France holiday travel information

If you enjoy music, dance, cinema, art, theatre festivals or sophisticated culture in general, France is where you want to travel.

French cities, towns and villages all have their own annual events to celebrate history and spiritual icons, ensuring a smorgasbord of culture wherever and whenever you buy an airline ticket to holiday in France.

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France holiday travel facts

If you're from the European Union, America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or Israel, you don't need a visa for holiday travel through France for up to three months. It's easy to quickly visit another country and then return if you want a further three months to holiday in France.

Travel in France is not cheap, particularly if your holiday is mostly in Paris where prices are uniformly higher than in regional areas.

Nevertheless, travel in France is still a little cheaper than in most northern European countries and the country has comparatively low prices for very basic hotel rooms.

Paris is the central rail and bus hub of France and has direct transport links to most major European cities.

The capital is a magical city but you shouldn't finish your holiday in France until you've experienced the country's rural culture, which starts to encroach about 50 kilometres out from the centre of Paris.

Food and holiday accommodation prices in country areas are considerably cheaper than in Paris and the rural folk have a reputation for being more friendly and polite. The French countryside is dotted with dozens of adorable, picturesque villages, most with centuries of history.

For example, a memborable bed and breakfast in rural Burgundy could be found in 2007 for about 50 euros (US$70), and the hosts of these chambre d'hote are almost always charming and hospitable. Bar-cafes called routiers arguably provide the best dining value in France - in 2007, you could buy a baguette, soup, salad, roast meat, cheese, wine, desert and coffee at a routier for 11 euros (about $US16).

The international telephone code for France is 33 and the city code for Paris is 01.

The electricity supply is 240 volts at 50hz and all measurements are metric.

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If you travel to France from late March to late September, be aware that daylight saving is observed during these months.

Most banks are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm and department stores generally open Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 6.30pm.

Most shops in France are closed on Sundays although many food stores are open on Sunday mornings. In the many tiny villages of rural France, it can be particularly difficult finding a restaurant, shop or cafe that is open on a Sunday or public holiday.

Cigarette smoking was banned in all French bars, restaurants, hotels, casinos and cafes from the beginning of 2008. The smoking restrictions only applies indoors so smokers can still light up outside.

More than 3,000 cafes and restaurants have closed in France in the year to September 2008, business owners blaming rising fuel and food prices as well as the smoking ban dissuading customers.

About a quarter of France comprises forests and woodland, mostly beech, oak and pine.

Travel to the north and west of France and you'll see a predominantly flat or gently undulating landscape.

The rest is mountainous with the Pyrenees in the south and the French Alps in the east. Mont Blanc in the Alps is the tallest mountain in Europe at 4,807m.

France was once a major conquering empire with colonies across the globe, but suffered huge losses to its economy, empire and manpower during both World Wars I and II.

Despite this, France is among the most advanced nations in Europe, has had a stable democracy for decades, and remains at the cutting edge of cultural and technological innovation.

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The government of France has traditionally had a socialist base but has been deregulating its economy since the 1980s.

However, the country retains a comparatively short working week and generous welfare benefits. The unemployment rate is high.

You might expect your holiday travel in France to take you through an endless parade of stylish cultural environments, but this isn't always the case.

Although it's a wealthy country, France has about one in five people living in poverty. In 2007, about half of all French households lived on less than 1500 euros a month and the unemployment rate had been above 8% since 1984.

Rudimentary or fluent English is spoken by many people so the language barrier shouldn't be a major headache during your holiday travel.

Travel tip ... if possible, learn a few French words before your holiday as the French soften when foreigners at least try to talk their language instead of expecting them to speak English.

Much of central France is a spectacular range called the Massif Central. Bring your camera.

The country has a wealth of historic or prehistoric ruins and artefacts that are worth squeezing into your holiday itinerary, particularly along the western Brittany coast and in the south-west where archaeological remains suggest humans have lived for as long as 90,000 years.

Cave wall paintings at Lascaux and elsewhere in south-west France are dated from 50,000 to 8,000 BC.

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France has land boundaries of 2,889km and a coastline of 3,427km, and had a total population of 64,473,140 in 2008 - about 85% Roman Catholic.

The country covers 543,965 square kilometres bordered by the English Channel, Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Monaco, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

It enjoys the various climates and cultural influences of all those regions, providing plenty of travel choices to suit whichever style of holiday you want.

