What to see in France

Facts about France

What's famous in France

Monuments of France

FRANCE A LA CARTE, incoming French agency, can organise tours of any of these regions for groups of 6 or more guests.

For individual travellers we refer you to our programme of escorted or self-drive tours.

BOOKING ENQUIRIES

France is famous for ...

Paris: you must see Paris first: it's the city by which all others are judged. Just strolling around its wide tree-lined boulevards, along the banks of the Seine or among the little crowded streets of the Latin Quarter is a real pleasure. You don't even have to set foot in the Louvre or climb the Eiffel Tower or ogle the gargoyles at Notre Dame to appreciate the city .. but all these other things are there for the asking.

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The Châteaux of the Loire: Just an hour south of Paris the Loire valley is home to dozens of magnificent castles dating from the Renaissance to the 19th century. This is where France's monarchs and nobles played, intrigued and relaxed with their courtiers and extended family and guests. Sumptuous residences with great swathes of lawn sweeping down to the river backed by hundreds of acres of hunting forest thick with deer and pheasant, interspersed with vineyards and lush pastures.

Provence: This is the area at the foot of the Rhone valley; the Mediterranean hinterland endowed with a special luminosity much beloved by painters, a broken topography of rocky outcrops, olive groves and vines and the home of what many consider to be the ultimate Mediterranean cuisine. Throw in magic towns such as Avignon and Aix as well as countless picturesque villages nestling among vines and lavender fields and you begin to understand why well-heeled artists, writers and francophiles from the world over wish to settle here.

The Riviera: the Mediterranean coastline from Marseille to Monaco - especially the touristy bit from Fréjus to Menton. Victim of its own success, probably best visited in the early fifties when access to the coves and creeks of the Med was still possible without enduring today's horrendous traffic jams. However ... with the right guide and at the right time of year one can still appreciate just why millionnaires have made this their playground.

Bordeaux: The city is now a UNESCO heritage site and worth visiting for this fact alone. And then there are the vineyards where even the village names conjure up visions of the great wines as you drive through - Margaux, St Julien, St Emilion, Sauternes - and all within 30 kms of Bordeaux.

The South-West: Most people agree that this is where you find the 'real' France: the France of your schoolbooks and of the French novels and films that you know: an unspoilt land of sunflower fields and vines, of peasants in berets, of villages in golden stone and red-tiled roofs perched on hilltops, of two-hour lunches (vin compris) and authentic French cuisine with plenty of duck, goose, fresh fruit and creamy cheeses. From the villages and castles of the Dordogne through the fairytale citadel of Carcassonne to the splendour of the High Pyrenees this is the region that best represents the France of today.

Food and Drink - French cuisine and wines: despite the fact that the McDonald 'restaurant' chain has implanted itself successfully in France, native French cuisine is far from dead. Even in Paris and other tourist spots one can find excellent fresh produce on daily or weekly street markets. It gets even better as you get off the beaten track. There is no shortage of good restaurants: from top Michelin-starred establishments to village auberges offering a three-course lunch for 12 euros there's something for everyone. French wines have improved dramatically over the past 20 years: even the lowliest vin du pays is now a crafted and balanced product reflecting its terroir and the winemaker's savoir-faire.

To organize group visits to any of these regions please contact FRANCE A LA CARTE