| Welcome
to this guide to France and French holidays.
You will find all sorts of information, but with one thing in common.
France!
France
is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. It
has everything. A great city like Paris, good beaches, countless
monuments, amazing mountain scenery, lovely nature and to top it
all France also has good food and great wines.
The North of
France consists of the flatlands around the town of Lille and the
Channel. As the gateway to Belgium it comes as not surprise that
the area will remind visitors in many ways of Belgium. But for many
of us, the main point of entry to the region will be Calais and
the Channel Tunnel terminal. The coast has a rich birdlife, especially
between Boulonge-sur-Mer and the Vallée de la Somme, and
is perfect for that relaxing seaside visit.
The West of
France lies on the Atlantic Coast. In the north Normandy has rich
historical sight and diverse landscape including pastoral regions,
windswept beaches and the wooded banks of the Seine Valley. Normandy
is also home to Giverny and Monet's garden there. Brittany has rolling
hills, sandy beaches and quiet little harbour towns. Normandy gets
its name from the Viking Norsmen who sailed up the Seine in the
9th Century. The wine producing region of Bordeaux & Nantes
(that for centuries disputed with Rennes the title of capital of
Brittany) are amongst the biggest cities on the west coast. Further
down the French coast at the south west corner of France is Biarritz,
which became a playground of the rich and famous in the 19th century.
The town of Biarritz has three good beaches, casinos and a Luxury
hotel.
The East of
France consisting of the Alsace, Lorraine and Burgundy and the Franche
Comté regions has a landscape of rolling hills and many beautiful
cities, such as Strasbourg (that lies halfway between Paris and
Prague), Besançon Metz , Dijon, Nancy (Lorraine's historic
capital). This region produces many famous wines, including the
aromatic, dry and full-bodied Alsace wines, magnificent pinot noirs
and chardonnays and the wines of Burgundy that have been produced
for centuries and are valued the world over.
The Center
of France is can claim the Loire valley as its great treasure, along
with many castles and beautiful towns. The famous cathedral at Chartres
and the city of Tours rate among the must see places of the area.
The huge central
plateau that makes up the Massif Central mountains that culminate
at about 6000 ft, is one of the most beautiful regions of France.
It was once a crossroads for pilgrims, and strung with large volcanoes.
It is a vast and unspoiled area with hundreds of churches, châteaux
museums. The regional capital is Clermont Ferrand, and the small
city of Le Puy has historic churches perched on volcanic pinnacles.
The Alpes are great for skiing in winter and hiking in summer. The
Olympic games have been hosted at Albertville, Chamonix and Grenoble.
The Alps also has the towns of Chambéry, Annecy and Grenobleto
that are worth a visit.
The
South, home to the Riviera, has lovely nature, good food and Roman
ruins. The area draws many visitors every year with towns like Orange
and Arles and cities such as Marseille and Toulon being "must
sees". Interspersed with pleasant small villages. The Dordogne
in the South West of France is one of the most quintessential French
regions. When you see the pretty valleys and towns and sample the
good food you may ask yourself why it is that people who live here
go somewhere else for their holidays. The Languedoc once spoke its
own language and still maintains its own separate identity and culture.
This area is where you will find Pyrenees, a great mountain range
that separates France from Spain. The towns of Toulouse (the most
important town in the southwest of France) and Montpellier, medieval
town of Carcassone are worth a visit.
The island
of Corsica (fourth largest island in the Mediterranean) has beautiful
nature and a landscape of mountains, forests and miles of sandy
beaches. Downhill skiing is even possible in the early months of
the year. The Corsicans speak their own Italian dialect and the
island has all the attributes of a mini-continent.
Top Destinations
in France include : Paris, Grenoble, Marseille, Montpellier, Nice,
Bordeaux, Lyon, Le havre, Lille, Tours and Strasbourg
France
is made up of 22 "regions" as detailed below.
| French
Regions |
|
Principal
towns and cities in this region of France |
| Alsace |
|
Strasbourg,
Mulhouse
|
| Aquitaine |
|
Périgueux,
Bordeaux,
Mont
de Marsan, Pau,
Agen
|
| Auvergne |
|
Clermont-Ferrand,
Le Puy,
Aurillac,
Vichy
|
| Brittany |
|
Vannes,
Rennes,
Brest,
Saint
Brieuc |
| Burgundy |
|
Macon,
Nevers,
Dijon,
Auxerre |
| Center |
|
Orléans,
Blois,
Tours,
Châteauroux,
Chartres,
Bourges
|
| Champagne-Ardenne |
|
Chaumont,
Reims,
Troyes,
Charleville-Mézières
|
| Corsica |
|
Ajaccio |
| Franche-comte |
|
Lons
le Saunier, Besançon,
Vesoul,
Belfort
|
| Languedoc-Roussillon |
|
Perpignan,
Mende,
Montpellier,
Nîmes,
Carcassonne
|
| Limousin |
|
Limoges,
Guéret,
Brive
|
| Lorraine |
|
Epinal,
Metz,
Bar
le Duc, Nancy
|
| Lower-Normandy |
|
Caen,
Saint-Lô,
Alençon |
| Midi-Pyrenees |
|
Rodez,
Montauban,
Albi,
Tarbes,
Auch,
Toulouse,
Foix,
Cahors
|
| North-Calais |
|
Lille,
Dunkerque
|
| Paris-Isle-of-France |
|
Pontoise,
Créteil,
Bobigny,
Nanterre,
Evry,
Versaille,
Melun,
Paris
|
| Pays-de-la-Loire |
|
La
Roche sur Yon, Le
Mans, Laval,
Angers,
Nantes
|
| Picardy |
|
Beauvais,
Amiens, Laon |
| Poitou-Charentes |
|
Angoulême,
La
Rochelle, Niort,
Poitiers
|
| Provence-Alpes-Azur |
|
Digne,
Gap,
Nice,
Marseille,
Avignon,
Toulon
|
| Rhone-Alpes |
|
Bourg
en Bresse, Privas,
Valence,
Grenoble,
Saint
Etienne, Lyon,
Chambèry,
Annecy
|
| Upper-Normandy |
|
Rouen,
Evreux,
Giverny
|
|
