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About France
Adapted from Wikipedia
France, officially the French Republic (French: République
française), is a country
whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe
and that also comprises various overseas islands and territories
located in other continents. Metropolitan France extends
from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and
the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean.
French people often refer to Metropolitan France as L'Hexagone
(The "Hexagon") because of the geometric shape
of its territory.
France is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany,
Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. In some
of its overseas departments, France also shares land
borders with Brazil, Suriname, and the Netherlands Antilles.
France is also linked to the United Kingdom via the
Channel Tunnel, which passes underneath the English
Channel.
The French Republic is a democracy that is organised
as a unitary semi-presidential republic. It is a developed
country with the sixth-largest economy in the world.
Its main ideals are expressed in the Declaration of
the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. France is one
of the founding members of the European Union, and has
the largest land area of all members. France is also
a founding member of the United Nations, and a member
of the Francophonie, the G8, and the Latin Union. It
is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations
Security Council wielding veto power, and it is also
an acknowledged nuclear power. It is considered as one
of the post World War II great powers. France is the
most popular international tourist destination in the
world, receiving over 75 million foreign tourists annually.
The name France originates from the Franks, a Germanic
tribe that occupied the northern Europe after the fall
of the Western Roman Empire. More precisely, the region
around Paris, called Île-de-France, was the original
French royal demesne.
Getting to France
Adapted from Wikitravel
Passport and Visa
France is a member of the European Union and the Schengen
Agreement. European visa policy will be covered in the
article about the EU. In brief, a visa to any other
signatory state of the Schengen Agreement is valid in
France too. No visa is required for citizens of other
EU member states, and those of some selected nations
with whom the European Union or France have special
treaties. Inquire at your travel agent or call the local
consulate or embassy of France.
Also, there are hardly any border controls between
France and other Schengen Agreement nations, making
travel less complicated. However, sometimes cars and
buses are stopped at borders or at the first toll-booth
after entering the country.
Australian, Malaysian or Indonesian citizens visiting
France for holiday will not need a Visa.
By plane
The main international airport, Roissy - Charles de
Gaulle (CDG) near Paris, is likely to be your port of
entry if you fly into France from outside Europe. CDG
is the home of Air France (AF), the national company,
for most intercontinental flights. AF and the companies
forming the Skyteam Alliance (Dutch KLM, AeroMexico,
Alitalia, US Continental, NorthWest and Delta Airlines,
Korean Air) use Terminal 2 while most other foreign
airlines use Terminal 1. A third terminal is used for
charter flights. If transferring through CDG (especially
between the various terminals) it is important to leave
substantial time between flights. Ensure you have no
less than one hour between transfers. Add more if you
have to change terminals as you will need to clear through
security.
Transfers to another flight in France : AF operates
domestic flights from CDG too, but a lot of domestic
flights, and also some internal European flights, use
Orly, the second Paris airport. For transfers within
CDG you can use the free bus shuttle linking all terminals,
train station, parking lots and hotels on the platform.
For transfers to Orly there is a (free for AF passengers)
bus link operated by AF. The two airports are also linked
by a local train (RER) which is slightly less expensive,
runs faster but is much more cumbersome to use with
heavy luggage. AF has agreements with the SNCF, the
national rail company, which operates TGV's (see below)
out of CDG airports (some trains carry flight numbers).
The TGV station is located in Terminal 2 and is on the
route of the free shuttle. For transfer to Paris see
Paris.
Other airports have international destinations : Paris
- Orly, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Lille, Lyon, Marseille,
Nantes, Nice, Toulouse have flights to cities in western
Europe and North-Africa ; those airports are hubs to
smaller airports in France and may be useful to avoid
the transfer between the two Paris airports. Two airports,
Bâle-Mulhouse and Geneva, are shared by France
and Switzerland and can allow entry into either country.
Some low-cost airlines, including Ryanair and Volare,
fly to Beauvais airport situated about 80 km northwest
of Paris. Buses to Paris are provided by the airlines.
Check schedules and fares on their websites.
By train
The French rail company, SNCF, provides direct service
from most European countries using regular trains. French
train tickets can be purchased directly in the US from
RailEurope a subsidiary of the SNCF. The Eurostar service
uses high-speed to connect Lille and Paris with London,
the later via the Calais-Dover channel tunnel. The Thalys
service uses high-speed TGV trains to connect Paris
to Brussels and onward to cities in the Netherlands
and Germany.
By bus
Eurolines connects over 500 destinations, covering
the whole of the continent and Morocco. Eurolines allows
travelling from Sicily to Helsinki and from Casablanca
to Moscow.
By boat
easyCruise offers weekly stops in southern French cities.
It also goes to Monaco and the Italian Riviera. |
