Welcome to France!!!

Dear visitor, welcome to my France web pages. Here you will find tourist information, photographs, videos and travel tips about France's main destinations.

When to Go/Climate: The best season to travel to Center and North France is Summer and late Spring. Winters are cold, windy and gray. The South can be visited in Fall and Spring.

Get in: the main international airport is Charles de Gaulle (CDG) in Paris. The second airport in Paris is called Orly (ORY). Other airports with international flights are Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice and Toulouse. France can also be reached by train from many european countries.

Get around: Plane, for long distances, and train, for long and short distances are convenient ways of moving around France. The country has an excellent network of fast trains (TGV). Renting a car is also a recommended option.

Money and Costs: France uses the Euro. Credit cards are widely accepted, and ATM's can be found all throughout the country. Prices in France are high. Tipping of 5-10% is expected in restaurants.

Length of stay: France is a country with an unlimited tourist potential. If you want to visit France in detail, you will need a couple of months. If you do not have that much time, you will have to stick to one of the regions, or choose some destinations.

Languages/People: 60 million people live in France. The official language is French. English is not widely spoken.

Food: France is well renown for its cuisine and for its wines.

Safety: France is considered a safe country.

In these pages I only feature a fraction of what France has to offer. I hope it is enough to wet your appetite.

 

Paris

The capital of France is one of the most beautiful cities on planet earth. Thousands of tourists come to this city to see in person its charming streets, avenues and squares. Many others to visit its museums. But one of the main reasons to come to Paris is to fall in love.

Versailles

The Chateau and Gardens of Versailles definitely represent the most prestigious monument of the 17th century French Art. King Louis XIV transformed his father's (Louis XIII) hunting lodge into the most impressive castle of all times.

Avignon

Avignon is famous worldwide thanks to its theater festival -considered as the most important one in the world-, the Popes Palace -during the 14th century Avignon was the capital of the Christian world- and the bridge Saint Bénezet.

Bordeaux

This city in Aquitaine, west of France, is worldwide famous for its wines, but lately the city itself is drawing the attention of tourists thanks to its splendid gothic cathedrals and 18th century mansions.

Lyon

France's second largest city! Although this used to be considered a gray and dull city, tourists are beginning to discover the many treasuries this city hides.

Chambord

This castle in the heart of the Loire Valley is one of the finest samples of the Renaissance architecture in France. It is a Royal castle because it used to be the retreat of some of the most powerful French kings, among them the King Sun --Louis XIV.

Orleans

The capital of the Loire Valley is famous for two reasons: Joan of Arch and the 'Chateaux' in the region.

Alsace

A region in the North-East of France, known notably for its wines. There is a lot to be seen and visited in Alsace.

Provence

A sunny, colorful and fertile region in the South of France, which stretches from the Mediterranean to the Southern Alps.

Collioure

The gem of Côte Vermeille, between Perpignan and the Spanish border, in the region of Languedoc-Rousillon.

Argeles-sur-Mer

A quintessential small French town, Argelès-sur-Mer "village" is very much alive.

Etang de Thau

The Bassin (or Etang) de Thau in Southern France is a lagoon -- a 20 km-long expanse of brackish water separated from the Mediterranean by a narrow stretch of sand.

Balaruc-le-Vieux

Balaruc-le-Vieux, a small town in the Languedoc region in the South of France, is the site of an annual medieval festival, in which this site invites you to take part.

Sete

A town on the Mediterranean coast of France. It sports several harbors -- fishing, yachting and trade, and the city itself straddles a network of canals on one side, and hugs the Mont Saint Clair on the other.

Troyes

In the Champagne region of France, Troyes is a special treat for lovers of art and architecture

Breton Church Enclosures

In towns like Guimiliau, Sizun and Saint Thégonnec, much of the acquired wealth was put to the service of the Breton's profound faith as well as to the spirit of competition between the towns. Thus, the churches were adorned with enclosures, walled churchyards containing monuments.

Camaret

A small fishing village at the Westernmost tip of Brittany, France. The department is appropriately called Finistère : end of the earth.

Isle of Ouessant

A small island off the Breton coast in France, swept by the wind and the waves, and a surprising place.

Isle of Sein

A tiny island off the Pointe du Raz, one of the westernmost points of France.  The Pointe du Raz and Sein mark the limit between the Atlantic and the Channel.