Gay & Lesbian in Paris

Paris as a modern city also has gay and lesbians between its inhabitants, the Marais neighborhood close to the City Hall seems to be the gay center in this city, there you will find a complete gay community, with bars, disco, caf้s , pubs, shops, hotels and you will also meet gay people from all around the world. The gay phenomenon has been recently opened so the energy is still very strong. But the Marais is not the only place where you can find gay people, there are all around Paris, and you'll identify a gay establishments by the rainbow flags that are displayed at the gay restaurants or any other place. you'll find some kind of gay-oriented business in virtually every neighborhood of the capital. Plenty of guides exist to help you choose your course. If you are a gay visitor you'll feel comfortable at every place, Paris has gay associations and the some time ago it was elected the first gay mayor, Bertrand Delanoe. There is a big and well known parade in Paris, the 24th of June is celebrated the Gay Pride Parade, many gays and lesbians get together for walking through the most important parisian avenues showing their sexual options without fear, this parade is also an atraction for this city, big part of the participants use to wear colourfull clothes and others with almost nothing of clothes.

Avignon Travel Guide

Avignon is also called the second Rome because of the arrival of the popes in the 14th Century during the Babylonian captivity, it also was the residence of several antipopes from 1378 to 1408. After a plebiscite it was incorporated to France in 1791. Avignon is a full history city, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Avignon is the capital of the Vaucluse d้partement, located in the Provence-Alpes-C๔te d'Azur region, with a population of aproximately 85,935 people. The name of this city comes from the Celts who called the area The Avenio that means the Town of violent Winds.

French Music

French music is a mixed of a variety of music styles, it has for example a bit of Latin America, Africa and Asia music, and is considered the center of music in Europe. Corsica and mountainous Auvergne are twoof the regions that conserve the folk and traditional french music, which used as principal instrument the piano accordion. Auvergne, Limousin, Morvan, Nivernais, Bourbonnais and Berry all of them form the Central part of France, and is there where the French bagpipe tradition and the hurdy gurdy are still alive. The bagpipe dates from seventeenth century having as representative musicians: Bernard Blanc, Fr้d้ric Paris and Philippe Prieur, and was developed in the regions of Auvergne and Berry. The hurdy gurdy comes to be a fusion between piano accordion and violin, and the result is a magnific melody, this first opera music style can be found also in Spain, Hungary and Russia. The southern part of France has also its own music, which is called trobamuffin, which is Occitan raggamuffin, and is played by the Massilia Sound System, a well known reggae group. French Opera is also well known, the may be Ak้bar roi du Mogol, having to Jean-Baptiste Lully as the best compositor of this style of music. Hector Berlioz was one of the greater and innovative compositors of the nineteenth century, him and Georges Bizet, Jules Massenet, Gabriel Faur้, Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy were the pionners whose revitalized french music. Nowadays, the most important innovative kind of music developed in France is that called "spectral music", which is very popular in Europe and in the Unithed States.

Bordeaux Travel Guide

Bordeaux is the capital of Gironde department with a population of 660,000 people, this is the largest cities in France and one of the largest in Europe, Bordeaux is an economic, comercial and industrial center, but its principal source is the wine trade, all the wine produced in the Bordelais region is known as Bordeaux wine. In the 5th century the city lost its importance but it was increased again when the city became the seat of the dukes of Aquitaine, the commercial activity also increased during this period.The intellectual reputation of Bordeaux was made by Montaigne and Montesquieu, who were born nearby and who were both magistrates in the city. In the 18th century Bordeaux begun exporting wine to England and the relation between these regions were better. The Third Republic was established in Bordeaux in the National Assembly in 1871. This city was the temporary seat of French Goverment during the World Wars.

Festival of Cannes

The Cannes Film Festival is a very prestigious film festival and was celebrated for the first time from september 20 to October 5 1946 in the coast city of Cannes, at the south part of France and takes place in the Palais des Festivals on promenade de la Croisette. Since then it has been celebrated every year with some exceptions. This Festival catchs the atention of all the media and receives the visit of important artists, Hollywood actors and directors as well as a large number of independent film makers. The prize given in this Festival is the very famous 'Palma de Oro' that is given by a very professional jury, sometimes the prize is shared by two movies. This film festival is as important as the Festivals of Berlํn, Venecia, San Sebastiแn, Mar del Plata or Karlovy Vary. There are other Festivals in Cannes as: « The International Actors’ Performance Festival.« Festival de la Plaisance, is celebrated in September and is all about boats.« Carnival on the Riveria, celebrated in February or March, is a parade through the streets across the city before the Shrove Tuesday.« The International Festival of Games, celebrated in February specially made for game lovers, with games such as bridge, belote, backgammon, chess, draughts and tarot-reading.

