About-France.com

A guide to France

About-France.com - the France information and tourism portal . A discovery of France, its people, and the French way of life.

Paris, the Pont Neuf over the Seine
►► Site guide
Accueil en français
Full site index
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►► Most popular pages :
The regions of France
Paris
A-Z dictionary of France
Map of France
More maps of France
France facts and figures
Climate and weather
Doctors and emergencies
The Tour de France route 2010
School holiday calendars 2010, 2011
Essential French for visitors
2010 Holiday planner
Online French grammar
►► Main travel pages
Preparing a trip
Driving through France -  from Calais
Driving in France - road travel
Route map & distance calculator
French rail travel
Foreign currency exchange
Ferries & Channel tunnel to France
Flights to France
Visiting Paris
Winter sports in France
More.....
►►Leisure and tourism
Tourist attractions in France
The towns & cities of France
France for music lovers: festivals, places, events
Wild France - France's "great outdoors"
Guide to French wines
Food & eating in France
The markets of France
Hiking - long distance footpaths
Opening and closing
More...
►►Tourist accommodation
Guide to French hotels
Staying in Paris
Gites de France and self catering
Chambres d'hôtes (B&B) in France
Camping in France, 2010
►►Life & living in France
Living in France
Buying property in France
Moving to France
Finding a job & working in France
Shopping in France
Studying & learning French in France
Schools & education in France
Online French grammar
The French language - an overview
The French press - daily newspapers
More....

La Baguette
Baguettes - France's emblematic bread. The delicious baguette is an icon of this country famed for its "gastronomy" and good food......

Mont St Michel - Brittany
Mont Saint Michel - Brittany





An introduction to France - 2010
Plan a holiday in France, a business trip, or just discover the country through the pages of this online guide, packed with clear and practical information about France. About-France.com is a site for travellers and tourists, as well as for students and anyone wanting to learn about France.
Site search: click here to search About-France.com

► City of Albi wins UNESCO world heritage status...  
Albi, a small city on the banks of the Tarn in southwest France, has joined the prestigious list of UNESCO's "World Heritage Sites". Located some fifty miles northeast of Toulouse, Albi boasts a unique mediaeval redbrick cathedral, an old town with overtones of Tuscany, and a fine museum devoted to the town's most famous son the 19th century artist Toulouse-Lautrec. See guide to Midi-Pyrenees region.

Parliamentary expenses scandals hit France
French junior minister Christian Blanc is under intense fire for having purchased €12,000 worth of cigars at the the taxpayer's expense in just six months. And in a move to cut wasteful public expenditure, President Sarkozy has cancelled this year's Presidential Garden Party, a saving of € 700,000.
Map of France

Weather news: August 2010.  France is enjoying a summer of mixed weather: Temperatures of up to 40°C were recorded in July. The weather forecast for August is for a short thundery period followed by a long spell of  hot sunny weather.
Autumn and winter in France 
After the long warm sunny days of Summer, Autumn (the Fall, for Americans) and Winter offer plenty of opportunities for discovering France - for those who are free to travel when they want or are visiting France on business or for professional reasons.
    Autumn is a great time to visit France, specially the first half of the season, when the weather is traditionally quite dry, and the warmth of Summer days still lingers on. In tourist areas, the most remarkable thing about France in the Autumn is the absence of tourists. Outside urban areas, where hotels may get busy with business clientele, accommodation is easy to find. In tourist areas, many hotels close down at the start of September, but there are always some that stay open to catch the few passing tourists.
     In low-lying parts of the south of France, September and October can still offer hot days with daytime temperatures peaking at over 30°Celsius; in the higher mountain areas too, warm days are quite common during this period, but night-time temperatures tend to be considerably cooler.  In the plains and valleys of southern France, Autum colours do not really begin to change the look of the landscape until  the end of October or the start of November; in the hills and mountains, leaves may begin to turn colour and fall a bit earlier, depending on the altitude and the onset of the first frosts.
       In the northern half of France, September is normally a very pleasant month, but days can turn chilly and damp by mid October - depending on the climatic conditions.
       November is not a particularly good time for visiting France. While the southern regions may remain bright and sunny, grey skies normally predominate in the north; and wherever you are in France, November days are short.
       As for winter, there is very little tourist activity in France, except in Paris, in the Alps, and in the Riviera. With its concentration of tourist attractions, Paris is a magnet for tourists in all seasons; there is always something to see and lots to do in Paris, whatever the time of year, whatever the weather.  The Alps - and other high mountain areas -  have their peak tourist season in the wintern months, thanks to winter sports; and France offers a wealth of opportunities for some of the best skiing in Europe. Finally, and as it has been doing for almost two hundred years now, the Riviera attracts visitors in the winter months on account of its sunshine and mild climate. In the area round Nice, Spring is usually very much in the air from early February onwards, at a time when much of the rest of France is often under snow, rain or leaden skies.
Some new pages and info on About-France.com.

