France Guide Travelling in France

France is one my favourite countries in the world. Here I have found most of the things I ever wanted: great cheeses, delicious food, good wine, awesome scenery, a good education system, a helpful health care system charming men, outstanding architecture, history and much more.

I think that everyone should visit France at least once in their life to experience the beauty of the country and the friendliness of its people. Yes, I said the friendliness of its people, because I tell you, those who think that the French are snobby and unfriendly are completely wrong. You just need to come here once to be pleasantly surprised and debunk that cliché. The French are excellent hosts and the men are so romantic you wouldn't believe it.

For those of you who dare take the challenge, I have gathered here the best articles in HubPages about France. They are written by people who have either visited France, or like me, people who overtime fell madly in love with France and moved here to follow their love affair. They call us Francophiles, I call us bonne viveurs...

Attractions in France

For me, one the main attractions in France is the abundance of castles, fortresses and lovely estate houses that one can find scattered around the country. I have visited many of them and I can say that each one has its own charm and magic. While Versailles is astonishing for its richness, size and history, there are other smaller castles like Chabenet in Central France which transports you to a fairy tale world with its princesses’ towers and awesome architecture. Even the ruined Crozant castle is magically beautiful as you walk along its shattered remains imagining how life was for the people who lived there.

I do not have a favourite castle, there are too many to choose from and I like each of them for very different reasons. The only thing I can be sure of is that the more castles I visit, the more I want to see. It doesn’t matter it they are medieval, recently restored, ruined, empty or lavishly furnished, each of them is magic!

If some villages are known for their beauty, there are several other villages which are well known and worth visiting for their annual festivals. Some of my favourite festivals in Central France are the Chestnut and apple fair, where you can taste the best freshly squeezed apple juice in the world and the Pumpkin festivals with their giant pumpkins and unusual vegetables. There is also la fete de Luma -snails festival- where you can take part in an unusual snail race! And of course my all time favourite, the witchcraft festival where anything is possible.

The province of Languedoc coveres an area of approximately 42,700 km² (16,490 sq. miles) in the central part of southern France, roughly the region between the Rhône River (border with Provence) and the Garonne River (border with Gascony), extending northwards to the Cévennes and the Massif Central (border with Auvergne).

Languedoc Roussillon is becoming a very popular tourist destination as people discover the splendour of the area, Montpellier is the capital of the region and is a lovely city to visit.

If you decide to head for the mountains you can choose to visit some of the Cathar fortresses that are scattered around the region, some of the famous ones are Rennes le Chateau, Puivert, Montsegur and Peyrepertuse. In fact the whole area is steeped in history going as far back as the 12th century and beyond.