France Travel Guide

One of the most geographically diverse countries in Europe, France is a wonderful tourist destination with beauty,culture and class.

France is a country located on the western edge of the European continent.
It is bordered by Belgium and Luxembourg to the north, Germany and Switzerland to the east, Italy to the south-east and Spain to the south-west.

Owing to its temperate climate with mild winters, France draws a number of visitors to enjoy the picturesque scenery of the country. The major tourist spots in the country are discussed below:

The majestic French Alps are one of the most stunning mountain ranges in the world. The snow-capped mountains and spectacular lakes of the region are breathtakingly beautiful. The mountains offer ample of recreational opportunities that include mountaineering and Alpine skiing.
Famous for the Cannes Film Festival, Jazz Festival, St. Topez, and the perfumeries of Grasse, the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur) is one of the most enchanting places on the earth. The glamour and beauty of the place is unparrelled. The Riviera boasts of upper class seaside resorts, yachts and golf courses.

The shining capital on the River Seine, Paris is the most-visited city in the world. It is believed to be one of the most beautiful and romantic of all cities. The city is home to a number of magnificent places such as the famous Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, the exquisite Versailles, The Louvre Museum, and the Picasso Museum.

The Disneyland in the capital city is another must-visit attraction. Consisting of two parks: Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park, Disneyland is the fourth-most visited theme park in the world.

There are a number of sites in France that are recognized as world heritage sites by the UNESCO. One of the most popular heritage sites in the country is the Mont Saint Michel; it is located on an island just off the coast of the region of Lower Normandy in northern France. It is best known for the monastery that stands at the peak of the rocky island.

The major cities in France of tourist interest are: Paris, Bordeaux, Bourges, Lyon, Lille, Marseille, Nantes, Strasbourg, and Toulouse.

From the pastoral landscape of Normandy and Brittany to snow-capped Alpine peaks, and the varied coastline including the North Sea, the Atlantic ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, France offers an enchanting experience to the tourist.

Regions and Landscapes

Tourist places France include the mountainous region in France,the Rhone Alps, is famous for its magnificent natural beauty and offers a lot of facilities to the tourists. The Alps is the ideal place for skiing in winter and hiking,trekking, river drafting and other adventurous sports in winter. France enjoys a long coast line and the French beaches are among the finest in the world. French beach resorts are known for their openness in swimming attire, another reason of making them popular tourist attractions in France.

Things to do in France

Skiing in France
France attracts many skiing enthusiasts every year. The fun of skiing in the snow of the Alps is unmatched. The Three Valleys ski area and L'Espace Killy are the most popular ski areas of France. For ski holidays in France, you can either go to Domaine de la Foret Blanche.

Domaine de la Foret Blanche, Espace Killy, Espace San Bernardo, Le Grand Massif, Les Trois Vallees, Paradiski and Portes du Soleil are places in France where you can enjoy skiing to the fullest. Risoul and the neighbouring ski resorts in Vars together form the largest ski area in Southern French Alps. Here there are around 180 km of piste, 104 runs, 1 snowboard park and 57 lifts.

Adventure Sports in France
France has a varied topography, tourists can indulge themselves in innumerable adventure sports here. Viaduc de la Souleuvre is located only at a three hours drive from Paris. This place is home to the great Gustave Eiffel. At the Normandi site is the cable, that is a 400-metre death slide or Flying Fox. On this slideyou can slide at a speed of 100 km per hour and can cross the valley. An adventure park is being developed here where you can go for canoeing, mountain biking, paintball and carting etc.

Tourists can go for holidays in the Cote d'Azur in the Gulf of St. Tropez, South of France. The adventures you can indulge in here are power boating, waterskiing, wakeboarding, jetskiing, sailing, snorkeling, bodyboarding, kayaking, windsurfing, mountain biking, climbing, gorge walking and coasteering.

Water Sports in France
France has a lot in store for water sports lovers. The Languedock in France is a place where many tourists come every year for enjoying water sports. The Mediterranean coast of Languedoc has many sandy beaches. Along the Cote Vermeille, there are many rocky creeks. Water sports can be enjoyed here to the fullest as there are many clear lagoons, lakes, canals, rivers and swimming pools. Here you can hire equipment for water skiing, sailing, windsurfing, fun boarding and scuba diving. Many other sports can be enjoyed here such as kite flying, jet skiing, sea kayaking, canoeing, white water rafting and canyoning.

There are a number of seaside resorts in France. Here you can relax and enjoy windsurfing and waterskiing. Infact, there are public swimming pools in France. Two popular municipal swimming pools of France are the Pontoise Quartier Latin nad Piscine des Halles.

Cycling in France
Tour de France is a popular cycling tour of France. Known as Le Tour de France, it is often referred to as La Grande Bouche. It is the most famous and prestigious road bicycle race of the World. This annual tour was introduced in 1903. Professional cycling teams travel through France and its neighboring countries. The tour takes place over a course of three weeks in July. Tour de France enjoys global popularity.

The fun of cycling in Paris lies in the wonderful network of minor roads and cycle tracks. There is little or no traffic. You can choose any of the quite D-roads. There are separate cycling holidays to Lot Valley, Tarn, Loire, Dordogne and Provence.