France in Brief: France - a modern European state and a republic, is one of the world's major economies. France has a population of slightly over 60 million, approximately equal to that of the United Kingdom; but in terms of surface area, France is twice the size of the UK. The capital and the nation's largest city is Paris. The official language is French, though regional languages such as Breton and Alsacian are making a comeback.
Metropolitan France (France in Europe) is divided, administratively, into 22 regions, and 96 counties, known as departments. France's currency is the Euro, and most garages, hotels and shops in France accept credit cards, though may not always accept swipe cards without a microchip. Click here for advice about currency exchange. The cost of living in France is fairly similar to neighbouring countries, though some things (like supermarket food) may be more expensive. Staying in Paris can be expensive - as can staying on the Riviera, particularly during the peak tourist periods.. On the other hand, fruit, wine, travel, hotels and restaurants tend to be cheaper than they are in the United Kingdom, particularly in rural areas, and there are plenty of ways of avoiding tourist traps

One of the oldest nations in Europe, France - which the Romans called Gaul - is also a country with a very rich cultural and environmental heritage. The climate in France is quite varied, but generally west European - on the whole a bit warmer than the UK, a bit cooler than Spain . Don't expect to find summer in winter in the South of France!

The spirit of France....
Citroen 2CV - Photo by P Dinnen - licence CCLike any country, France is "different"; it's a special place, with its ways, its quirks, its wonderful variety, its joie-de-vivre and its bureaucracy. Depending on circumstances, life in France can be anything from incredibly relaxed to frustratingly rigid. Stereotypes die hard; there is still a comic-book stereotype image of the Frenchman dressed in a striped tee-shirt and beret, smoking a Gauloise, and carrying a string of onions round his neck; or else driving a Citroën 2CV to market, with two chickens and a rabbit on the back seat. But it is doubtful if this stereotype still exists anywhere; perhaps just here and there, but without the onions, and certainly not in modern urban France. And the iconic 2CV or "Deux-chevaux" is today a rare site on French roads.
Even so, rural France is still home to a dwindling generation of traditional country folk, living life as it used to be; and the heritage and traditions of the past are being carefully preserved and even reactivated by younger generations, often fugitives from city-life. The old France is still alive and well, in its own way, and still to be found in its villages and markets, traditions and regional specialities, such as the vast and very varied choice of French cheeses. And of course, it is true that the French eat snails - and very good they are too, as long as they have been properly prepared by the chef, in a delicious sauce of garlic, parsley and butter.... More about that on the wining and dining in France page.

Bread and wine
In spite of the great variety to be found in France, some things like the "baguette" the famous French bread stick, change little from one region to another; you'll find baguettes of all qualities in all regions, varying from the absolutely delicious, to the hard and tasteless. Yet a fresh baguette, coming warm from a traditional bakery, is surely one of the most delicious forms of bread to be found anywhere in the world! There are many different types of French bread, but tasty baguettes can be bought all over France, and a trip to the local "boulangerie" is often one of the daily highlights of a holiday in France. But do not confuse the "boulangerie" with the bread-counter in a supermarket! Indeed, the pre-frozen "fresh-baked" bread counters in supermarkets are not even allowed, by law, to call themselves "boulangeries".
Then there's wine. France is one of the world's great wine producing countries, and a country with a vast range of wines, from heavy Mediterranean reds to light fruity sparkling whites, via less well known varieties including "grey wine" (vin gris) and "yellow wine" (vin jaune). The About-France.com French wines pages are there to help you learn about the wines of France; Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne are just the tip of the iceberg; our wine guide takes you through these and all the other wine regions of France.

Planning a trip to France: France is one of the world's leading tourist destinations. If you have all the time in the world, you may not need to plan your holiday in France, you can just wander along at your own leisurely pace, and it will be a wonderful and varied experience. Whether you plan to drive or fly to France, you may find it useful to check out our words of warning tips on booking your travel to France.
About-France.com provides information to help you choose a destination, or travel through France, check your route through France, discover the things to visit in France and its regions, hire a car, find a place to stay, for example a holiday cottage, or a place to study French, and much more. There's even a page on medical cover for your stay in France, and what to do if you get taken ill or have an accident, as well as some advice and information for people interested in buying property in France.

City-breaks and short trips: Paris

Paris is Paris ... Staying in Paris for a couple of nights is a great way to discover France for the first time... or the second, or the third... Paris is a city that people easily fall in love with, and with city-centre to city-centre transport from Brussels or London, thanks to Eurostar, Paris is just a short train ride away, and a real break; it has masses of opportunities for cultural tourism, with some of the world's finest museums and monuments; it is one of the world's great shopping cities, and also arguably the finest city in Europe, a place where you can easily spend days just walking around, savouring the atmosphere, enjoying the life. But don't be caught out by France's closing hours and public holidays.
About-France.com provides information on Paris tourist attractions including things to do for free, Paris visitor passes and tips on how to save money during your stay. And staying in a hotel in Paris for a couple of nights won't break the bank But, as they say in the rest of France, Paris is Paris, it is not the whole of France. So what about the rest of France?

The rest of France - summer or winter - a wealth of experiences to choose from.
One of the largest countries in Western Europe, France is also the most varied in terms of scenery and climate. From Brittany to Provence, the Auvergne , the Loire Valley, the Dordogne or the Alps, Burgundy to the Languedoc , Poitou-Charentes or Aquitaine and the Pyrenees, each region is special, each is a holiday in itself. It is also a country with over 2000 miles of beaches and seashores, plenty of space for even the most demanding of holidaymakers! So what are you waiting for? Click the regions tab above to learn more about the different regions of Fance.

CLOSED TODAY ......... British and American tourists in France are sometimes surprised to find themselves faced with closed doors, on reaching a museum or a famous monument. So it is not a bad idea, before visiting France, to learn what is closed in France, and when? On Sundays, public holidays and holiday periods in general, shops, museums, businesses and public services may be closed. Museums are often closed on Tuesdays. See the About-France.com guide to Public holidays, Sundays and other holidays for more information.

To contact About-France.com, send an email to info "at" about-france.com 

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