hotels in Paris - France

VISIT To Paris France

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:09:00 +0000

Explore France and Vacation to Paris, France, the City of Lights ...
Paris from the eleventh century was a popular destination for traders, students and religious pilgrimages, but its 'tourist industry' began on a large scale only with the 19th-century appearance of rail travel, namely from the state's organisation of France's rail network, with Paris at its centre, from 1848. Among Paris' first mass attractions drawing international interest were the above-mentioned Expositions Universelles that were the origin of Paris' many monuments, namely the Eiffel Tower from 1889. These, in addition to the capital's Second Empire embellishments, did much to make the city itself the attraction it is today.

Paris' museums and monuments are among its highest-esteemed attractions; tourism has motivated both the city and national governments to create new ones. The city's most prized museum, the Louvre, welcomes over 8 million visitors a year, being by far the world's most-visited art museum. The city's cathedrals are another main attraction: Its Notre Dame de Paris and the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur receive 12 million and eight million visitors, respectively. The Eiffel Tower, by far Paris' most famous monument, averages over six million visitors per year and more than 200 million since its construction. Disneyland Resort Paris is a major tourist attraction not only for visitors to Paris but for visitors to the rest of Europe as well, with 14.5 million visitors in 2007.

The Louvre is one of the largest and most famous museums, housing many works of art, including the Mona Lisa (La Joconde) and the Venus de Milo statue. Works by Pablo Picasso and Auguste Rodin are found in Musée Picasso and Musée Rodin, respectively, while the artistic community of Montparnasse is chronicled at the Musée du Montparnasse. Starkly apparent with its service-pipe exterior, the Centre Georges Pompidou, also known as Beaubourg, houses the Musée National d'Art Moderne. Art and artifacts from the Middle Ages and Impressionist eras are kept in Musée Cluny and Musée d'Orsay, respectively, the former with the prized tapestry cycle The Lady and the Unicorn. Paris' newest (and third-largest) museum, the Musée du quai Branly, opened its doors in June 2006 and houses art from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas.

Many of Paris' once-popular local establishments have come to cater to the tastes and expectations of tourists, rather than local patrons. Le Lido, the Moulin Rouge cabaret-dancehall, for example, are a staged dinner theatre spectacle, a dance display that was once but one aspect of the cabaret's former atmosphere. All of the establishment's former social or cultural elements, such as its ballrooms and gardens, are gone today. Much of Paris' hotel, restaurant and night entertainment trades have become heavily dependent on tourism.

Sports in Paris

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:05:00 +0000

Paris, France Vacations, Tourism & Attractions
Paris France most popular sport clubs are the football club Paris Saint-Germain FC, the basketball team Paris Basket Racing, and the rugby union club Stade Français. The 80,000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located in Saint-Denis. It is used for football, rugby union and track and field athletics. It hosts annually French national rugby team's home matches of the Six Nations Championship, French national football team for friendlies and major tournaments qualifiers, and several important matches of the Stade Français rugby team.
In addition to Paris Saint-Germain FC, the city has a number of other amateur football clubs: Paris FC, Red Star, RCF Paris and Stade Français Paris. The last is the football section of the omnisport club of the same name, most notable for its rugby team.

The city's major rugby side is Stade Français. Racing Métro 92 Paris (who also plays in Top 14) is another rugby team, which actually contested the first ever final against Stade Français in 1892. Paris also hosted the 1900 and 1924 Olympic Games and was venue for the 1938 and 1998 FIFA World Cups.

Although the starting point and the route of the famous Tour de France varies each year, the final stage always finishes in Paris, and, since 1975, the race has finished on the Champs-Elysées. Tennis is another popular sport in Paris and throughout France. The French Open, held every year on the red clay of the Roland Garros National Tennis Centre near the Bois de Boulogne, is one of the four Grand Slam events of the world professional tennis tour. The 2006 UEFA Champions League Final between Arsenal and FC Barcelona was played in the Stade de France. Paris hosted the 2007 Rugby World Cup final at Stade de France on 20 October 2007.

Entertainment & performing arts in Paris

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:55:00 +0000

Vacation to Paris, France includes information for those visiting, studying, or living in Paris.
Paris France largest opera houses are the nineteenth-century Opéra Garnier (historical Paris Opéra) and modern Opéra Bastille; the former tends towards the more classic ballets and operas, and the latter provides a mixed repertoire of classic and modern. In middle of 19th century, there were active two other competing opera houses: Opéra-Comique (which still exists to this day) and Théâtre Lyrique (which in modern times changed its profile and name to Théâtre de la Ville).

Theatre traditionally has occupied a large place in Parisian culture. This still holds true today; and many of its most popular actors today are also stars of French television. Some of Paris' major theatres include Bobino, Théâtre Mogador, and the Théâtre de la Gaîté-Montparnasse. Some Parisian theatres have also doubled as concert halls. Many of France's greatest musical legends, such as Édith Piaf, Maurice Chevalier, Georges Brassens, and Charles Aznavour, found their fame in Parisian concert halls: Legendary yet still-showing examples of these are Le Lido, Bobino, l'Olympia, la Cigale, and le Splendid.

The Élysées-Montmartre, much reduced from its original size, is a concert hall today. The New Morning is one of few Parisian clubs still holding jazz concerts, but the same also specialises in 'indie' music. In more recent times, the Le Zénith hall in Paris' La Villette quarter and a "parc-omnisports" stadium in Bercy serve as large-scale rock concert halls.
Several yearly festivals take place in Paris, such as Rock en Seine.

Parisians tend to share the same movie-going trends as many of the world's global cities, that is to say with a dominance of Hollywood-generated film entertainment. French cinema comes a close second, with major directors (réalisateurs) such as Claude Lelouch, François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, and Luc Besson, and the more slapstick/popular genre with director Claude Zidi as an example. European and Asian films are also widely shown and appreciated. A specialty of Paris is its very large network of small movie theatres: on a given week, the movie fan has the choice between around 300 old or new movies from all over the world.
Many of Paris' concert/dance halls were transformed into movie theatres when the media became popular from the 1930s. Later, most of the largest cinemas were divided into multiple, smaller rooms: Paris' largest cinema today is by far le Grand Rex theatre with 2,800 seats, whereas other cinemas all have fewer than 1,000 seats. There is now a trend toward modern multiplexes that contain more than 10 or 20 screens.

Capital of France

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:49:00 +0000

All about Paris

Paris city, its administrative limits unchanged since 1860, is one of few cities that have not evolved politically with its real demographic growth; this issue is at present being discussed in plans for a "Grand Paris" (Greater Paris) that will extend Paris' administrative limits to embrace much more of its urban tissue.
As the capital, Paris is the seat of France's national government. For the executive, the two chief officers each have their own official residences, which also serve as their offices. The President of France resides at the Élysée Palace in the 8th arrondissement, while the Prime Minister's seat is at the Hôtel Matignon in the 7th arrondissement. Government ministries are located in various parts of the city; many are located in the 7th arrondissement, near the Matignon.
The two houses of the French Parliament are also located on the Left Bank. The upper house, the Senate, meets in the Palais du Luxembourg in the 6th arrondissement, while the more important lower house, the Assemblée Nationale, meets in the Palais Bourbon in the 7th. The President of the Senate, the second-highest public official in France after the President of the Republic, resides in the "Petit Luxembourg", a smaller palace annex to the Palais du Luxembourg.

France's highest courts are located in Paris. The Court of Cassation, the highest court in the judicial order, which reviews criminal and civil cases, is located in the Palais de Justice on the Île de la Cité, while the Conseil d'État, which provides legal advice to the executive and acts as the highest court in the administrative order, judging litigation against public bodies, is located in the Palais Royal in the 1st arrondissement.
The Constitutional Council, an advisory body with ultimate authority on the constitutionality of laws and government decrees, also meets in the Palais Royal.

Economy of Paris

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:43:00 +0000

Visit to Paris

Economy of Paris , with a 2007 GDP of €533.6 billion (US$731.3 billion), the Paris region has one of the highest GDPs in Europe, making it an engine of the global economy: Were it a country, it would rank as the seventeenth-largest economy in the world, almost as large as the Dutch economy. The Paris Region is France's premier centre of economic activity: While its population accounted for 18.8% of the total population of metropolitan France in 2007, its GDP accounted for 28.7% of metropolitan France's GDP. Activity in the Paris urban area, though diverse, does not have a leading specialised industry (such as Los Angeles with entertainment industries or London and New York with financial industries in addition to their other activities). Recently, the Paris economy has been shifting towards high-value-added service industries (finance, IT services, etc.) and high-tech manufacturing (electronics, optics, aerospace, etc).

The Paris region's most intense economic activity through the central Hauts-de-Seine département and suburban La Défense business district places Paris' economic centre to the west of the city, in a triangle between the Opéra Garnier, La Défense, and the Val de Seine. Paris' administrative borders have little consequences on the limits of its economic activity: Although most workers commute from the suburbs to work in the city, many commute from the city to work in the suburbs. Although the Paris economy is largely dominated by services, it remains an important manufacturing powerhouse of Europe, especially in industrial sectors such as automobiles, aeronautics, and electronics. Over recent decades, the local economy has moved towards high-value-added activities, in particular business services.

