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République Française

Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité: “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” is the French motto.

Hexagonal-shaped France belongs to both Northern and Southern Europe (see The Travel Guide: Northwestern Europe) and is the only country bordered by the North Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea on three sides. Centrally-located within Western Europe, two of its sides are bordered by the Alps and the Pyrenees Mountains.

Discover the Regions of France

CAPITAL REGION

Île-de-France

Paris metropolitan area:
Petite Couronne + Grande Couronne +

Paris

20 Arrondissements

CENTRAL FRANCE

Pays de la Loire

 Centre-Val de Loire

 Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

 Nouvelle Aquitaine

Poitou-Charentes + Limousin + Aquitaine

THE NORTH

Normandie

Bretagne

 Hauts-de-France

Nord-Pas-de-Calais + Picardy

Grand-Est

Champagne-Ardenne + Lorraine + Alsace

THE SOUTH

Occitanie

Midi-Pyrénées + Languedoc-Roussillon

Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur

MONACO (independent state)

La Corse

OVERSEAS TERRITORIES

Caribbean Islands + South America

Guadeloupe and Martinique (Caribbean islands), Guyane (South America)

African Islands (Indian Ocean)

Mayotte and Réunion (islands)

Explore Places in France

Regions + Cities


Basics of France

Know Before You Go


French

official language

Euro €

currency

18

official regions

Paris

capital of France

Languages + Dialects

French dialects remain from pre-Revolutionary times at which point assimilation of French as a common language became important for communication. Today, locals work to preserve their ancestral language heritage, each with unique traditions, food, music, and architecture.

  • Blues: français (French, Gallo-Romance langue d’oil dialects)
  • Green: breton (Celtic language from Anglo-Saxons)
  • Dark yellow: flamand (Dutch dialect)
  • Yellow: francique (German dialect)
  • Orange: alsacien (German dialect)
  • Purple: franco-provençal (Swiss/Italian Romance dialect)
  • Reds: occitan (Romance langue d’oc (lenga d’òc) dialects similar to Catalan)
  • Brown: Catalan (language of Catalonia in northeast Spain)
  • Gray: basque (language isolate of the Basque region)

Read More

All About France


Travel Guide: Northwestern Europe

As we watched the 2018 FIFA World Cup games, we prepared for a nearly month-long trip to Europe. The global game of football, soccer to Americans, was our theme. Aaron and I had wanted to take our two teenage boys to…

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