Introducing France
Good, bad or ugly, everyone has something to say about France and the French: chic, smart, sexy, rude, racist, bureaucratic, bitchy as hell, pavements studded with dog poo, baguettes that dry out by lunchtime and a penchant for torching cars is some of the chitchat on the street. Spice up the cauldron with the odd urban riot, political scandal and a 35-hour working week - not to mention a massive box-office hit like The Da Vinci Code taking over Paris or superstar Angelina Jolie allegedly plumping for a chateau in Normandy to raise her kids - and the international media is all ears too.
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This is, after all, that fabled land of good food and wine, of royal chateaux and perfectly restored farmhouses, of landmarks known the world over and hidden landscapes few really know. Savour art and romance in the shining capital on the River Seine. See glorious pasts blaze forth at Versailles. Travel south for Roman civilisation and the sparkling blue Med; indulge your jet-set fantasies in balmy Nice and St-Tropez. Ski the Alps. Sense the subtle infusion of language, music and mythology in Brittany brought by 5th-century Celtic invaders. Smell ignominy on the beaches of Normandy and battlefields of Verdun and the Somme. And know that this is but the tip of that gargantuan iceberg the French call culture.
Yes, this is that timeless land whose people have a natural joie de vivre and savoir- faire - and have for centuries. But change is afoot. France and the French are fed up - and inspired. It's on the tip of everyone's tongues.
Ready to go?
- Download our new French Offline Translator app. Simply talk or type, and it translates. Available for iPhone, iPad and Android
- Check out the Lonely Planet Paris City Guide app and our new Paris Walking Tours with Audio available via iTunes
- Discover the Loire valley by bike & barge
- Learn to cook your own Parisian banquet
Last updated: Feb 9, 2012
Tips & articles
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The ultimate guide to Brittany
15 May 2012
With its fretted coastline and incredibly varied landscapes, Brittany is one of France‘s greatest charmers. The region is bursting with...
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Gastronomic Provence
15 May 2012
Lonely Planet has produced this article for Vaucluse Tourism in Provence. All editorial views are those of Lonely Planet alone...
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Believe your eyes: the world’s strangest optical illusions and mirages
10 May 2012
Can you believe your eyes? When it comes to these head-twisters, chances are you can’t. Come around the globe with...
Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
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Re: Chemin de St-Jacques walk in Walking in France guide
by peatravelwriter 28 May 2012
I wonder which segments of the Chemin St. Jacques did you walk? During my cross country walk through the Pyrenees, sometimes on GR-10…
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RE: First time driving trip to France, 8 days from Calais. Any ideas please?
by Mrs_Trellis 28 May 2012
Why not bumble down to Colmar and back then? You could go down through the Champagne region (Rheims, Epernay) and then head across countr…
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RE: Single mom wanting to move to Europe, possibly teach English to non-English
by canayjun 28 May 2012
i think you are incredibly naive to think you can just 'go' to France, or anywhere in Europe to teach English, especially with no qualificat…
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