The city of Toulouse

Toulouse has a fascinating collection of monuments, building, palaces, churches, museums and other works of art, all of them are very visited attractions in tihs city for tourists, some examples are: the Capitol with the City Hall, the Basilica of Saint Sernin, the Archives Tower and the Hotel de Bernuy. Toulouse is also known as the ‘Ville Rose’ because of its pink buildings, the Capitole building forms the seat of local government, this building has paintings from the 19th century and the interior is simply amazing, and the Garonne River gives this city a splendid landscape, and the historic Canal du Midi, midway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, become this city in one of the main destinations in France. In addition to them there are more attractions in this city, you can take a tour and visit the northpart of the city, Arnaud-Bernard's is one of the attractions located there, a cosmopolitan area, many shopping centers and a very alive nightlife, at the south part is Les Carmes an old area near the Capitol, it's streets are old-fashioned but beautiful anyway, if you want to visit some antique shops, this area is perfect for you.

Toulouse travel guide

Toulouse is located 705km (438 miles) southwest of Paris, 245km (152 miles) southeast of Bordeaux, 97km (60 miles) west of Carcassonne, is the fourth-largest city in France and is the gateway to the Pyrenees mountain range, is an agricultural market center and an aero-research center and one of the great cities of French art (it has seven fine museums). The food in Toulouse and in the rest of the Midi Pyrenees region, could be among France's most memorable. This city is situated half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and has a population of about 1.1 million inhabitants in 2006. Toulouse is well known because of it's the high-tech center of the aerospace industry in Europe, it hosts the headquarters of Airbus S.A.S. and the National Center for Space Research has been headquartered here for more than 3 decades. Toulouse is a very beautiful city, has a lot of architectural buildings, gardens and squares and also is a culture venue, this is the result of being the centre of Europe’s aerospace industry and space programme. Once Toulouse was the capital of the Visigoths and later the center of the comtes de Toulouse (counts of Toulouse).

Red tape & Visas

According to your nationality, time and purpouse of your travel you will require a visa for travelling to France. EU citizens do not need visas, nor do many other country's residents - including USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel for visits up to 90 days. Except for the citizens of a handful of other European countries, everyone else must have a visa. For getting a visa you need a passport (your passport needs to have at least 6 months until expiry), a ticket in and out of France, proof of money and possibly of accommodations, two passport-sized photos, the visa fee in cash and proof of travel health/accident insurance with worldwide coverage. Students, pupils, schoolchildren and high school students in general from countries that need a visa, travelling on a school trip are exempt of an entry visa if they are on a list of travellers form, however they will require of a passport, a valid travel document with the autorization of his or her parents, and a ID card. There are three types of visas: « Short stay visas: Up to 90 days « Temporary long-stay visas: Up to 6 months « Long stay visas: The residency permit obtained actually determines the length of the stay. In 1985 it was created the Schengen visa that allows its holder to travel freely to any other cuntry member of the European Union. The states members of the European Union are until now: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. There are two types of Student visa, one is to three to six months stay, the residence card is not necessary but the time of stay can be extended, and the other one is the one-year, for staying more than six months, in this case the visa is valid only for three months but the residence card is imoprtant, and better within the first week of stay, in some cases, the consulate may require proof of vaccination (e.g., against yellow fever, cholera…before a visa will be issued. If the student is under 18, he or she will need a letter of authorization from the parents that assures the minor to travel and to stay in France, this document has to be authenticated by a consuler office of the student's. Minors under 18 applying for a visa without their parents must produce a letter from their parents or legal guardian authorizing them to travel to and stay in France, and appointing the person who will be responsible for them. This letter should be duly authenticated by a solicitor or commissioner for oaths, or by a Consular Officer of the applicants nationality. Finally, one of the parent's passports must be enclosed with the application.

EIFFEL TOWER DINNER + SEINE CRUISE - TOUR +CT

PARIS BY NIGHT - TOUR IN MINIBUS - INCLUDING PICK UP AND DROP OFF AT YOUR HOTEL Your dinner in this famous Champs-Elysees restaurant (menu with a choice of dishes & drinks included) will be followed by a romantic Seine cruise where you will be able to admire the most beautiful monuments and bridges of Paris.

