France is a country noted for its culture, scenic beauty and cuisine and wines It is a highly developed country attracting more than 80 million tourists annually.

LOCATION: The largest country in western Europe, across the English Channel from Britain and bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. 

BORDERED BY: Spain, Andorra, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg.

CAPITAL & LARGEST CITY: Paris (pop. 2.1 million, 11.8 Metro area)

POPULATION of COUNTRY: 65.8 million (20th in the world)

AREA: 674,843 square kilometres (41st largest country – about the size of Burma)

POPULATION DENSITY: 116 per square kilometre (98th in the world)

INDEPENDENCE: 14 July 1789. INDEPENDENCE DAY: July 14th, Bastille Day

CURRENCY: Euro (EUR) Currently about .75 EUR to the Australian dollar.

CLIMATE: varies from cool in the north to Mediterranian in the south and cold in alpine areas.

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: French. English is spoken by 36 percent.

RELIGION: Catholicism is the main religion, but there is no state religion. 

DRIVES ON THE: right-hand side of the road.

TIME ZONE: GMT + 1

PHONE PREFIX: +33

FLAG: the tricolore with wide navy blue, white and red vertical stripes.

CUISINE: French cuisine is varied and regarded as one of the world’s best, and has influenced cookery styles around the world.

INTERESTING FACTS: (see below)

MORE INFORMATION: France Tourism

TRAVEL BOOKS: Pardon my French, Just Enough French, Cooking for Claudine, A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi, My French Connection, Secret Paris, Shannon Bennett's Paris.

COOKERY BOOKS: Becasse Inspirations & Flavours, Bitton: a French-inspired café cookbook, Cuisine du Temps, Pork & Sons.

MOVIES: Amelie, Chocolat,…… see more 

BLOGS: Chocolate & Zucchini, Dorien Greenspan, Paris-Best-Restaurants, David Lebovitz, This is France.

DICTIONARY: Translation

FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT FRANCE

• If you see a road sign saying ‘Pierres’ don’t look for men in berets. It’s advising you that stones might fall from the cliff on the roadside.
• The French credit Charlemagne creating schools in the 8^th Century.
• Over 270 million speak French around the world. In fact lingua franca means ‘a common language’.
• At one time, French was hoped would be the world language for all commerce.
• April Fool’s Day is ‘April fish’ in France.
• The Rhone Delta is the lowest part of France at -2m below sea level,
• There are mountain cheeses made in the Savoie region, where cows graze 6500ft to 8000ft above sea level.
• The world’s smelliest cheese is Vieux Boulogne as named by scientists at Cranfield University who used a smellometer.
• In 1740 a cow was found guilty of sorcery in France and publicly hanged?
• What is called a "French kiss" in England and America is known as an "English kiss" in France.
• French king Louis XIV had forty personal wigmakers and almost 1,000 wigs.
• France hosts the world’s most famous annual cycle race. Cyclists take three weeks to complete the over 4000 kilometre Tour de France.