Insight Guides France (Travel Guide eBook)

Insight Guides

Description

Let us guide you on every step of your travels.

From deciding when to go, to choosing what to see when you arrive, Insight Guide France is all you need to plan your trip and experience the best of France, with in-depth insider information on must-see, top attractions like sophisticated Paris, the elegant Loire Valley châteaux, lavender-scented Provence, picturesque Dordogne, and hidden cultural gems like the picture-perfect villages of Alasace along the German border.

This book is ideal for travellers seeking immersive cultural experiences, from exploring the Paris and Provence that inspired and hosted the likes of Matisse and Monet, visiting the battlefields and memorials to remember the war heroes of World Wars I and II, to discovering the joys of the various culinary and wine regions as well as the flurry of picturesque hill towns dotted around the country.

- In-depth on history and culture: explore the country's vibrant history and culture, and understand its modern-day life, people and politics
- Excellent Editor's Choice: uncover the best of France, which highlights the most special places to visit around the country
- Invaluable and practical maps: get around with ease thanks to detailed maps that pinpoint the key attractions featured in every chapter
- Informative tips: plan your travels easily with an A to Z of useful advice on everything from climate to tipping
- Inspirational colour photography: discover the best destinations, sights, and excursions, and be inspired by stunning imagery
- Inventive design makes for an engaging, easy-reading experience
- Covers Paris and surroundings, the Nord, Champagne, Lorraine, Alsace, Normandy, Brittany, the Loire Valley, Poitou-Charentes, Burgundy, the Rhône Valley, the Alps, Auvergne, the Limousin, Aquitaine, the Midi-Pyrénées, Languedoc and Roussillon, Provence, the Côte d'Azur and Corsica.

About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

Sujets

• Travel
• France
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: Apa Publications
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9781839051906
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 8 Mo

Extrait

How To Use This E-Book

Getting around the e-book
This Insight Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration for your visit to France, as well as comprehensive planning advice to make sure you have the best travel experience. The guide begins with our selection of Top Attractions, as well as our Editor’s Choice categories of activities and experiences. Detailed features on history, people and culture paint a vivid portrait of contemporary life in France. The extensive Places chapters give a complete guide to all the sights and areas worth visiting. The Travel Tips provide full information on getting around, activities from culture to shopping to sport, plus a wealth of practical information to help you plan your trip.
In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.
Maps
All key attractions and sights in France are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.
Images
You’ll find hundreds of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of France. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.
About Insight Guides
Insight Guides have more than 40 years’ experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.
Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.

© 2019 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd




Table of Contents
France’s Top 10 Attractions
Editor’s Choice
Introduction: Vive La France
La Belle France
Decisive Dates
The Early Years
The Age of Absolutism
Revolutions and Republics
War and Peace
Postwar France
Modern France
The French
La Cuisine
Insight: French Cheeses
Wine
Art
Architecture
Insight: French Design
Introduction: Places
Introduction: Paris and Surroundings
Paris
Insight: The Louvre
Around Paris
Introduction: The North
Le Nord
Champagne
Lorraine
Alsace
Insight: France’s Festivals
Introduction: The West
Normandy
Brittany
Loire Valley
Insight: Châteaux Country
Poitou-Charentes
Introduction: Central France and the Alps
Burgundy
Insight: The Golden Age of Canals
The Rhône Valley
The French Alps
Auvergne
Limousin
Introduction: The Southwest
Aquitaine
The Pyrenees
Introduction: The South
Languedoc and Roussillon
Insight: Wildlife
Provence
The Côte d’Azur
Corsica
Travel Tips: Transport
Travel Tips: A–Z
Travel Tips: Language
Travel Tips: Further Reading


France’s Top 10 Attractions



Top Attraction 1



Mont-St-Michel. The medieval abbey stands on an isolated rock rising out of a vast tidal bay. It is now reached from the mainland by a bridge. For more information, click here .
Shutterstock


Top Attraction 2



Versailles. Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles, within easy reach of a day trip from Paris, takes regal excess to a new limit. Its splendid interiors are matched by its formal gardens. For more information, click here .
Shutterstock