Overall, the climate of France is temperate but there are significant regional differences.

The west coast is strongly influenced by Atlantic winds that cool the summer months and create mild but wet winters.

The north-west of France in particular is prone to turbulent weather and a lot of rain.

In the south-east, the Mediterranean creates semitropical weather conditions in coastal areas with dry, hot summers and warm, rainy winters.

The interior of France, particularly mountainous areas and in the north-east, has cold winters and warm to hot summers. For example, the Vaucluse region regularly sees temperatures between 35-40 degrees Celsius.

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Spring is an ideal time to travel to France with the beaches becoming very popular as of May.

The summer sun can be strong enough to cause sunburn so it's worth bringing your favourite cream.

City dwellers like to take their annual holidays during late summer so July/August is when tourist locations become crowded with locals and foreigners.

Winter brings snow to the Alps and Pyrenees.

Apart from Paris, popular regional tourist holiday locations in France include Arles, Biarritz, Cannes, Chamonix, Chateau de Chambord, the island of Corsica, Grasse, St-Malo on the northern Emerald Coast, Sarlat-La-Caneda, Toulouse and Vezelay.

Within easy driving distance of Geneva Airport in neighbouring Switzerland are the French ski fields of Chamonix, Val d'Isere and Les Trois Valless. The valley of Chamonix has eight ski resorts and fields such as the Vallee Blanche are among the largest and most visually impressive in the world. The medieval village of Chamonix boasts impressive French architecture, chocolate shops and patisseries. Val d'Isere, which has 89 ski lifts linking about 300 kilometres of runs, will host the 2009 World Championship ski races. Les Trois Vallees has about 600 kilometres of ski slopes.

The Brittany coast is a rugged landscape of stunning scenery and about a third of the local population speak Breton - a language close to Welsh and Cornish. Ancient towns worth exploring include Josselin (on the River Oust and hosting one of the finest medieval castles in Britanny) , Vannes and Carnac (famous for its collection of 3,000 megalithic stones which run in lines for three kilometres).

Further south amidst the chalk cliffs of the Normandy coast, there are still plenty of scars and relics from D-Day more than 60 years ago, including the crumbling remains of the historic Mulberry harbour which was literally towed across the English Channel to facilitate the Normandy invasion. The remains of Mulberry harbour are still visible from the shoreline at Arromanches.

The Calvados district of Normandy is one of the most beautiful regions in France and is peppered with historic inland towns such as Caen, Pont l'Eveque, Cley, St Pierre-sur-Dives and Falaise. If you travel during the French summer, you might prefer to visit coastal towns in Calvados such as Courselles-sur-Mer, St Come de Fresne, Luc-sure-Mer, Honfleur and Langrune-sur-Mer. Lisieux, the capital of the Calvados region, was damaged extensively in World War II but several old buildings remain including one of the oldest Gothic cathedrals in Normandy. The district has a cool, forested ambience and Normandy's rugged coastline creates one of the most dramatic vistas in Europe. The local wines and cuisine are superb and travellers can drive on small, toll-free roads to explore the numerous one-church towns in Calvados. Holiday accommodation in the Calvados district is fairly expensive, particularly in the peak tourist season, but budget travellers can usually find some fairly cheap camping sites.

In the south-west of France about six hours drive out of Paris is the famous Dordogne region, a favourite destination for many travellers as it is where you'll find the historic market town of Sarlat. About a third of the population in the Dordogne town of Eymet are British. Nearby is Les Eyzies, famed for its cave, the Grotte de Font de Guame, with paintings dating back to 16,000BC. A couple of hours east is the famouse Bordeaux wine region.

The Perigord Noir region about four hours east of Bordeaux around the junction of the Vezere and Dordogne rivers is a landscape seemingly untouched by modern development, dotted with tiny villages, old farmhouses, stone walls, picturesque pastoral scenes and medieval castles.

Different wine styles can be tracked further east of Bordeaux in Provence, then north into the Rhone region, through Burgundy and into Champagne.

Travel tip ... the road system in France is excellent but the French like to drive their cars very fast. Keep to the right on the motorways even if you're doing 140kmh. Also note that in rural France, service stations are often unmanned and the petrol pumps only accept French credit cards.

Travel tip ... public toilets are often difficult to find in France and they frequently either have an entry fee or are of a squat design. Synchronise your drinks, meals and toilet breaks during your French holiday, and try to carry the correct change so you can pay to get into a toilet if you find one.

