France has 1,500 miles of beaches lining 3 major bodies of water: the Mediterranean, the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel? Altogether more than 35 million people enjoy France's beaches in any given year

France is the third largest country in Europe (after Russia and Ukraine. It is also one of the most geographically diverse. Its landscape ranges from the rolling meadows and apple orchards of Normandy and Brittany to the vineyards and olive groves of the far south, from the ragged snow-capped Alps of the Swiss border to the explosive volcanic craters, canyons, and caves in the forested Auvergne. Historically too, this has been one of the most important regions in Europe since the first Merovingians rampaged across the continent in the 6th century AD. Today, France is a peaceful if still politically volatile democracy, but the map of modern France was only drawn in 1860, and in many ways it is still not one country but a patchwork of different cultures, traditions, and strong local pride.

These sensitivities have led through the ages to appalling bloodshed, but have also created an immense cultural wealth that has kept the area at the forefront of the arts for a millennium. The flowering of medieval Gothic cathedrals, built by crusading kings such as Saint Louis, were accompanied by fearsome battles against the Anglo-Norman lords of Aquitaine. The renaissance splendour of François I's magnificent chateaux was followed by the ugliness of the Wars of Religion, which destroyed much of beauty and left the Huguenots fleeing for their lives. The self-centred glories of the court of the “Sun King”, Louis XIV, and his successors, led directly to the Revolution of 1789 and the executions of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. During Napoléon's brief empire France seemed invincible, but his downfall in 1815 led to 50 years of rebellion and counter-revolution. No sooner had these upheavals settled down into another golden age, the Belle Époque, than the horrors of modern warfare swept across the country, with the trenches of World War I followed by the German invasion and the Occupation of World War II.

France's most enduring legacy is to the senses and the intellect. Each region has its own cuisine, from butter-rich Normandy to the foie gras and walnuts of the Périgord, the basil, garlic, and tomatoes of Provence, or the cabbage and sausage of Alsace. French style, too, has led the world. The seductive clash of philosophy and image has created magnificent literature, from the satires of Rabelais and Molière to the social treatises of Balzac and Hugo or the philosophies of Sartre. A willingness to experiment led artists such as Manet and Monet to create Impressionism and George Braque to invent Cubism, while Cocteau and Satie were at the forefront of the avant-garde. Singers such as Josephine Baker and Edith Piaf transformed cabaret, while more recently Roger Vadim and Brigitte Bardot created cinema's Nouvelle Vague. Dozens of leading fashion designers have been nurtured in France, including Balmain, Cardin, Chanel, Dior, and St-Laurent. Even politicians have added chic, with presidents Pompidou and Mitterrand sponsoring some of the most innovative architecture of the late 20th century in projects such as the Pompidou Centre or the glass pyramid at the refurbished Louvre Museum.

Short trip from Paris, and just across the channel from England
Famous WWII landing beaches, museum and memorials
Historical region of William the Conqueror
The famous Mt. Saint Michel Abbey
Seaside resorts and casinos

Just across the Channel from London, and not far from Paris, you will find the welcoming region of Normandy with its varied coastline and rich countryside. Normandy probably has more significance to North American visitors than any other part of France.

Normandy gets its name from the 10th-century Norman Vikings that settled the country. In 1066 the famous Norman Duke William defeated the Saxon King Harold in the Battle of Hastings, was crowned King of England and became known as William the Conqueror. For many centuries after the descendants of his Norman army governed England, creating much of the Anglo-Saxon heritag

Paris
Paris (city, France), city in north central France, capital and largest city of the country, on the Seine River, some 370 km (some 230 mi) from its Atlantic Ocean outlet at Le Havre.
Paris is situated in a low-lying basin; relief within the city is generally slight, although the elevation gradually increases from the river to the low hills that ring the city's edge. The highest natural feature within the city proper is the Butte de Montmartre, at 129 m (423 ft) above sea level. With an estimated population approaching 10 million, the Paris metropolitan area contains nearly 20% of the nation's inhabitants and dominates the economic, cultural, and political life of France to an extraordinary degree; the population of Paris proper was 2,148,991 in 1990. The centralizing philosophy of successive governments has historically favored the city as the site for all decision making, thus exercising a powerful attraction on virtually all of the nation's activities. Only since the 1960s have attempts been made to reduce the inordinate influence of Paris in French affairs and to strengthen the role of various regions and secondary cities.
Economy
Paris is the leading industrial center of France, with about one-quarter of the nation's manufacturing concentrated in the metropolitan area. Industries engaged in the manufacture of consumer goods have always been drawn to Paris by the enormous market of the metropolitan population; and modern, high-technology industries also have become numerous since World War II. Principal manufactures are machinery, automobiles and other vehicles, chemicals, and electrical equipment. The cultural and artistic preeminence of Paris has attracted a large publishing industry and a wide range of luxury manufactures, such as high-fashion clothing and jewelry, for which the city is particularly noted.
Most key service activities of the nation, especially banking and finance, are concentrated in Paris. The city has made major efforts in recent years to attract the headquarters of multinational corporations and is now one of Europe's most important centers of international business and commerce.
An additional advantage enjoyed by Paris is its location at the center of one of Europe's richest agricultural regions, with nearby districts, such as the Beauce and Brie, famous for the production of wheat and other crops. This strong agricultural economy has ensured Paris a reliable food supply throughout its history and has also created a solid economic base for the region.
Because the Seine is navigable by barges to points upstream of Paris, the city is an important port (fourth in France, by tonnage), with major concentrations of processing, refining, and distribution activities. The city is also the principal focus of the national railroad and highway networks. Three major airports serve the city.

Roughly circular in shape, Paris is divided by the Seine, which enters in the southeast and loops to the north before leaving the city in the southwest. The river contains two islands: Île de la Cité and the smaller Île Saint Louis. The original site of Paris was on the Île de la Cité and the adjacent left (south) bank of the river. The Romans established a regional capital here in the 1st century AD. With few topographic constraints on its growth, Paris expanded through the years in a generally circular form and was enclosed by a successive series of walls for defense. On becoming obsolete, the walls were demolished, and their sites were transformed into wide streets and handsome boulevards, creating vital access routes within the city. Until recent years, building heights within Paris were limited to 20 m (66 ft), or about six stories; thus, the city, although densely inhabited, has a low skyline except for outlying new developments.
A temperate marine west coast climate exerts an important influence on the life of the city. Mild winters (January mean temperature 2.8° C/37° F), cool summers (July mean 18.9° C/66° F), and well-distributed annual precipitation make it possible for sidewalk cafés, open-air markets, and other colorful attributes of the urban scene to be enjoyed throughout the year.
Among districts of the city that have maintained an individual character are the Latin Quarter, or Left Bank, near the Seine, noted for educational and cultural pursuits; the expensive residential and commercial districts of the Right Bank near the Champs Élysées, such as Passy and Auteuil; and the poorer working-class neighborhoods in the northeastern part of the city, including Belleville and La Chapelle.
Paris has grown steadily, with interruptions caused by war and disease, since it was chosen as the national capital in the late 10th century. The rate of migration to the city increased markedly during the 19th century as the impact of the Industrial Revolution was felt. Migration during this period was especially stimulated by the construction of railroads, which provided easy access to the capital. Paris has long been a refuge for those fleeing persecution and unrest in various parts of Europe. After World War II, however, and well into the 1970s, the city's population became even more cosmopolitan with the arrival on a massive scale of immigrant workers from Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Yugoslavia and of former colonial subjects from North Africa, Sénégal, Vietnam, and elsewhere. This more recent influx has created a variety of economic and social tensions in Paris.