What interesting in France?

 

A country like France does not need recommendations - in terms of popularity among tourists, it knows no equal. In a relatively small area, absolutely everything that can be attractive and interesting to a traveler and vacationer is presented: history, culture, sights, a favorable climate, resorts, famous French cuisine, and finally - Paris!

 

Even having never been to France (but, of course, dreaming of going there since childhood), every more or less educated person knows so much about France and the French that it is enough for a whole book. Just one list of the names of famous Frenchmen will take offhand - a page, and if you think carefully - then all three.

 

And it is not so important that all these ideas about the country, upon closer examination, will turn out to be, to put it mildly, not entirely true - this will give one more reason to get to know France better. And not only with the famous Paris, although this city alone may not be enough for weeks and months, for years of amazing discoveries. You can travel to France for the rest of your life. And it will always be unforgettable!

 

Geographic location and climate

 

France is located in the west of the European continent. It is the largest country in Western Europe. Its contours are outlined by nature itself: these are the waters of the Atlantic (Bay of Biscay), the Mediterranean Sea and the North Sea (English Channel). The Pyrenees mountain range separates France from Spain, the impregnable Alps from Italy and Switzerland, the relatively modest Jura Mountains on the border with Switzerland, the low Ardennes, still covered with magnificent oak forests, from Belgium.

 

France owns many islands, the largest of which is Corsica in the Mediterranean. The largest French rivers - the Seine, Garonne, Rhone and Loire - are not particularly large and full-flowing, but unusually beautiful.

 

The climate in France is mostly mild due to the influence of the surrounding seas. In general, seven climatic zones can be distinguished on the territory of the country. The territory of the Mediterranean coast with a subtropical climate can be divided into two areas: to the east of Toulon and to the west. To the west of Toulon, a terrible wind sometimes reigns, known as the mistral. In the mountainous regions, of course, it is much colder, there is a lot of snow and the winters are longer.

 

Recommended travel time

 

Paris is equally beautiful at any time of the year. In July - August, the city is empty: in France, the holiday season. Quite damp in winter, although snow rarely falls. It gets dark early, but you can spend time in museums, restaurants, shops. There are fewer tourists and it's convenient. For a holiday on the Mediterranean coast, summer and early autumn are preferable. The ski season can start from December. Snow cover persists until mid-May.

State structure

 

The French Republic, where the head of state is the president (elected for 7 years), the head of government is the prime minister. Legislative power in the country is exercised by a bicameral parliament (the National Assembly and the Senate).

 

Since 1790, the entire territory of France has been divided into departments, the names of which come either from the name of the rivers flowing through them, or from the mountains located there. Initially, there were 90 departments, today there are 96, incl. Paris, also having the status of a department. The departments are grouped into 22 economic regions, some of which have retained their historical names.

 

Composition of the population, religion and language

 

France is a multinational country: in addition to the French, there are many Algerians, Moroccans, Turks, Portuguese, Italians, and Chinese. The number of its inhabitants is constantly growing. But the increase is not only and not even so much due to increased life expectancy and low infant mortality, but also due to immigration. Hence the religious composition of the population. Catholics, of course, predominate. They are followed by Muslims, Protestants and Jews.

The official language is French, but there are many dialects, since the unification of the country was completed only in the 19th century, and modern France includes the formerly independent territories: Brittany, Languedoc, Navarre, the once English Aquitaine, German Alsace and Lorraine. Thus, the notion of an "average Frenchman" is to a certain extent conditional.

 

Resorts and attractions

 

The natural conditions of beautiful France, equally remote from both the pole and the equator, are extremely favorable. Location at the junction of three natural zones - Mediterranean, North Atlantic, continental - determines the amazing diversity of the landscape and... resorts. The Mediterranean resorts of the French Riviera are world famous: Nice, Cannes, Saint-Tropez, Antibes.

Nice is the largest city on the Côte d'Azur. Many famous artists (Delacroix, Monet, Picasso, Chagall, Matisse, Renoir) and writers (Dumas, Flaubert, Maupassant, Balzac, Tolstoy, etc.) loved to relax in Nice (and create their masterpieces there). Who is interested in the history of the Napoleonic Wars - Marshal Andre Massena was from this beautiful city.

 

The emblem of the neighboring resort of Cannes is a silver palm on an azure background. And this area is also in some way connected with the name of Bonaparte. When Napoleon managed to escape from Elba in 1815, before his last campaign against Paris, he landed in Golfe-Juan, a little east of Cannes. Writers appreciated both this city and its picturesque surroundings (Merime, Maupassant, etc.). But Cannes became truly famous only in May 1946, after the first international film festival was held here.

 

The prestigious and very expensive resort of Saint-Tropez is familiar to us, it seems, thanks to the adventures of the "gendarme" performed by the brilliant Louis de Funes. Antibes made Picasso famous. However, the French themselves prefer the southern sun to rest on the Emerald Coast, in Brittany and Normandy.

 

No less France is famous for its ski resorts, of which there are at least eighty in the country. Expensive and prestigious Courchevel, high-mountainous Val Thorens, located in the area of ​​the Val d'Isère glacier, one of the oldest and most famous ski resorts of Chamonix, at the foot of the highest mountain in Western Europe, Mont Blanc.

 

Don't like skiing? Well, there is the famous Loire Valley - "Valley of Love" according to Balzac. The beauty of this area is in the amazing harmony of architecture and nature. There are a great many castles here: large and modest, famous and not very famous, but each has its own curious history. Chenonceau, Chambord, Amboise, Blois are the largest and most characteristic of them.

 

After admiring the castles (although it seems that you will never get bored admiring them), you can head along the "wine roads" of France - to Burgundy, Champagne, Alsace. And finally, to the dream city of Paris! Let's take the word of Frederic Chopin: "Paris is everything you want!" Cozy narrow streets and magnificent boulevards, famous monuments and monuments, expensive shops, luxurious restaurants and small bistros - Paris has everything and even more. How close here and at the same time a feeling of envy is the type of an idle tramp-pedestrian, strolling through the streets without any apparent purpose, sitting for a long time at a street cafe table, lazily contemplating someone else's life flowing by. 

 

Although you can, of course, try to see all the sights in a few days, have time to visit several museums, ride on the Seine, look at a performance at the Moulin Rouge and now consider that life is a success. So it is, because you have been to Paris!

 

Currency

 

Monetary unit - euro. There are 100 cents in 1 euro (in France they can be called centimes for good measure). Banknotes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 euros, as well as coins of 1, 2 euros and 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents are in circulation. There are exchange offices everywhere - at the airport, train station, hotel, in cities everywhere. Pay attention to the exchange rate and the percentage charged for the operation. You can pay with credit cards almost everywhere.