France
France is a country for those in love and for those true romantics who wish to breathe the magical air of this country. France is the country that makes the rules in the games of art and fashion; most of us associate France with romance, fine manners, elegant luxury and refined taste. France is mysterious and unique in the same time, much like Paris fashion-monger; some find her to be a sea resort at Cote d’Azur or in the narrow streets of old Paris, other are invited for a romantic stroll following on the steps of the Three Musketeers and become familiar with the world treasures of the Louvre, yet others enjoy the glamour of Courchevel regulars, and the lucky rest are generously rewarded with the delicacies of Provence.
France is the largest country in Europe. It borders with Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain. The area is 555 thousand square kilometers. The length of the borders is 5.5 thousand kilometers. All the regions in France are different and impressive. Every region is like a small country with its own traditions, customs, cuisine, and even its own language or local dialect sometimes. An astonishing diversity of landscapes makes your choice even more diverse: mountains and rivers, the Valleys of Loire and the Alps, Jura and the beaches of Nice, the rocky coast of Brittany and the originality of Elzas.
The climate of France is warm temperate. In Paris, the temperature during the hottest month (July) is between 14-24С, the coldest (January) around 1-6С. The strong influence of oceanic climate can be sensed along the Atlantic coast of France; meanwhile the mild Mediterranean reigns the south. For a hundred days a year the Valley of Rhone is pierced by cold winds called Mistral, which bring unusually chilly weather to the south of France.
France is a presidential republic. The legislative power lies with the National Assembly and the Senate. In general France is a leftist country in the political sense. France has the shortest workweek in Europe, the most extensive social benefits, strong unions, and as a consequence frequent strikes. The labor code is primarily concerned with the rights of the employees. France is divided into 95 departments, united into 22 economic regions. There are also 8 overseas departments.
The population of France is about 61 million people, of whom 10 million live in Paris. The population of France consists of 94% French; the remaining 6% is either Portuguese, Algerian, Italian, Moroccan, or Turkish. There are some large towns –Marseille, Lion, Toulouse, but the majority of the population lives in villages and small towns. France is an agricultural country with a relatively uniform population density.
The official language is French; other spoken languages are Breton in Brittany, Bask and Catalan in the Pyrenees, Provencal in Provence, Flemish in Flandreau, and German dialects in Elzas and Lotharingia.
France has a wide network of railroads. The price of the fare depends on the travel distance, time of the route and the age of the passenger. A multitude of inter-city bus routes is present in the country. The price of the bus fare is cheaper compared to the railroad. It is best to travel in France using the railroads. In the mountain regions, where the railroads end you can find buses of the railroad SNCF circulating occasionally. Private bus lines do not have a specific schedule and their departures and arrivals are poorly coordinated. Hitch-hiking is becoming less and less popular. The highways of the country, especially along the relatively dangerous segments are done in bright colors (the roads in the tunnels are white, bicycle tracks are red, crosswalks are green and the intersection in black and white).
Up to 1 liter of alcoholic beverages can be brought in without having to pay tariffs, 2 liters of wine, 200 cigarettes. You will need to fill a customs declaration for amounts exceeding 50,000 French francs. Foreign currency, converted into francs, can be exchanged back into foreign currency for amounts not exceeding 5,000 francs.
A local call costs 20 cents. The majority of phone booths support only ‘Telecarte” based calls, the card can be bought at the post offices or in tobacco kiosks. The automatic connection from Paris is 19+ country code +city code + number you wish to call. Regular work week days from 22:30 to 8:00 and weekends after 14:00 are the cheapest times to call, you will save around 50%.
France is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. The geography of the country is very diverse: you have the busy mega polis in Paris with amazing monuments, sites, museums, ancient Brittany with its unique character, the Valley of Loire with castles that hold the romantic past of France, the sunny Cote d’Azur, Nice, Cannes, Biarritz, the ski resorts of the Alps and Pyrenees, Elzas and Lotharingia so rich in historical sites and events, the coast of La Manche and the resorts of Normandy.
