find France great for touring: the websites www.viamichelin.com and www.autoroutes.fr both calculate how much you will pay in petrol and tolls for specified journeys. To hire a car in France you'll generally need to be over 21 years old and hold a valid driver's licence and an international credit card. Your credit card may cover CDW if you use it to pay for the car rental. France's superb rail network reaches almost every part of the country. Many towns and villages not on the SNCF train and bus network are linked by intra-d é partmental bus lines. France's most important train lines radiate from Paris like the spokes of a wheel, making train travel between provincial towns situated on different 'spokes' rather slow. In some cases, you have to transit through Paris.
Weather
France has a predominantly temperate climate, with mild winters, except in mountain areas and the northeast. The Atlantic has a profound impact on the northwest, where the weather is characterised by high humidity, often violent westerly winds and lots of rain. France's northeast has a classic continental climate, with fairly hot summers and cold winters. Midway between the two, the Paris basin boasts the nation's lowest annual precipitation, but rainfall patterns are erratic. The southern coastal plains are subject to a pleasant Mediterranean climate: frost is rare, spring and autumn downpours are sudden but brief and summer is virtually without rain. The south is also the region of the mistral, a cold, dry wind that blows down the Rh ô ne Valley for about 100 days a year. Relentless and unforgiving in spring, it is blamed for sending people into fits of pique.
Places of Interest
From the top of the tower to the top of the Alps it's all divine. Some have made seeing France their life's work. There's so much divine art, breathtaking architecture, stirring history, ancient folk festivals, vivid gardens and inspiring churches that you could easily lose yourself for years. It also had some surprisingly wild corners, notably the Camargue delta.
Whether it's gastronomic greatness, artistic endeavour or cultural cachet you're looking for, there's no doubt that France still sits right at the top of the European heap. France is the country for which the word chic was invented - seductive and aloof, old-fashioned and forward-looking, but always characterised by a certain je ne sais quoi.
The country that gave the world Champagne, casseroles and Camembert is justly famous for its cooking, and you'll find there are plenty of places to indulge yourself. But while France is undoubtedly a place to eat and drink to your heart's content, there's much more to this fascinating country than cutting-edge cuisine.
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Beautiful by name, beautiful by nature, la belle France is still turning heads. Whether it's gastronomic greatness, artistic endeavour or cultural cachet you're looking for, there's no doubt that France still sits right at the top of the European heap. France is the country for which the word chic was invented - seductive and aloof, old-fashioned and forward-looking, but always characterised by a certain je ne sais quoi.
The country that gave the world Champagne, casseroles and Camembert is justly famous for its cooking, and you'll find there are plenty of places to indulge yourself. But while France is undoubtedly a place to eat and drink to your heart's content, there's much more to this fascinating country than cutting-edge cuisine.
Geography:
France is the third-largest country in Europe after Russia and the Ukraine. The country is surrounded on three sides by the sea; the English Channel to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the sparkling Mediterranean to the south. Spain broils across the Pyrenees to the southwest, and Switzerland and Italy lie to the east over the jagged eastern Alps and Jura ranges. France's relatively flat northeastern borders abut Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium. The country's longest river, the Loire, runs 1020km (630mi) from the Massif Central to the Atlantic. The Seine, Rh ô ne, Garonne and Rhine are France's other major waterways, draining the plains and funnelling huge mountain run-offs.
Destination Facts
Capital: Paris
President: Nicolas Sarkozy
Prime Minister: Francois Fillon
Government: republic
Time zone: GMT +1
Area: 547030
Population: 60400000
People: 92% French, 3% North African, 2% German, 1% Breton, 2% other (including Proven ç al, Catalan & Basque)
Currency: Euro (€)
Major industries: Oil refining, steel, cement, aluminium, agricultural products & foodstuffs (wheat, barley, maize, cheese), luxury goods, chemicals, motor manufacturing, energy products, tourism.
