We will try to tell you all you would like to know to love your visit to France. Few words but those you are hungry for. Lets not fill your mind with long numbers. You need 20 Frances to have the surface of one USA. However you only need 4.5 times the population for the same comparison. For citizens of UK their contry has about half the surface of France but the same amount of inhabitants (rather cosy, isn t it). The mean age is 34 years for USA and 36 years for the two others.
France is not an ancient country nor a new one. We find France as lots of different cultures and people when Julius Ceasar invades Gaul in 58Bc. There lived Celts, Franks and others to a total estimated to be 10 million peoples.. The Gauls (latin for celts) joint in tribes which in turn join in some 70 or so nations. Several centuries before the Celts had arrive from their Danubian homeland to France. France was covered with forests. Most people lived in mudhuts and the village was surrounded by a stockade. There were many religions with panttheistic worship of rivers, woods and other elements of nature ( we wonder if it has completely disappeard even if today France is one of the catholic congregation dearest to the Pope).
Then come the story of Vercingetorix who fought the Roman and was beaten at Alesia which opened five centuries of roman rule over Gaule. During this ocupation in Lyons Marseilles and Bordeaux Latin and Greek were tought and the catholic faith was displacing local cults.Life became easier and safer. Mud huts were replaced by better built habitations.
The 5th century declinement of Rome allowed 5 centuries of invasion to find France having around year 1000 Ac a mixture of Gauls, Romans, and barbarians like Franks, Teutons, Visigoths, Vandals, Vikings etc. During this period there were two dynasties, the Merovingians and the Carolingians (431-987) and Clovis (481-511) converted to cristianism in 496 and Paris became the new capital. Charlemagne became king of France in 768 and emperor in800. His empire extended from the pyrenees to the vistula, over most Europa. His capital was Aix la Chapelle.
From then on, for nearly 1000 years the house of Capet furnished France with kings , the Capetians, the Valois and the Bourbon (sorry, no similarity with the delicious american whisky). It extended even after Napoleon I until Louis-Philippe beeing a distant cousin branch as Louis XVI had its throat cut.
During this milenary at first in France there were several large landlords, dukes or counts, mainly those of Burgundy, Normandie, Aquitaine, and Flanders. Duke Williams of Normandy conquest of England in 1066 where he became king William I, made him an even stronger competitor to the king of France who had his family lands around Paris and Orleans. Saint Louis or Louis IX (1226-1270) used to administrate justice seated under an enourmous oak.
Not to be surprised that later on the now English troops conquered the northern part of France and it took the 100 year war (1338-1453) to throw them back. Even Jeanne d'Arc helped to recover the city of Orleans from the english troops ( now she has been santified by the catholic church and is a main sign of rightist France).
As strong kings we can mention Francis I (in a battle, galoping toward the ennemi he said: 'follow my panache'), Henry IV (who tolerated protestantism by the edict of Nante and converted to catholicism saying Paris is worth a mass!) and Louis XIV (made Versailles castle and empoverished France with wars). Between the two last ones we had the power of Richelieu and Mazarin (the three mosqueteers etc.). Royalty which from outside looked hereditary was not as smoth going if you see the facts that Louis XV was the grandchild of the son of Louis XIV and that Louis XVI was the grandchild of Louis XV. It seems that Kings did not want anybody waiting their heritage.
In the 1700th France was the most populous single unified state, and had the greatest military and economic resources. Together with that there are two very french caracteristics which you can see today also: they think more than others and they are not patient. As a result of thinking we had in the middle of 18th century the Encyclopedistes 'Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Diderot and Beaumarchais who criticized the world they saw...
The french impatients mixed with agricultural desaster and economical depresion in commerce, finance and manufarcturing, plus the disgust of french nobility against the excesive power of kingdom, paved the way for the french revolution. The Bastille, a castle used as prison was stormed on july 14th 1789 by peasant and workers. It happened at the same time as pillaging and burning in the countryside. A little more than a century later the russian folk did somthing similar.
