Europe
France
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Cultural Capital of Europe
Located in Western Europe France is 75 minute flight from London. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as L’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its main ideals expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
History and Culture
France is the largest country in the European Union by area and the second largest in Europe behind Ukraine (first if one includes its extra-European territories like Guadeloupe). France has been a major power for many centuries with strong economic, cultural, military and political influence. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonized much of North America; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Pacific islands.
Places of Interest
France is ranked as the first tourist destination in the world.
France features cities of high cultural interest (Paris being the foremost), beaches and seaside resorts, ski resorts, and rural regions that many enjoy for their beauty and tranquillity (green tourism). Aside from casual tourism France attracts a lot of religious pilgrims to Lourdes, a town in the Hautes-Pyrénées département, that hosts a few million tourists a year. Popular tourist sites include: Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Palace of Versailles, Musée d'Orsay, Arc de Triomphe, Centre Pompidou, Mont-Saint-Michel, Château de Chambord, Sainte-Chapelle, Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, Puy de Dôme, Musée Picasso,Carcassonne
Activities
Sightseeing is the main activity
However you can practice Watersports, canal cruises, fishing, skiing, hiking, cycling, horse riding, golf, spectator sports, traditional sports, wine tours
Climate
French pleasures can be indulged in any time, although many Francophiles swear spring is best. In the hot south sun-worshippers bake from June to early September while winter-sports enthusiasts soar down snow-covered mountains mid-December to late March. Festivals and gastronomic temptations around which to plan a trip abound year-round.
The French climate is temperate, although it gets nippy in mountainous areas and in Alsace and Lorraine. The northwest suffers from high humidity, rain and biting westerly winds, while the Mediterranean south enjoys hot summers and mild winters.
Facts
Currency Euros
Flights
Fights operating by British Airways, Air France, Easy Jet
Train by Eurostar
Visa requirements
EU nationals and citizens of Switzerland, Iceland and Norway need only a passport or national identity card in order to enter France and stay in the country. However, for nationals of the 10 new (in 2004) member countries, conditions for living and working in France vary from those for nationals of the original countries.
For up-to-date details on visa requirements, see Foreign Affairs Ministry site www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/ and click ‘Going to France’.
Language
French is the official language. There are many regional dialects, but these are rapidly declining, with the exception of Basque, which is spoken as a first language by some people in the southwest, and Breton, which is spoken by some in Brittany. Many people speak at least some English.
