France is one of the world’s leading tourist destinations and as such why would a visit expatriate not want to visit a country with such a diverse and interesting set of cities and historic locations to visit! Here an expatriate can learn about the French tourism before they plan their trip!
World Renowned Tourist Locations
Mt .Saint Michelle a remarkable medieval city first mentioned in 701 A.D., is perched on a small rocky tidal island located in Normandy, France. The story goes that in 701 A.D. an archangel by the name of Michael kept on visiting Bishop Aubert of Avranches in his dreams, and requested he build a church. Thus the first building, a small chapel, was built on the top of Mont Saint Michel. Over the next few hundreds of years, more abbeys and buildings would be added to the island. It was a place where many monks and pilgrims would go. In the 15th and 16th centuries, a Romanesque church was built in Gothic Style. Today it is one of the few places in France to have been kept, in good condition, its original medieval walls and it is considered a world Heritage site.
Mt .Saint Michelle
La Côte d’Azur often referred to as the French Riviera is the Mediterranean coastline in the South East of France. Hundreds of year ago it was a place for fisherman to relax with little to no contact to the outside world. However today it has become one of France’s main tourist attractions and is considered one of the world’s most famous coastlines. With a warm climate year round, it offers the perfect escape from harsh winters,
La Côte d’Azur
The Versailles palace, located in the city it was named after, was a residence for the former royal family and now is a national landmark. From 1631 to 1634, it served as a hunting lodge for Louis XIII. Then, during 1661 to 1710, it was remodeled by Louis XIV. By 1682, it was the official royal residence. After the French Revolution of 1789, Versailles was nearly destroyed, but years later, Louis-Philippe (1830-1848) ended up restoring the palace. Which from then on, would be used for various state affairs but the primary utility would lay in tourism. The most famous rooms from the Versailles palace include the Hall of Mirrors and the State Rooms. Versailles was designated a World Heritage as of 1979.
Palace of Versailles
The Vimy Ridge National Historic Site of Canada surrounds the Great War. The Great War occurred between August 1914 and November 1918, which caused the most casualties than any other war, with deaths of millions of men. There are still traces of battle on French soil, which can be seen mainly in Nord-Pas de Calais, Picardy, Champagne-Ardenne, and Lorraine. Shell holes can still be found in the Vosges forest, quarries and underground galleries that are found in Aisle and Oise. There are many museums and major sites that surround the Great War, they include The French National War Cemetery, and Vimy Ridge National Historic Site of Canada. Vimy Ridge is situated above the Douai Plain, a sculpture that stands as a memorial to the Canadian soldiers who won the battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917. The monument represents Canada and France together as two nations who fought for a common goal, which is peace and freedom. The names of 11,285 soldiers killed in France at Vimy Ridge are carved around the walls of the monument.
Vimy Ridge National Historic Site of Canada
La Provence, also known as La Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur, is a beautiful area with many beaches and a gorgeous view of the mountains that is situated in the South of France between the mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. There are hiking and walking paths all along the many national parks La Provence offers, such as Queyras Natural Regional Park, the Maures mountain range, and the Lubéron. At the Gorges du Verdon, there are areas where one can go canoeing and whitewater rafting, and many other water sports. In the wintertime, in the High Provenance area, there are ski resorts that allows people to go skiing and snowboarding in the Alpes, as well as other winter activities including lugging and snowshoeing.. A few ski resorts include Orcières and Serre-Chevalier. Between the months of June and August, in Lubéron, Mont-Ventoux, and in the regions of Sault and Valréas, lavender fields bloom. These lavender fields are one of the main attractions in La Provence along with its beautiful sapphire beaches.
La Provence
Tourist Cities
Lyon is two-thousand year old city, located between the Rhône and Saône rivers and below the hills of Fourvière and Croix Rousse. There are multiple “traboules,” which are narrow secret passages. Also, the city’s monuments light up at night, as 100 000 projectors illuminate 200 sites, bringing the city to life! Museums and sites to see include, Roman Theatres & Old Renaissance Lyon, the Fourvière Basilica and La Croix Rousse. Thanks to a number of events hosted in Lyon, the city is vibrant all year round. Among the most appealing are the Festival of Lights, the Contemporary Art Biennial Event, the Dance Biennial Event, the Nuits Sonores (music and sound festival), the Nuits de Fourvière (cultural festival), Quais du Polar (Thriller festival) and the latest addition, the Grand Lyon Film Festival, all attracting millions of visitors each year.