From then on terror war and unstability reigned until Napoleon Bonaparte established the consulate in 1799. He crowned himself emperor Napoleon I in 1804 (see a large ceiling paint of it at the church of the Madeleine). He conquered Europe, lost Europe and finally was defeated in Waterloo. But he left France with a great Napoleonic organization which in part still today exists.
The last two centuries appear to politically unstable to make a broad resumé but on the contrary the economical aspects were highly positive and France was at the top of scientific and industrial discoveries. Madame Curie,....
The second world war was won by american, english and some french trops on the western front and as a resut of that France is one of the few atomic power countries. They are among the bests for aircraft and misile technology. But probably more important to you they think they are the best in cheese, wine and love. What else do you need! Of course Italians would not agree on that.
After World War II General de Gaulle was several times president and left followers who in turn also came to be president ounce in a while. The sometimes first force, sometimes second force at elections are a mixture of socialo comunists who usally are smart enough when they are government to apply rather capialistic economic policies.
The third movement, right winger from Le Front National (Le Pen) are increasing their share of popularity among french workers as he defends french nationals for new working places. There is of course also a minority of green representatives at the french national assembly. Often when traveling to France you will get into labor strikes but you can live with it.
If you are planning a trip to France you can go there to see museums or to have a rest or do some sports.
MUSEUM TRIP. Then you start with Paris where you must see the Louvre , La Gare D Orsay, L Orangerie, Le Jeu de Paume, Le Musè Pompidou, the church of Notre Dame, the Madeleine church, La Butte Montmartre where some artists live, the Eiffel tower, the Petit Palais and the Grand Palais if there are special exhibitions and walk the avenue des Champs Elysèes until the Arc de Triomphe.
You could add to this a one or two days excursion trip to the Castles of the Loire which are worth seeing, specially Chambord, Chenonceau and Amboise. Dispose of a complete day to visit the Castle of Versaille not far from Paris. Another castle which tourists like a lot is the Mont Saint Michel castle on an island. Until you have not seen most of these places do not start different visits because you will waist your time and money in less important places. Place of the Trocadero you have also the Museum of the Man and of the Discovery but we do not know if to see the place of Trocadero and Paris below is not more important than the museums for a common tourist. On the Cote d' Azur you have also some important museums of modern painters like Chagall, Picasso etc.
In Lyons which is the second largest city of France you have the ancient tapestries museum. Marseille and Bordeau which are the second and third city in population have also good museums.
SEA RESORTS. First of course La Cote D 'Azur from Montecarlo to St Tropez . Monaco is the home for aging millionaires, but you can also find them at Cap Martin, Nice, Cap D Antibes Cannes and even St Tropez. Apart from them you will find the places rather crowded from mid june to mid september but it creates a certain atmosfere. Sea food and the famous Bouillabaisse is highly recomended. Then you have the specialties of the Provence like the Ratatouille (a mixture of oven cocked vegetables) and meals for warm places. The sea is clear, the beaches if any, tiny or pebble covered and the water temperature warm. It is in general more expensive than other French sea resorts.
Map of Cote D'Azur
Second the cote Basque with Biarritz and St. Jean de Luz as main cities. Agreable beaches on the atlantique ocean, basque type food which you can find also going to nearby Spain, not to many poeple and a nice place to rest. Higher up on the atlantic coast you ha La Baule with large beaches and a somewhat colder climat. If you are not to keen on a hot water front you can go to La Bretagne or to Dinard in the Normandie. There you have the best sea food and cheses are produced nearby but you might feel not as warm for a bath.
SPORTS. The sports you would most probably want to make in France is ski! After all the Mont Blanc, the highest european mountain is in France near to Swizerland.You can reach french ski resorts by plane until Lyons or Geneva and then take a transport to Chamonix or Megève or nearby villages. Skying on french alps can be somewhat harder than on swiss ones but it is also usually less expensive and sportier.