France

France, in Western Europe, encompasses medieval cities, alpine villages and Mediterranean beaches. Paris, its capital, is famed for its fashion houses, classical art museums including the Louvre and monuments like the Eiffel Tower. The country is also renowned for its wines and sophisticated cuisine. Lascaux’s ancient cave drawings, Lyon’s Roman theater and the vast Palace of Versailles attest to its rich history

Paris is almost synonymous with France so there’s no way you can skip visiting this city when travelling through the country. With the iconic Eiffel Tower, top-ranked restaurants, cafes and bistros, and, and abundance of high-fashion boutiques, Paris is definitely a city you must visit. Whether you’re an art lover or not, you must visit the Louvre to witness some of the best works of art mankind’s ever produced – one of the most cited stories at the Louvre is about how even the most skeptical people are left speechless on finally standing in front of the Mona Lisa.

If your idea of a great vacation centers around soaking up the sun and enjoying rustic countrysides, then you must visit Provence. With a patchwork of quaint farms, rolling hills, lavender fields, sunflowers, and olive groves, Provence redefines France and shifts the focus away from its bustling cities. If you need an additional incentive to visit this place, know this – the landscape is so stunning that many believe that it is what single-handedly spearheaded the impressionist art movement!

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  • When to go
  • Travel Tools
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  • Festivals & Events
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1. France is the largest country in the EU and sometimes called ‘the hexagon’
2. France is the world’s most popular tourist destination
3. French was the official language of England for about 300 years
4. Louis XIX was the king of France for just 20 minutes, the shortest ever reign
5. ‘Liberté, égalitié, fraternité’ or ‘liberty, equality, fraternity’ is the national motto
6. The French Army was the first to use camouflage in 1915 (World War I)
7. In France, you can marry a dead person!
8. The French invented tin cans, the hairdryer, and the hot air balloon
9. France was the first country in the world to ban supermarkets from throwing away food
10. The first public screening of a movie was by the French Lumière in 1895
11. The oldest person who ever lived was a French woman named Jeanne Louise Calment
12. France legalized same-sex marriage in 2013
13. France has more Nobel Prize winners in Literature than any other country
14. Europe’s highest mountain is Mont Blanc in the French Alps
15. The world’s first artificial heart transplant and face transplant both took place in France
16. The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world
17. French gastronomy was awarded UNESCO World Heritage Status in 2010
18. France produced the most expensive bottle of wine in the world
19. You might get a ‘fish’ stuck on your back on April Fool’s Day
20. The French eat around 30,000 tons of snails a year
22. The croissant was actually invented in Austria in the 13th century
23. Turning a baguette upside down is seen as unlucky in France
24. France produces around 1.7 million tons of cheese a year in around 1,600 varieties
25. French law forbids couples from kissing on train platforms
26. Paris Gare du Nord is Europe’s busiest railway station
27. The French rail network is the second largest in Europe ninth biggest in the world
28. The world’s greatest cycle race, the Tour de France, is more than 100 years old
29. The tradition of wearing a white dress originated in France in 1499
30. At least 35% of all music played on private radio stations must be French

When is the best time to visit France? The best time to visit France is in spring (April-May), summer (June-August), or autumn (September-October). Spring is pleasant across the country, with fewer crowds and temperatures ranging from 55°F to 68°F.

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1. Eiffel Tower
2. Louvre Museum
3. Palace of Versailles
4. Côte d'Azur
5. Mont Saint-Michel
6. Loire Valley Châteaux
7. Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres
8. Provence
9. Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
10. Alsace Villages
11. Carcassonne
12. Brittany
13. Biarritz
14. Rocamadour
15. Prehistoric Cave Paintings in Lascaux

1. Berck Sur Mer Kite Festival
2. Menton Lemon Festival
3. Cannes Film Festival
4. Nice Carnival
5. Festival Medieval de Sedan
6. Bastille Day
7. La Fête de la Musique
8. Festival d’Avignon
9. Chorégies d’Orange
10. Festival of Lights, Lyon

• Raw Fabric in Basque Country
• Salt Caramels in Brittany
• Hermès Clic Clac in Paris
• Rose Salt in Provence
• Rivieras in Paris
• Veuve Clicquot Handled Carrier in Reims
• Paris: Bracelets from Merci
• Normandy: Calvados
• Parfums de Rosine in Paris
• Chocolate in Bayonne

1. Soupe à l’oignon
2. Coq au vin
3. Cassoulet
4. Boeuf bourguignon
5. Chocolate soufflé
6. Flamiche
7. Confit de canard
8. Salade Niçoise
9. Ratatouille
10. Tarte Tatin
11. The Green Fairy