The Best Thing About France
From Eiffel Tower to French cuisine, France has long been revered for its art, culture and language. Its longstanding history has inspired reformist movements around the globe for generations.
France is a semi-presidential republic governed by a balanced system of decentralisation between Parliament and Government, comprising 13 metropolitan regions, five overseas territories and two city-regions.
1. The Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a celebrated icon of France and one of the most visited monuments worldwide, representing French ingenuity and innovation with its distinctive iron lattice structure instantly recognizable across generations of visitors and artists alike. Experience its incredible history today!
The Eiffel Tower was constructed for the 1889 Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) to mark the centennial of the French Revolution and has become an international cultural landmark. Comprised of three levels and an observation deck at its summit, this 300-meter tall structure houses Madame Brasserie restaurant on its first level; souvenir shops on the terrace; an interactive educational exhibit accessible via elevator on its second level and finally its third level dedicated solely for telecom antennas – its success story remains ongoing!
The Eiffel Tower’s distinctive design is the result of collaboration among different engineering disciplines. Gustave Eiffel created its wrought-iron lattice while Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier provided structural analysis. Financing was provided by Societe d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE) between 1887-1889 for construction to occur.
As soon as the tower was constructed, it stood as a symbol of France’s power and influence in industrial and technological realms. Today its silhouette remains iconic across the world while its image continues to inspire poets, painters, singers, filmmakers and designers.
French culture is famous for its penchant for fine dining and wine, and Paris is no different. The Eiffel Tower itself houses numerous restaurants and cafes where visitors can indulge in delectable meals with breathtaking views of Arc de Triomphe and Les Invalides.
2. The Louvre
The Louvre is one of the world’s most visited museums and a beloved symbol of Paris itself, drawing millions of people each year hoping to catch a glimpse of Mona Lisa – yet there are plenty of secrets in store at the Louvre that most don’t know about!
The Palace-turned-Museum cuts an exquisite Classical path through the city center, boasting architectural treasures from both the 16th and 17th centuries. You’re bound to find something new around every corner! You could spend hours walking its spacious corridors.
Since the sixteenth century, its collection has grown gradually through donations from kings as well as purchases by them. Established as a public art museum during the French Revolution in 1793, today it holds over one million pieces.
The Louvre’s main entrance, marked by a glass pyramid designed by I.M. Pei and symbolizing its global reach. Additionally, this entrance serves as the entryway into an underground complex including carparks and Carrousel du Louvre commercial mall.
Visitors will be astounded at the sheer scale of this massive building. It’s impossible to take in everything in a day; some visitors might take several days or more exploring all aspects of its complexity.
As The Louvre is one of the world’s most visited museums, it is essential that you plan ahead and create a list of items you would like to see prior to visiting. Doing this will help reduce crowding and allow enough time for appreciating its masterpieces. Also make sure to research opening hours so as not to miss any key attractions!
3. The French Riviera
The French Riviera, also known as Cote d’Azur, is an idyllic stretch of Mediterranean coastline in southeastern France known for its sun-kissed beaches, gentle turquoise breakers and picturesque coastal towns that radiate with glamour and wealth. Additionally, Cannes Film Festival brings even more celebrity glamour each May to this sought-after vacation spot.
The Riviera is an ever-popular vacation spot, but for optimal experience the optimal time to visit depends on which areas of it you want to explore. Late spring, early summer and fall provide ideal weather for strolling along its beachside promenades and swimming in its warm Mediterranean waters; additionally these months enable visitors to avoid crowds of tourists that descend upon it during July and August.
In the 19th century, the Riviera’s beautiful waters and vibrant light attracted many artistic painters such as Henri Matisse, Paul Signac and Pablo Picasso – they left their mark through works displayed at museums and galleries all around Riviera today.
Saint-Tropez, located along the French Riviera and popular beach destination worldwide, is one of the world’s best-known beach getaways. Here, the beaches are spectacular while its charming old town boasts plenty of restaurants serving traditional Tropezien cuisine. In addition, exploring Massif l’Estranel allows access to wild beaches or hidden viewpoints via foot or boat – ideal for exploring both wild beaches or hidden viewpoints by foot or boat – plus making for an excellent base to discover nearby mountainous areas or even neighboring Provence region!
4. The French cuisine
France is widely celebrated for its culinary heritage. Characterized by tasty dishes featuring butter, cream and cheese as main components, French cuisine also has a great deal of regional influence that contributes to its delicious cuisine.
France’s culinary traditions were established during the seventeenth century by chefs such as Francois Pierre La Varenne, who wrote the first cookbook containing roux (butter and flour mixed together to thicken sauces) recipes; Marie-Antoine Careme codified techniques for creating traditional French food; while France experienced profound social and cultural transformation after 1789 that in turn changed its cuisine; revolutions also gave birth to restaurants with their dynamic service models that continue to shape modern food service services today.
A typical meal usually comprises an appetizer, main course and dessert. Main courses generally consist of meat, fish, poultry or vegetables and are prepared using either white wine or red wine as appropriate for their region; France-produced wines usually carry an Appellation d’origine controlee label to demonstrate this point.
A typical French menu typically features seasonal food from local producers, along with an excellent selection of cheeses. France is home to an abundance of fruits and vegetables like apples, pears, berries, fennel leeks and mushrooms; cow milk and goat milk products are readily available; moreover the country boasts top winemaking capabilities and is famous for producing spirits such as aniseed-liquor pastis liqueur.
5. The French language
French is one of the five Romance languages descended from Latin, with many similarities still evident today. Yet it boasts its own special appeal – more than 220 million people speak French across continents! Additionally, France officially adopted it and co-official languages around the globe use French.
Early forms of French evolved from Gallo-Romance dialects. Over time, these merged to become Old French, eventually replacing Latin as France’s literary language. Old French gained in popularity through great works of literature such as Roland de Brunhoff’s epic poem La chanson de Roland; its influence then spread widely, becoming part of modern-day vocabulary.
French had become the official language in 29 nations across Africa and Asia by the 16th century, colonizing parts of Africa and Asia through colonization efforts. Today it remains as such in 29 more nations; furthermore it serves as the language for diplomacy, science and art.
Though French differs significantly from English, learning it can still be easy because it uses the Latin alphabet. Vowels may feature three types of diacritics – acute accent (e), grave accent () and circumflex accent (). Furthermore, this alphabetic language pronounces letters such as c,r,l andf unless they occur at the start or immediately following another consonant consonant consonant in words or immediately before another consonant consonant consonant consonants in words.
As in most Romance languages, French features both masculine and feminine genders – for example a male teacher is called an enseignant while their female equivalent would be an enseignante. Furthermore, French is inflectional so its nouns’ gender depend upon who the referent is.