Paris day tours

Discover Paris, the "city of Lights", from the comfort of our panoramic air conditioned motorcoach or from our mini-bus with driver guide with pick up and drop off at your hotel).. This selection includes all day sightseeing tours in paris, Seine cruise and cultural tours...

Lyon Travel Guide

Lyon is the third largest city in France, is located 431km (268 miles) southeast of Paris and 311km (193 miles) north of Marseille, is the capital of the Rh๔ne-Alpes region and the second largest contributor to the French economy after Paris, has a population of 413 000 inhabitants. Lyon is between two hills: the Fourvi่re and Croix-Rousse and between two rivers: the turbulent Rh๔ne and the tranquil Sa๔ne. Lyon is a very industrial city, textile manufacturing is one of the most important here, but not only that, this city is known as the capital of gastronomy, like Paris, this city has the largest number of Michelin-starred restaurants, the most famous chef Paul Bocuse has his restaurant in Lyon and this city can be called the cuisine's paradise. Lyon is considered an UNESCO World Heritage List since December 1998, specifically the Saint-Jean and the Croix-Rousse areas. A very beautiful city with its architectural renaissance buildings and monuments. Lyon is also called the 'city of light' because of its history which began on Fourvi่re Hill, when the city was under the Romans, and the city was proclaimed capital of the three Gauls, while during this period Lyon obtained a big development in economic, politic, religious and military aspects. The tradition od the city of Lights or 'Lugdunum' (as called by the Romans) is still present, every evening more than 100 sites across the city are lit up to show the splendor of Lyon’s architecture.

Getting France

There are many different ways of getting France, you can travel by air, by bus, or by train, all of them have enough capacity and the prices are also comfortable. You can reserve some direct passage, but other companies offer benefits on negotiation of special prices. Now there is a easiest and exciting way to travel to France from Great Britain, with the Eurotunnel, inaugurated in 1994 now you can get France in approximately 35 minutes from Folkestone to Calais/Coquelles, you can take a car from there or you can take the classic train, the service is open 24 hours a day and the 365 days of the year. Travelling by plane is a good option too, if you are in any of UK's regional airports it'll be cheap and easy to get to Paris, and not only the capital but also all the french cities. The competence always benefits the consumer and this is not the exception, flight operators are competing all the time for getting more passengers than the other one, the prices gets as little as possible in the market, specially when you are travelling to Nice or Paris. There are several options available if you want to travel by train, Ports all along the south coast of England (Portsmouth, Southampton, Plymouth, Poole) will take you to Roscoff, Le Havre, Cherbourg, Caen and Dieppe in northern France, if you're travelling from London to Paris you can get there in approximately 2.5 hours, Eurostar provides a passenger service which you can join either in London at Waterloo or at Ashford in Kent. Ferries are very comfortable in France, they are equiped with restaurants, entertainment for adults and children, and places to relax. Travel by sea is the relaxing option, you can enjoy the journey specially if you travel in summer, when the weather is perfect. To have your passport valid is very necessary if you are planning to visit France, check if it is valid all the time you will be in this country.

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more information - la perla de la bahía

As you travel west from the sophisticated resort of Marbella, passing the beautiful fishing port of Estepona in thedirection of Sotogrande, the coastline begins to dramatically change. Gone are the tourist hotels and sprawling beachside developments. Instead, natural beaches and unspoilt countryside flank the roadside and the travellerbegins to feel the pull of nature and the past. Below the ancient pueblo of Casares, which is seemingly untroubled by the pressures and demands of modern life, lies La Perla de La Bahía. This new development has been sensitively built in traditional Andalucian andMoorish style and the architectural detail, whilst unique in concept, gives a sense of history and permanence

Chartres Cathedral

Chartres is truly one of the greatest of all French Gothic cathedrals. Cath้drale Notre-Dame de Chartres is located less than 100 km (about 50 miles) south of Paris and is considered to be one of the finest examples of the "high Gothic" style of architecture.

Champagne

Champagne is a province located at the northeast of France, and is well known for its famous white wine. Champagne is mostly fermented in two sizes bottles, standard bottle (750 mL), and Magnum (1.5 L). In general, magnums are thought to be higher quality, as there is less oxygen in the bottle, and the volume to surface area favors the creation of appropriately-sized bubbles.

