Following is our selection of over 100 different free maps of France.
At the bottom of the page are key statistics and comparative data.
If you have a France map that you would like to add (we will credit you and provide a link), please contact us.
General Interest Maps of France
- Regions of France. For a description of these 22 regions, click on Regions.
- Regions of France, showing the capital city of each region.
- Departments of France. A map of the 95 departments of France (excluding its non-European departments), and the capital of each department.
- Topographical map of France.
- Topographical map of France, with the 22 regions of France shown as white borders.
- Map of France Cities
- Map of France, Cities and Elevations -small
- Map of France, Cities and Elevations - large
- Seaside Resorts - Location of major seaside resorts in France.
- Ski regions France - Map of the seven ski regions in France, along with detailed maps of each ski regions. Link provided for all 240 ski resorts (maps, resort services and resort conditions).
- Major road and Train routes.
- Free outline map of France (you have permission to reuse for personal and educational purposes)
- More outline maps: Borders, Rivers, Regions, Departments
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Special Interest Maps of France |
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Regional Maps of France |
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We have developed a set of maps for each region of France, using the Google maps facility, with customisation by our designers.
These maps have 3 special facilities:
- Search. You can search for any subject (e.g. "pizza", "airport") and the map will be automatically updated to show these items (e.g. pizza restaurants, airports). This is based on the Google database, so is being constantly expanded.
- Route Planner. You can type in any two addresses, and receive driving instructions to go from one to the other. Also, an estimate of the driving time.
- Subject Search. This is a drop-down menu for commonly searched for items (e.g. schools, night clubs). You can use this menu to update the map to show the item of interest. Likewise, being based on the Google database, it is updated over time.
Click on any of the following region names to see the corresponding map, with these facilities: Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Brittany, Burgundy, Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Corsica, Franche-Comté, Ile-de-France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrénées, Nord-pas-de-Calais, Lower Normandy, Upper Normandy, Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes, Provence-Alps-Côte D'Azur, Rhône-Alpes.
If you prefer, instead of clicking on the above links, you can click on any region on the following map. To see the name of a region, simply hold your cursor over the map.
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Off-Site Maps of France |
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Some of the above Maps of France have been developed by us (and are available only on this site), others are reprinted with permission. We are developing additional Maps of France to add to this section and also in discussion with other sites to agree sharing of maps.
There are also many on-line sources that provide detailed maps, with useful facilities (e.g. for driving, specify the origination and destination to get a specific map and driving directions). For example:
Michelin online road map
The following interesting maps are on other sites. If you click on the links below, a new window will open up for these sites. Although we find these maps interesting, we are not associated with the sites in any way and cannot take responsibility for their contents.
Tourist Attractions
Weather Map by Meteo France - Weather map by France's official weather bureau
Weather Map in English - A weather map in English
Paris Metro , Paris RER , Paris Bus - Travel maps for Paris
Railway Map
Regional Wine Maps
Historical Maps Paris
Historical Maps French Cities
Hiking Routes
City plans by www.quid.fr (for all cities over 100 000 in 2003, except Paris and Saint-Etienne): Amiens, Aix-en-Provence, Angers, Besançon, Bordeaux, Boulogne-Billancourt, Brest, Caen, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Le Havre, Le Mans, Lille, Limoges, Lyon, Marseille, Metz, Montpellier, Mulhouse, Nancy, Nantes, Nice, Nimes, Orléans, Perpignan, Reims, Rennes, Rouen, Strasbourg, Toulon, Toulouse, Tours
If you have an internet site, please consider Linking to this page.
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Key Facts & Statistics on France |
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Capital:
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Paris
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Size:
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Total: 547, 030 square kilometers
Land: 545, 630 square kilometers
Water: 1, 400 square kilometers
Note: These are the figures for European France and do not include overseas elements (which are relatively small in any case).
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Size - Comparative:
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France is the largest west European nation. It is the third largest European nation (Turkey and Ukraine are larger). See table below for more details.
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Borders
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2889 kilometers
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Bordering countries
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Andorra, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg, Monaco, Spain, Switzerland
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Climate
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Due to its particular geography there is unusual diversity of climate for the land area. The Atlantic is a moderating influence in the west, the Mediterrean has a warming influence in the south, the various mountain ranges have their own climate as well as directing wind and rain patterns, while the east of France has a continental climate. For details, click on French Climate & Weather.
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Topology
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From flat plains in the North and West, to mountains in the South and East. Lowest point is Rhone river delta (2 meters below sea level) while the highest is Mont Blanc (4,807 meters above sea level). See the topographical maps listed above for more details (for example Topographical map of France).
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Land use
(source: INSEE)
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53.9% - Agricultural land which is in use
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5.1% - Agricultural land which is not in use
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27.7% - Woodlands
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12.8% - Other (including urban areas)
Due to rural depopulation, the amount of Forest in many parts of France actually increased during the 20th century, in direct opposition to the general trend worldwide. For details, click on How land is used (in the year 1972).
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Administration
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Country sub-divided into 22 regions (see Regions of France), which are sub-divided into 96 departments (see Departments of France), which are sub-divided into 342 arrondissements, which are sub-divided into 3,879 cantons, which are finally divided into 36,568 communes. For explanation and discussion, click on France Administration.
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Language
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The official language is French. Other languages and/or dialects include Provencal, Breton, Corsican, Basque, German, Dutch. Until about 2001 the French government actively suppressed the use of dialects and non-French languages. Since then it has recognised them as part of the national heritage and actively supported their use and preservation (see French Dialects). For guidance on how to manage in France without a knowledge of French, click on Getting by Without French.
