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.
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- Experience the best of France with Lonely Planet's new, full colour Discover France guide. Take a look inside.
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Last updated: Jul 15, 2010
Tips & articles
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Ernest Hemingway did not drink here: Paris nights now
27 July 2010
The winding streets of Paris’ northeast have been the home to bars, restaurants and guinguettes (open...
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Top 10 city parks
22 July 2010
It’s all very well spending much of your business trip cooped up in an air-conditioned office, with only...
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The unsung museums of Paris
20 July 2010
Pass through La Pinacothèque during the weekday lunch hour, and you'll soon realise that if there's...
Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
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liveliest, most friendly University towns in europe?
by dtmowns 5 replies, last post 31 July 2010
What are your opinions? Basically, I'm looking for a place that's going to be very fun and welcoming for an American to study the local…
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Food and Wine Tour - France
by buggsy 2 replies, last post 31 July 2010
Hi All, I am heading over to France in Sep 2010.... I was wanting to do a great food/wine tour somewhere in France. I would like it…
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13 days in France for wine/food lovers
by newyorker123 4 replies, last post 30 July 2010
My boyfriend and I are going to France for 13 days in September. We want to spend a few days in Paris, and we are deciding where else…
France
Our Top Picks For France
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1 Bond with the Vallée Blanche descent
Make like 007 on the legendary adrenalin-assaulting ski-run from the Aiguille du Midi to Chamonix
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2 Have an art attack in the museums of Paris
Amble through the extraordinary artwork in the Musée d'Orsay, Musée Rodin, Centre Pompidou, Musée du Louvre, Musée Picasso...stopping at cafés and markets along the way, of course
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3 Ride to magical Mont St-Michel
Cycle at low-tide across to this magical sea-splashed abbey atop a tiny island; illuminated night-time visits are especially enchanting
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4 Savour bubbles in Épernay
See what goes into making real Champagne on a tour of Moët & Chandon, and savour the results
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5 Slurp oysters in Gujan Mestras
Devour oysters by the dozen in France's oyster-farming capital, just 60km south of Bordeaux
Fast Facts about France
- Currency: what's the Euro worth today?
- Population:
64 million
- Head of state: President Nicolas Sarkozy
- Varieties of cheese: more than 500
- Border countries: Andorra, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain, Switzerland
- Annual alcohol consumption (per person over 15 years):
wine 78.9L, beer 41L, cider 6.9L, spirits 9.1L
- Inventions: braille, bikini, digital calculator, hot air balloon, scuba equipment, stethoscope, parachute, sewing machine, guillotine
- Guinness World Record: Charles de Gaulle survived more assassination attempts (32) than anyone else in the world
- Sarkosis: unhealthy obsession condition with President Sarkozy
- French balls: traditional ball games include pétanque and the more formal boules (which has a 70-page rule book); both are forms of bowls
Our favourite France Blogs (beta)
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Lille: the perfect day trip from London
Blog: 501 Places - 31 July 2010
Planning a day trip from London? 90 minutes from the capital by train can take you to some interesting cities: Bristol, Southampton, Winchester, Canterbury, Stratford are just a few options. Until recently however, you would not have considered a French destination. All this changed with the introduction of the high speed line that takes the [...]Lille: the perfect day trip from London is a post from: 501 Places
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Cherry Clafoutis Recipe
Blog: Video Diary of an American in France - 31 July 2010
Here’s another recipe out of my French Alps Cookbook (coming this summer). There are so many variations of this recipe in books and on the internet but the French like things simple with limited ingredients, so here’s one of the French versions. This is perfect for summertime when the cherries are fresh.
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Finding My Way Home in Paris
Blog: ParisienSalon.com - 30 July 2010
Parisians are a territorial people. They tend to shop, eat and socialize within the confines of the arrondissement where they dwell. And because moving from apartment to apartment is as complicated a process as you can imagine within the city, Parisians stay put. Of course, that imposes a whole new level of pressure on a person looking for a new home in the French capital.
