France Baedeker Guide

Description

Baedeker is proud to welcome this brand new guide to France. At the heart of this full-colour and visually inspiring guide is a wealth of well-researched information and over 500 detailed recommendations, written by experts. From the magnificent architecture and world-famous museums of Paris to the beautiful wine-growing regions of the Loire and Rhone valleys and superb beaches of the French Riviera, you will find all the sights and top attractions explored in an easy-to-read A-Z format. Superb 3D laminated illustrations display the key sights in perspective and include the Notre-Dame de Paris and Chateau de Versailles, brought to life at the turn of a page. Clear and concise background texts cover France's fascinating history from prehistory and antiquity to the Fifth Republic. Special feature pages cover topics of particular interest that provide a rare glimpse into everyday life. A comprehensive 'Practicalities' chapter covers all the essential travel advice you need, including accommodation, transport, food and drink, health, shopping, language, winter sports and much more, not to mention useful insider tips for travellers with disabilities.
It reveals when and where you can catch festivals, holidays and events throughout the year and also highlights where the best cycling, hiking and mountain climbing opportunities are. There are plenty of 'Baedeker tips' alongside the relevant places and sights information, making this guide ideal for on-the-spot reference. The guide is accompanied by a large, fully indexed, pull-out map, not to mention 85 detailed maps and plans within the text that clearly pin-point the best places to stay and top venues to eat and drink en route. There are 5 recommended tours specially designed to ensure you see the very best of this diverse country. Journey lengths range from 3 days to 2 weeks, so you can choose the tour to suit you and top sights are clearly plotted along the way with the distances marked between them. All of this invaluable information is contained in a handy plastic wallet that allows you to keep the guide and map together whilst ensuring that both will survive in all weather. Baedeker - setting a new standard in 21st century travel guide publishing.

Table of contents

BACKGROUND: Lart de vivre; Facts; Natural Environment; Climate; Flora and Fauna; Population; State and Government; Education; Economy; History; Prehistory and antiquity; The Merovingian and Carolingian Dynasty; From the Treaty of Verdun to absolutism; From Absolutism to Revolution; The French Revolution; The Rise and Fall of Napoleon Bonaparte; From the Restoration to the First World War; First World War and between the Wars; From the Second World War tothe Fourth Republic; Fifth Republic; Art and Culture; Art History; Traditions; Famous People. PRACTICALITIES: Accommodation; Arrival; Planning the Trip; Beaches; Cycling Holidays; Electricity; Emergency; Etiquette and Customs; Festivals, Holidays and Events; Food and Drink; Health; Hiking and Mountain Climbing; Houseboating; Information; Language; Literature; Maps; Military Cemeteries; Money; Museums and Chateaux; Nature Reserves; Newspapers and Magazines; Personal Safety; Post and Communications; Prices and Discount; Shopping; Son et Lumiere; Sport and Outdoors; The Great Summer Spectacle; Time; Transport; Travellers with Disabilities; Wellness; Winter Sports; When to Go; Young Travellers. TOURS: Travelling in France; Tour 1: The North; Tour 2: The Burgundy Tour; Tour 3: From Paris to the Atlantic; Tour 4: Through the Auvergne to the Pyrenees; Tour 5: Route des Grandes Alpes; France at Five Mph. SIGHTS FROM A to Z: Aix-en-Provence; Albi; Alsace and the Vosges; Amboise; Amiens; Andorra; Angers; Antibes & Juan-les-Pins; Arles; Auvergne; Avignon; 3D: Palais des Papes; Besancon; Blois; Bordeaux; Bourges; Brest; Bretagne; Brittany; Riddles of the Stone Age; Burgundy; Bourgogne; Caen; Camargue; Cannes; Carcassonne; Cevennes; Cevennes; Chamonix; Mont Blanc; Champagne-Ardenne; Wine of Kings, King of Wines; Chartres; Clermont-Ferrand; Colmar; Cote d'Azur; Cote Basque; Dauphine; Dijon; Disneyland Resort Paris; Franche-Comte; Jura; Gascogne; Gascony; Grenoble; Ile de France; Languedoc-Roussillon; The Freed Souls; La Rochelle; Le Havre; Le Mans; Le Puy-en-Velay; Lille; Limoges; Limousin; Loire Valley; 3D: Chateau de Chambord; Lorraine; An expensive Mistake; Lot Valley; Vallee du Lot; Lourdes; Lyon; Marseille; Metz; Monaco; Montpellier; Mont Saint-Michel; 3D: Abbaye du Mont St-Michel; Mulhouse; Nancy; Nantes; Nice; Nimes; Normandy; Operation Overlord; Orange; Orleans; Paris; 3D: Notre-Dame de Paris; Perigord; Dordogne Valley; Perigueux; Stone Age Art Galleries; Perpignan; Picardie; Nord-Pas-de-Calais; Poitiers; Poitou; Vendee; Charentes; Provence; Pyrenees; Les Pyrenees; Reims; Rennes; Rouen; Saint-Aetienne; Saint-Malo; The Pull of the Tides; Savoy; Savoie; Strasbourg; Toulon; Toulouse; Tours; Troyes; The Pilgrim Staff and Scallop Shells; Valence; Vendome; Verdun; Versailles; 3D: Chateau de Versailles; Vienne; Index; List of Maps and Illustrations; Photo Credits; Publisher's Information.