France

France is Europe's most diverse, tasty, and, in many ways, most exciting country to explore. It's a place of gentle beauty, where the play of light transforms the routine into the exceptional. Here, travelers are treated to a blend of man-made and natural beauty like nowhere else in Europe. With luxuriant forests, forever coastlines, truly grand canyons, and Europe's highest mountain ranges, France has a cover-girl beauty from top to bottom. You'll also discover a dizzying array of artistic and architectural wonders soaring cathedrals, chandeliered chteaux, and museums filled with the cultural icons of the Western world.

Paris
Paris the City of Light has been a beacon of culture for centuries. As a world capital of art, fashion, food, literature, and ideas, it stands as a symbol of all the fine things human civilization can offer. Paris offers sweeping boulevards, chatty crpe stands, chic boutiques, and world-class art galleries. Sip decaf with deconstructionists at a sidewalk caf, then step into an Impressionist painting in a tree-lined park. Climb Notre-Dame and rub shoulders with the gargoyles. Cruise the Seine, zip to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and saunter down Avenue des Champs-Elyses. Master the Louvre and Orsay museums. Save some after-dark energy for one of the world's most romantic cities.
Climate data for Paris (19812010 averages) Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

Month

Jan

Feb

Nov

Dec

Year

Record high 16.1 21.4 25.7 30.2 34.8 37.6 40.4 39.5 36.2 28.4 21.0 17.1 C (F) (61) (70.5) (78.3) (86.4) (94.6) (99.7) (104.7) (103.1) (97.2) (83.1) (69.8) (62.8) Average 7.2 8.3 12.2 15.6 19.6 22.7 25.2 25.0 21.1 16.3 10.8 7.5 high C (F) (45) (46.9) (54) (60.1) (67.3) (72.9) (77.4) (77) (70) (61.3) (51.4) (45.5) Daily mean 5.0 5.6 8.8 11.5 15.3 18.3 20.5 20.4 16.9 13.0 8.3 5.5 C (F) (41) (42.1) (47.8) (52.7) (59.5) (64.9) (68.9) (68.7) (62.4) (55.4) (46.9) (41.9) Average low 2.7 2.8 5.3 7.3 10.9 13.8 15.8 15.7 12.7 9.6 5.8 3.4 C (F) (36.9) (37) (41.5) (45.1) (51.6) (56.8) (60.4) (60.3) (54.9) (49.3) (42.4) (38.1) Record low 14.6 14.7 9.1 3.5 0.1 3.1 6.0 6.3 1.8 3.1 14.0 23.9 C (F) (5.7) (5.5) (15.6) (25.7) (31.8) (37.6) (42.8) (43.3) (35.2) (26.4) (6.8) (11) Precipitation 51.0 41.2 47.6 51.8 63.2 49.6 62.3 52.7 47.6 61.5 51.1 57.8 mm (inches) (2.008) (1.622) (1.874) (2.039) (2.488) (1.953) (2.453) (2.075) (1.874) (2.421) (2.012) (2.276)
Avg. precipitation days Mean monthly sunshine hours
9.9 9.0 10.6 9.3 9.8 8.4 8.1 7.7 7.8 9.6 10.0 10.9

40.4 (104.7) 16.0 (60.8) 12.4 (54.3) 8.9 (48) 23.9 (11) 637.4 (25.094) 111.1

62.5

79.2

128.9 166.0 193.8 202.1 212.2 212.1 167.9 117.8

67.7

51.4

1,661.6

Source: Meteo France[172]

Things to Do
1. Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is an iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. It was named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Erected in 1889 as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair, it was initially criticised by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but has become both a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The tower is the tallest structure in Paris and the most-visited paid monument in the world; 6.98 million people ascended it in 2011. The tower received its 250 millionth visitor in 2010.

2. The Louvre

The Louvre or Louvre Museum is one of the world's largest museums and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, France, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement. Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres. With more than 9.7 million visitors each year, the Louvre is the world's most visited museum.

3. Arc de Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe de l'toile is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, at the western end of the Champs-lyses. It should not be confused with a smaller arch, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, which stands west of the Louvre. The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.

4. Notre Dame de Paris

Notre-Dame de Paris, also known as Notre-Dame Cathedral or simply Notre-Dame, is a historic Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the le de la Cit in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest

examples of French Gothic architecture and among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world. The naturalism of its sculptures and stained glass are in contrast with earlier Romanesque architecture.

5. Champs-lyses

The Avenue des Champs-lyses is a street in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafs, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Champs-lyses is arguably one of the world's most famous streets, and is one of the most expensive strips of real estate in the world. Several French monuments are also on the street, including the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde. The name is French for Elysian Fields, the place of the blessed dead in Greek mythology. According to a much used description, the Champs-lyses is la plus belle avenue du monde. A number of elite institutions are located in this area, which is the wealthiest in France.

1. Panthon, Paris

The Panthon is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris. It was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve and to house the reliquary chsse containing her relics but, after many changes, now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens. It is an early example of neoclassicism, with a faade modeled on the Pantheon in Rome, surmounted by a dome that owes some of its character to Bramante's "Tempietto". Located in the 5th arrondissement on the Montagne SainteGenevive, the Panthon looks out over all of Paris. Designer Jacques-Germain Soufflot had the intention of combining the lightness and brightness of the gothic cathedral with classical principles, but its role as a mausoleum required the great Gothic windows to be blocked.

2. Grand Palais

The Grand Palais des Champs-Elyses, commonly known as the Grand Palais, is a large historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-lyses in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Construction of the Grand Palais began in 1897 following the demolition of the Palais de l'Industrie as part of the preparation works for the Universal Exposition of 1900, which also included the creation of the adjacent Petit Palais and Pont Alexandre III.

3. Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume

The Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume is a museum of contemporary art in the north corner of the Tuileries Gardens next to the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The rectangular building was constructed in 1861 during the reign of Napoleon III. It originally housed real tennis courts; the name of this game in French is jeu de paume

4. Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles, or simply Versailles, is a royal chteau in Versailles in the le-deFrance region of France. In French it is the Chteau de Versailles. The court of Versailles was the center of political power in France from 1682, when Louis XIV moved from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in October 1789 after the beginning of the French Revolution. Versailles is therefore famous not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy .

1. Disneyland Park

Disneyland Park, originally Euro Disneyland, is the first of two theme parks built at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Valle, France, opened on 12 April 1992. Designed and built by Walt Disney Imagineering, its layout and attractions are similar to Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California and Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida. Spanning 56.656 ha, it is dedicated to fairy tales and Disney characters. In 2012, the park hosted approximately 11,200,000 visitors, making it the most-visited theme park in Europe, and the fifth-most visited theme park in the world.

Currency o Euro