Also worth exploring in the south of France is the Canal du Midi, which became the link between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean in 1682 and is now classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. The canal is between 20-24 metres wide and no less than 1.4 metres deep, with 26 locks along the way. It is nowadays popular with tourists wanting a few leisurely days on the water soaking up the region's historic sights. The Canal du Midi flows through picturesque towns and villages such as Montgiscard, Villefranche-Lauragais, Castelnaudary, Carcassonne, Beziers and Toulouse. A typical double room at a hotel in the region costs about 50 euro per night.

The Mediterranean entrance to the Canal du Midi is the port of Sete, a charming town dating back to the 17th century with a network of canals leading some to describe it as the Venice of the Languedoc region.

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Although the south of France has the most temperate climate, it also suffers a cold, dry katabatic wind called the Mistral that funnels down the Rhone Valley at speeds up to 100khm for about three months each year (generally at its strongest in winter and early spring).

Holiday travel in the south of France can take you through a treasure trove of medieval and Renaissance architectural history and art, including ancient Roman aqueducts, crumbling theatres and towering arches. Some of the ancient Roman architecture is among the best-preserved in the world.

The Camargue region wedged between the two arms of the Rhone River in the deep south of France comprises 85,000 hectares of flat marshland designated as a natural reserve in 1970. The area is notable for its wild natural beauty, pink flamingos, white horses and bulls that have given the district a unique "cowboy" character. Unusual and worth visiting during your holiday travel.

A new drawcard in the south-west of France is the spectacular Millau Viaduct, the world's tallest bridge opened in December 2004. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower, the bridge comprises seven soaring concrete pillars, the highest of which is 326 metres above the River Tarn near the town of Millau. The Millau Viaduct, which is a spectacular sight, completes a major new motorway from Paris to the Mediterranean.

The famous Champagne district is less than two hours by road from Paris, making it accessible for overnight excursions and day trips. Softly undulating, green hills of grapevines dominate the Champagne landscape, which is dotted with classically French villages and towns. Verzy, Verzenay and Espernay are particularly gorgeous and, of course, there are various internationally renowned wine cellars where you can taste the fruits of the land.

Many of the small traditional champagne houses can be found in the south of the district bordering Burgundy in an area called the Aube. The beautiful medieval town of Troyes is the centre of the Aube and was the ancient capital of Champagne. The nearby village of Essoyes was the summer home of impressionist painter Renoir for 25 years and his workshops are open to the public with guided tours showing the village scenes immortalised by his brush.

A spiritual haven is Lourdes in the south-west of France, where tourists seek the miracle healing waters of a shrine to the Virgin Mary. In 2006, riot police have been called in to control drunken holiday parties by tourists in the numerous bars of Lourdes, which has a population around 15,000.

Worth visiting is Cluny, a small town in southern Burgundy close to the Benedictine Abbey that was a focal point of learning and stability in the Middle Ages. Cluny has cobbled streets and lanes running through centuries-old buildings, and the pace of life is slow. Don't miss the town's superb Saturday morning food market. If you don't have a hire car, catch the super-fast TGV train from Paris to Lyon (two hours, 16 minutes) and then a regional train for the 90 kilometre trip to Macon, which is near Cluny.

A popular trip in the south of France includes the ancient Roman capital of Arles, the town of Uzes with its link to the Pont de Gard aqueduct, and the 14th Century Pope's Palace in the town of Avignon. These historic sites can all be seen within a day's car or bus travel. The best time of year to visit for a holiday is June and July when lavender fields are in full bloom.

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One of the world's most famous holiday destinations is the French Riviera (known locally as the Cote d'Azur) on the Mediterranean coast from St Tropez to Monaco, boasting a seductive climate, picturesque villages for sightseeing, stretches of sand and pebble beach with topless bathing, casinos, nightlife, Grand Prix car racing and a dramatic coastline. The capital of Nice has turn-of-the-century apartment buildings and hotels with majestic facades lining the Bay of Angels. Nice is also a cultural capital with 19 muesuems and galleries, more than any other French city outside Paris, plus 32 classified historical monuments for sightseeing and 300ha of parks and gardens. Tourists should explore the attractive old town of Nice with its numerous churches, baroque architecture, cobbled streets and squares, as well as numerous art galleries, boutiques and restaurants.