Major Trading Partners: EU (especially Germany, Italy, UK), USA
Country Dialing Code: 33
Getting there and away
Air France and scores of other airlines link Paris with every section of the globe. Other French cities with international air links (mainly to places within Europe) include Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Strasbourg and Toulouse. In France, inexpensive flights offered by discount airlines and charter clearing houses can be booked through many regular travel agents.If you are doing a lot of travel around Europe, look for discount bus and train passes, which can be combined with discount airfares. Buses are slower and less comfortable than trains, but they are cheaper, especially for people under 26, over 60, teacher and students.Rail services link France with every country in Europe; schedules are available from major train stations in France and abroad. You can book tickets and get information from Rail Europe (www.raileurope.co.uk, www.raileurope.com) up to three months ahead.Tickets for ferry travel to/from the UK, Channel Islands and Ireland are available from most travel agencies in France. In some cases, return fares cost less than two one-way tickets.
Air France (tel: 0820 820 820; www.airfrance.com) controls the lion's share of France's domestic airline industry although British budget carrier easyJet has flights linking Paris with Marseille, Nice and Toulouse. France is eminently easy to cycle around. On train timetables, a bicycle symbol indicates that bicycles are allowed on particular trains. The SNCF baggage service Sernam (tel: 0825 84 58 45) will transport your bicycle (or any other luggage) door-to-door or station-to-station for a fee. Buses are used quite extensively for short-distance travel within d é partements, especially in rural areas with relatively few train lines (eg Brittany and Normandy) - but services are often slow and few and far between. Having your own wheels brings freedom but it's expensive, and city parking and traffic are frequent headaches. Many of France's main motorways are subject to tolls based on the distance travelled - remember to factor in these costs if you're driving long-distance. Motorcyclists will find France great for touring: the websites www.viamichelin.com and www.autoroutes.fr both calculate how much you will pay in petrol and tolls for specified journeys. To hire a car in France you'll generally need to be over 21 years old and hold a valid driver's licence and an international credit card. Your credit card may cover CDW if you use it to pay for the car rental. France's superb rail network reaches almost every part of the country. Many towns and villages not on the SNCF train and bus network are linked by intra-d é partmental bus lines. France's most important train lines radiate from Paris like the spokes of a wheel, making train travel between provincial towns situated on different 'spokes' rather slow. In some cases, you have to transit through Paris.
Weather
France has a predominantly temperate climate, with mild winters, except in mountain areas and the northeast. The Atlantic has a profound impact on the northwest, where the weather is characterised by high humidity, often violent westerly winds and lots of rain. France's northeast has a classic continental climate, with fairly hot summers and cold winters. Midway between the two, the Paris basin boasts the nation's lowest annual precipitation, but rainfall patterns are erratic. The southern coastal plains are subject to a pleasant Mediterranean climate: frost is rare, spring and autumn downpours are sudden but brief and summer is virtually without rain. The south is also the region of the mistral, a cold, dry wind that blows down the Rh ô ne Valley for about 100 days a year. Relentless and unforgiving in spring, it is blamed for sending people into fits of pique.
Places of Interest
From the top of the tower to the top of the Alps it's all divine. Some have made seeing France their life's work. There's so much divine art, breathtaking architecture, stirring history, ancient folk festivals, vivid gardens and inspiring churches that you could easily lose yourself for years. It also had some surprisingly wild corners, notably the Camargue delta.
Whether it's gastronomic greatness, artistic endeavour or cultural cachet you're looking for, there's no doubt that France still sits right at the top of the European heap. France is the country for which the word chic was invented - seductive and aloof, old-fashioned and forward-looking, but always characterised by a certain je ne sais quoi.
The country that gave the world Champagne, casseroles and Camembert is justly famous for its cooking, and you'll find there are plenty of places to indulge yourself. But while France is undoubtedly a place to eat and drink to your heart's content, there's much more to this fascinating country than cutting-edge cuisine.
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