France - Great cuisine, spectacular scenery, a cyclist's dream!

Speaking of southern France, Racine once boasted to a Parisian friend, "Our nights are more beautiful than your days." And so they are indeed - lovely and clear with a million stars! What indeed can we say that hasn’t been said?

France, and in particular, southern France is truly a country of wonderful clichés - unbeatable cuisine, famous wines, storybook villages and delightful countryside. It never disappoints.

Our routes take us through the mighty Pyrenees and the relatively unknown Languedoc-Rousillon region of the southwest, famous for its dramatic Cathar castles perched on lonely pinnacles overlooking vast vineyards, the dreamy artist villages of Matisse’s Collioure and Picasso’s Ceret and the romantic French Mediterranean. France at its unbeatable best!

France By Numbers

Area:	545,630 sq km / 339,039 sq miles
Population:	60,876,136
Capital city:	Paris (Population: 2,153,600)
Coastline:	4,668 km / 2900 miles
Climate:	generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as mistral
Language:	100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
Religion:	Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4%
Currency:	Euro €
Government:	Democratic Republic
President:	Nicolas Sarkozy
Prime Minister:	Francois Fillon
Background:	Although ultimately a victor in World Wars I and II, France suffered extensive losses in its empire, wealth, manpower, and rank as a dominant nation-state. Nevertheless, France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. Since 1958, it has constructed a presidential democracy resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier parliamentary democracies. In recent years, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common exchange currency, the euro, in January 1999. At present, France is at the forefront of efforts to develop the EU's military capabilities to supplement progress toward an EU foreign policy.
(facts & Figures from the CIA factbook)