Everything you need to know about France
France changes from the Atlantic harbours of Brittany to the Alpine valleys and Mediterranean coast. Its regions have their own food, landscapes and traditions, with Paris at the centre of a much wider story. Explore the maps, discover the history behind the places and practise French for everyday conversations.
Read it, then make it stick
Geography of France
The Atlantic, Channel and Mediterranean give France three very different coasts. Inland, the Loire and Seine cross broad plains while the Alps and Pyrenees form mountain borders. Begin with metropolitan France, then discover how its overseas regions extend the country beyond Europe.
Know the shape of the country
Start with the thirteen regions of metropolitan France, including Corsica. Then place the cities and follow the rivers to the Channel, Atlantic and Mediterranean. These maps cover European France; the country also has five overseas regions.
Places worth visiting
Essential · Landmark
Eiffel Tower
Paris’s iron landmark rises above the Champ de Mars. Book a lift slot, then walk along the Seine to the Louvre.
Begin in Paris, then go out to the châteaux of the Loire and the light of Provence and the Alps. Essential is our shortlist for a first trip, and worth a detour goes further. Select a pin to read about a place, then play the map and find them all.
Take French with you
Greetings and politeness
Hello, please, thank you, sorry: the ten openers everything else builds on.
Keep going one country deeper
When you have had your fill of France, the countries in white have a guide like this one, and every other has maps of its own.
Europe
- Albania
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Kosovo
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- North Macedonia
- Northern Cyprus
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Türkiye
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- Vatican City
Asia
- Afghanistan
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Bhutan
- Brunei
- Cambodia
- China
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mongolia
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- North Korea
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Philippines
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Sri Lanka
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Turkmenistan
- United Arab Emirates
- Uzbekistan
- Vietnam
- Yemen
North America
Africa
- Algeria
- Angola
- Benin
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Kenya
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Republic of the Congo
- Rwanda
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- Somaliland
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Western Sahara
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe