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SELECT
A REGION
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France
is
Europe's
no.1 holiday destination, and tourism is one of France's major
industries....
nationwide. The most famous areas, such as the Alps, the Riviera,
Brittany
and Provence need little introduction; but they are just four out of
dozens
of regions and areas each of which has plenty to discover, and plenty
to
offer. The descriptions below are just designed as short introductions.
If
you want more, the regions themselves are just waiting for your visit.
Photo right: The Auvergne region
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1. North West France (Brittany and Normandy) Easily accessible for visitors from the UK and from Northern Europe, Brittany and Normandy offer a variety of coastal and inland tourist destinations, with plenty of attractions. Situated a couple of hundred miles south of the English Westcountry, they are in many respects rather like a warmer sunnier version of the West of England.... with less crowds, notably inland! Historically, Brittany and Cornwall have a lot in common, notably their Celtic roots. The north coast of Brittany, with its rugged granite cliffs and little sandy coves, is fairly similar to North Cornwall, though a bit warmer and sunnier. The south coast of Brittany can be hot in the summer months.... though as with the West of England, rainy weeks remain a possibility in any season. Click here for more about holidaying in Brittany
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Map of France,
divided into six tourist areas.  These six areas do not exactly cover French administrative regions; most regions fall within a single area, but in a few places this is not the case. Generally speaking, the areas on the map above correspons as follows to official administrative regions. 1. Brittany and Normandy. 2. Pays de la Loire, Centre, Burgundy 3. Nord–Pas-de-Calais, Picardy, Champagne-Ardennes, Loraine, Alsace 4. Poitou-Charentes, Aquitaine 5. Limousin, Auvergne, Franche-Comté, Rhône Alpes. 6a. Midi Pyrénées 6b. Languedoc Roussillon. 6c. Provence Alpes Côte-d'Azur |
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2. Paris to the Loire Valley, Central France * Tourist
information about Paris |
3. Nord Est
(North East France)
North
Eastern France is not well known as a tourist region; but it is a
region certainly worth considering for short break holidays.
Thanks to the Channel Tunnel, you can leave work in the London area,
escape
from the M25, and two to three hours later find yourself in the deep
rolling
countryside of the "Pas de Calais" department.
From the cliffs of Cap Gris Nez to the
valley of the Somme, the western part of North East France,
the region of Picardy, (photo left, by Stéphane
Bouilland) is
undulating
countryside, with small towns, lots of rivers, and plenty of attractive
countryside.
The central part of the region, from Calais and Dunkerque
down to the wide open plains of Champagne,
is flatter and, near the
Belgian border, partly industrial. Yet this is a region with plenty of
history - some magnificent cathedrals and impressive monuments from the
two world wars, including Lutyens' stark memorial on the hiltop
overlooking the cemetery of Thiepval . South of the city of Rheims - Reims in
French - lie the world famous champagne vineyards and wine cellars.
The real north east corner of France
includes the regions
of Alsace and Lorraine. This is
an attractive region with
plenty of large coniferous forests on and near the Ardennes and the
Vosges mountains
(which
are quite similar to the Black Forest in Germany).
The southern part of Lorraine is
extremely rural, with
rolling hills and lots of old small towns that look as if time has
passed
them by. Property in this part of France can be very cheap.
Alsace, lying between the Vosges and the
Rhine, is a
very distinct region, with its hills, its vineyards and its
steep-roofed
half-timbered houses, painted in many colours. The Alsace capital Strasbourg
is seat of the European Parliament. Historically Alsace was a
German-speaking
region, and the culture and traditional architecture of the region have
more in common
with the German tradition than with France.
Administrative regions:
Nord - Pas-de-Calais , Picardie,
Champagne-Ardennes, Lorraine, Alsace
Main
cities: Lille, Dunkerque, Arras,
Valenciennes, Strasbourg, Rheims, Nancy, Metz
Access: Road access via Calais (ferry
or tunnel). Flights to Strasbourg, Lille, Luxembourg.
*
Alsace tourist board
* Accommodation: Holiday
gîtes in Alsace Lorraine and north east France
*
Photos
of Picardy by Stephane Bouilland
4. The French
Atlantic coast and hinterland
The west coast of France is a popular tourist region. From the mouth of
the Loire as far as the Spanish border, France's Atlantic
coastline
is characterised by long expanses of sandy beaches, offshore fishing,
and a broad band of very flat land, some of it marshy. In several
parts, notably around La
Baule, the coastline is quite heavily built up
with
sea front development; but in other parts, notably away from the towns,
there
are long sections of unspoiled coastline. The ports of La Rochelle and Rochefort
are very attractive, as well as being popular with yachtsmen.
