Facts About France

Facts about England - Tiffany Macbeth

Tiffany loves to travel and learn about the countries of the World.

She has visited France and during her time there she discovered lots of interesting facts about France.

Did you know?

France is the third largest country in Europe. It has a border with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Andorra and Spain. The map below shows the main cities of France.

 

Map of France

The flag of France is made up of three vertical bands of blue, white and red. It is called the Tricolor.

Flag of France

 

What is the capital city of France?

Paris is the capital city of France with a population of around 2 million people.

Paris capital of France

This is a picture of Paris, the capital city of France.

Paris is built on the River Seine, France’s second longest river. The bridge you can see in the picture is the Pont des Arts (Bridge of the Arts) which links the Institute of France with the Louvre Palace Square.

Other famous landmarks in Paris include:

The Eiffel Tower, Arch de Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral, Sacre Coeur Church, Palace of Versailles.

What is the longest river in France?

River Loire longest river in France

This is a picture of the Loire, the longest river in France. It is 1,012 km (629 miles) long. The source, or beginning of the river, is in the Massif Central, a region of hills about 100km (62 miles) south-west of Lyon. The river travels north-west to Orleans then turns west, passing through Nantes before reaching the Atlantic Ocean. f

What is the highest mountain in France?

Mont Blanc

This is a picture of the highest mountain in France, Mont Blanc (White Mountain). It is also the highest mountain in Europe and reaches a height of 4,810 metres (15,781 ft). It is in the Alps on the French/Italian border and very close to the Swiss border. The picture has been taken from Switzerland looking across Lake Geneva.

Lake Geneva, which is partly in Switzerland and partly in France, is one of the largest lakes in Europe measuring 73km (45.3 miles) by 14km (8.7 miles).

The largest lake in France is Lac du Bourget. Located east of Lyon and south-west of Lake Geneva it measures 18km (11.2 miles) by 3.5km (2.2 miles).

 

What is France famous for?

Eiffel Tower France

The Eiffel Tower in Paris is the most famous landmark in France. It was designed by Gustave Eiffel and built in 1889. It is 324m (1,063ft) tall. It is the tallest building in Paris and the second tallest building in France. It was the tallest building in the World until 1930.

Tour de France

France is also famous for the Tour de France, a cycle race that takes place in July of each year. The route includes much of France and it sometimes passes through neighbouring countries. The race lasts for around 23 days and covers 3,200km (2,000 miles).

What other things are associated with France?

Red wine

Wine – An alcoholic drink made from grapes, yeast and sugar

Art and France

A lot of great artists have been French – Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Paul Gaugin and Edgar Degas.

Fashion is associated with France

Fashion – Many of the World’s top fashion designers have been French – Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier

 

Can you name some famous French people?

Here are Tiffany’s top 20 famous people from France:

Alexandre Dumas, Auguste Rodin, Brigitte Bardot, Charles de Gaulle, Claude Monet, Coco Chanel, Edgar Degas, Georges Bizet, Gustave Eiffel, Jacques Cousteau, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Joan of Arc, Louis Pasteur, Maurice Ravel, Marie Curie, Napoleon Bonaparte, Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane.

Napoleon

 

As you can see Tiffany has discovered a lot of facts about France. She summed up her visit with the following keywords:

Arch de Triomphe, artists, beret, bread, cheese, Citroen, croissants, Eiffel Tower, fashion, frogs legs, garlic, guillotine, Lasceaux Caves, Moulin Rouge, Mont Blanc, onions, Palace of Versailles, perfume, Renault, Seine river, snails, The Alps, The Pyrenees, tour de France, wine