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International Calling Number
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33
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Employment by Industry
(source: INSEE 2003)
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National Motto, Flag, Symbol and Anthem
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The national motto is : "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité"
This translates as "Freedom, equality, Fraternity", with Fraternity meaning brotherhood. It is based on the slogan of the French Revolution, which was "Liberté, égalité, fraternité, ou la mort !" (Freedom, equality, fraternity, or death!). However, in modern times France uses the current shorter (and somewhat milder) version.
The French flag also has its roots in the French Revolution, with the three colours of the Revolutionary "tri-colour". There are a number of conflicting explanations as to the source of the "tri-colour". For more information and for free flags, click on French Flag.
The national symbol is "Marianne", a female figure representing liberty and the French republic. Like the national motto and flag, it also has its roots in the French revolution. There are numerous statues and busts (mainly in government buildings) representing her, as well as stamps and coins. As she is a symbol, these representations are not of a specific woman but of certain virtues. As such, depending on the artist and the mood of the times, her representation changes. In more recent times, famous French actresses have been used as models, but there seems to be a policy of regularly changing the representation of Marianne so that she remains a symbol rather than becoming identified with a particular individual.
The national anthem of France is La Marseillaise, which dates back to the French revolution. There are a number of different English translations, which differ partly due to different views of how individual words should be translated. In addition, there is an official translation, which has suffered from political correctness softening some of the more bloody verses. A discussion of the different translations can be found at La Marseillaise.
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Workforce occupation
(source: INSEE 2003)
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Employment rate
(source: INSEE 2003)
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Male: 62.3%
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Female: 48.9%
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Tourist resources
(source: INSEE 2003)
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Facilities
See above maps for additional information (e.g. Seaside Resorts).
The site for the official government tourist bureau (in English) with links to all the regional tourist offices is at: www.franceguide.com
Top Attractions (annual visitors):
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12.4 Million - Disneyland (near Paris)
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5.9 Million - Tour of Eiffel tower (Paris)
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5.7 Million - Louvre Museum (Paris)
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5.3 Million - Georges Pompidou Centre (Paris) - Houses the National Modern Art Museum and the Public Information Library
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2.9 Million - Château de Versailles (near Paris)
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2.3 Million - National Modern Art Museum (Paris)
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1.8 Million - Orsay Museum (Paris)
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1.8 Million - Asterix Park (Theme / amusement park, Pailly in Picardie)
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1.5 Million - Lille Zoo (Lille)
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1.2 Million - Futurescope of Poitiers (theme-park near Poitiers)
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1.1 Million - Le Puy du Fou (theme park south-east of Nantes)
France receives approximately 75 million visitors a year, which makes it the most visited country in the world (2003 figures).
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Characteristic
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France
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UK
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Germany
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Canada
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USA
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Population
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61 million
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60 million
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82 million
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32 million
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296 million
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Land area (square miles)
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213 thousand
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95 thousand
(45% of France)
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138 thousand
(65% of France)
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3,850 thousand
(18 times France)
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3,717 thousand
(17.5 times France)
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Population density
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285 per sq. mile
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635 per sq. mile
(2.2 times France)
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598 per sq. mile
(2.1 times France)
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8 per sq. mile
(0.03 of France)
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80 per sq. mile
(0.3 of France)
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Male Life Expectancy
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77
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76
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76
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77
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75
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Female Life Expectancy
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84
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81
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81
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82
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80
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GDP per capital (world ranking)
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15th
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12th
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16th
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19th
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7th
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Health System Ranking (year 2000)
(Source: World Health Organisation)
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1st
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18th
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25th
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30th
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37th
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France Demographics by Region |
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The following are the 1999 Demographics by Region (source: INSEE). For a graphical representation (map) click Population Density (in the year 1972) or Population Density by Region (1999).
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Region
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Area (km2)
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Population (1000s)
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Population Density (people/km2)
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Alsace
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8280
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1734
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209
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Aquitaine
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41309
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2908
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70
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Auvergne
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26013
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1309
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50
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Bourgogne
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31582
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1610
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51
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Bretagne
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27209
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2906
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107
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Centre
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39151
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2440
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62
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Champagne-Ardenne
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25606
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1342
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52
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Corse
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8680
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260
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30
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Franche-Comté
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16202
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1117
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69
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Ile-de-France
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12011
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10952
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912
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Languedoc-Roussillon
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27376
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2296
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84
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Limousin
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16942
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711
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42
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Lorraine
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23542
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2310
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98
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Midi-Pyrénées
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45348
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2552
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56
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Nord-Pas-de-Calais
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12414
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3997
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322
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Basse-Normandie
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17589
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1422
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81
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Haute-Normandie
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12318
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1780
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145
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Pays de la Loire
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32082
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3222
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100
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Picardie
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19399
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1858
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96
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Poitou-Charentes
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25809
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1640
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64
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Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
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31400
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4506
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144
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Rhône-Alpes
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43698
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5646
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129
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Metropolitan France
(excludes non-European territory)
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543965
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58518
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108
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Additional Resources |
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France uses the metric system. For metric conversions and information about the metric system, click on Metric System Conversion Table / Chart and Converter for Metric Conversions.
Click on French Cooking and Easy French Food Recipes for information about French Food & Cooking, Easy Recipes and Food Culture. |