The 1999 census indicated that, of the 5,089,170 persons employed in the Paris urban area, 16.5% worked in business services, 13.0% in commerce (retail and wholesale trade), 12.3% in manufacturing, 10.0% in public administrations and defence, 8.7% in health services, 8.2% in transportation and communications, 6.6% in education, and the remaining 24.7% in many other economic sectors. In the manufacturing sector, the largest employers were the electronic and electrical industry (17.9% of the total manufacturing workforce in 1999) and the publishing and printing industry (14.0% of the total manufacturing workforce), with the remaining 68.1% of the manufacturing workforce distributed among many other industries. Tourism and tourist related services employ 6.2% of Paris' workforce, and 3.6% of all workers within the Paris Region.

universities in France - List

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:29:00 +0000

Academy & University in France
This is a list public universities in France, including the one French "university centre", which are distinguished as being state institutes of higher education and research that practice open admissions. The list does not include public institutions that practice competitive admissions, such as Paris Dauphine University, which changed status in 2004, the three national polytechnic institutes, the grandes écoles (among which are the three universities of technology), or private universities, such as the Catholic universities, the Protestant universities, the private secular universities, and the American University of Paris. This list does make mention of university systems related to the public universities, including the historic city university systems and the new centres for research and higher education.

Academy of Aix and Marseille
* University of Provence (Aix-Marseille I, Université de Provence : Aix-Marseille I)
* University of the Mediterranean (Aix-Marseille II, Université de la Méditerranée : Aix-Marseille II)
* Paul Cézanne University (Aix-Marseille III, Université Paul Cézanne : Aix-Marseille III)
* University of Avignon (University of Avignon and the Vaucluse, Université d'Avignon et des pays du Vaucluse)

Academy of Amiens
* University of Picardie Jules Verne (Université de Picardie Jules Verne)
Academy of Besançon
* University of Franche-Comté (Université de Franche-Comté)
Academy of Bordeaux
* University of Bordeaux 1 (Université Bordeaux 1 Sciences Technologies or Bordeaux 1)
* Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2 University (Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2)
* Michel de Montaigne University Bordeaux 3 (Université Michel de Montaigne Bordeaux 3)
* Montesquieu University - Bordeaux IV (Université Montesquieu - Bordeaux IV)
* University of Pau and Pays de l'Adour (Université de Pau et des pays de l'Adour)
* University of Bordeaux
* Pôle universitaire de Bordeaux

Academy of Caen
* University of Caen Lower Normandy (Université de Caen Basse-Normandie)
Academy of Clermont-Ferrand
* University of Auvergne (Université d'Auvergne, formerly Clermont 1)
* Blaise Pascal University (Université Blaise Pascal, formerly Clermont-Ferrand II)
* University of Clermont-Ferrand

Academy of Corsica
* University of Corsica Pascal Paoli (Corsican: Università di Corsica Pasquale Paoli, French: Université de Corse Pascal Paoli)
Academy of Créteil
* Paris 8 University (Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis)
* Paris 12 Val de Marne University (Université Paris 12 Val de Marne)
* Paris 13 University - Paris North (Université Paris 13 - Paris Nord, UP13)
* University of Marne la Vallée (Université de Marne la Vallée, UMLV)
* University of Paris
* Université Paris-Es
List Academy/ University in France
# Academy of Dijon
# Academy of French Guiana
# Academy of French Polynesia
# Academy of Grenoble
# Academy of Guadeloupe
# Academy of Lille
# Academy of Limoges
# Academy of Lyon
# Academy of Martinique
# Academy of Mayotte
# Academy of Montpellier
# Academy of Nancy and Metz
# Academy of Nantes
# Academy of Nice
# Academy of Orléans and Tours
# Academy of New Caledonia
# Academy of Paris
# Academy of Poitiers
# Academy of Reims
# Academy of Rennes
# Academy of Réunion
# Academy of Rouen
# Academy of Saint Pierre and Miquelon
# Academy of Strasbourg
# Academy of Toulouse
# Academy of Versailles
# Academy of Wallis and Futuna

Universities in France

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:24:00 +0000

Study in France or find scholarship
The public universities in France are named after the big cities near which they are located, followed by a numeral if there are several. Paris, for example, has thirteen universities, labelled Paris I to XIII. Some of them are, however, not in Paris itself, but in the suburbs. In addition, most of the universities have taken a more informal name which is usually the one of a personality or a particular place. Sometimes, it is also a way to honor a famous alumnus, for example the science university in Strasbourg is known as "Université Louis Pasteur" while its official name is "Université Strasbourg I".
The French system is currently undergoing a reform, the Bologna process, which aims at creating European standards for university studies, most notably a similar time-frame everywhere, with three years devoted to the Bachelor's degree ("licence" in French), two for the Master's, and three for the doctorate. French universities have also adopted the ECTS credit system (for example, a licence is worth 180 credits). However the traditional curriculum based on end of semester examinations still remains in place in most universities. This double standard has added complexity to a system which also remains quite rigid. It is difficult to change a major during undergraduate studies without losing a semester or even a whole year. Students usually also have few course selection options once they enroll in a particular diploma.

France also hosts various branch colleges of foreign universities. These include Baruch College, the University of London Institute in Paris, Parsons Paris School of Art and Design and the American University in Paris.

Study In France

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:18:00 +0000

Study in France : Collage Universities, master's degrees, of PhD programmes
Higher education in France is divided between mostly-private grandes écoles and public universities. Grandes écoles are considered more prestigious than universities (tellingly, the term literally means "great schools", "elite schools"), and they are generally much more selective than other higher education institutions. Universities considered as Grand_Établissement are also very well recognized. They belong to the public system, and carry out a large part of French academic research.
A striking trait of French higher education, compared with other countries, is the small size and multiplicity of establishments, each specialized in a more or less broad spectrum of areas. A middle-sized French city, such as Grenoble or Nancy, may have 2 or 3 universities (focused on science or sociological studies), and also a number of engineering and other specialized higher education establishments. In Paris and its suburbs there are 13 universities, none of which is specialized in one area or another, and a large number of smaller institutions which are highly specialised.

It is not uncommon for graduate teaching programmes (master's degrees, the course part of PhD programmes etc.) to be operated in common by several institutions, allowing the institutions to present a larger variety of courses.
In engineering schools, a large share of the teaching staff is often made up of non-permanent professors; instead, part-time professors are hired to teach one specific point only. These part-time professors are generally hired from neighbouring universities, research institutes, or industries.

Another original feature of the French higher education system is that a large share of the scientific research is not done by universities, but by research establishments such as CNRS or INSERM. In many cases, the research units of those establishments are installed inside universities (or other higher education establishments), and jointly operated by the research establishment and the university.
Tuition Costs
Since higher education is funded by the state, the fees are very low; the tuition varies from 150€ to 700€ depending on the university and the different levels of education. (licence, master, doctorate). One can therefore get a Master's degree (in 5 years) for about 750-3,500€. Additionally, students from low-income families can apply for scholarships, paying nominal sums for tuition or textbooks, and can get a monthly stipend of up to 450€/month.

The tuition in public engineering schools is comparable to universities, albeit a little higher (around 700€). However it can reach 7000€ a year for private engineering schools, and some business schools, which are all private or partially private, charge up to 8000€ a year.

Health insurance for students is free until the age of 21, so only the living costs and books expenses have to be added.
Although this is the case in many schools, some public schools have other ways of gaining money. Some do not receive sufficient funds from the government to hold many trips, and so these schools may ask for a small (optional) entrance fee for new students.

Tourism in France

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:09:00 +0000

The royal heartland of France, the region is littered with sumptuous chateaus and beautiful forests ...
France is ranked as the first tourist destination in the world, ahead of Spain (58.5 million in 2006) and the United States (51.1 million in 2006). This 81.9 million figure excludes people staying less than 24 hours in France, such as northern Europeans crossing France on their way to Spain or Italy during the Summer. France features cities of high cultural interest, beaches and seaside resorts, ski resorts, and rural regions that many enjoy for their beauty and tranquillity (green tourism).
Aside from casual tourism France attracts a lot of religious pilgrims to Lourdes, a town in the Hautes-Pyrénées département, that hosts a few million tourists a year. Popular tourist sites include: : Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Palace of Versailles, Musée d'Orsay, Arc de Triomphe, Centre Pompidou , Mont-Saint-Michel , Château de Chambord, Sainte-Chapelle , Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg , Puy de Dôme, Musée Picasso , Carcassonne.

France offers mountain ranges, coastlines such as in Brittany or along the Mediterranean Sea, cities with a rich cultural heritage, châteaux (castles) like Versailles, and vineyards. Tourism is accountable for 6% of the country's income (4% from French tourists travelling inside France and 2% from foreign tourists), and contributes significantly to the balance of payments.

Paris
Paris, the capital city, is the most visited city in the world. Paris attracts tourists with museums such as the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay, and attractions like the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the cathedral of Notre-Dame, and Disneyland Paris.

In the eastern parts of France there are skiing resorts in the Alps. Notable French cities are Avignon with the Popes' palace, Arles, Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Saint-Benoît-du-Sault on the Loire River, Toulouse on the Garonne, Strasbourg on the border with Germany, and the beautiful city of Nantes.

All over France rental accommodations and hotels are available. For example, the English like to spend their summers in the Dordogne valley, the Spanish vacation in Biarritz and St Jean de Luz on the Basque coast, and the Irish often visit Lourdes. Tourists also travel to see the annual cycle race, the Tour de France.
France's Mediterranean beaches on the French Riviera, in Languedoc-Roussillon, or in Corsica, are famous. Away from the mainland tourists are French Polynesia (especially Tahiti), the Caribbean islands Martinique, Guadeloupe and others.

Places to dine out in France

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:04:00 +0000

Restaurant - More than 5,000 in Paris alone, with varying levels of prices and menus. Open at certain times of the day, and normally closed one day of the week. Patrons select items from a printed menu. Some offer regional menus, while others offer a modern styled menu. By law, a prix-fixe menu must be offered, although high-class restaurants may try to conceal the fact. Few French restaurants cater to vegetarians. The Guide Michelin rates many of the better restaurants in this category.

