France Travel Directory
Destination Guide – France
France has been the most popular tourist destination in the world for over twenty years; with a total of 81.9 million visitors last 2007. It has some of the treasures of Europe and boasts the major tourist attractions like Paris, the French Riviera, and the winter sports resorts of the French Alps, the Atlantic beaches, the castles of the Lorie Valley, Brittany and Normandy. The climate of France has temperate winters and mild summers. It has a population of over 64 million people.
France has numerous cities that attracts travelers, below is a list of nine of the most notable:
Paris — the “City of Light”, think of the romance plus the Eiffel Tower
Bordeaux — the “city of wine” with main attractions of traditional stone mansions and smart terraces
Bourges — with lots of amazing gardens, canals and a cathedral listed as a UNESCO heritage site
Lille — it is a dynamic northern city popular for its handsome centre and active cultural life
Lyon — France’s second city with a great history from Roman times to the Resistance
Marseille — the big harbor and the heart of the Provence
Nantes — it is the “Greenest City” and according to some the best place to live in Europe
Strasbourg — it is famous for its historical centre and home to many European institutions
Toulouse — called as the “Pink City” for its distinctive brick architecture, main city of Occitania.
Things to Do
Experience on how to be on top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Rome around the grand Parisian Boulevards
Hike Montmartre Hill in Paris
See amazing arts in the Louvre or see the art in the Orsay Museum in a former train station
See the modern architecture in the business district of La Defense
See the Science Museum in Villette Park, and the other odd attractions assembled there
Stroll an old train viaduct on the Promenade Plantee in Paris
See the stunning, but crowded, Versailles Palace
Ride the TGV, one of the fastest trains in the world, from Paris to Lyon
See the “D-Day beaches” of Normandy
Cross the beach at low tide and then climb to the top of Mont Saint Michel
Explore Chartres Cathedral
See the quaintness of the Alsace
Sunbathe on the beaches of the French Riviera
When in France do not forget to try some of France’s famous food:
Foie Gras has a rich and buttery taste flavor and is one of the most popular and well-known delicacies in French cuisine.
Truffles are a group of valuable and highly sought-after, edible underground fungi. The most sought after truffle is the Black truffle or Black Périgord Truffle.
Ceps ‘Cèpes’ is one of the most known foods in France which are actually wild mushrooms that are edible and grow all over the countryside in France.
Roquefort Cheese is made from ewe’s-milk and comes from the south of France. ie Roquefort-sur-Soulzon. Roquefort is rated as one of the world’s greatest blue cheeses.
Brie Cheese is perhaps one of the most famous of the 400+ French cheese’s in France. The original ‘Brie’ and ‘Brie-de-Meaux’ come from the smallest French province of France, Ile de France.
Clafouti is the most famous traditional dessert from the south west of France. ‘Le Clafouti’ is traditionally made with wild cherries and comes from Limousine.