|
Owner Log in - Sign up Owner! Member Login - Member Signup
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Holiday Essentials
|
Beautiful by name, beautiful by nature, la belle France is still turning heads.
Whether it's gastronomic greatness, artistic endeavour or cultural cachet you're looking for, there's no doubt that France still sits right at the top of the European heap. France is the country for which the word chic was invented - seductive and aloof, old-fashioned and forward-looking, but always characterised by a certain je ne sais quoi . The country that gave the world champagne, casseroles and Camembert is justly famous for its cooking, and you'll find there are plenty of places to indulge yourself. But while France is undoubtedly a place to eat and drink to your heart's content, there's much more to this fascinating country than cutting-edge cuisine When to Go
Spring offers the best weather to visitors, with beach tourism
picking up in May. Temperatures aren't too bad in autumn,
although the short days mean limited sunlight and the cold
starts to make itself felt towards the end of the season, even
along the Côte d'Azur. Winter means playing in the snow in
France's Alps and Pyrenees, though the Christmas school holidays
send hordes of tadpoles in uniform scurrying for the slopes.
Mid-July through to the end of August is when most city dwellers
take their annual five weeks' vacation to the coasts and
mountains, and the half-desolate cities tend to shut down a bit
accordingly. The same happens during February and March.
WeatherFrance has a predominantly temperate climate, with mild winters, except in mountain areas and the northeast. The Atlantic has a profound impact on the northwest, where the weather is characterised by high humidity, often violent westerly winds and lots of rain. France's northeast has a classic continental climate, with fairly hot summers and cold winters. Midway between the two, the Paris basin boasts the nation's lowest annual precipitation, but rainfall patterns are erratic. The southern coastal plains are subject to a pleasant Mediterranean climate: frost is rare, spring and autumn downpours are sudden but brief and summer is virtually without rain. The south is also the region of the mistral , a cold, dry wind that blows down the Rhône Valley for about 100 days a year. Relentless and unforgiving in spring, it is blamed for sending people into fits of pique Itineraries Coast to Coast
The Atlantic to the Mediterranean in a week - 2500km (1553mi) in
all - is no mean feat, but one that rewards with stunning
vistas, some superb coastal motoring and sensational seafood.
For those with more time to play with, activities abound in, on
and out of the sea.
Step off the boat in Calais and there's 40km (25mi) of stunning cliffs, sand dunes and windy beaches - not to mention great views of those white cliffs of Dover across the Channel - on the spectacular Côte d'Opale. Speed southwest next, taking in a cathedral-stop in Rouen, a fish lunch in Dieppe or a picturesque cliff-side picnic in Étretât on the Côte d'Albatre on your way to your overnight stop: one of Normandy's prettiest seaside resorts - Honfleur, Deauville or Trouville. Devote day two to the D-Day landing beaches and abbey-clad Mont St-Michel. If island-life is more your cup of tea, push on to Brest or Camaret instead, from where you can sail to Brittany's hauntingly beautiful Île d'Ouessant. Equally tempting to Robinson Crusoes is Belle Île, with its fantastic rock formations, caves and beaches. A long drive south along the Atlantic Coast rewards you with chic La Rochelle and its lavish portside feasts of seafood and oysters. In Royan, catch a ferry across the water to Soulac-sur-Mer, a happening seaside resort from where it is simply a matter of wining your way through the Médoc to bustling Bordeaux - city of fine food, wine, museums and nightlife. Next morning, continue south through Toulouse and Carcassonne to the Med. The flamingo- and horse-studded Camargue, immediately west of Marseille, is a unique patch of coast to explore - and a far cry from the glitz and glamour of the Riviera further east Events
The festive French never knowingly turn down the opportunity for
a party, and the national calendar is packed to the brim with
all manner of festivals, fairs, holidays and cultural events.
Many cities host music, dance, theatre, cinema or art events
each year. Rural villages hold fairs and fetes, which celebrate
everything from local saints to agricultural progress. Prominent
national holidays include May Day (1 May), when people trade
gifts of muguet (lily of the valley) for good luck; and Bastille
Day (14 July), which commemorates the storming of the Bastille
in 1789 with plenty of fireworks and outdoor parades.
Regional events include the primping and preening prêt à porter fashion show in Paris (early February); the Cannes Film Festival (mid-May), when Hollywood's glitterati descend on the French Riviera en masse ; the Deauville American Film Festival (September), a much lower-key affair than its dressy cousin in Cannes; the International Music Festival in Strasbourg (first three weeks of June); the mainstream and fringe theatre of the Festival d'Avignon (mid-July to mid-August) and the Jazz Festival in Nice (late-July/early August). Sights Some have made seeing France their life's work. There's so much divine art, breathtaking architecture, stirring history, ancient folk festivals, vivid gardens and inspiring churches that you could easily lose yourself for years. It also had some surprisingly wild corners, notably the Camargue delta.