Walking in France
Walking Holidays of France are very popular. France is a country so rich and varied in its heritage in terms of culture, history, gastronomy and landscape. The regions in France you can explore on walking tours are Scented Hills of the south - Provence and Corsica, The Timeless South-West - Dordogne, Gascony, Tarn, Corbieres and Cevennes, Coast and Vineyards - Loire, Brittany and Catalonia and The Great Mountains - Pyrenees, Alps and Massif Central.

Exploring the high mountains to rolling wineyards of France on walking tours is a totally different experience in itself. There are leisurely walks that explore the quiet side of Provence. On a walking holiday in Provence, you can explore the sleepy villages, the lavender fields and medieval Forcalquier.

Hiking in France
Some hiking destinations of France are Alsace, Aquitaine, Dordogne, Brittany, Burgundy, Centre-Loire, Champagne, Ille de France, Languedoc, Normandy, Provence Alpes and Rhone-Alps. Hiking can be enjoyed at the area near Queenstown. Here, hiking is locally known as tramping. Most of France's multi-day hiking trails start from here. The Routebourne Track is multi-day hiking trail that starts from this area.

Tourists can go on hiking tours in burgundy, Mont Saint Michel, Santiago de Compostela and Dordogne. At the Chamonix Alpine, you can enjoy rock climb hiking.

French Cuisine

The cuisine of this country has influenced almost all Western cuisines. French haute cuisine is said to have originated from Italian cuisine. There's a distinctive cuisine for each region of France. The ingredients used vary according to the region. For example, in Northwest France, the cuisine uses butter, cream and apples. A deep influence of Spanish cuisine, Catalan cuisine and Italian cuisine can be seen on the cuisine from Southeast France. Olive oil, herbs and tomatoes are used extensively in the cuisine of this region. The regional cuisine of France generally uses locally grown vegetables such as potatoes, green beans, carrots, leeks, turnips, aubergine and courgette.

Some of the most popular French dishes are Baguette, Blanquette de veau, Boeuf a la mode, Canard au sang, Coq au Vin, French Cheese, Navarin, Oysters, Pot-au-feu, Souffle and Steak au Poivre.

France is also known for the cheese available here. Around 350 to 400 types of cheeses are available in France. Some popular French cheeses include Banon, Bleu de bresse, Boursin cheese, Brillat-Savarin, Broccio Passu, Cabecou, Cancoillotte, Raclette and Gaperon.

Famous Cities to Visit in France

City Name	Population (2010)	City Name	Population (2010)
Paris	2243833	Rennes	207178
Marseille	850726	Reims	179992
Lyon	484344	Le Havre	175497
Toulouse	441802	Saint-Étienne	171260
Nice	343304	Toulon	164532
Nantes	284970	Grenoble	155637
Strasbourg	271782	Dijon	151212
Montpellier	257351	Angers	147571
Bordeaux	239157	Villeurbanne	145150
Lille	227560	Le Mans	142626

Popular Tourist Destinations in France

Tourist Place	Location	Tourist Place	Location
Eiffel Tower	Paris	Palace of Versailles	Versailles
Mont Saint-Michel	Le Mont-Saint-Michel	Château de Chambord	Chambord
Arc de Triomphe	Paris	Chartres Cathedral	Chartres
Futuroscope	Chasseneuil-du-Poitou	Palace of Fontainebleau	Fontainebleau
Parc Asterix	Plailly	Amiens Cathedral	Amiens

Famous Airports in France

Airport Name	Location	Airport Name	Location
Charles De Gaulle Airport	Paris	Nantes Atlantique Airport	Bouguenais
Paris Le Bourget Airport	Le Bourget	Nice Cote d'Azur Airport	Nice
Paris Beauvais Tille Airport	Tille	Strasbourg Airport	Entzheim
Cherbourg Maupertus Airport	Gonneville	Bordeaux Merignac Airport	Mérignac
Lyon Bron Airport	Lyon	Montpellier Mediterranee Airport	Mauguio
Toulouse Blagnac Airport	Blagnac

National Parks in France

National Park	Location	National Park	Location
Mercantour National Park		Pyrénées National Park	Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Écrins National Park	Dauphiné Alps	Port-Cros National Park	Port-Cros
Cévennes National Park	Cévennes Mountain	Vanoise National Park	Tarentaise and Maurienne valleys

Famous Sea Beaches in France

Beaches	Location	Beaches	Location
Corsica	Porto-Pollo	Plage de Ménéham	Brittany
Baie d'Audierne	Brittany	Paloma Plage
L'Ile de Riou	Marseille	Côte Sauvage	Poitou-Charentes
Euronat	Aquitaine	Argelès Plage	Languedoc-Roussillon
Plage de l'Almanarre	Hyères	Beaulieu-sur-Mer	French Riviera

Best Campsites in France

Campsites	Location	Campsites	Location
Hourtin-Plage	Gironde	Wimereux	Strait of Dover
Carantec	Finistère	Brighton-les-Pins	Somme
Aléria	Corsica	St. Georges-d'Oléron	Charente-Maritime
Portiragnes-Plage	Hérault	Stes Maries-de-la-Mer	Bouches-du-Rhône
St. Vaast-la-Hougue	Manche	Yport	Seine-Maritime

Last Updated On: April 16, 2013