Inland from the coast, the region is
very pleasant;
the Charente Maritime region is often called the
"green Venice",
on account of its extensive network of drainage canals and waterways.
This
is a region where the pace of life is slow, like the water in the
rivers
that flow through it. Rowing boats can be hired in many places.
North west of Bordeaux lies the Saintonge,
the
home of Cognac and the aperitif wine "Pineau". This generally flat
agricultural
region is famous for its historic churches, many of which have
exquisite
mediaeval carvings. South west of the historic city of Bordeaux lie "les Landes",
the largest
continuously forested area in Western Europe; and of course, around
Bordeaux
lie miles and miles of famous vineyards, producing a wide range of
wines
that include some of the best and most expensive in the world.
Inland from Bordeaux lies the Dordogne "department",
rising from the coastal plain in the west towards the Massif Central (sector
5, below)
in the east. The Dordogne, centered round the town of Perigueux, is famous
for its farmland and fine cuisine. Its pretty villages and towns have
long
attracted holidaymakers and retirees from Britain, to such an extent
that
there are now villages with their own cricket club and pub
"à l'anglaise",
not to mention a range of craftsmen and artists who have fled the
hassle
and the colder climate further north.
The climate on France's Atlantic coast
is generally
mild to warm; and although rain cannot be excluded even in summer, the
clouds
often pass over the coastal region, before breaking over the hills
further
inland.
Administrative
regions: Poitou-Charentes, and parts of the
Pays de la Loire and Aquitaine regions
Main cities:
Nantes, St
Nazaire, Niort, La Rochelle, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Périgueux
Access: motorway via Paris or Rouen.
Flights to Bordeaux or Nantes, as well as La Rochelle, Rochefort, Rodez
and Bergerac.
* Poitou Charentes tourist board
* Vendée,
Poitou,
Charentes, Aquitaine, a brief guide
* Accommodation: Cottages
on the Atlantic coast,
Cottages
in Dordogne and Lot et Garonne
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5a. Montagne (Mountain France west - Limousin - Auvergne - Massif Central, central French uplands) Mountain France divides into four distinct zones,
some of which are
far better known, and far more touristic, than others. The Western
Massif Central (including the
Dordogne),
the Eastern Massif Central, the Prealps and Alps, and the Jura. |
| 5b. Montagne (Mountain France east - The Alps and the Jura) |
The hills lying
between the Auvergne mountains and the
Rhone valley include a lot of high land at over 1000 metres (over 3000
ft)
altitude, but they are generally less mountainous than the Auvergne
mountains.
They are covered in large areas of coniferous forest. This is also good
hiking country.
The Alps...
well they are the Alps... though it should not be forgotten that the
foothills
of the Alps, such as the Vercors, are in many ways just as attractive
as the high Alps themselves
- and less crowded and more accessible! Most winter sports resorts now
cater well for
summer visitors too, though the Alps are much more popular in summer
for hiking and mountaineering. Away from the ski resorts, there are
plenty of
attractive
old villages and towns, like Annecy,
on the shores of one of France's most beautiful lakes.
Finally, the Jura
and "Franche Comté".
France's least-known mountain range, the Jura extends along the Swiss
border
from Geneva almost to the Rhine valley. Old limestone hills, the Jura
peak
at about 5000 ft, on the Swiss border; but most of the area consists of
a series of high plateaux, getting higher towards the border.
At the
southern end, the Jura has a lot of spectacular deep river valleys, and
a
lot of lakes too. The hills are quite forested, and the villages on the
French
side of the border are very similar to those on the Swiss side. Franche
Comté,
which includes the Jura, has the greatest concentration of deciduous
forests
in Europe. The capital of Franche-Comté, Besançon
(photo left),
has a remarkable historic city centre, surrounded by a loop in the
river Doubs.
Administrative
regions: Rhone-Alpes east of the Rhône,
Franche-Comté, plus the department of "Hautes Alpes"
Main
cities: Lyons,
Grenoble, Chambéry, Annecy, Besançon.
Access: motorway via Paris,
Rheims . Flights to Geneva, Grenoble,
Basel-Mulhouse or
Lyons.
Eurostar seasonal to Grenoble or Bourg Saint Maurice.