The Eiffel Tower

This is probably the most known monument in France, but at the beginning it was a not very well accepted construction, french citizens did not like it and thought it was a waste of money. This iron tower was built on the Champ de Mars beside the River Seine in Paris, the tower replaced the Washington Monument and was called the Tower Eiffel in honor of its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel.

Nice travel guide

Nice is the capital city of C๔te d'Azur, located on the Mediterranean coast 929km (577 miles) south of Paris and 32km (20 miles) northeast of Cannes, is the largest city between Genoa and Marseille. Nice is nowadays the major tourist centre and a leading resort on the French Riviera, for its wonderful attractions and sights, the seafront of Nice is one of the most beautiful of the Mediterranean coast, the Old Town is crowded of bars and caf้s and also Nice has many attractions as museums and cathedrales of ancient times. Many artists once lived in Nice, among them were Nietzsche, Apollinaire, Flaubert, Victor Hugo, George Sand, Stendhal, Chateaubriand, Picasso, and Mistral marvelling at the famed local light that has always made Nice a venue for artists, because Nice is also famous for its sunshine days, approximately 300 days of sunshine a year, but in summer it could be a very suffocating city. Nice has a rich history and fascinating landscapes, is a very visited city and receives great number of tourists each year, some of its buildings have baroque style and some others have Proven็al, medieval and Genoese architecture. Also has an easy access to the nearest destinations such as Antibes, Monaco, St Tropez and the Provence region.

Weather of Marseille

Capital of Provence, Marseille luxuriates in the fine climate of that famous province, where a hot sun adds life to the olive and the vine. What keeps Marseilles mild is its Mediterranean seaside location. Summer heat is mitigated by sea breezes. Winter freezes are very rare, though wind chill can keep the actual temperatures pretty low. The Mistral, a wind from the northeast, creates some asperity. Occurring through the year, and sometimes unpleasant, its gusts reach up to 60 km an hour in speed (35 miles an hour), and often trigger storms and rough seas.

Marseille travel guide

Marseille is the second largest city in France, is located on the Mediterranean Sea in the province of Provence, 771km (479 miles) south of Paris; 187km (116 miles) southwest of Nice and 31km (19 miles) outh of Aix-en-Provence, this city is one of the most important because it is the largest commercial in France. Marseille is the capital of the Provence-Alpes-C๔te d'Azur r้gion and is surrounded by many historical buildings, despite of this Marseille is a modern city with charming beaches and shop centers. Marseille was known as Phocee and this was because of its founders the Phoceans, then the city became a commercial port having as one of its products the famous ‘savon de Marseille’, the port of Marseille is also important since it's a crossroad for many ships in the Mediterranean. This is a very elegant city and now that is easily reached from Paris is much better organized for visitors, the population of Marseille is formed by North and sub-Saharan Africans and North African descent. But Marseille had some problems in the past as corruption, the Mafia, crime, racial discrimination and unemployment mostly in the poorer, immigrant neighbourhoods. Nowadays the city is in a renaissance period, and is now one of the most visited city in France.

Castles and wine

Type of tour : Wine Tour Starting Place: Pick-up and drop-off at your hotel Pick up : Pick up and dropp off at your hotel in Nice Drop off : Pick-up and drop-off at your hotel in Avignon -->Type of Bus : Minibus Duration : 9:00 Hours Tour conducted in: French, English
Tasting some of the best wines in 3 or 4 different « terroirs » and appellations (Rhône Valley, Côteaux des Baux, Côtes du Luberon et du Ventoux) while taking breaks at picturesque places medieval villages is a good idea for combining pleasure of the palate and pleasure of the eyes.Free time for lunch by your own at a charming place.Of course, during the tour we’ll have alternatively wine tasting and free time at a village or stops for wonderfull view overlooking a valley, a castle or a monument.3/4 wine tastings in authentic family run wineries (at least 6/8 different wines) + stops at picturesque spots and villages : Les Baux de Provence, Gordes, Châteauneuf du Pape

Orange - Vaison la Romaine & vineyards

Type of tour : Half-Day Tour Starting Place: Pick-up and drop-off at your hotel Pick up : Pick-up and drop-off at your hotel in Avignon Drop off : Pick-up and drop-off at your hotel in Avignon -->Type of Bus : Minibus Duration : 5:30 Hours Tour conducted in: French, English
Visit of Orange : panoramic tour to discover its Roman Arch of Triumph, symbol of the Roman imperialism glory, and visit of its Antic Theatre, the most well-conserved theatre in the Roman Empire thanks to the stage wall.Visit of Vaison-la-Romaine, a Provençal village and a Roman city. The countless Roman remains : theatre, thermes, villas, mosaics, Notre Dame de Nazareth cathedral... The Roman bridge leads to the Medieval city.

