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    France Travel Guide
    France Travel Guide
    France Travel Guide
    Ebook124 pages1 hour

    France Travel Guide

    By The Non Fiction Author

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    About this ebook

    From world class wine and delectable delicacies, to iconic structures and a culture of brooding romance; whether it's described as chic, rude, sexy or snobby, everyone has an opinion about France. As French general and writer Charles de Gaulle once famously said, “how can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six kinds of cheese?” Beyond a reference to France's famous cheese spectrum, running the gamut from wheels of creamy camembert to ripened Roquefort, de Gaulle's words perfectly capture the lure of this country's timeless and multi-faceted culture, a tapestry constantly changing from region to region, from north to south, and yet filled with a very distinctive 'je ne sais quois', or 'I don't know what', a seduction which keeps the world travelling back for more, year after year. So, what is that certain something?

    Maybe it's France's architecture known the world over, entrenched in history and folklore: here, you can fulfil dreams of scaling the Eiffel Tower, its looming iron lattice anchoring the whole of Paris together as the capital's stoic, structural symbol; you can marvel at royal Châteaux in the Loire Valley and stay at a restored farmhouse in the sunny south of France. Whichever way you turn here, you're bound to be faced with an iconic piece of history, standing tall, or all the way down to face level with the unfalteringly familiar, France's smaller towns, with their cute, village square markets and lace-curtained bistros.

    Maybe it's the allure of French café culture. Going back centuries, cafés, or coffee houses, were a place to meet for intellectuals, and where philosophical debates were held – and this vision of Hemingway, Picasso and Sartre mulling over a dark, rich expresso, contemplating the nature of existentialism and surrounded by dramatic clouds of tobacco smoke on a cafe terrace, is deeply engrained in the cultural musings associated with France – and still stands strong today.

    Those who fall prey to the picture perfect might go weak at the knees for the lavender field landscapes of Provence, unspoilt rural panoramas and the spectacular looming mountains of the Alps, where you can sit at the foot of the Mont Blanc chain, gazing at your reflection in a crystal clear, glacier lake, quietly contemplating the fact that you never want to leave. The sheer physical diversity of France would be hard to exhaust in a lifetime of visits.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe Non Fiction Author
    Release dateAug 22, 2017
    ISBN9781386560104
    France Travel Guide
    Author

    The Non Fiction Author

    A group of Authors, Graphic Designers and Technical Support Reps

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      Book preview

      France Travel Guide - The Non Fiction Author

      Introduction:

      Are You Ready for an Amazing Journey?

      From world class wine and delectable delicacies, to iconic structures and a culture of brooding romance; whether it's described as chic, rude, sexy or snobby, everyone has an opinion about France. As French general and writer Charles de Gaulle once famously said, how can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six kinds of cheese? Beyond a reference to France's famous cheese spectrum, running the gamut from wheels of creamy camembert to ripened Roquefort, de Gaulle's words perfectly capture the lure of this country's timeless and multi-faceted culture, a tapestry constantly changing from region to region, from north to south, and yet filled with a very distinctive 'je ne sais quois', or 'I don't know what', a seduction which keeps the world travelling back for more, year after year. So, what is that certain something?

      Maybe it's France's architecture known the world over, entrenched in history and folklore: here, you can fulfil dreams of scaling the Eiffel Tower, its looming iron lattice anchoring the whole of Paris together as the capital's stoic, structural symbol; you can marvel at royal Châteaux in the Loire Valley and stay at a restored farmhouse in the sunny south of France. Whichever way you turn here, you're bound to be faced with an iconic piece of history, standing tall, or all the way down to face level with the unfalteringly familiar, France's smaller towns, with their cute, village square markets and lace-curtained bistros.

      Maybe it's the allure of French café culture. Going back centuries, cafés, or coffee houses, were a place to meet for intellectuals, and where philosophical debates were held – and this vision of Hemingway, Picasso and Sartre mulling over a dark, rich expresso, contemplating the nature of existentialism and surrounded by dramatic clouds of tobacco smoke on a cafe terrace, is deeply engrained in the cultural musings associated with France – and still stands strong today.

      Those who fall prey to the picture perfect might go weak at the knees for the lavender field landscapes of Provence, unspoilt rural panoramas and the spectacular looming mountains of the Alps, where you can sit at the foot of the Mont Blanc chain, gazing at your reflection in a crystal clear, glacier lake, quietly contemplating the fact that you never want to leave. The sheer physical diversity of France would be hard to exhaust in a lifetime of visits.