* Rhone Alps tourist board
* Franche-Comté tourist information
* Cottages
in the Jura and Alps,
For more
details on the Provence-Riviera region, visit the new Gitelink
Provence Guide
The Midi
is generally speaking the most popular tourist region in France, and
needs little introduction. The coastal region is very busy in Summer,
and travelling to the south of France by car on a
summer Saturday can be a nightmare experience; but the region has
masses to
offer, in terms of climate, history, and landscape.
Those who do not want to spend their
holidays being mass-grilled on a beach will prefer areas inland from
the
coastal strip, notably to the hills and mountains of Provence,with
their dry landscapes and deep river gorges and valleys, or
the
valleys of the Cevennes, more wooded and rural, or
the inland areas of the Languedoc,
with their huge vineyards and "garrigue", arid rocky Mediteranean hills
with their vegetation of scrub, aromatic bushes and occasional fields.
On their southern flanc, the Massif Central mountains are similar to
those in upper Provence, and cut through by deep valleys such as that
of the Tarn. (photo).
The area has a lot of historic cities,
such as Nimes
with its
superb Roman remains, Avignon
with its famous bridge, Arles,
and the university town of Aix
en Provence. The Languedoc coast offers large expanses of
sandy beaches, between
rather brash modern or sixties resorts such as Cap d'Agde.
The Pyrenees, forming a
natural land barrier between
France and Spain, are a beautiful range of high mountains, thickly
wooded
on their lower slopes, but offering good mountain and hill walking
higher
up - not to mention the attraction of day trips into Spain. The biggest
city in the Pyrenees area, Pau,
was in the early 19th century a favourite haunt of English travellers.
On the Spanish
side, the Pyrenees are much drier. Betwen the Pyrenees and the southern
flank
of the Massif Central, southwest France is in summer a land of warm
rolling
hills and valleys, a rich agricultural area famous for its abundant
crops
and cereals.
Historic cities such as Toulouse,
and Albi,
with its astonishing fortified mediaeval cathredal built almost
entirely of red brick, are rich in atmosphere. But if you're
driving down from
the UK or northern Europe, don't underestimate the journey time, and
remember
too that these areas can get very hot in summer.
The Riviera ("la
Côte d'Azur") itself is
fairly heavily built up in many parts, and accommodation is expensive,
particularly
in the most famous resorts like St.
Tropez, Cannes
or Nice.
These however are the most famous points on the Mediteranean coast, and
in the months of high summer are swarming with tourists from all over
Europe and beyond. Anyone thinking of camping or taking a hotel along
this part of the coast in July or August is advised to book
well in advance. The mountainous hinterland,
on the other hand, the "Alpes de Haute Provence" and the "Alpes
Maritimes", is very attractive, with its small villages and
towns,
many of them perched precariously on hillsides or beside trickling
rivers
that become raging torrents in the springtime.
Nice's seafront (photo right) is known as the "Promenade des Anglais" - the place where the English like to walk - a name that it acquired two centuries ago when this erstwhile little fishing port was discovered by the first English tourists on their way to or from Italy.
Administrative regions:
Most
of Midi-Pyrénées Languedoc Roussillon,
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, plus the department of
"Pyrénées Atlantique".
Access: airports
in Toulouse, Perpignan, Carcassonne, Montpellier, Nimes, Marseilles and
Nice, served by several airlines including low-cost carriers.
Road:
motorway via Lyons and Avignon. For the Pyrenees and Languedoc,
motorway via Clermont Ferrand or via Toulouse
Train:
Eurostar from London to Lille: change at Lille for direct TGVs to
Marseilles, Cannes, Nice and the Riviera resorts, Montpellier,
Perpignan.
* Holiday
cottages in the south of France
This part of France needs little introduction. Paris,
as they say, is Paris... and it's less than three hours by
train from
London, or two hours from Brussels. If choosing a hotel in Paris, check
out the combined Eurostar/hotel offers available, or look for
discounted hotel rates on the Internet. Paris hotels may on the whole
be cheap by London standards, but they are expensive by French
standards.
The western Massif Central
includes essentially includes the Quercy, and
Limousin the area round the city of 
With peaks at over 6000 ft,
the Monts
d'Auvergne
are the highest points in central France. In this region there is
plenty
of good hill walking, as well as other activities on the area's fast
flowing
rivers. This region is also drier and sunnier in summer than
the western Massif
Central, and less touristic too, largely because it has not yet been
"discovered;"
it is a region rich in history and culture, with fortified
castles,
old churches and historic towns, as well as being very beautiful, with
many hiking trails and its
deep river valleys ideal for river sports.