France

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France : A unique Rendez-Vous

  • Overview : People from all over the world come to see this amazing city, also known as the city of lights. No wonder its become the most popular city in Europe. Wander on the bank of river Seine, marvel at the most famous painting in the Louvre and enjoy the most iconic structures in France, the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.
  • *Capital City : Paris
  • Language : French, Most people working in tourism and related fields also speak English
  • Time : GMT +1
  • International Dialing Code : 0033
  • Population : 62000000
  • Total number of UK visitors : 15 million
  • Total visitors from abroad : 76 million
  • Health Requirements : None
  • Currency : Euros
  • Exchange Rate (approx) : £1 – €1.25. Visa/MasterCard accepted, but as French Versions contain an additional security measure, not all retailers are able to process British Cards
  • Tipping : Most restaurants and hotels automatically add a 15% service charge so a tip is not necessary, although another 2-3% is customary if the service has been good. If service is not included then 15% is customary. Taxi drivers expect 10-15% of the fare and hairdressers 10%. Hotel staff generally receives €1.50 a day and tips of €1 are given to washroom and cloakroom attendants and museum tour guides. Tour bus drivers and guides are also tipped.
  • Electricity : 2 pin plug adaptor required (220 – 240 Volts)
  • Driving : Traffic drives on the right. National driving licences are valid in France
  • Religion : Catholic and Protestant, with Jewish and Muslim minorities
  • Visa Requirements for Indian Passports : Schengen Visa
  • Climate :
  • A temperate climate in the north; northeastern areas have a more continental climate with warm summers and colder winters. Rainfall is distributed throughout the year with some snow likely in the winter.
  • Required clothing :European, according to season.
Chart.
  • What To See And Do :
  • European, according to season.
  • Visit to the largest art gallery in France, Louvre
  • Visit to the unforgettable – Disneyland® Paris

Eiffel Tower

One of the most famous landmarks in the world is the Eiffel Tower and you couldn’t possibly visit Paris without seeing it. Even if you do not want to visit it, you will see its top from all over Paris. Designed by engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, construction of this 300+ meter tall structure took over two years and was completed in 1989. Each one of the 12,000 iron pieces were designed separately to give them exactly the shape needed and all pieces were prefabricated and fitted together using approx. 7 million nails.

http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/

Louvre Museum

Originally designed as a palace to house the French royal family, the Louvre Museum is one of the earliest European art museums. Established by the French Republic in 1793,it housed around 3000 exhibitions and today boats almost half a million paintings. Divided into 7 departments, the Louvre collections incorporate works dating from the birth of the great civilizations right up to the first half of the 19th century. It is home to The Mona Lisa Painting; painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the fifteenth century, its value today is well over $500 million.

http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en

Versaille Gardens

Versailles is one of the most famous gardens in the world covering some 800 hectares of land, much of which is landscaped in the classic French Gardenstyle. The gardens were masterminded by the garden design guru Le Nôtre and were built between 1661 and1715. At the heart of the garden is an epic mile long canal and there is also an abundance of fountains and the ground are also home to the Palace of Versailles; the official residence of the Kings of France from 1682 until 1970.

http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/

River Seine

A major tourist attraction if France, at over 600 miles longs, it is the second longest river in France and has 44 bridges crossing it. It flows in a north-westerly direction through Troyes, Melun, Corbeil, Paris, Mantes and Rouen, and finally into the English Channel between Le Havre and Honfleur. During the journey, you can see beautiful Gothic cathedrals, superb scenery and sites of centuries of war. The river passes a thousand communities, from tiny hamlets to Europe's most popular tourist city. On any day of the year, you can enjoy a journey on one of the Paris tourist boats, or ‘bateaux-mouches’ wher you will get a duck's-eye view of Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, and the Eiffel Tower, and en route pass beneath some of the capital's 32 bridges.

http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Transportation/Water/Bateaux-Mouches.shtml

Disneyland Resort® Paris

Disneyland Resort Paris is a holiday and recreation resort in Marne-la-Vallée, a new town in the eastern suburbs of Paris, located 20 miles from the centre of Paris. The resort is split into two major attractions; Disneyland® Park and Walt Disney Studios® Park. Disneyland® Park’s138 acres are divided into five theme Lands: Main Street USA, Frontierland, Adventureland, Fantasyland and Discoveryland and boasts attractions that provide thrills that come in all sizes and shapes for all ages. The Studio’s Park is the open door to the magical world of cinema and television enabling you to discover thrilling attractions and spectacular shows providing a behind the movie scenes sensation enabling you to feel what its like to be the star of the stage and screen and experience movie and cinema sets coming to life.

http://parks.disneylandparis.co.uk/index.xhtml

Champs Elysees

The Avenue des Champs-Elysees is probably the most famous avenue in the world. This impressive promenade stretches from the Place the la Concorde to the Place Charles de Gaulle, the site of the Arc de Triomphe. With its cinemas, cafés, and luxury specialty shops, the Avenue des Champs-Elysees is one of the most famous streets in the world, and with rents as high as $1.50 million a year for 1000 square feet (92.9 square meters) of space, it remains the most expensive strip of real estate in Europe and second in the world after after New York City's Fifth Avenue. The name is French for Elysian Fields, the place of the blessed in Greek mythology.

http://www.champselysees.org/

Arc de Triomphe

Situated at the end of Champs-Elysees, The Arc de Triomphe de is the world's largest triumphal arch standing at 51 meters high and 45 meters wide and is situated in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle; the largest roundabout in the world. In 1806, Napoleon conceived of a triumphal arch patterned after those of ancient Rome and dedicated to the glory of his imperial armies and construction was completed in 1836. Standing at the top, over fifty meters from the ground, you can watch Parisian life from up high and contemplate the world famous views created by Parisian architects.

http://arc-de-triomphe.monuments-nationaux.fr/en/

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