Beautiful France

France is the most visited country in the world. It has everything that you could ever want to see on your holidays: a great city like Paris, good beaches, more monuments than any other country, lovely nature, incredible mountain scenery; need I go on? France is also a very pleasant place to stay. It has good food, great wines and people enjoy their lives. And the best thing is, maybe apart from Paris, living in France does not have to be expensive. The North of France consists of the flatlands around the town of Lille and the Channel. The area will remind visitors in many ways of Belgium and the Netherlands. The Grand' Place in Lille for example is a lot like that of Brussels.

Paris, the city of light and its surroundings are one of the most visited areas. Paris is without a doubt one of the most beautiful cities on the planet. FRANCE TRAVEL INFO

West of France is turned towards the Atlantic Coast. In the north Normandy & Brittany have rolling hills, sandy beaches and quiet little harbour towns. Normandy & Brittany have a more rugged coast and many neolithic sites. It has quite a distinct atmosphere from the rest of the country; you can still sense the Celtic origin of the region and its inhabitants.

The eastern part of France consists of the Alsace, Lorraine, Franche Comté and Burgundy regions. The landscape has rolling hills and many beautiful cities, such as Metz, Strasbourg, Nancy and Dijon. This region produces many famous wines, including magnificent pinot noirs and chardonnays valued the world over, as well as the famous "Yellow wine" from the Jura mountain vineyard.

The Center of France is in many ways the most quiet part of France. But the great treasure of this region is the Loire valley , with many great castles and beautiful towns. Chartres with its famous cathedral and Tours rate among the most beautiful French cities.

The Alps are great for skiing in winter and hiking in summer. Albertville, Grenoble and Chamonix have all hosted the Olympic games. But the Alps also have nice towns to visit, such as Chambéry, Annecy or Grenoble .

The South with its lovely nature, good food, roman ruins and of course the Riviera draws a lot of visitors every year. Towns like Orange, and Arles but also big cities like Marseille and Toulon are must sees. The Provence is dotted with pleasant small villages. In the South west of France the Dordogne is one of the most quintessential French regions. The valley is so pretty, the towns are so cute and the food is so good, that it is hard to believe that the people who live here go somewhere else for their holidays. The Languedoc has its own language and culture. In the south of the Languedoc you find the Pyrenees, a great mountain range separating France from Spain, where you can hike and ski. The towns of Toulouse and Montpellier are nice and the medieval town of Carcassone is a top destination.


Reasons to study French
French is the eleventh most widely-spoken language in the world.
French is the official language of 33 countries in the world.
French is spoken in two of the G7 countries.
French is the mother tongue of 75 million people.
200 million people around the world understand, speak, read or write French.
French is the official language of postal services across the world.
French is one of the official languages of the International Red Cross.
French-speaking Africa represents an area larger than the USA.
French is the most widely taught second language after English.
Over 20,000 English words have their origins in French.
In terms of number of words, French is the second largest language after English.
In the humanities and the social sciences many of the most important writings have come from France.
Students and researchers who know French have access to these works for several years before they are translated into English. Many significant works are never translated and remain accessible only to those who know the language.
France is one of the world's major foreign tourist destinations (60 million tourists a year).
France is Europe's foremost investor abroad.
France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany have the lowest rates of inflation in the European Union. This is an indicator of the health of these countries.
France is in fourth position in terms of world power and it does not have the debt problems facing many other major industrialised nations. (A positive sign for joint projects, business and scientific co-operation.)
France has the fourth largest economy in the world after the U.S., Japan and Germany.
France is the fourth largest producer of automobiles in the world (Renault,Peugeot, Citroën) and the third largest exporter.
France is the second largest exporter of agricultural products in the world after the U.S.