Bistro(t) - Often smaller than a restaurant and many times using chalk board or verbal menus. Many feature a regional cuisine. Notable dishes include coq au vin, pot-au-feu, confit de canard, calves' liver and entrecôte.
Bistrot à Vin - Similar to caberets or tavernes of the past in France. Some offer inexpensive alcoholic drinks, while others take pride in offering a full range of vintage AOC wines. The foods in some are simple, including sausages, ham and cheese, while others offer dishes similar to what can be found in a bistro.
Bouchon - Found in Lyon, they produce traditional Lyonnaise cuisine, such as sausages, duck pâté or roast pork. The dishes can be quite fatty, and heavily oriented around meat. There are about twenty officially certified traditional bouchons, but a larger number of establishments describing themselves using the term.
Brasserie - French for brewery, these establishments were created in the 1870s by refugees from Alsace-Lorraine. These establishments serve beer, but most serve wines from Alsace such as Riesling, Sylvaner, and Gewürztraminer. The most popular dishes are Sauerkraut and Seafood dishes. In general, a brasserie is open all day, offering the same menu.
Café - Primarily locations for coffee and alcoholic drinks. Tables and chairs are usually set outside, and prices marked up somewhat en terrasse. The limited foods sometimes offered include croque-monsieur, salads, moules-frites (mussels and pommes frites) when in season. Cafés often open early in the morning and shut down around nine at night.
Salon de Thé - These locations are more similar to cafés in the rest of the world. These tearooms often offer a selection of cakes and do not offer alcoholic drinks. Many offer simple snacks, salads, and sandwiches. Teas, hot chocolate, and chocolat à l'ancienne (a popular chocolate drink) offered as well. These locations often open just prior to noon for lunch and then close late afternoon.
Bar - Based on the American style, many were built at the beginning of the 20th century. These locations serve cocktails, whiskey, pastis and other alcoholic drinks.
Estaminet - Typical of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, these small bars/restaurants used to be a central place for farmers, mine or textile workers to meet and socialize. Alongside the usual beverages (beers and liquors), one could order basic regional dishes, as well as play various indoor games. These estaminets almost disappeared, but are now considered a part of Nord-Pas-de-Calais history, and therefore preserved and promoted.

France is Restaurant

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:59:00 +0000

History of the restaurant
The modern restaurant has its origins in French culture. Prior to the late 18th century, diners who wished to "dine out" would visit their local guild member's kitchen and have their meal prepared for them. However, guild members were limited to producing whatever their guild registry delegated them to. These guild members offered food in their own homes to steady clientele that appeared day-to-day but at set times. The guest would be offered the meal table d'hôte, which is a meal offered at a set price with very little choice of dishes, sometimes none at all.

The first steps toward the modern restaurant were locations that offered restorative bouillons, or restaurants , these words being the origin of the name restaurant. This step took place during the 1760s - 1770's. These locations were open at all times of the day, featuring ornate tableware and reasonable prices. These locations were meant more as meal replacements for those who had "lost their appetites and suffered from jaded palates and weak chests."

In 1782 Antoine Beauvilliers, pastry chef to the future Louis XVIII, opened one of the most popular restaurants of the time, the Grande Taverne de Londres, in the arcades of the Palais-Royal. Other restaurants were opened by chefs of the time who were leaving the failing monarchy of France, in the period leading up to the French Revolution. It was these restaurants that expanded upon the limited menus of decades prior, and led to the full restaurants that were completely legalized with the advent of the French Revolution and abolition of the guilds. This and the substantial discretionary income of the French Directory's nouveau riche helped keep these new restaurants in business.

Cuisine

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:47:00 +0000

Travel to Paris, Ile-de-France
French cuisine varies according to the season (Cuisine Specialties by season) . In summer, salads and fruit dishes are popular because they are refreshing and produce is inexpensive and abundant. Greengrocers prefer to sell their fruit and vegetables at lower prices if needed, rather than see them rot in the heat. At the end of summer, mushrooms become plentiful and appear in stews throughout France. The hunting season begins in September and runs through February. Game of all kinds is eaten, often in elaborate dishes that celebrate the success of the hunt. Shellfish are at their peak when winter turns to spring, and oysters appear in restaurants in large quantities.
With the advent of deep-freeze and the air-conditioned hypermarché, these seasonal variations are less marked than hitherto, but they are still observed, in some cases due to legal restrictions. Crayfish, for example, have a short season and it is illegal to catch them out of season.

Structure of meals
Breakfast (Le petit déjeuner)is often a quick meal consisting of "tartines" (slices) of buttered french bread, croissants or pain au chocolat (a pastry filled with chocolate) along with coffee or tea. Children often drink hot chocolate in bowls along with their breakfast. Breakfast of some kind is always served in cafés opening early in the day.

Lunch
Lunch(Le déjeuner ) was once a two hour mid-day meal but has recently seen a trend toward the one hour lunch break. In some smaller towns the two hour lunch may still be customary. Sunday lunches are often longer and are taken with the family. Restaurants normally open for lunch at 12:00 noon and close at 2:30 pm. Many restaurants close on Saturday and Monday during lunch.

In large cities a majority of working people and students eat their lunch at a corporate or school cafeteria, which normally serve complete meals as described above; it is therefore not usual for students to bring their own lunch food. It is common for white-collar workers to be given lunch vouchers as part of their employee benefits. These can be used in most restaurants, supermarkets and traiteurs; however workers having lunch in this way typically do not eat all three dishes of a traditional lunch due to price and time considerations. In smaller cities and towns, some working people leave their workplaces to return home for lunch, generating four rush hours during the day. Finally, an also popular alternative especially among blue-collar workers is to lunch on a sandwich possibly followed with a dessert; both dishes can be found ready-made at bakeries and supermarkets for budget prices.

Dinner
Dinner (Le dîner ) often consists of three courses, hors d'oeuvre or entrée (introductory course often soup), plat principal (main course), and a cheese course or dessert, sometimes with a salad offered before the cheese or dessert. Yoghurt may replace the cheese course, while a normal everyday dessert would be fresh fruit. The meal is often accompanied by bread, wine and mineral water. Wine consumption has been dropping recently amongst young people. Fruit juice consumption has risen from 25.6% in 1996 to 31.6% in 2002. Main meat courses are often served with vegetables along with rice or pasta. Restaurants often open at 7:30pm for dinner and stop taking orders between the hours of 10:00pm and 11:00 pm. Many restaurants close for dinner on Sundays.

Beverages
Traditionally, France has been a culture of wine consumption. This characteristic has lessened with time. The consumption of low-quality wines during meals has been greatly reduced. Since the 1960s per capita wine consumption has dropped by 50 per cent and continues to decline. Beer is especially popular with the young. Other popular alcoholic drinks include pastis, an aniseed flavored beverage drink diluted with cold water, or cider.
The legal alcohol purchase age is 18 (previously 16, the age was raised by health minister Roselyne Bachelot in March 2009). Usually, parents tend to prohibit their children from consuming alcohol before these children reach their early teens. Students and young adults are known to drink heavily during parties, but usually drunkenness is not displayed in public. Public consumption of alcohol is legal, but driving under the influence can result in severe penalties.

France regional cuisine

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:38:00 +0000

French regional cuisine is characterized by its extreme diversity and style. Traditionally, each region of France has its own distinctive cuisine accepted by both its bourgeoisie and peasants and other general citizenry of the regions.
Paris and Ile-de-France are central regions where almost anything from the country is available as all train lines meet in the city. Over 9,000 restaurants exist in Paris and almost any cuisine can be had here. High-quality Michelin Guide rated restaurants proliferate here.

Champagne • Lorraine • Alsace
Game and ham are popular in Champagne as well as the special sparkling wine simply known as Champagne. Fine fruit preserves are known from Lorraine as well as the famous Quiche Lorraine. Alsace is heavily influenced by the German food culture as such the wines and beers made in the area are similar to the style of bordering Germany.

Nord--Pas-de-Calais • Picardy • Normandy • Brittany
The coastline supplies many crustaceans, sea bass, monkfish, herring. Normandy has top quality seafood like scallops and sole, while Brittany has a supply of lobster, crayfish and mussels. Normandy is home to a large population of apple trees, which is used in dishes as well as cider and calvados. The northern areas of this region especially Nord, grow ample amounts of wheat, sugar beet and chicory. Thick stews are found often in these northern areas as well. The produce of these northern regions is also considered some of the best in the country including cauliflower and artichokes. Buckwheat grows widely in Brittany as well and is used in the region's galettes called jalet, which is where this dish originated.

The Loire Valley • Central France
High quality fruits come from the Loire Valley and central France, including cherries grown for the liqueur Guignolet and the Belle Angevine pears. The strawberries and melons are also of high quality. Fish are seen in the cuisine as well as wild game, lamb, calves, Charolais cattle, Géline fowl, and high quality goat cheeses. Young vegetables are used often in the cuisine as are the specialty mushrooms of the region, champignons de Paris. Vinegars from Orléans are a specialty ingredient used as well.

Burgundy • Franche-Comté
Burgundy is known for its wines. Pike, perch, river crabs, snails, poultry from Bresse, Charolais beef or game, redcurrants, blackcurrants, honey cake, Chaource and Epoisses cheese are all specialties of the local cuisine of both Burgundy and Franche-Comté. Kir and Crème de Cassis are popular liquors made from the blackcurrants. Dijon mustard is also a specialty of Burgundy cuisine. Oils are used in the cooking here, types include nut oils and rapeseed oil. Smoked meat and specialties are produced in the Jura.