Nuits Sonores
Festival of Lights
Paris, the capital city of France is a major city in Europe and a global center for art, fashion, culture and gastronomy, commonly referred to as “The City of Lights”. One of the best known tourist destination in Paris is the Eiffel Tower. The tower was built on March 31, 1889 and stands at 324 meters tall. Since the tower opened, there have been said to be over 250 million people who have visited. Today the Eiffel Tower welcomes about 7 million people a year, this makes it the most visited paid-for monument in the world. There are approximately 20,000 light bulbs used on the Eiffel Tower to make it light up every night.
Eiffel Tower
Paris has several art museums that are a prime destination for anyone visiting the city. The most well-known is The Louvre, sees millions of tourists each year! This is because this museum is home to some of the most famous paintings. Within the museum resides the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo along with many other great art pieces. Another museum in Paris is the National Museum of Modern Art at the Centre Pompidou. This is a modern art museum that has over 50,000 art pieces from artists like Picasso, Warhol, Braque and many other famous painters, sculptors and architects. Some other main museums include Musee d’Orsay, Le Musée Grévin and The Petit Palais. The city of lights always has something going on for tourists and residents. Some main attractions that are very popular among tourists is Disneyland Paris, Notre Dame de Paris, the Arc De Triomphe, Montmarte, Moulin Rouge, The Pantheon and many more.
Louvre
Interesting Facts
Paris is home to more than 75,000 hotel rooms, 50 museums and 8,000 restaurants, thus making it one of Europe’s top destinations for tourists.
Paris hosts over 700 events per year.
Works Cited
1) About-France(2014). A short guide to the French Riviera.
2) Arfin, F. (2010, June 20). Provence: The Secret Côte d’Azur. The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/france/7838311/Provence-The-secret-Cote-dAzur.html
3) Avignon Tourism. (2015). Provence Reservation. http://www.avignon-tourisme.com/Transport/AVIGNON/fiche-TRAPAC084CDT0006038-1.html
4)
5) Canadian War Museum. (n.d.). Canada and the First World War: Vimy Ridge. http://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/after-the-war/remembrance/vimy-memorial/
6) France Tourism. (n.d.) Rendez-Vous at Vimy Ridge National Historic Site of Canada. http://uk.france.fr/en/great-war-centennial/rubric/56218/vimy-ridge-national-historic-site-canada
7) GovernmentofFrance.(2015, April 8). France still world’s No.1 tourist destination in 2014.Governmentfr.
8) Internationa Actuarial Assocation – Lyon, France Colloquium 2013 (Internationa Actuarial Assocation – Lyon, France Colloquium 2013) http://www.actuaries.org/lyon2013/index.cfm
9) Link-Paris(2013) Mont St. Michel History
10) Palace of Versailles | palace, Versailles, France (Encyclopedia Britannica Online) http://www.britannica.com/topic/Palace-of-Versailles
11) Palace of Versailles: Facts & History (LiveScience) By: Jarus, by. http://www.livescience.com/38903-palace-of-versailles-facts-history.html
12) Smith, O. (2015). When did the Eiffel Tower open to the public?. Telegraph.co.uk. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/france/parisandaround/11505668/Eiffel-Tower-facts.html
13) S.Herlihy, D. (2015). Paris Tourism Facts. Travel Tips – USA Today. Retrieved October 17, 2015, from http://traveltips.usatoday.com/paris-tourism-facts-15178.html
14) S. Paris-city.fr,. (2015). Festivities and festivals in Paris. Retrieved October 17, 2015, from http://www.paris-city.fr/GB/paris-sorties/se-divertir/fetes.php
15) Steves, R. (2015). France’s Mont St-Michel: Magnificence on a Mudflat. 16) The City of Lyon (The City of Lyon) http://www.ectrims-congress.eu/2012/the-city-of-lyon.html
17) Traub, C. (2015). Top Ten Paris Art Museums: You’ve Seen the Louvre…Now What?. About.com Travel. http://goparis.about.com/od/parismuseums/tp/Top-Ten-Paris-Museums.htm
18) Travelmail, R. (2014, March 11). Move over London… Paris named as the world’s top tourist destination. Dailymail.
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