      Or it might be that people flock to this fabled land of good food and wine. Champagne-quaffing, chocolate sampling and cheese chomping are all a quintessential part of the French experience, and whether you're in France for the weekend, or for four weeks, picking at warm croissants by the River Seine or tearing apart a fresh, crusty French loaf and a doorstop of local cheese whilst walking on the beach in Brittany, is a rite of passage rather than an optional extra. This is gastronomy at its finest.

      Is it the art? Much more than perusing famous works by Cezanne, French art is found in the simplest of things – the rhythm of daily life in rural France, gently shifting with the seasons, or mastering the art of strolling the cities as French philosophers have, taking in the every-day beauties or meandering through a lily pond garden, like a live enactment of a Monet painting.

      Perhaps more than any country in the world, France strives to preserve and develop its distinctive culture and traditions, and it does so with pride. So whether you're scaling the limestone hills of Provence, marvelling at the canyons of the Pyrenees or exploring the wooded valleys of the Dordogne, you'll find it easy to embrace the French way of joie de vivre – an enjoyment of life.

      Chapter 1:

      France at a Glance (North, South, East, West)

      Before we dive in and explore its essence, culture and how to make the most of your time in France, let's take a bird’s eye snapshot to show you the diversity each of the country's regions to get a feel for them, and what they have to offer.

      Metropolitan France is split up into 22 different regions, including the island of Corsica. In this guide, we'll break the 22 down into key areas which have been grouped for ease of travel and regional interest.

      Geographically, France is big – in fact it's the largest country in Western Europe - and its size can be both a curse and a blessing when it comes to travelling around it: on the one hand, you can spend several lifetimes exploring and unearthing this country's grand attractions and secret idiosyncracies, and on the other, travelling France with any kind of time limit will leave anyone returning home only to plan their next trip.

      A quick tour would take you over fifty percent of lush plains, a sizeable patch of dazzling mountains including Western Europe's highest peak, Mont Blanc, in the Alps of southern France, and over to beautiful coastline on both the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay) and La Manche (the English Channel) sandwiched between Belgium and Spain, and the Mediterranean sea. In fact, France shares borders with eight different nations, which means that travel is easy for neighbouring Francophiles (people who love France – there are so many they even have their own word) to pop over from different parts of Europe, and for anyone to visit France as part of a larger European trip.

      France's vast diversity from region-to-region means that moving from one to the other is almost like travelling to several different countries, and no two experiences are the same. On the coast running from Cerbère on the Spanish border, to Menton on the Italian frontier, regions like the Côte d'Azur are a ribbon of sunshine and sand which is noticeably kissed by its Mediterranean influences, and yet the chic towns which dot the coastline are still unmistakeably French.

      Alsace-Lorraine, France's two most easterly provinces, hug the border of Germany, and a unique Franco-Germanic cultural fusion can be found here. Locals speak French with a decidedly German accent, cuisine is a blend of the two country's influences, and architecture in the villages has a noticeable and pronounced Germanic style.

      Each region looks and feels different, has its own style of architecture, its own regional dishes, and often its own dialect too. Although pays is the word for 'country' in French, people frequently refer to their own region as mon pays – my country – and this strong sense of regional identity has persisted despite centuries of centralising governments, from Louis XIV to de Gaulle.

      How to use this guide

      This guide is split into two sections: the first part, getting started, will help you to prepare for your trip to France, providing essential information and advice on the geography of this huge country, getting there, getting around, beginning to identify with French culture and customs, and offering a pick of sample itineraries designed to help you maximise your experience within a given time frame or area of interest.

      In the second section, France by region, the guide gets into the essence of regions in France, sometimes grouped for ease of travel, and covering the highlights and quintessential experiences you will find in each.

      As a whole, this guide helps to capture France's poetry without polluting essential information with the unnecessary, showcasing a selection of France's greatest, timeless assets and orientating you before and whilst you travel, without honing in on quickly dating details such as entry prices or hotels. France is screaming with superlatives, but this guide will act as your honest companion – a nationally proud but direct friend which will open up France's possibilities to every visitor – allowing you to discover authentic France, your own way, sidestepping over-hyped attractions.

      This guide will help you to plan your trip for the year round, with an events and holidays resource referenced to help you plan when to go. Use this calendar alongside some typical themed itineraries, which have been featured for their uniqueness and specificity to the country, or a typical one or two week itinerary around France Through the next pages you'll find foodie adventures offered up by locals, pinpointing France's gastronomic delights. You'll find the heavily trodden, popular ski season itineraries along with some tips to diverge off the snowy beaten track. Then you might want to dabble in the arts

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