Lyon-Rhône-Alpes
Fruit and young vegetables are popular in the cuisine from the Rhône valley. Poultry from Bresse, guinea fowels from Drôme and fish from the Dombes lakes and mountain in Rhône-Alpes streams are key to the cuisine as well. Lyon and Savoy supply high quality sausages while the Alpine regions supply their specialty cheeses like Beaufort, Abondance, Reblochon, Tomme and Vacherin. Mères lyonnaises are a particular type of restaurateur relegated to this region that are the regions bistro. Celebrated chefs from this region include Fernand Point, Paul Bocuse, the Troisgros brothers and Alain Chapel. The Chartreuse Mountains are in this region, and the famous liquor Chartreuse is produced in a monastery there.

Poitou-Charentes • Limousin
Oysters come from the Oléron-Marennes basin while mussels come from the Bay of Aiguillon. High quality produce comes from the regions hinterland, especially goat cheese. This region and in the Vendée is grazing ground for Parthenaise cattle, while poultry is raised in Challans. Poitou and Charente purportedly produce the best butter and cream in France. Cognac is also in the region along the Charente River. Limousin is home to the high quality Limousin cattle as well as high quality sheep. The woodlands offer game, high quality mushrooms. The southern area around Brive draws its cooking influence from Périgord and Auvergne to produce a robust cuisine.

Bordeaux • Perigord • Gascony • Basque Country
Bordeaux is known for its wine, as it is throughout the southwest of France with certain areas offering specialty grapes for its wines. Fishing is popular in the region for the cuisine, sea fishing in the Bay of Biscay, trapping in the Garonne and stream fishing in the Pyrenees. The Pyrenees also support top quality lamb such as the "Agneau de Pauillac" as well as high quality sheep cheeses. Beef cattle in the region include the Blonde d'Aquitaine, Boeuf de Chalosse, Boeuf Gras de Bazas, and Garonnaise. High quality free-range chickens, turkey, pigeon, capon, goose and duck prevail in the region as well. Gascony and Perigord cuisines includes high quality patés, terrines, confits and magrets. This is one of the regions famous for its production of foie gras or fattened goose or duck liver. The cuisine of the region is often heavy and farm based. Armagnac is also from this region as are high quality prunes from Agen.

Toulouse • Quercy • Aveyron
Gers in this region has high quality poultry, while La Montagne Noire and Lacaune area offers high quality hams and dry sausages. White corn is planted heavily in the area both for use in fattening the ducks and geese for foie gras as well as the production of "millas", a cornmeal porridge. Haricot beans are also grown in this area, which are central to the dish Cassoulet. The finest sausage in France is commonly acknowledged to be the saucisse de Toulouse, which also finds its way into their version of Cassoulet of Toulouse. The Cahors area produces a high quality specialty "black wine" as well as high-quality truffles and mushrooms. This region also produces milk-feed lamb. Unpasteurized ewe's milk is used to produce the Roquefort in Aveyron, while Cantal is produced in Laguiole. The Salers cattle produce quality milk for cheese as well as beef items. The volcanic soils create flinty cheeses and superb lentils. Mineral waters are produced in high volume in this region as well.

Roussillon • Languedoc • Cévennes
Restaurants are popular in the area known as Le Midi. Oysters come from the Etang de Thau, to be served in the restaurants of Bouzigues, Meze, and Sète. Mussels are commonly seen here in addition to fish specialties of Sète, Bourride, Tielles and Rouille de seiche. In the Languedoc jambon cru, sometimes known as jambon de montagne is produced. High quality Roquefort comes from the brebis (sheep) on the Larzac plateau. The Les Cévennes area offers mushrooms, chestnuts, berries, honey, lamb, game, sausages, pâtés and goat cheeses. Catalan influence can be seen in the cuisine here with dishes like brandade made from a purée of dried cod wrapped in mangold leaves. Snails are plentiful and are prepared in a specific Catalan style known as a cargolade.

Provence • Côte d'Azur
The Provence and Côte d'Azur region is rich in quality citrus, vegetables and fruits and herbs – the region is one of the largest suppliers of all these ingredients in France. The region also produces the largest amount of olives, and creates superb olive oil. Lavender is used in many dishes found in Haute Provence. Other important herbs in the cuisine include thyme, sage, rosemary, basil, savory, fennel, marjoram, tarragon, oregano, and bay leaf. Honey is a prized ingredient in the region. Seafood proliferates throughout the coastal area. Goat cheeses, air-dried sausages, lamb, and beef are popular here. Garlic and anchovies are used in many of the region's sauces, and Pastis is found everywhere that alcohol is served. The cuisine uses a large amount of vegetables for lighter preparations. Truffles are commonly seen in Provence during the winter. Thirteen desserts in Provence are the traditional Christmas dessert, e.g. quince cheese, biscuits, almonds, nougat, apple, and fougasse.

Corsica
Goats and sheep proliferate on the island of Corsica, and kids and lamb are used to prepare dishes such as "stufato", ragouts and roasts. Cheeses are also produced, with "brocciu" being the most popular. Chestnuts, growing in the Castagniccia forest, are used to produce flour, which is used in turn to make bread, cakes and polenta. The forest provides acorns used to feed the pigs and boars that provide much of the protein for the island's cuisine. Fresh fish and seafood are common. The island's pork is used to make fine hams, sausage and other unique items including coppa (dried rib cut), lonzu (dried pork fillet), figatella, salumu (a dried sausage) salcietta, Panzetta, bacon, figarettu (smoked and dried liverwurst) and prisuttu (farmer's ham). Clementines (which hold an AOC designation), lemons, nectarines and figs are grown there. Candied citron is used in nougats and cakes, while and the aforementioned brocciu and chestnuts are also used in desserts. Corsica offers a variety of wines and fruit liqueurs, including Cap Corse, Patrimonio, Cédratine, Bonapartine, liqueur de myrte, vins de fruit, Rappu, and eau-de-vie de châtaigne.

French cuisine

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:29:00 +0000

Book your hotel in Paris
French cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation of France. It evolved from centuries of social and political change. The Middle Ages brought Guillaume Tirel, better known as Taillevent. The era of the French revolution, however, saw a move toward fewer spices and more liberal usage of herbs and refined techniques, beginning with La Varenne and further developing with the famous chef of Napoleon and other dignitaries, Marie-Antoine Carême.

French cuisine was codified in the 20th century by Georges Auguste Escoffier to become the modern version of haute cuisine. Escoffier's major work, however, left out much of the regional character to be found in the provinces of France. Gastro-tourism and the Guide Michelin helped to bring people to the countryside during the 20th century and beyond, to sample this rich bourgeois and peasant cuisine of France. Gascon cuisine has also been a great influence over the cuisine in the southwest of France.

Ingredients and dishes vary by region. There are many significant regional dishes that have become both national and regional. Many dishes that were once regional have proliferated in variations across the country. Cheese and wine are a major part of the cuisine, playing different roles regionally and nationally with their many variations and Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) (regulated appellation) laws.

Mid 20th century - Late 20th century
The '60s brought about innovative thought to the French Cuisine, especially because of the contribution of Portuguese immigrants that had come to the country fleeing the forced drafting to the Colonial Wars Portugal was fighting in Africa. Many new dishes were introduced, as well as techniques. This period is also marked by the appearance of the "Nouvelle Cuisine".

The term nouvelle cuisine has been used many times in the history of French cuisine. This description was seen in the 1740s of the cuisine from Vincent La Chapelle, François Marin and Menon and even during the 1880s and 1890s to describe Escoffier's cooking. The term came up again however during the 1960s used by two authors Henri Gault and Christian Millau to describe the cooking of Paul Bocuse, Jean Troisgros and Pierre Troisgros, Michel Guérard, Roger Vergé and Raymond Oliver. These chefs were working toward rebelling against the "orthodoxy" of Escoffier's cuisine. Some of the chefs were students of Fernand Point at the Pyramide in Vienne and had left to open their own restaurants. Gault and Millau "discovered the formula" contained in ten characteristics of this new style of cooking.

The first characteristic was a rejection of excessive complication in cooking. Second, the cooking times for most fish, seafood, game birds, veal, green vegetables and pâtés was greatly reduced in an attempt to preserve the natural flavors. Steaming was an important trend from this characteristic. The third characteristic was that the cuisine was made with the freshest possible ingredients. Fourth, large menus were abandoned in favor of shorter menus. Fifth, strong marinades for meat and game ceased to be used. Sixth, they stopped using heavy sauces such as espagnole and béchamel thickened with flour based "roux", in favor of seasoning their dishes with fresh herbs, quality butter, lemon juice, and vinegar. Seventh, they used regional dishes for inspiration instead of haute cuisine dishes. Eighth, new techniques were embraced and modern equipment was often used, Bocuse even used microwave ovens. Ninth, the chefs paid close attention to the dietary needs of their guests through their dishes. Tenth and finally, the chefs were extremely inventive and created new combinations and pairings.

Some have speculated that a contributor to nouvelle cuisine was World War II when animal protein was in short supply during the German occupation. By the mid-1980s food writers stated that the style of cuisine had reached exhaustion and many chefs began returning to the haute cuisine style of cooking, although much of the lighter presentations and new techniques remained.

