All About France

France is the largest Western European country with its southern coast bordering the Mediterranean Sea and the west coast facing the Atlantic ocean and the English channel. Its greatest length from the most westerly point of Finistere to Antibes in the Department of Var, is about 665 miles; and the greatest breadth, from Givet in Ardennes to Mont Horumba, near Saint Jean Pied de Port in the Lower Pyrenees, is 576 miles.

The climate is generally cool in winter with mild summers, but the winters are usually mild along the Mediterranean coast and the summers are hot.

France is rightly famous for its food, and beautifully cooked food bursting with flavour is an aspect of France not to be missed. What the French eat largely depends upon what is locally available and in season. Many of the departments of France have their own speciality dishes. Those that border the coast, such as Brittany, are the places to find superb seafood.

France is also reknowned for its wine and there are several famous areas in which wine-making is a specialty such as Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Rhone. There is much cheap wine available in the shops but if you want something much more palatable but not too expensive, then if you pay what you would for a bottle of wine at home, then you should be able to find something quite superb.

France's size is over 600,000 sq km which is only slightly less than the size of Texas and its borders touch the boundaries of eight other countries: Andorra, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain, and Switzerland.

The terrain in the north of the country consists mostly of flat plains or gently rolling hills whilst the remainder is mountainous with the Pyrenees lying in the south, and the Alps to the east.

The population of France is just over 64 million. This is small when compared with the UK with its approximately 61 million people when you consider that the UK is only about one third the size of France.

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