|
|
Print-friendly version
FRANCE
Our Top Hotels in Paris – arranged by lowest to highest prices
France, the largest country in Europe, is bordered to the north by the English Channel (La Manche), the northeast by Belgium and Luxembourg, the east by Germany, Switzerland and Italy, the south by the Mediterranean (with Monaco as a coastal enclave between Nice and the Italian frontier), the southwest by Spain and Andorra, and the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The island of Corsica, southeast of Nice, is made up of two départements. The country offers a spectacular variety of scenery, from the mountain ranges of the Alps and Pyrénées to the attractive river valleys of the Loire, Rhône and Dordogne and the flatter countryside in Normandy and on the Atlantic coast. The country has some 2900km (1800 miles) of coastline.
It is hard to generalize about France. As Charles de Gaulle, the war time leader of the anti-Nazi government in exile once remarked, ‘how could one describe a country which has 365 kinds of cheese?’ Yet there is something about this magnificent land which draws millions of francophiles back year after year for a taste of la vie française.
Could it be the chic boulevards of Paris, the sparkling ski slopes of the Alps, sunlit vineyards and sun-baked beaches, a dusty game of boules, or coffee and croissants in an undiscovered village? Or perhaps it is a tour of the
majestic châteaux of the Loire that appeals, the glamorous jet-set lifestyle of the Mediterranean, or a relaxing picnic in Provence, where the air is fragrant with wild herbs and lavender? Consider also the delights of other lesser-known regions such as Franche-Comté, Gascony or Berry, deep in the green heart of France – regions firmly rooted to the land, whose sleepy villages offer visitors a chance to sample the true douceur de vivre of provincial France and the unspoilt and rugged atmosphere of the island of Corsica, described as ‘a mountain in the sea’.
| You are viewing results 1 to 1 of 1 |
|
|