Common dishes found on a national level
There are many dishes that are considered part of the nation's national cuisine today. Many come from haute cuisine in the fine-dining realm, but others are regional dishes that have become a norm across the country. Below are lists of a few of the more common dishes available in France on a national level.
* Common breads found on a national level
* Common savory dishes found on a national level
* Common desserts and pastries found on a national level
* Common canned food found on the national level

Louvre Museum - Paris France

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:23:00 +0000

Visit to Art Museum in Paris
The Musée du Louvre or officially the Grand Louvre, in English, the Louvre Museum or Great Louvre, or simply the Louvre, is the largest national museum of France, the most visited museum in the world, and a historic monument. It is a central landmark of Paris, located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (neighbourhood). Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 19th century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres .

the Louvre Museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are still visible. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1672, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of antique sculpture. In 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum, to display the nation's masterpieces.

The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being confiscated church and royal property. Because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The size of the collection increased under Napoleon when the museum was renamed the Musée Napoléon. After his defeat at Waterloo, many works seized by Napoleon's armies were returned to their original owners. The collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and gifts since the Third Republic, except during the two World Wars. As of 2008, the collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings.

Art museums in France

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:19:00 +0000

Paris Art museums
* Musée du Louvre
* Musée d'Orsay — nineteenth century art (national collection)
* Centre Pompidou (Beaubourg) — twentieth century art (national collection)
* Musée national du Moyen âge (Musée de Cluny) — medieval collection
* Palais de Tokyo — twentieth century art (city of Paris collection)
* Musée Guimet — Asian art
* Musée du quai Branly — Non-Western art
* Grand Palais — changing expositions
* Petit Palais
* Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume — changing expositions
* Musée Picasso — the artist Pablo Picasso
* Musée Rodin — the sculptor Auguste Rodin
* Musée Zadkine — the big sculptor Ossip Zadkine
* Fondation Dubuffet — the sculptor and painter Jean Dubuffet
* Musée Carnavalet — Paris and the seventeenth century in a former mansion
* Musée Jacquemart-André — private collection from the renaissance to the nineteenth century
* Fondation Cartier — contemporary Art
* Centre National de la photographie
* Musée Bourdelle — the sculptor Emile-Antoine Bourdelle
* Musée Dapper — African art
* Musée Gustave Moreau — the symbolist painter Gustave Moreau
* Manufacture des Gobelins — tapestries and weaving from the 17th century
* Musée Nissim de Camondo — private collection of 18th century works
* Musée Maillol — Fondation Dina Vierny — the sculptor Aristide Maillol
* Maison Européenne de la Photographie
* Musée de Céramique à Sèvres
* Musée du Montparnasse

Near Paris
* Palace of Versailles
* Fontainebleau
* Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye - Musée des Antiquités Nationales (Museum of National Antiquities).

Palais Royal - Paris France

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:12:00 +0000

Paris, France vacations ...
The Palais-Royal is a palace and an associated garden located in the first arrondissement of Paris. It stands opposite the north wing of the Louvre, and its famous forecourt (cour d'honneur), screened with columns and, since 1986, containing Daniel Buren's site-specific artpiece, Les Deux Plateaux, faces the Place du Palais-Royal.

Originally, the palace was the home of Cardinal Richelieu. He hired the architect Jacques Lemercier to design it. It was completed in 1629. During the lifetime of the cardinal, the palace was known as the Palais-Cardinal. Upon his death in 1642, Richelieu bequeathed his lavish residence to the French Crown. After Louis XIII died, it became the home of the Queen Mother, Anne of Austria, her advisor, Cardinal Mazarin, and her young sons, King Louis XIV and Philippe, duc d'Anjou. During the Fronde, the royal family fled there for safety.
... After the Restoration of the Bourbons, at the Palais-Royal the young Alexandre Dumas obtained employment in the office of the powerful duc d'Orléans, who regained control of the Palace during the Restoration. In the Revolution of 1848, the Paris mob trashed and looted the Palais-Royal. Under the Second Empire the Palais-Royal was home to the cadet branch of the Bonaparte family, represented by Prince Napoleon, Napoleon III's cousin.

The House of Orléans did not occupy the northeast wing, where Anne of Austria had originally lived, but instead chose to reside in the palais Brion, where the future regent, before his father died, commissioned Gilles-Marie Oppenord to decorate the grand appartement in the light and lively style Régence that foreshadowed the Rococo. These, and the Regent's more intimate petits appartements, as well as a gallery painted with Virgilian subjects by Coypel, were all demolished in 1784, for the installation of the Théâtre-Français, now the Comédie-Française.

The palais Brion, a separate pavilion standing along rue Richelieu, to the west of the Palais Royal, had been purchased by Louis XIV from the heirs of Cardinal Richelieu. Louis had it connected to the Palais-Royal. It was at the palais Brion that Louis had his mistress Louise de La Vallière stay while his affair with Madame de Montespan was still an official secret.

Later on, the royal collection of antiquities was installed at the palais Brion, under the care of the art critic and official court historian André Félibien, who had been appointed in 1673.

Gardens of the Île-de-France

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:01:00 +0000

Garden In Paris
The Garden of the Palais-Royal. The Palais-Royal was the residence of Cardinal Richelieu in the 17th century until his death in 1642. It was then the residence of the young King Louis XIV and his brother, then of the Orléans family, until the French Revolution, when it was confiscated in 1793. The garden was created in 1731 by the architect Victor Louis and renovated in 1992 by landscape architect Mark Rudkin, who added new promenades and spaces for contemplation. The courtyard of columns designed by Daniel Buren was installed in 1986.

Garden In : Garden Seine et Marne
Champs-sur-Marne - Garden of the Château de Champs-sur-Marne. The château and gardens were created in 1703, in the reign of Louis XIV, by a businessman, Monsieur Bourvallais, who commissioned Claude Desgots, grandnephew of André Le Nôtre, to design a classical garden with a grand perspective of the Marne Valley. In 1739, it became the property of the duc de La Valliére, who had the garden modified by Garnier d'Isle. During the French Revolution the garden was abandoned and used to grow vegetables. In 1801, the park was inherited by the duc de Lévis, who combined it with the park of a neighboring estate and laid out an English-style park, with meadows, groves of trees and winding alleys. In 1895, it was purchased by the Count Louis Cahen d'Anvers, who commissioned landscape architects Achille Duchêne and Heni Duchêne to recreate the original garden à la française.

Fontainebleau - Gardens of the Château de Fontainebleau. The park of the royal residence, covering 130 hectares, is one of the largest and most famous landscape gardens in France. East of the palace is the forest and a 1200 meter long canal created by Henry IV of France. Near the palace is the Grand Parterre, a garden à la française created for Louis XIV, decorated with two large basins, one square and the other circular. Nearby is the Garden of Diane, which was the garden of the Queen, with the fountain of Diane in the center; a pavilion created for King Louis XV of France by the architect Louis Le Vau; and the English garden, created at the time of Napoleon I, crossed by a river, with a large pond and a collection of ornamental sculpture.
Maincy - The Park of the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte was the garden that inspired the gardens of Versailles. The 40 hectares of terraces and fountains were created by André Le Nôtre, working with Louis Le Vau, the architect of the château, for Nicolas Fouquet (1615-1680), the surintendant of finances of Louis XIV of France. The distance from the gate to the statue of Hercules is 1500 meters, and the carefully-ordered perspective from the castle is three kilometers long. The magnificence of the gardens and their opening festivities inspired the envy and anger of Louis XIV, who fifteen days later had Fouquet arrested and imprisoned for the rest of his life.

Garden In Yvelines
* Choisel - Park of the Château de Breteuil. A private park and garden of 75 hectares, surrounding the château. The French garden was begun in the 17th century, an English park added in the 18th century, and the French garden was redesigned in 1895 by the owner, Henri de Breteuil, and the landscape architect Achille Duchêne. Major features, including a labyrinth, were added since 1990 by the current owners, Henri-François and Séverine de Breteuil.

Rambouillet - Domaine national. The Château of Rambouillet is the summer residence of the Presidents of the French Republic, surrounded by 147 hectares of French and English-style gardens. The gardens are open to the public when the French President is not in residence. The château began as a simple fortified manor house, purchased by a French knight, Jehan Bernier, in 1368. The avenues of the park led directly into the renowned game-rich forest of Rambouillet. In 1783, it was purchased by King Louis XVI whose wife, Queen Marie-Antoinette, referred to the château as a "gothic toadhouse" (fr: gothique crapaudière). Her husband had an elegant dairy built for her in the park, with milk pails made of Sèvres porcelain. The château and gardens became the property of the French State during the French Revolution. Emperor Napoleon I stayed there several times, the last time on the night of 29-30 June 1815, on his way to exile on Saint Helena. In 1810, Napoleon created an avenue of bald cypress trees (Taxodium distichum). During the hurricane that ravaged the northern half of France on 26 December 1999, the park lost nearly five thousand trees, including the handsome avenue of bald cypresses.

Saint-Germain-en-Laye - The Domaine National of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye was originally the site of a castle of King Louis VI (Louis Le Gros). A chapel was added by Louis IX of France in 1238. The present château was built by Pierre de Chambiges in 1537. It became a residence of the kings of France until 1682, when Louis XIV moved his residence to Versailles. Today the château contains the Musée d'Archéologie nationale (French National Museum of Archeology). The park was created by Le Nôtre in 1663. He added a grand terrace overlooking the valley of the Seine in 1669. In 1845, the landscape garden was added by Loaisel de Treogate.

* Versailles - The Gardens of Versailles (850 hectares), created by André Le Nôtre for Louis XIV between 1661 and 1700, are the best-known and most visited gardens in France, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

* Versailles - The Potager du roi, the kitchen gardens of KIng Louis XIV, located near the Château of Versailles, were originally created between 1678 and 1683 by Jean Baptiste de la Quintinie at the request of Louis XIV, on a swampy section of 9 hectares called the "stinking pond." They were composed of thirty different walled gardens and orchards producing fruit and vegetables for the Court. Today the gardens belong to the National Higher School of Landscape Architecture (Fr: École Nationale Supérieure du Paysage). Twelve gardens remain, with 5000 fruit trees belonging to 350 different varieties, plus a wide variety of vegetables and other plants.

