France is the world's most popular tourist destination boasting dozens of major tourist attractions like Paris, the French Riviera , the Atlantic beaches, the winter sport resorts in the Alps, the castles of Loire Valley, Brittany and Normandy, the wine districts like Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone, the Loire Valley and Champagne.

France is the largest country in Europe, slightly larger than Spain. The landscape is diverse, with mountains in the east and south, including Mount Blanc, which is Europe's highest point. Lowland France consists of four river basins, the Seine in the north, Loire and the Garonne flowing eastwards and the Rhone, which flows from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean Sea. The coastal area to the west borders the Bay of Biscay, which forms part of the Atlantic Ocean, and the English Channel and to the south the Mediterranean Sea. The total population of France is around 61.5 million, the French capital; Paris has a population of about 12 million, making it one of the largest cities in Europe.

France has numerous cities and towns of interest to travelers. Paris is of course on top of the list, but cities like Bordeaux and Lyon, Lille, Nice, Cannes and Aix-en-Provence are among the most visited.

France is also world-famous for its "gastronomy", its fine restaurants and wines. It sometimes surprises visitors from outside France, that they can find top quality restaurants even in small provincial towns, and that many of these offer first-class menus at a fraction of the price one would pay for something similar in Britain or the USA. There are several directories that approve and list the top restaurants, and the most famous of these are the Michelin guide and the Gault et Millau guide. However, there is no directory that lists all the good restaurants in France, since some of these are found in the most unexpected out-of-the-way places, and while the food they offer is not "haute cuisine", it is tasty, well prepared and nourishing.