France

Cities, towns, and villages

• Paris — the capital of France, is one of Europe's largest cities. Dubbed the "City of Light", the City of Love (la Ville Lumière), and Capital of Fashion, it is home to the world's finest and most luxurious fashion designers and fun cosmetics. A large part of the city, including the River Seine, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city has the second-highest number of Michelin restaurants in the world (after Tokyo) and contains numerous iconic landmarks, such as the world's most visited tourist site the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre Museum, Moulin Rouge, and Lido, making it the most popular tourist destination in the world.
• Bourges — City of art and history, Bourges is proud of its monuments : the Jacques Coeur Palace, the Saint-Etienne Cathedral – included on the UNESCO World Heritage list, its old streets and its half-timbered houses, is one of the greenest cities in France.
• Lille — it has a large and handsome historic centre with beautiful, Flemish-influenced architecture. As a major economic and academic centre, with a very large student population. Situated at the literal crossroads of Europe in the Hauts-de-France region, Lille is within a 90-minute train ride from Paris, Brussels and London.
• Lyon — is mostly known as the gastronomic epicentre of France, with one of the highest concentrations of restaurants per capita in the country. Lyon was a Roman provincial capital and thus has extensive Roman ruins. Architecture in old Lyon ranges from 12th century to modern, and is primarily influenced by its position in the Renaissance as a centre of silk production.
• Marseille — is the second most populated city of France (and third urban area) the biggest Mediterranean port and the economic center of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. In 2013 the city (with its region) was the European Capital of Culture, a large series of cultural events took place, and several new infrastructures were inaugurated.
• Nantes — is the capital of Pays de la Loire region in northwest France. Historically it was part of Brittany, whose dukes built up its castle and made the town their capital. It was also a major port on the Loire. Nowadays the economy of Nantes is driven by the service sector.
• Strasbourg — is the capital of the Grand-Est region of France and is most widely known for hosting a number of important European institutions. It is also famous for its beautiful historical centre - the Grande Île, which was the first city centre to be classified entirely as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
• Toulouse — the "Pink City", for its distinctive brick architecture, main city of Occitania. It's known for its rugby, its aerospace industry and for violets, which are used to make bonbons.
• Camargue — one of Europe's largest river deltas and wetlands, with a strong Provençal culture of bullfighting and cowboys. It is one of the best places in Europe for birdwatching; also great for biking and horse riding.
• Corsica — is an island in the Mediterranean Sea southeast of mainland France and west of Italy. It is a region of France with a special constitutional status. Corsica is one of the least-visited of the large Mediterranean islands, but has many attractions including historical sights, incredible landscapes and - on the coast at least - a dependably warm and sunny climate for most of the year. The waters around the island offer excellent opportunities for diving and watersports, while inland the mountains draw hikers and climbers. Lastly, visitors come to appreciate Corsica's distinctive and stubbornly separatist culture.
• Disneyland Paris — in the Paris suburb of Marne-la-Vallée, has the Disney Empire's European variant of their archetypal "Magic Kingdom" theme park, the even has its own TGV hub It was the second Disney theme park resort to open outside the United States, after Tokyo Disney Resort.
• French Alps — are part of the large European chain of mountains known as the Alps. They are primarily attractive for outdoor activities, such as Alpine Skiing and mountaineering. Less famous but still popular sports, in the region, include mountain bike (cross-country, Downhill), white water rafting and paragliding. The region is also noted for its stunning beauty, including many alpine lakes, the largest being Lake Geneva (Lac Leman), Lac d'Annecy and Lac de Bourget; these lakes are year-round attractions for their beauty and access to numerous water sports.
• French Riviera (Côte d'Azur) — located on the French coast of the Mediterranean Sea, has the glitz and glamour rivalled by few places on earth. Although the Riviera is famous for the glamour of St. Tropez, Monaco or the Cannes Film Festival, there are many other less well known attractions, such as the perched villages of Èze and Gourdon, the perfumeries of Grasse and the glass blowers of Biot, the potters in Vallauris. The Riviera has been the inspiration for many well-known artists such as Picasso and Matisse, and many of their works are on display in local museums and art galleries.
• Nice — the heart of the French Riviera with a world-famous beach promenade, and gateway to the tiny nation of Monaco.
• Loire Valley — (French: Vallée de la Loire) (Valley of the Loire River) is a major tourist destination within France.
• Luberon — is an area in Vaucluse, Provence, dominated by a small mountain range running East-West between the Durance and Calavon rivers. The mountain range reaches above 3000 ft (1000 m.) and is largely uninhabited and natural terrain, apart from some small attractive villages. There is one very narrow winding road running South-North from Lourmarin to Apt over the mountains with occasional views over the Provence countryside. Much of this is fairly unspoilt agricultural land with many vineyards contributing to the underrated Cotes du Luberon appellation. Very popular with cyclists, hill walkers and rock climbers, the area has remained largely unspoilt for centuries.
• Verdon Gorge — a beautiful turquoise-green river canyon, great for kayaking, hiking, rock-climbing or just driving around the limestone cliffs. The gorge varies from between 6 and 100m at the bottom, and 200 to 1,500 m (660 to 4,920 ft) at its rim.