* Thoiry -The Château de Thoiry (450 hectares) and its gardens are privately-owned by Annabelle and Paul de la Panouse. They were originally created in the 16th century by alchemist Raoul Moreau. The gardens were built as a setting for the château, designed by Philibert de l'Orme, They were redone 150 years later by landscape architect Claude Desgot, the nephew of André Le Nôtre, who included optical illusions in the perspectives of the long axes, making distances seem greater. In the 19th century, an English landscape garden was added, including 51 giant sequoias planted in 1852, which obscured many of the original perspectives. Masses of rhododendron and azalea bushes were also added for color. In the 1970s, the owners restored the original axes of the park, and added modern features, including a new labyrinth by Adrian Fisher; an autumn garden by Timothy Vaughn; and a floral border by Alain Richert.

* Montfort L'Amaury. Gardens of the Château de Groussay. A contemporary garden, created between 1950 and 1970 by the French esthete Carlos de Beistegui (who owned the property since 1939). The garden was inspired by Anglo-Chinese gardens of the 18th century, and by the gardens of Swedish châteaux, and is decorated with follies, including a Chinese pagoda, a Tatar tent, and a théâtre de verdure.

* Chamarande - Château de Chamarande. The original Renaissance-style garden (1654) was enlarged between 1739 and 1763, and transformed into a French landscape garden in the 1780s.

* Courances - The Park of the Château de Courances. 17th century water garden and Garden à la française. . In 1870 landscape architect Achille Duchêne restored the formal garden and added a French landscape garden. The château dates to Louis XIII of France.(See photos)

* Courson-Monteloup - Château de Courson. The house and formal French park dates to 1680, the French landscape garden to 1820.

* Saint-Jean-de-Beauregard - Domaine de Saint-Jean-de-Beauregard. A 17th century floral and kitchen garden, enclosed by walls, along with a Garden à la française and a French landscape garden. (See Photos)

Garden In Hauts-de-Seine

* Châtenay-Malabry - Arboretum de la Vallée-aux-Loups. A public French landscape garden, botanical garden and arboretum, created at the end of 18th century by the chevalier de Bignon. Later, Charles-Louis Cadet de Gassicourt, the pharmacist of Napoleon I, added a garden of rare plants. The aboretum was enlarged in the 19th century, and now has 500 types of trees and bushes. The park adjoins the park and residence of the writer Chateaubriand.
* Rueil-Malmaison - The Gardens of the Château de Malmaison, the residence of Joséphine de Beauharnais who bought the manor house in April 1799 for herself and her husband, General Napoléon Bonaparte, the future Napoléon I of France.
* Saint-Cloud - The French landscape garden, Parc de Saint-Cloud of the Château de Saint-Cloud, a royal residence destroyed during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.

* Sceaux - The Park of the Château de Sceaux. The vestiges of the formal French-style gardens designed by André Le Nôtre for Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIV's minister of finance, who purchased the domaine in 1670.

Garden In Val d'Oise
* Ambleville. The Gardens of the Château d'Ambleville. (4 hectares). A private garden, inspired by the gardens of the Italian Renaissance. The three terraces are composed into a garden of the moon, a garden of black and white tulips, and a garden inspired by the painting of Mantegna, Triumph of the Virtues.

* Asnières-sur-Oise - Park of the Royaumont Abbey. The Abbey was built by Louis IX in 13th century, and destroyed during the French Revolution. The cloister garden was restored by Achille Duchêne in 1912, and the medieval herb and vegetable garden, between the kitchen and the refectory, was recreated in 2004 based on the writings of the Benedictine Abbesse Saint Hildegard van Bingen (1098-1179).

* Chaussy - Domaine of Villarceaux (70 hectares). Public French garden, English garden, botanical garden, and flower gardens. The water gardens date from the 17th century, the Louis XV château from the 18th century. The 18th century garden has a rare vertugadin, in the shape of a woman's basket skirt of the 18th century, surrounded by eighteen statues from Italy.

Gardens of France

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:41:00 +0000

Visiting the Garden in France
Remarkable Gardens of France is intended to be a list and description, by region, of the over two hundred gardens classified as "Jardins remarquables" by the French Ministry of Culture and the Comité des Parcs et Jardins de France.
Gardens of Alsace
Bas-Rhin
* Brumath - Jardin de l'Escalier. (1973) Small private modern romantic floral garden.
* Kintzheim - The Park of Ruins of the Château de Kintzheim. An early 19th century romantic landscape garden.
* Kolbsheim - The Garden of the Château de Kolbsheim. (1703) French garden and English landscape park. (See photos)
* Ottrott - Le Domaine de Windeck. (1835). Romantic landscape park, with views of the ruined castle of Ottrott.
* Plobsheim - Le Jardin de Marguerite. (1990) Small private English "secret" garden in the Alsatian village of Plobsheim.
* Saverne - Jardin botanique du col de Saverne. Botanical garden in an enclave in the Vosges Forest. (See Photos)
* Strasbourg - Jardin botanique de l'Université de Strasbourg. Founded in 1619, the second-oldest botanical garden in France. (See photos of the garden)
* Uttenhoffen - Jardin de la Ferme Bleue. Modern garden on the site of a 17th century farm.
Haut-Rhin
* Guebwiller - Parc de la Marseillaise. Public arboretum and botanical garden, designed by Édouard André between 1897 and 1899.
* Husseren-Wesserling - Parc de Wesserling (17 hectares) Private garden at the site of a the hunting lodge of the prince-abbey of Murbach (1699). Formal French garden, flower garden, kitchen garden, field garden and contemporary garden.
* Mulhouse - Parc Zoologique et Botanique de Mulhouse. (25 hectares) Public botanical gardens and zoo, English landscape park.
* Riedisheim - Park Alfred Wallach. Created in 1935 by Paris landscape architect Achille Duchêne; stairways connecting the different parts of the garden; and tree-shaded allées.

Gardens of Aquitaine
Dordogne
* Domme - Park and Boxwood Garden of the Château de Caudon. A garden à la française and French landscape garden, created between 1808 and 1814 by the Marquis Jacques de Malville, one of the authors of the French Civil Code.
* Eymet - Park and Kitchen Garden of Pouthet. A small 18th century château in the valley of the Dropt River features an avenue of cedar planted in 1860; cyclamen, crocus and jonquil in season; and a garden of vegetables and flowers grouped by color.
* Hautefort - Gardens of the Château de Hautefort. The château was reconstructed in the 17th century, and embellished with a garden à la française (jardin à la française). In 1853, the gardens were redone by the celebrated landscape architect the Count of Choulot, and the château, gardens and landscape were unified, with geometric flower gardens, topiary gardens imitating the domes of the château, and a long tunnel of greenery. Next to the formal gardens is a hill with an Italian garden with winding shaded paths. Notable trees in the park include a Magnolia grandiflora and a Cedar of Lebanon.
* Le Buisson-de-Cadouin - Garden of Planbuisson. The garden presents two hundred and sixty four different types of bamboo, from dwarf bamboo to giant, as well as exotic trees, such as Paulownia fortunei. The garden is particularly attractive at the end of summer, autumn and winter.
* Saint-Cybranet - Gardens of Albarède An unusual modern garden, created by landscape architect Serge Lapouge. The garden features one thousand species adapted to the dry and rigorous climate and poor soil of the region. It presents fruit trees, aromatic plants, a topiary garden, old types of vegetables and roses, as well as examples of the rural architecture of the Périgord region.
* Saint-Germain-de-Belvès - Garden of Conty. A French hilltop garden in Périgord, inspired by the gardens of Tuscany. The garden features cypress trees from Italy, chestnut, plane trees, walnut and oak, a wide variety of fruit trees, and a Medieval kitchen garden.
* Manor d'Eyrignac in Salignac-Eyvigues - A garden à la française and French landscape garden from the 18th century, recreated in the 20th century, surround a 17th century manor house on a hill, with water coming from seven springs.
* Thonac - Gardens of the Château de Losse. The pleasure garden of a Renaissance château next to the Vézère River, with gardens atop the walls overlooking the river, a tunnel of vines, a fine rose garden, a courtyard with squares planted with lavender, edged with rosemary, and guarded by cypress trees.

* Vézac - Gardens of Marqueyssac. Built in the 17th century by Bertrand Vernet, Counselor to the King. The original garden was created by a pupil of André Le Nôtre, and featured gardens, terraces, and a kitchen garden surrounding the château. A grand promenade one hundred meters long was added at the end of the 18th century. Beginning in 1866, the new owner, Julien de Cerval, who was inspired by Italian gardens, built rustic structures, redesigned the parterres, laid out five kilometers of walks, and planted pines and cypress trees. (See Photos)
* Terrasson-Lavilledieu - Gardens of the Imagination (fr: Jardins de l'Imaginaire). This contemporary garden, a public park of the town of Terrasson, was designed in 1996 by landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson to present thirteen tableaux of the myths and legends of the history of gardens. It uses simple natural elements; trees, flowers, water and stone to suggest the passage of mankind from nature to agriculture to the city. It uses a symbolic sacred wood, a rose garden, topiary art, and fountains to tell the story. (See Pictures)
* Vélines - Gardens of Sardy. A small garden from the 1950s built around a country house, with a shaded terrace for tea, and intimate landscapes and views inspired by English and Italian gardens.