Top Attraction 3



Champagne. Celebrations all over the world are incomplete without a bottle of Champagne which can only come from France’s most northern vineyards. For more information, click here .
iStock


Top Attraction 4



Alsace. On the German border between the Vosges mountains and the Rhine, the region of Alsace has picture-perfect villages and waterfront city quarters, as here in Petite France in Strasbourg. For more information, click here .
Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications


Top Attraction 5



Medieval gems. There are more medieval towns and villages in France than anyone could hope to visit in a lifetime. Among them is the pretty St Cirq-Lapopie in the Lot valley. For more information, click here .
iStock


Top Attraction 6



The Dordogne. This département is picturesque at every turn, with old castles, fortified hilltop villages, colourful markets, forests, river banks and caves with prehistoric paintings to explore. For more information, click here .
Jean-Christophe Godet/Rough Guides


Top Attraction 7



Provence. An inspiration for artists such as Van Gogh and Picasso, Provence not only has a beautiful coastline (the Riviera) but also historic towns and cities in abundance including Avignon and Arles. For more information, click here .
Wadey James/Apa Publications


Top Attraction 8



Loire Valley châteaux. The lower valley of the River Loire is home to a string of elegant Renaissance châteaux, especially Villandry, Azay-le-Rideau, Chambord, Blois and Chenonceau – which is built on piers over the water. For more information, click here .
Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications


Top Attraction 9



Paris. The French capital is filled with enough legendary sights to fill a lengthy stay, especially the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Champs-Elysées, Notre-Dame and Montmartre. For more information, click here .
Ilpo Musto/Apa Publications


Top Attraction 10



French cuisine. The exquisitely varied food of France is a highlight of any visit. Every region has its own distinctive cuisine and nothing beats a leisurely meal on the terrace of a celebrated restaurant. For more information, click here .
Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications


Editor’s Choice



Exquisite Towns and Villages

Riquewihr . Alsace’s prettiest village is also a wine town. For more information, click here .
St-Emilion . An attractive old town renowned for its red Bordeaux wines that has a subterranean rock church dug into the hillside. For more information, click here .
St-Paul-de-Vence . Contained within 16th-century walls, this village in the hills behind Nice has long been a mecca for both artists and tourists. For more information, click here .
Carcassonne . The restored medieval citadel. For more information, click here .
Rocamadour . Shrine clinging to the side of a valley whose many levels are connected by lifts and steps. For more information, click here .
Cordes sur Ciel. Preserved hill town in the Tarn that looks little different today than it did in the Middle Ages. For more information, click here .



Avignon’s famous bridge.
iStock


Most Interesting Cities

Rouen . The capital of Normandy and birthplace of novelist Gustave Flaubert has many preserved half-timbered houses in the streets around its Great Clock. For more information, click here .
Lille . This Flemish city on the border with Belgium has both delightful architecture and a plethora of excellent shops and restaurants. For more information, click here .
Nancy . Lorraine’s main city is 18th-century architecture and town planning at its most elegant, along with fine examples of Art Nouveau. For more information, click here .
Lyon . The old quarter is characterised by its secretive traboules (covered passageways) and its bouchons (bistros) where you are guaranteed to eat well. For more information, click here .
Toulouse . A lively, easy-going Midi city on the Garonne River built of red brick, with a great Romanesque cathedral at its heart. For more information, click here .
Marseille . France’s second city and its busiest seaport is a delightful mixture of communities and cultures, and has some great new museums to visit. For more information, click here .
Avignon. As well as the truncated bridge from the children’s song, the massive 14th-century Palace of the Popes is a must-see. For more information, click here .


Inspiring Artists’ Haunts

Albi . This town in Tarn was once home to Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and the museum in the bishop’s palace next to the cathedral contains a great collection of his works. For more information, click here .
Auvers-sur-Oise . On the outskirts of Paris, this is where Van Gogh spent his last days, days during which he painted the church before tragically dying from a self-inflicted gunshot w