Getting There
Air France and scores of other airlines link Paris with every
section of the globe. Other French cities with international air
links (mainly to places within Europe) include Bordeaux, Lyon,
Marseille, Nice, Strasbourg and Toulouse. In France, inexpensive
flights offered by discount airlines and charter clearing houses
can be booked through many regular travel agents.
If you are doing a lot of travel around Europe, look for discount bus and train passes, which can be combined with discount airfares. Buses are slower and less comfortable than trains, but they are cheaper, especially for people under 26, over 60, teacher and students. Rail services link France with every country in Europe; schedules are available from major train stations in France and abroad. You can book tickets and get information from Rail Europe (www.raileurope.co.uk, www.raileurope.com) up to three months ahead. Tickets for ferry travel to/from the UK, Channel Islands and Ireland are available from most travel agencies in France. In some cases, return fares cost less than two one-way tickets.
Getting Around
Air France (tel: 0820 820 820; www.airfrance.com) controls the
lion's share of France's domestic airline industry although
British budget carrier easyJet has flights linking Paris with
Marseille, Nice and Toulouse.
France is eminently easy to cycle around. On train timetables, a bicycle symbol indicates that bicycles are allowed on particular trains. The SNCF baggage service Sernam (tel: 0825 84 58 45) will transport your bicycle (or any other luggage) door-to-door or station-to-station for a fee. Buses are used quite extensively for short-distance travel within départements, especially in rural areas with relatively few train lines (eg Brittany and Normandy) - but services are often slow and few and far between. Having your own wheels brings freedom but it's expensive, and city parking and traffic are frequent headaches. Many of France's main motorways are subject to tolls based on the distance travelled - remember to factor in these costs if you're driving long-distance. Motorcyclists will find France great for touring: the websites www.viamichelin.com and www.autoroutes.fr both calculate how much you will pay in petrol and tolls for specified journeys. To hire a car in France you'll generally need to be over 21 years old and hold a valid driver's licence and an international credit card. Your credit card may cover CDW if you use it to pay for the car rental. France's superb rail network reaches almost every part of the country. Many towns and villages not on the SNCF train and bus network are linked by intra-départmental bus lines. France's most important train lines radiate from Paris like the spokes of a wheel, making train travel between provincial towns situated on different 'spokes' rather slow. In some cases, you have to transit through Paris.
Pre-20th-Century HistoryHumans have inhabited France for about 90,000 years. The Celtic Gauls arrived between 1500 and 500 BC; after several centuries of conflict with Rome, Gauls lost the territory to Julius Caesar in 52 BC, and by the 2nd century AD the region had been partly Christianised. In the 5th century the Franks (thus 'France') and other Germanic groups overran the country. The Middle Ages were marked by a succession of power struggles between warring Frankish dynasties. The Capetian Dynasty was a time of prosperity and scholarly revivalism despite continued battles with England over feudal rights. During this period, France was also embroiled in the Crusades, a holy war instigated by the Church against non-Christians. The Capetian Dynasty waned by the early 15th century as France continued to fight England in the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453), which featured 17-year-old firebrand Jeanne d'Arc. Religious and political persecution, culminating in the Wars of Religion (1562-98), continued to threaten France's stability during the 16th century. In 1572, some 3000 Protestant Huguenots were slaughtered in Paris. The Huguenots were later guaranteed religious, civil and political rights. By the early 17th century the country was held in thrall by Cardinal Richelieu, who moved to establish an absolute monarchy and increase French power in Europe. Louis XIV (the Sun King) ascended the throne in 1643 at the age of five and ruled until 1715. Throughout his reign, he hounded the Protestant minority, quashed the feuding aristocracy and created the first centralised French state. But as the 18th century progressed, the ancien régime (old order) became dangerously out of sync with the rest of the country, and was further weakened by the Enlightenment's anti-establishment and anticlerical ideas. France's involvement in the Seven Years' War (1756-63) and the American War of Independence (1776-83) was financially ruinous for the monarchy, and the latter provided ammunition for opponents of French absolutism. When the king tried to neutralise the power of reform-minded economists, the urban masses took to the streets. On 14 July 1789, a Parisian mob attacked the Invalides, seized weapons and stormed the Bastille prison, the ultimate symbol of the despotism of the ancien régime . At first, the Revolution was in the hands of moderates, but from this milieu emerged the radical Jacobins, led by Robespierre, Danton and Marat. They established the First Republic in 1792, holding virtual dictatorial control over the country during the Reign of Terror (1793-94), which saw mass executions and religious persecution. Ultimately the Revolution turned on its own, and many of its leaders, including Robespierre and Danton, were pruned by Madame la Guillotine. Buoyed by a series of military victories abroad, mercurial Napoleon Bonaparte assumed domestic power in 1799, sparking a series of wars in which France came to control most of Europe. Ultimately, a