* Issac - Gardens of the Château de Montréal. The château was built in 1535, in the Renaissance style, on the site of a fortress dating to the 13th and 14th centuries. The gardens were built upon the ramparts of the fortress at the beginning of the 20th century by Achille Duchêne. The lower garden is in the Italian style, and features hibiscus and yew trees, and walls covered with white roses and white clematis. The upper garden is a jardin à la française, with ornamental flower beds and a topiary garden. The garden was badly damaged by a storm in 1999, and has been replanted.
* Urval - Gardens of la Bourlie. Originating as the gardens of the château of a noble family of Périgord in the 14th century, the original 17th century gardens featured a kitchen garden and an early French ornamental garden surrounded by a wall. Later, in the 18th century, a grand axis between the village and the woods was created, along with an alley of linden trees, and a topiary allée of yew trees. In the 19th century a French landscape garden was added, with coniferous trees and varied plants. The château also has fine collection of old roses and fruit trees.

Gironde
* Cussac-Fort-Médoc - Park of the Château Lanessan. The garden is surrounded by the vineyards of the château, in the Médoc wine region of Bordeaux. The château and gardens were built in 1878 by the architect Duphot. The gardens are in the English style, with avenues, lawns, and cedar, cypress and plane trees.(see photos)

* Portets - Gardens of the Château de Mongénan. The château was built in 1736 and the botanical gardens created in 1741 by the Baron de Gasq, inspired by his friend and music teacher Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the theories of the botanist Linnaeus, who believed that all plants were valuable, whether they were ornamental, medicinal, wild, or for food. The garden was made to resemble the ideal pre-romantic garden Rousseau described in La Nouvelle Héloïse, full of aromas and colors. The current garden is kept as it was in the 18th century, with vegetables of the era, local varieties of fruit trees, 18th century varieties of roses, asters, irises, dahlias, aromatic plants, and plants used to make perfume. The tuberoses and jasmine fill the gardens with their aromas.

* Preignac - Gardens of the Château de Malle. These gardens, adjoining a château famous for its sauterne wines, were designed between 1717 and 1724 by Alexandre Eutrope de Lur Saluces, and are considered among the finest gardens of the French classical age. They were inspired by the gardens that he saw in Florence during his grand tour of Italy and his time spent at the court in Versailles. The park has a wide central axis and two terraces, with groups of statues and vases. The statues were done by Italian artists brought there for that purpose in the early part of the 18th century, and represent figures from Greek mythology: Cephalus, Aurora, Cupid, Aphrodite (Venus), Adonis, and Flora, the goddess of flowers and gardens. Other statues represent wine-making, the joys of the hunt and fishing, wine and intoxication. To the east of the first terrace is a small theater, decorated with figures from the Italian commedia dell'arte: Pantalone, Scaramouche and Harlequin. A stairway leads to a second terrace decorated with statues symbolizing of earth, wind, air and fire.
* Vayres - Gardens of the Château de Vayres. The château was built on a mound on the edge of the Dordogne River in the 15th century, then rebuilt in the Renaissance when it was given by King Henry IV to the Gourgues family. It was rebuilt one more time at the end of the 17th century. The gardens were rebuilt in 1938 by the landscape architect Ferdinand Duprat. A monumental stairway leads from the château across the old moat to the French gardens by the river, where there are parterres bordered with hedges of yew, and boxwood trees clipped into cone shapes. There is also a flower garden of medieval inspiration, and an English-style park, with cedar, oak, linden, hornbeam and copper beech trees.

Landes
* Dax - Park of Sarrat. The park, formerly the home and garden of architect René Guichemerre, was created by him from the 1950s until his death in 1988. It contains his modern house, inspired by the architects Richard Neutra and Frank Lloyd Wright; an impressive alley of plane trees; a French garden with fountain and cascade; an extensive kitchen garden; and a botanical garden with 320 kinds of trees, many of them rare.
Lot-et-Garonne
* Le Temple-sur-Lot - The Gardens of Latour-Marliac, created in 1870 by Joseph Bory Latour-Marliac, are devoted entirely to different species of aquatic plants, particularly the water lily. The gardens feature a grotto, a cascade, thermal springs, a wide variety of tropical vegetation, and the oldest nursery for aquatic plants in the world. In 1894, The Gardens of Latour-Marliac furnished the water lilies for the garden of Claude Monet in Giverny.
Pyrénées-Atlantiques

* Cambo-les-Bains - Gardens of the Villa Arnaga. These gardens were created beginning in 1903 by the French playwright Edmond Rostand, the author of Cyrano de Bergerac, next to his home, which is now the Edmond Rostand Museum. The house, in the Basque style, looks out at the Pyrenees. To the east of the house is a formal geometric French garden, with fountains, statues, three basins, a topiary garden, an orangerie, a belvedere a pergola, and a "poet's corner". The garden has colorful annual displays of rhododendrons and azaleas. Around the French garden is a wooded English landscape garden, with clusters of oak, maple, chestnut, walnut, linden, and fir trees. The park descends to banks of the River Arraga, where there is a picturesque water mill.
* Momas - Garden of the Château de Momas. The château is surrounded by gardens inspired by medieval gardens; with sculptures, fountains, a kitchen garden and an aromatic garden; old varieties of fruits and vegetables, and two-hundred year old oak and fig trees. (see photos)
* Viven - Gardens of the Château de Viven. The château was first mentioned in the 11th century; it was completely rebuilt in the 18th century. The gardens were redesigned after the original plan in 1988. The French garden features a colorful mosaic of 2,500 begonias, and more than a thousand roses, adorned with hedges and topiary gardens, a fountain and a pavilion. There are annual displays of camellias, azaleas, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, and bougainvilleas.

Garden In France
Gardens of the Auvergne
* Allier
* Puy-de-Dôme

Gardens of Burgundy
* Côte d'Or
* Nièvre
* Saône-et-Loire
* Yonne

Gardens of Brittany
* Côtes-d'Armor
* Finistère
* Ille-et-Vilaine
* Morbihan

Gardens of the Centre
* Cher
* Eure-et-Loir
* Indre
* Indre-et-Loire
* Loir-et-Cher
* Loiret

Gardens of Champagne-Ardenne
* Aube
* Marne
* Haute-Marne

Gardens of Franche-Comté
* Jura
* Haute-Saône
* Territoire-de-Belfort

Gardens of the Île-de-France
* Paris
* Seine-et-Marne
* Yvelines
* Essonne
* Hauts-de-Seine
* Val d'Oise

Gardens of Languedoc-Roussillon
* Gard
* Hérault

Gardens of Limousin
* Corrèze
* Creuse
*Haute-Vienne

Gardens of Lorraine
* Meurthe-et-Moselle
* Meuse
* Moselle
* Vosges

Gardens of the Midi-Pyrénées
* Ariège
* Aveyron
* Haute-Garonne
* Gers
* Lot
* Hautes-Pyrénées
* Tarn

Gardens of the Nord-Pas de Calais
* Nord
* Pas-de-Calais

Gardens of Lower Normandy
* Calvados
* Manche
* Orne

Gardens of Upper Normandy
* Eure
* Seine-Maritime

Gardens of the Pays de la Loire
* Loire-Atlantique
* Maine-et-Loire
* Mayenne
* Sarthe
* Vendée

Gardens of Picardy
* Aisne
* Oise
* Somme

Gardens of Poitou-Charentes
* Charente
* Charente-Maritime
* Deux-Sèvres
* Vienne

Gardens of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

* Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
* Hautes-Alpes
* Alpes-Maritimes
* Bouches-du-Rhône
* Var
* Vaucluse

Gardens of the Rhône-Alpes
* Drôme
* Isère
* Loire
* Rhône
* Savoie
* Haute-Savoie
Gardens of DOM-TOM
* Guadeloupe

Franch architecture

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:36:00 +0000

SEE The France architecture - building
There is, technically speaking, no architecture named French Architecture, although that has not always been true. Gothic Architecture's old name was French Architecture (or Opus Francigenum). The term “Gothic” appeared later as a stylistic insult and was widely adopted. Northern France is the home of some of the most important Gothic cathedrals and basilicas, the first of these being the Saint Denis Basilica (used as the royal necropolis); other important French Gothic cathedrals are Notre-Dame de Chartres and Notre-Dame d'Amiens. The kings were crowned in another important Gothic church: Notre-Dame de Reims. Aside from churches, Gothic Architecture had been used for many religious palaces, the most important one being the Palais des Papes in Avignon.
During the Middle Ages, fortified castles were built by feudal nobles to mark their powers against their rivals. When King Philip II took Rouen from King John, for example, he demolished the ducal castle to build a bigger one. Fortified cities were also common, unfortunately most French castles did not survive the passage of time. This is why Richard the Lionheart's Château-Gaillard was demolished, as well as the Château de Lusignan. Some important French castles that survived are Chinon, Château d'Angers, the massive Château de Vincennes and the so called Cathar castles.

Before the appearance of this architecture France had been using Romanesque architecture like most of Western Europe (with the exception of the Iberian Peninsula, which used Mooresque architecture). Some of the greatest examples of Romanesque churches in France are the Saint Sernin Basilica in Toulouse and the remains of the Cluniac Abbey (largely destroyed during the Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars).

