Day 2393 (Wednesday) 27th December 2023

Some more special photos today… 

This is Villefranche Sur Mer – that is a great view of the Citadel

and this is the aquarium in Monaco - an incredibly beautiful building. There are turtles in the water.

We had a beautiful sunset last night.

Huw had to get up super-early this morning to take Pat and Dee to the airport. They are going to Dublin, then Tenerife, then back to Dublin and to return the favour of the lift they are lending us their car for two weeks.

It was lovely and sunny this morning, the thermometer showed 28C, it wasn’t that warm but very pleasant. 

I found a good website about France but it’s rather long so I’ll post over a few days – enjoy…

Who doesn't have France on their travel bucket list? When it comes to experiences and sights, France has it all - food, wine, culture and the great outdoors. In fact, France retains its crown as the most visited country in the world with 89 million visitors, France (officially called the French Republic) .

So, what continues to make France such a popular destination?

The City of Lights (aka Paris) 

Food and wine

Its impeccably preserved history and culture

Ease of traveling to and getting around

France's Regions

France is made up of its mainland territory (the "hexagone" as the French call it) as well as five overseas regions and another eight overseas collectivities. Across the world, France's regions and territories are incredibly varied with their own mix of history, gastronomy and culture (as displayed above in our map of Mainland France's top hotspots). Whatever region you pick, you can't go wrong - just make sure you take the time to get out of Paris and discover some of the hidden gems.

Mainland France

Mainland France is comprised of 13 administrative regions, which are then in turn grouped into seven cultural regions.

Originally the country was divided into 22 regions but a major reorganisation was implemented in 2016 to consolidate this number. As a result, six new regions of France were created from the merger of existing regions while five maintained their existing boundaries.

The seven cultural regions are:

• Île de France: the region surrounding Paris, the French capital.

• Northern France (Nord-Pas de Calais, Picardy Normandy): both World Wars have heavily marked this region.

• North-eastern France (Alsace, Lorraine, Champagne-Ardenne, Franche-Comté): experience a wider European culture here, where the Germanic influence is strong and the two cultures have essentially blended together.

• Great West (Brittany, Pays de la Loire): One of the most varied regions, ranging from the heavily-visited Chateaux along the Loire to the picturesque fisherman's villages on the Brittany cultures.

• Central France (Centre-Val de Loire, Poitou-Charentes, Burgundy, Limousin, Auvergne): A largely agricultural and viticultural regions, featuring historical towns, famous châteaux and beautiful river valley landscapes.

• Southwestern France (Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrénées): The perfect mixture of sea, mountain and gastronomy, with nice beaches along the Atlantic and adventure awaiting in the Pyrenees mountain range along the Spanish border

• Southeastern France (Rhônes-Alpes, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Corsica): This is the most visited region in France, famed for its warm climate and azure sea as well as being close to the mountainous Alps.

Overseas France

But wait, there's more to France than "just" the mainland. After the break-up of the French Empire, a number of colonies decided to maintain a close relationship with France. Today, these territories have varying legal status and different levels of autonomy but they all have representation in the French Parliament and all their inhabitants are considered French citizens.

From a tourists's standpoint, all these territories are an amazing opportunity to discover a different side to France. They are particularly attractive for visitors who speak French as most inhabitants of these territories still use French as their primary language. Some territories, such as Guadeloupe and Martinique, even use the Euro.

There are five overseas departments and they have exactly the same status as France's mainland regions: 

Guadeloupe (West Indies)

Martinique (West Indies)

French Guiana (South America)

Mayotte (Indian Ocean)

Réunion

The second category of territories are called overseas collectivities. These territories have more autonomy so they each have their own statutory laws. There are six overseas collectivities:

French Polynesia (South Pacific)

Wallis and Futuna (South Pacific)

New Caledonia (Southwest Pacific)

Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Northwest Atlantic, near Newfoundland)

Saint Martin (West Indies)

Saint Barthélemy (West Indies)

With so many places to choose from, you can understand why France continues to be a to destination for the world's globetrotters.

Top Experiences & Sights

There are few countries that really offer it all. France is one. From cosmopolitan urban centres to vertiginous mountaintops to sandy beaches, you can do it all in France. Honestly, you could spend a month in France and still have areas you haven't touched. So where to start? Here's a round-up of France's top experiences and sights.

More on this tomorrow including places to visit and of course food. 

Last Christmas cats, I promise…