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France
Maps & Information
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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.
In addition to the following maps of France, general information on France is
provided at the bottom of this page. Further information is provided in the
pull-down menus above (in particular, the pull-down menu labelled "general").
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General
Interest Maps of France |
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- 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: |
Paris |
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Size: |
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 |
2889 kilometers |
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Bordering countries |
Andorra, Belgium,
Germany, Italy, Luxemburg, Monaco, Spain, Switzerland |
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Climate |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
33 |
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Employment by Industry
(source: INSEE 2003) |
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National Motto, Flag, Symbol
and Anthem |
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) |
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 |
France |
UK |
Germany |
Canada |
USA |
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Population |
61 million |
60 million |
82 million |
32 million |
296 million |
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Land area (square miles) |
213 thousand |
95 thousand
(45% of France) |
138 thousand
(65% of France) |
3,850 thousand
(18 times France) |
3,717 thousand
(17.5 times France) |
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Population density |
285 per sq. mile |
635 per sq. mile
(2.2 times France) |
598 per sq. mile
(2.1 times France) |
8 per sq. mile
(0.03 of France) |
80 per sq. mile
(0.3 of France) |
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Male Life Expectancy |
77 |
76 |
76 |
77 |
75 |
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Female Life Expectancy |
84 |
81 |
81 |
82 |
80 |
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GDP per capital (world
ranking) |
15th |
12th |
16th |
19th |
7th |
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Health System Ranking (year 2000)
(Source: World Health
Organisation) |
1st |
18th |
25th |
30th |
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 |
Area (km2) |
Population (1000s) |
Population Density
(people/km2) |
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Alsace |
8280 |
1734 |
209 |
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Aquitaine |
41309 |
2908 |
70 |
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Auvergne |
26013 |
1309 |
50 |
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Bourgogne |
31582 |
1610 |
51 |
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Bretagne |
27209 |
2906 |
107 |
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Centre |
39151 |
2440 |
62 |
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Champagne-Ardenne |
25606 |
1342 |
52 |
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Corse |
8680 |
260 |
30 |
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Franche-Comté |
16202 |
1117 |
69 |
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Ile-de-France |
12011 |
10952 |
912 |
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Languedoc-Roussillon |
27376 |
2296 |
84 |
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Limousin |
16942 |
711 |
42 |
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Lorraine |
23542 |
2310 |
98 |
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Midi-Pyrénées |
45348 |
2552 |
56 |
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Nord-Pas-de-Calais |
12414 |
3997 |
322 |
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Basse-Normandie |
17589 |
1422 |
81 |
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Haute-Normandie |
12318 |
1780 |
145 |
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Pays de la Loire |
32082 |
3222 |
100 |
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Picardie |
19399 |
1858 |
96 |
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Poitou-Charentes |
25809 |
1640 |
64 |
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Provence-Alpes-Côte
d'Azur |
31400 |
4506 |
144 |
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Rhône-Alpes |
43698 |
5646 |
129 |
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Metropolitan France
(excludes non-European territory) |
543965 |
58518 |
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.
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