Between Nice and Monte Carlo is the seaside fishing village of Villefranche-sur-Mer, which has a population around 8,000 and a superb Riviera port favoured by cruise liners that drop anchor about three times every day. Villefranche has an intact medieval fort and a relaxed, unspoiled ambience with a plethora of comfortable restaurants within walking distance. The village is far less expensive and boisterous than Nice, which is ten minutes away by road, or Monte Carlo, which is about 30 minutes away. The village's beach sand is effectively a carpet of tiny pebbles. Elton John and Tina Turner own villas in the surrounding hills but the village itself is simple and unpretentious. There are regular flights from Paris to Nice (taxi from airport to Villafranche about 50 euros in 2007) and a TGV fast train from Paris to Nice takes about five and a half hours (with a train service from Nice stopping at the Villegrance train station about ten minutes from the village centre).

The historic African gateway city of Marseille is now just three hours from Paris by TGV train, offering a rich Mediterranean culture of exotically dressed West Africans and Europeans in business suits mingling in bars and bistros centred around the ancient harbour of Vieux Port, founded in 600BC. Vieux Port (Old Port) is a well protected, U-shape bay with the old fortresses of St Jean and St Nicholas towering over its entrance. About one million people live in Marseilles, which is a working city nothing like the glitzy, glamourous Riviera. Marseille is the oldest city in France and is carpeted with terracotta roofs. Holiday travel in Marseilles involves a lot of climbing but the views alone make it worth the effort. If you climb the city's highest hill you'll arrive at the massive Notre Dame de la Garde, a Byzantine monument built between 1853 and 1864. The buildings domed basilica can be seen throughout Marseille and bullet marks pock the cathedral's outer walls - evidence of the fighting that took place during the city's Battle of Liberation in 1944. The Marseille fish markets are spectacular and the peak tourist season is July-September.

About 30 kilometres north of Marseille is the historical and cultural capital of Aix-en-Provence. This city was founded in 123BC over hot springs. By the 12th century it had become an artistic centre and seat of learning. Aix-en-Provence is renowned for its many fountains and its most famous son was painter Paul Cezanne.

The Loire Valley is a gastronomic, viticultural delight, and it is classic France. The middle 250 kilometres of the Loire is a listed World Heritage site, from upstream of Orleans to downstream of Angers. The region is a living, pulsating time capsule of ancient towns, villages, vineyards, forests and regal chateaux. The Loire can be readily accessed by TGV fast train, which takes about an hour to cover the 200 kilometres from Montpamasse station in Paris. Barge tours along the Loire can be found for well under 125 euro ($US178 in Oct 07) per day, some involving daytime bicycle expeditions through the French countryside. The Chenonceau chateaux castle near the village of Chenonceaux is considered by many to be the most beautiful in the Loire Valley. It is open every day of the year with entry of 10 euros for adults and eight euros for children and students (2009).(

Major rivers in France are the Garonne, Loire (longest at 1020km), Rhine, Rhone and Seine.

The city of Lyon, often referred to as the food capital of France, is home to about 450,000 people and is located on a peninsula between the Rhone and Saone rivers. The city's old cobblestone town, Vieux Lyone, was founded by the Roman military in 43BC and is on the western side of the Saone River. A key Lyon landmark is the stunning Basilica Notre-Dame on the summit of Fourviere hill, built in 1896 and perched 300 metres above the Saone River with glorious views over the World Heritage listed city and all the way to the French Alps on a clear day. The basilica and its neighbouring 1852 chapel are illuminated every year for the Festival of Lights that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city from December 8.

The 1000 year old medieval city of Montpellier and its surrounding district has a population around 430,000, including many students. Montpellier, about 11 kilometres from the Mediterranean coast, has an excellent tramway system and extensive bicycle paths.

The most north-eastern province of France is Alsace, which boasts a green landscape of vineyards and baroque steeples. A relaxed holiday can be enjoyed in Alscace aboard a hired barge travelling along the province's many canals and docking at beautiful canal villages such as Lutzelbourg. The Alsace capital, Strasbourg, was founded by the Romans in 12BC and at its heart is the 1439 Cathedral of Notre Dame, which took 325 years to build. Strasbourg has been a meeting place for the European Parliament since 1949 and is a town peppered with gabled houses, 18th century manors, narrow lanes and canals. The town centre is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

France vacation tips

Vacation tips for Paris

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