France country guide – Lonely Planet

France seduces vacationers with iconic landmarks and cafe terraces, epic history and bustling village daily life. Experiences – and cuisine – to be savored.

Cultural Savoir Faire

France is about entire world-class artwork and architecture. It seduces with legendary landmarks regarded the environment over and climbing stars but to be learned. This country’s cultural repertoire is staggering – in volume and diversity. And this is exactly where the beauty of la belle France lies: when superstars these as Mademoiselle Eiffel, royal Versailles and the movie star-ridden French Riviera have been ticked off, there’s ample more to thrill. France is, following all, the world’s leading tourism vacation spot with some 89 million readers every single yr who flock to the land of the Gauls to feast on its extraordinary wealth of museums, galleries, ateliers (artist workshops) and fingers-on cultural activities.

Gastronomy

Food items is of tremendous significance to the French and the day by day culinary agenda usually takes no prisoners: breakfasting on heat croissants from the boulangerie (bakery), stopping off at Parisian bistros, and market place purchasing are second character to the French – and it would be impolite to refuse. But French gastronomy goes considerably further than just eating exceedingly perfectly. Its experiential nature implies there is often a little something tasty to notice, discover and attempt. Be it flipping crêpes in Brittany or clinking champagne flutes in ancient Reims cellars, the culinary possibilities are endless.

Art de Vivre

The rhythm of day-to-day lifetime – dictated by the seasons in the depths of la France profonde (rural France) – exudes an intimacy that will get under your pores and skin. Never resist. Alternatively, stay the French lifestyle. Embrace the luxurious of straightforward, day-to-day rituals getting transformed into unforgettable moments, be it a coffee and croissant in the Parisian cafe the place Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir satisfied to philosophise, a stroll via the lily-clad gardens Monet painted, or a wander on a seashore in Brittany scented with the subtle infusion of language, music and mythology introduced by 5th-century Celtic invaders.

Outside Action

The terroir (land) of France weaves a varied journey from northern France’s cliffs and sand dunes to the piercing blue sea of the French Riviera and Corsica’s inexperienced oak forests. Outdoor motion is what France’s lyrical landscape needs – and there is a little something for everybody. Whether or not you finish up strolling barefoot throughout wave-rippled sand to Mont St-Michel, driving a cable motor vehicle to glacial panoramas higher than Chamonix or cartwheeling down Europe’s highest sand dune, France does not disappoint. Its terrific outdoor is thrilling, with limitless options and the next adventure begging to be experienced. Allez!