The end of the Hundred Years' War marked an important stage in the evolution of French architecture. It was the time of the French Renaissance and several artists from Italy and Spain were invited to the French court; many residential palaces, Italian-inspired, were built, mainly in the Loire Valley. Such residential castles were the Château de Chambord, the Château de Chenonceau, or the Château d'Amboise. Following the renaissance and the end of the Middle Ages, Baroque Architecture replaced the gothic one. However, in France, baroque architecture found a greater success in the secular domain than in the religious one. In the secular domain the Palace of Versailles has many baroque features. Jules Hardouin Mansart can be said to be the most influential French architect of the baroque style, with his very famous baroque dome of Les Invalides. Some of the most impressive provincial baroque architecture is found in places that were not yet French such as the Place Stanislas in Nancy. On the military architectural side Vauban designed some of the most efficient fortresses of Europe and became a very influential military architect.

After the Revolution the Republicans favoured Neoclassicism although neoclassicism was introduced in France prior to the revolution with such building as the Parisian Pantheon or the Capitole de Toulouse. Built during the French Empire the Arc de Triomphe and Sainte Marie-Madeleine represent this trend the best.

Under Napoleon III a new wave of urbanism and architecture was given birth. If some very extravagant buildings such as the neo-baroque Palais Garnier were built, the urban planning of the time was very organised and rigorous. For example Baron Haussmann rebuilt Paris. The architecture associated to this era is named Second Empire in the English speaking world, the term being taken from the Second French Empire. These times also saw a strong Gothic-Revival trend across Europe, in France the associated architect was Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. In the late 19th century Gustave Eiffel designed many bridges (like the Garabit viaduct) and remains one of the most influential bridge designer of his time, although he is best remembered for the Eiffel Tower.

In the 20th century the Swiss Architect Le Corbusier designed several buildings in France. More recently French architects have combined both modern and old architectural styles. The Louvre Pyramid is a good example of modern architecture added to an older building. Certainly the most difficult buildings to integrate within French cities are skyscrapers, as they are visible from afar. France's largest financial district is La Defense, where a significant number of skyscrapers are located. Other massive buildings that are a challenge to integrate into their environment are large bridges; a good example of the way this has been done is the Millau Viaduct. Some famous modern French architects include Jean Nouvel or Paul Andreu.

FRANCE

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:54:00 +0000

Visit to Europe and stay in France
France is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as L’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its main ideals expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
Metropolitan France is bordered (clockwise from the north) by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. France's overseas departments and collectivities also share land borders with Brazil and Suriname (bordering French Guiana), and the Netherlands Antilles (bordering Saint-Martin). France is linked to the United Kingdom by the Channel Tunnel, which passes underneath the English Channel.

France is the largest country in the European Union by area and the second largest in Europe behind Ukraine (first if one includes its extra-European territories like French Guiana). France has been a major power for many centuries with strong economic, cultural, military and political influence. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Pacific islands.
France is a developed country and possesses the fifth largest economy by nominal GDP and eighth largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is the most visited country in the world, receiving 82 million foreign tourists annually. France is one of the founding members of the European Union, and has the largest land area of all members. It is also a founding member of the United Nations, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8, G20, NATO, OECD, WTO and the Latin Union. It is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, possesses the third largest number of nuclear weapons in the world and the largest number of nuclear power plants in the European Union.

- France -

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:49:00 +0000

The name "France" comes from Latin Francia, which literally means "land of the Franks" or "Frankland". There are various theories as to the origin of the name of the Franks.
Another proposed etymology is that in an ancient Germanic language, Frank means free as opposed to slave. This word still exists in French as franc, it is also used as the translation of "Frank" and to name the local money, until the use of the euro in the 2000s.
In German, France is still called Frankreich, which literally means "Realm of the Franks". In order to distinguish from the Frankish Empire of Charlemagne, Modern France is called Frankreich, while the Frankish Realm is called Frankenreich.

The word "Frank" had been loosely used from the fall of Rome to the Middle Ages, yet from Hugh Capet's coronation as "King of the Franks" ("Rex Francorum") it became usual to strictly refer to the Kingdom of Francia, which would become France. The Capetian Kings were descended from the Robertines, who had produced two Frankish kings, and previously held the title of "Duke of the Franks" ("dux Francorum"). This Frankish duchy encompassed most of modern northern France but because the royal power was sapped by regional princes the term was then applied to the royal demesne as shorthand. It was finally the name adopted for the entire Kingdom as central power was affirmed over the entire kingdom.

Transports in France

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:43:00 +0000

Around in france Try the high speed Train ....
The railway network of France, which stretches 31,840 kilometres is the most extensive in Western Europe. It is operated by the SNCF, and high-speed trains include the Thalys, the Eurostar and TGV, which travels at 320 km/h in commercial use. The Eurostar, along with the Eurotunnel Shuttle, connects with the United Kingdom through the Channel Tunnel. Rail connections exist to all other neighbouring countries in Europe, except Andorra. Intra-urban connections are also well developed with both underground services and tramway services complementing bus services.

There are approximately 893,300 kilometres of serviceable roadway in France. The Paris region is enveloped with the most dense network of roads and highways that connect it with virtually all parts of the country. French roads also handle substantial international traffic, connecting with cities in neighboring Belgium, Spain, Andorra, Monaco, Switzerland, Germany and Italy. There is no annual registration fee or road tax; however, motorway usage is through tolls except in the vicinity of large communes. The new car market is dominated by domestic brands such as Renault (27% of cars sold in France in 2003), Peugeot (20.1%) and Citroën (13.5%). Over 70% of new cars sold in 2004 had diesel engines, far more than contained petrol or LPG engines. France possesses the world's tallest road bridge: the Millau Viaduct, and has built many important bridges such as the Pont de Normandie.

There are approximately 478 airports in France, including landing fields. Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport located in the vicinity of Paris is the largest and busiest airport in the country, handling the vast majority of popular and commercial traffic of the country and connecting Paris with virtually all major cities across the world. Air France is the national carrier airline, although numerous private airline companies provide domestic and international travel services. There are ten major ports in France, the largest of which is in Marseille, which also is the largest bordering the Mediterranean Sea. 14,932 kilometres of waterways traverse France including the Canal du Midi which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean through the Garonne river.

le de France

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:37:00 +0000

le-de-France is one of the twenty-six administrative regions of France, composed mostly of the Paris metropolitan area. Its name literally means "Island of France", maybe from ancient Frankish Liddle Franke, "little France".
Created as the "District of the Paris Region" in 1961; it was renamed after the historic province of "Isle de France" in 1976, when its administrative status was aligned with the other French administrative regions created in 1972. Despite the name change, Île-de-France is still popularly referred to by French people as the Région Parisienne (the Paris Region) or RP. However its inhabitants are more and more referred to as "Franciliens", adjective created in the 80s and successfully used today. Ninety percent of its territory is covered by the Paris aire urbaine (or "metropolitan area") which extends beyond its borders in places.

With 11.7 million inhabitants Île-de-France is the most populated region of France. It has more residents than Austria, Belgium, Greece, Portugal or Sweden, and a comparable population to the US state of Ohio or the Canadian province of Ontario. It is the fourth most populous country subdivision in the European Union after England (of the UK), North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria (both of Germany) .

Economically, Île-de-France is the sixth richest region in the European Union: in 2006 its total GDP as calculated by Eurostat was €462 billion at market exchange rates, with a per capita GDP of € 40,100 the same year (at market exchange rates, 170% of the European Union average).

France and Cities

noreply@blogger.com (popularz) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:27:00 +0000

France is divided into 26 administrative regions. 22 are in metropolitan France (21 are on the continental part of metropolitan France; one is the territorial collectivity of Corsica), and four are overseas regions. The regions are further subdivided into 100 departments which are numbered (mainly alphabetically). This number is used in postal codes and vehicle number plates amongst others. The 100 departments are subdivided into 341 arrondissements which are, in turn, subdivided into 4,032 cantons. These cantons are then divided into 36,680 communes, which are municipalities with an elected municipal council. There also exist 2,588 intercommunal entities grouping 33,414 of the 36,680 communes (i.e. 91.1% of all the communes). Three communes, Paris, Lyon and Marseille are also subdivided into 45 municipal arrondissements.

The regions, departments and communes are all known as territorial collectivities, meaning they possess local assemblies as well as an executive. Arrondissements and cantons are merely administrative divisions. However, this was not always the case. Until 1940, the arrondissements were also territorial collectivities with an elected assembly, but these were suspended by the Vichy regime and definitely abolished by the Fourth Republic in 1946. Historically, the cantons were also territorial collectivities with their elected assemblies.
France: Region
Alsace: Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin
Aquitaine : Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Auvergne: Allier, Cantal, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme
Basse-Normandie: Calvados, Manche, Orne
Bourgogne : Côte-d'Or, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire, Yonne
Bretagne : Côtes-d'Armor, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine, Morbihan
Centre : Cher, Eure-et-Loir, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Loiret, Loir-et-Cher
Champagne-Ardenne: Ardennes, Aube, Haute-Marne, Marne
Corsica (Corse): Corse-du-Sud, Haute-Corse
Franche-Comté: Doubs, Haute-Saône, Jura, Territoire de Belfort
Haute-Normandie: Eure, Seine-Maritime
Île-de-France: Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Paris, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne, Val-d'Oise, Yvelines
Languedoc-Roussillon: Aude, Gard, Hérault, Lozère, Pyrénées-Orientales
Limousin: Corrèze, Creuse, Haute-Vienne
Lorraine: Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Vosges
Midi-Pyrénées: Ariège, Aveyron, Gers, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, Lot, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne
Nord-Pas-de-Calais: Nord, Pas-de-Calais
Pays de la Loire: Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Sarthe, Vendée
Picardie : Aisne, Oise, Somme
Poitou-Charentes: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres, Vienne
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhône, Hautes-Alpes, Var, Vaucluse
Rhône-Alpes : Ain, Ardèche, Drôme, Haute-Savoie, Isère, Loire, Rhône, Savoie