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The Ile de France is the region surrounding the French capital, Paris. The North is one region where the world wars have left many scars. It includes Nord-Pas de Calais, Picardie, and Haute-Normandie. The North-East is a region where wider European culture (and specially German culture) has merged with the French, giving interesting results. It includes Alsace, Lorraine, Champagne-Ardenne and Franche-Comté. The Great West is an oceanic region, with a culture greatly influenced by the ancient Celtic peoples. It includes Brittany (French: Bretagne), Basse-Normandie, and Pays de la Loire. The Centre is a largely agricultural and vinicultural region, featuring river valleys, chateaux and historic towns. It includes Centre-Val de Loire, Poitou-Charentes, Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), Limousin, and Auvergne. The South-West is a region of sea and wine, with nice beaches over the Atlantic ocean, as well as young, high mountains close to Spain. It includes Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrenees. The South-East is the primary tourist region of the country outside of Paris, with a warm climate and azure sea, contrasting with the mountainous French Alps. It includes Rhône-Alpes, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the Mediterranean island of Corsica (French: Corse). The world-famous Loire Valley - best known for its wines and chateaux - extends across two regions in west and central France. Corsica is a large French island located to the south-east of mainland France in the west Mediterranean Sea (close to Nice on one side and Livorno, Italy). The French Republic also includes several overseas departments namely:

Guadeloupe Martinique French Guiana (Guyanne Française) Réunion. French overseas territories include:

French Polynesia (Tahiti) New Caledonia (Nouvelle Caledonie) Saint Pierre et Miquelon Mayotte Wallis et Futuna The following overseas territories are remote possessions kept as natural reservations:

French Southern and Antarctic territories (Terres Antarctiques et Australes Françaises, or TAAF), consisting of Terre Adélie in Antarctica and some islands in the Indian Ocean Scattered Islands of the Indian Ocean (Iles Eparses): Europa Island, Bassas da India, Juan de Nova Island, Glorioso Islands (Glorieuses) Clipperton Island A very limited form of tourism is available in the TAAF islands. [edit]Cities France has numerous cities and towns of interest to travelers. Below is a list of nine of the most notable:

Paris -- the "City of Light", the romantic capital of France Bordeaux - city of wine, capital of South-West Cannes -- host of the annual Cannes Film Festival Lyon - France's second city, with a history from Roman times to the Resistance, restaurants (Beaujolais and delicatessen) Marseille - big harbor, heart of Provence Nice - a major resort on the French Riviera Rennes -- Nice city, wonderful market, capital of Brittany Strasbourg -- European capital (EU parliament and European Council) Toulouse -- very nice and lively city [edit]Other destinations Cities with the largest number of visible Roman monuments:

Orange - Arles - Nîmes - Elne. Cities with an outstanding Gothic cathedral : Paris - Amiens - Reims - Chartres - Rouen - Beauvais - Laon - Le Mans - Coutances. Cities with an outstanding castle : Fontainebleau - Vaux le Vicomte near Melun - la Malmaison in Rueil-Malmaison - the Loire Valley with Montreuil-Bellay - Azay le Rideau - Blois - Chambord - Chenonceaux Others:

Annecy - Medieval city situated on the shore of a mountain lake in the French Alpes Bayeux - this Norman town preserves the famous Tapestry depicting Duke William's conquest of England in 1066 - also the first French town to be liberated after the D-Day landings in 1944 Chamonix - hometown of Mont Blanc, Europe's highest point Fontainebleau - on the outskirts of Paris, site of a magnificent palace Fontevrault Moissac - the Cloister ( twelfth and fifteenth centuries), Centre of Romanesque Art, wonderful countryside Mont Saint Michel - World Heritage preservation of a medieval abbey, situated evocatively on an offshore island off the coast of Normandy Versailles - on the outskirts of Paris, the vast royal palace and magnificent estate of Louis XIV, the Sun King, and his successors Theme parks