France is one of the "classics among tourist countries". It offers mountain ranges, coastlines like in Brittany or along the Mediterranean Sea, cities with a rich cultural heritage, châteaux and castles like Versailles, countryside, vineyards in Burgundy and the metropolis of Paris with the Louvre, boulevards, the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and cathedral of Notre-Dame.

In the eastern parts of France there are famous skiing resorts in the Alps. Other famous cities are Avignon with the old popes' palace, Arles, Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, Nice, Orléans on the Loire River, Strasbourg on the border to Germany or Lyon.

France's tourist industry, however, is not limited to Paris and the Alpine ski resorts. Vast tracts of the country are peppered with rental accommodation and small hotels which greet a faithful clientele from all over the world. For example, the English like to spend their summers in the Dordogne valley, the Spanish vacation in Biarritz and St Jean de Luz on the Basque, and the Irish often visit Lourdes. There is a lot of culture in France, and if you stray from the oft-traveled tourist track you are sure to find good accommodation, a professional welcome and lots of good food.

France is easy to discover by train. It offers a high-speed train service called TGV (train à grande vitesse) as well as regional services, both operated by the SNCF.