France country guide Europe Europe

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Many newer hotels, business oriented, are found in the outskirts of cities and are sometimes larger structures (100 rooms or more); they may not be easy to reach with public transportation. All hotels, by law, must have their maximum rates posted so that they’re visible from outside. Stars are awarded according to objective yet somewhat outdated administrative criteria, such as area of the reception hall, or percentage of rooms with en-suite bathroom.

The monarchy reached its peak during the 17th century and reign of Louis XIV, during which France further increased its influence. From the 16th to the 19th century, France was responsible for about 10% of the transatlantic slave trade. The wars were ended by Henry IV’s Edict of Nantes, which granted some freedom of religion to the Huguenots. This forced Huguenots to flee to Protestant regions such as the British Isles and Switzerland.

  • The monarchy reached its peak during the 17th century and reign of Louis XIV, during which France further increased its influence.
  • Many wines don’t label the varieties of grape that was used, so to know what you’re getting, you have to learn what types of wine each region is known for.
  • Historically, French people were mainly of Celtic-Gallic origin, with a significant admixture of Italic (Romans) and Germanic (Franks) groups reflecting centuries of respective migration and settlement.
  • The country is almost totally covered but you may have difficulties using your mobile phone in rural or mountainous areas.
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  • The Garonne meets the Dordogne just after Bordeaux, forming the Gironde estuary, the largest estuary in Western Europe which after approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

When approaching the locals, always be sure to begin the conversation in French, as assuming that a foreign language will be spoken is considered to be very rude. You can now expect major hotels and tourist attractions to have staff who speak basic English and other foreign languages (German and Spanish being the most common). French is in the Romance family of languages, along with Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Italian and Romanian, so if you speak any of those languages, you will recognise many cognates, particularly in written form. As France is a multicultural society with immigrants from all over the world (particularly from former French colonies), many African languages, Arabic, Chinese dialects (such as Teochew), Vietnamese, Lao, and Khmer are spoken. All this being said, everyone in France speaks standard French and tourists are unlikely to ever need to speak anything else, though you may wish to learn one or two basic phrases or greetings, to show you recognise the region’s heritage.

As well as police officers, metro and train conductors can and do enforce the anti-smoking law and will fine you for smoking in non-designated places; if you encounter problems with a smoker on a train, you may go find the conductor. Prescription drugs, including oral contraceptives (aka “the pill”), will only be delivered if a doctor’s prescription is shown. Trains and cars coming from countries which have a more lenient attitude (such as the Netherlands) are especially targeted. The law does not apply in situations where answering an appeal for help might endanger your life or the lives of others. Due to the international threat of terrorism, police with the help of military units often patrol monuments, the Paris Metro, train stations and airports. Again, the subject is sensitive as the police have often been accused of targeting people according to criteria of ethnicity.

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There are few companies that provide toll-free numbers (often starting with 08 00) and there are also numbers which start with 081, for which you pay the cost of a local call regardless of where you are in the country. When telling someone their phone number, people will usually group the digits by sets of two. They are tu, which is used for friends and (by some elderly) for young people, and vous, which is used for people you’re not on familiar terms with, and for groups of people. Everyone at public swimming pools is required by law to wear suitable swimming attire. Most resort cities insist on your wearing a shirt when leaving the beach area.

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If you have to park your bike in the street, make sure to lock it properly, particularly in larger cities and at night. Local and regional bus services are available throughout France; you can find more details in region and city articles. For regional trains, schedules can be found at ter.sncf.com (choose your region, then “Carte and horaires” for maps and timetables). The French national railway network is managed by SNCF Réseaux, a branch of the SNCF (Société nationale des chemins de fer français).

As a testament to this, France is tied with Japan for first place as the country with the most Michelin star restaurants. However, French people usually leave the small change left after paying the bill or one to five euros if they were satisfied with the service quality. Just as with other non-English European languages, the comma and decimal separator have reverse functions in French from that in English, so 2,99 means 2 euro and 99 cents. All banknotes and coins of this common currency are legal tender within all the countries, except that low-denomination coins (one and two cent) are phased out in some of them. As a result, large cities become noticeably less busy and large parts of the Paris transport network are often shut down during the summer for planned engineering works.

France is a diverse and colourful country, and you’ll find everything from stunning log chalets in the Alps, châteaux in the countryside and beach front villas on the Riviera…plus everything in between! There are a couple of mixed drinks which seem to be more or less unique to France, and nearby francophone countries. In any event, cafés are required by law to post their prices somewhere in the establishment, usually either in the window or on the wall by the bar. Many wines don’t label the varieties of grape that was used, so to know what you’re getting, you have to learn what types of wine each region is known for. The alcohol purchase age is 18 for all drinks, but this is not always strictly enforced; however, laws against drunk driving are strictly enforced, chicken road with stiff penalties.

In 2013, France was the second-largest exporter of films in the world, after the United States. French films account for 35% of the total film revenues of France, which is the highest percentage of national film revenues in the developed world outside the United States, compared to 14% in Spain and 8% in the UK. Conversely, French directors have had prolific and influential careers in other countries, such as Luc Besson, Jacques Tourneur or Francis Veber in the United States. France remains a leader in filmmaking, as of 2015update producing more films than any other European country.

In fact, many fine dining restaurants are in rural villages rather than in the big cities, and French people often drive to those villages to dine during special occasions. With its international reputation for fine dining, few people would be surprised to hear that French cuisine can certainly be very good. The again mountainous Cévennes National Park covers parts, Occitanie (including the popular Ardèche) and the Auvergene-Rhône-Alpes regions. In Lille you’ll find the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, one of the country’s largest museums. The Château d’Angers is also important for the fantastic Tapestries of the Apocalypse, the largest and best preserved series of 14th-century tapestries in the world.

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