disastrous campaign against Russia in 1812 led to Bony's downfall - he was banished to the tiny Mediterranean island of Elba. His escape and reinstallation as Emperor lasted 100 days before he was defeated by the English at Waterloo. The English exiled him to the remote South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821. Napoleon is remembered as a great hero not so much for his military gusto but because he preserved the bulk of changes wrought by the Revolution and promulgated the Napoleonic Code, which remains the basis of the French legal system. During the 19th century, France was characterised by inept government, quixotic wars and the founding of the Third Republic (1870). The importance of the army and the church was reduced, and separation of church and state was instituted. Around the same time, the Entente Cordiale ended colonial rivalry between France and Britain in Africa, creating a spirit of cooperation. Modern HistoryFrance's involvement in WWI came at high cost: over a million troops were killed, large parts of the country were devastated, industrial production dropped and the franc was seriously devalued. The country fared little better during WWII, when it capitulated to Germany and the lackey Vichy government was installed. General Charles de Gaulle, France's under-secretary of war, set up a government-in-exile and underground resistance in London. France was liberated by Allied forces in mid-1944. De Gaulle returned to Paris and set up a provisional government, but resigned as president in 1946. Emboldened by American aid, the French reasserted colonial control in Indochina, but their forces were defeated by Ho Chi Minh's cadres at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. France also tried to suppress Algerian independence. De Gaulle returned to power in 1958 and negotiated an end to the war in Algeria four years later; in the meantime, almost all of the other French colonies in Africa had achieved independence. In May 1968, student protesters and striking workers surprised themselves and the world at large by bringing the country to a standstill. Just as anarchy was poised to engulf France, De Gaulle went on national television and told everybody to calm down, go home and leave the running of the country to him. And they did. The government then reformed the higher education system, and De Gaulle resigned as president the following year. Resilient socialist François Mitterand was France's president from 1981 to 1995. In May 1995 he was succeeded by Jacques Chirac, who defeated the demoralised socialists and Jean-Marie Le Pen's anti-immigrant Front National (FN). A series of bombings in Paris and Lyon from July 1995 by terrorists protesting French support of the Algerian government contributed to anti-foreigner sentiment and lent a false legitimacy to the FN's racist stance. Chirac strongly endorsed the European Union (EU), which raised his popularity, but his decision to conduct nuclear tests on the Polynesian island of Mururoa towards the end of 1995 was met with a local and international outcry. France's Pacific and Caribbean colonies have beefed up their independence rumblings, with Tahiti a recent site of particular agitation. Domestically, limits which Chirac imposed on the welfare payment system resulted in the country's largest protests since 1968. Strikes throughout the public sector over several weeks in late 1995 brought Paris to a standstill and affected the economy so badly that France's qualifications for joining the EU looked dubious. Chirac called a snap election early in 1997, under the pretence of seeking a mandate for the final push towards meeting economic monetary union (EMU) controls. However, he did not count on the fickleness of the French people and his RPR party was ousted from government (though Chirac remains president) by an unlikely alliance between the socialists, communists and Greens. Recent HistoryThe nation was thrust into the international spotlight with the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in a car accident in Paris in August 1997, and the country's first-ever World Cup victory (3-0 over odds-on favourite Brazil) in July 1998. Presidential elections in 2002 were a shocker with racist demagogue Jean-Marie Le Pen of the FN claiming 17% of the national first round vote. In the run-off poll left-wing voters - without a candidate of their own - went for 'lesser-of-two-evils' Chirac to give him 82% of votes. In early 2003 France was once again in the world spotlight when it insisted it would veto any UN security council resolution to go to war with Iraq. The US was rather miffed by this, and relations between France and the US remain cool. In May 2005, a national referendum on the proposed European Constitution was soundly rejected by French voters, causing huge embarrassment to the government, and placing a considerable question mark over the country's resolutely pro-European future. In October and November 2005, the country was rocked by several weeks of violent clashes between police and gangs of disenfranchised young people across France. The riots were sparked by the deaths of two teenagers of North-African descent who were electrocuted while apparently attempting to hide from the police, and began in the poor, ethnically-diverse banlieues (suburbs) of Paris, but quickly spread to several of the country's major cities. In May 2007 conservative Nicolas Sarkozy convincingly defeated socialist Segolene Royale in the presidential election. The former interior minister is seen by supporters as a charismatic, dynamic leader and by opponents as a divisive, power-hungry neo-con. High on his list of priorities is rebuilding the Franco-American relationship, severely damaged by France's unreserved opposition to the Iraq War, and reinvigorating the French role in Europe
|
|||||||||||||||||||