Learn about the most romantic country in the world. It’s sights and culture.
France reminds me a lot about Italy. In that it’s a place many people already know about, long before they get there. French culture is everywhere in pop culture and media. It’s repeatedly romanticized (and for good reason) and imitated, and inspired by.
General tips for traveling in France:
- Language – they hate speaking English and don’t like to cater to it (even if they can). I feel it’s due to bad history between the French and the British. Both trying to prove their superiority. Also…even if you try to speak French badly, they will still speak at a fast rate without catering to your limited/slower capacity.
- transportation
- rideshare
- weather
Miscellaneous tips:
- sdfd
Safety tips:
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Foods to try:
Customs & Language:
- Frugal – French people really stress saving money, and by American standards this can seem really cheap. For example, their houses use very minimal air conditioning. Very hot in the summer, and very cold in the winter. Another thing is that they take short showers to save money. So beware and don’t take an hour long hot shower at somebody’s house, or you could really piss them off. 🙂
French cities (* = recommended, ** = must see):
North:
- Paris** 5-7 days – of course, this is the MUST SEE! Tons of tourist destinations in here. Beautiful places and photos to take. Lots of cultural activities. It’s Paris! One of the most popular/desired tourist destinations in the world. Everybody romanticizes about Paris. For everyday living and just enjoying the vibes without feeling like you have to take 30-40min metro everywhere, I’d recommend visiting other big cities in France.
Central:
- Lyon* – super nice vibe. Many little streets…trendy, nice, hip, lots of parks and city views from overhead since it’s a hilly city. Kinda sort of like a smaller French version of Lisbon. It’s a good balance of chaos and relaxed, since you can always turn a corner and find a nice little park to relax and enjoy the views.
South:
- Bordeaux* – a favorite, nice and posh, dense little metropolis. Very popular destination for Parisians since it’s close by and convenient to get to using high speed train. Bordeaux is more fancy and metropolitan, but I prefer Lyon with its balanced mix of metropolitan but also chill vibe. People who like really like Paris, would like Bordeaux as a smaller chill Paris.
- Sant Emilion – quite possibly the most famous small wine country village by Bordeaux. It’s a small charming medieval village offering a mix of both large corporate and small family wineries. The town center is cute, charmy, and hilly…offering beautiful views from the church or surrounding restaurant terraces. (Here’s a list of 12 more nearby wine villages.)
- Arcachon – a nice little beach town. People usually come here to visit the Dune du Pilat and then the town center.
- Toulouse – nice, big, cheaper university town in France. Good quality of life and places to chill. Lots of people, and young people, big river area to see the water.
- Carcassonne – cool little town with a castle (that has a big youth hostel) you can stay in. The castle walls are exposed inside and you can climb and walk all over them (at night even). Makes cool photos at day and especially night. I wouldn’t go out of my way to go here, but it’s a nice 1-day stop if you’re training through southwest France.
- Montpellier – super nice small town, with clean beautiful aesthetic (of modern and slightly medieval), fun and young. Not much in tourism value but a really nice place to be. Also, it’s a university town so lots of young people everywhere.
- Marseilles* – nice mid-size city by the water with lots to do. Also the Calanques nearby. Some people complain of rising crime here.
- Nice* – smallish city with a nice old town area within the castle. Lots of restaurants and people packed in the old town area here. Feels very charmy.
Nearby countries:
- England
- Belgium
- Luxembourg
- Germany
- Switzerland
- Italy
- Spain
Unfiltered notes:
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