Fontaine de Vaucluse and Isle sur la Sorgue

Type of tour : Half-Day Tour Starting Place: Pick-up and drop-off at your hotel Pick up : Pick-up and drop-off at your hotel in Avignon Drop off : Pick-up and drop-off at your hotel in Avignon -->Type of Bus : Minibus Duration : 4:00 Hours Tour conducted in: French, English
Visit of Fontaine de Vaucluse, the Sorgue river source, one of the most important and mysterious in the world. The beauty of the site inspired poets like Petrarque and Frederic Mistral. Visit of Isle sur Sorgue, a charming village crossed by the Sorgue river channels. Paddle wheels are dated from the time of its former silk and wool industry. It has the most important Antiquity market in France, after Paris. The Antiquity market takes place every Sunday.

Toulouse travel guide

Toulouse is located 705km (438 miles) southwest of Paris, 245km (152 miles) southeast of Bordeaux, 97km (60 miles) west of Carcassonne, is the fourth-largest city in France and is the gateway to the Pyrenees mountain range, is an agricultural market center and an aero-research center and one of the great cities of French art (it has seven fine museums). The food in Toulouse and in the rest of the Midi Pyrenees region, could be among France's most memorable. This city is situated half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and has a population of about 1.1 million inhabitants in 2006. Toulouse is well known because of it's the high-tech center of the aerospace industry in Europe, it hosts the headquarters of Airbus S.A.S. and the National Center for Space Research has been headquartered here for more than 3 decades. Toulouse is a very beautiful city, has a lot of architectural buildings, gardens and squares and also is a culture venue, this is the result of being the centre of Europe’s aerospace industry and space programme. Once Toulouse was the capital of the Visigoths and later the center of the comtes de Toulouse (counts of Toulouse).

Chapelle de la Mis้ricorde

Chapelle de la Mis้ricorde The Chapelle de la Mis้ricorde has a baroque architecture and is one of the ten most beautiful baroque monuments in the world, with frescoes, gilt inlay, lavish chandeliers and a magnificent Br้a altarpiece.

Nice travel guide

Nice is the capital city of C๔te d'Azur, located on the Mediterranean coast 929km (577 miles) south of Paris and 32km (20 miles) northeast of Cannes, is the largest city between Genoa and Marseille. Nice is nowadays the major tourist centre and a leading resort on the French Riviera, for its wonderful attractions and sights, the seafront of Nice is one of the most beautiful of the Mediterranean coast, the Old Town is crowded of bars and caf้s and also Nice has many attractions as museums and cathedrales of ancient times. Many artists once lived in Nice, among them were Nietzsche, Apollinaire, Flaubert, Victor Hugo, George Sand, Stendhal, Chateaubriand, Picasso, and Mistral marvelling at the famed local light that has always made Nice a venue for artists, because Nice is also famous for its sunshine days, approximately 300 days of sunshine a year, but in summer it could be a very suffocating city. Nice has a rich history and fascinating landscapes, is a very visited city and receives great number of tourists each year, some of its buildings have baroque style and some others have Proven็al, medieval and Genoese architecture. Also has an easy access to the nearest destinations such as Antibes, Monaco, St Tropez and the Provence region.

Nice travel guide

Nice is the capital city of C๔te d'Azur, located on the Mediterranean coast 929km (577 miles) south of Paris and 32km (20 miles) northeast of Cannes, is the largest city between Genoa and Marseille. Nice is nowadays the major tourist centre and a leading resort on the French Riviera, for its wonderful attractions and sights, the seafront of Nice is one of the most beautiful of the Mediterranean coast, the Old Town is crowded of bars and caf้s and also Nice has many attractions as museums and cathedrales of ancient times. Many artists once lived in Nice, among them were Nietzsche, Apollinaire, Flaubert, Victor Hugo, George Sand, Stendhal, Chateaubriand, Picasso, and Mistral marvelling at the famed local light that has always made Nice a venue for artists, because Nice is also famous for its sunshine days, approximately 300 days of sunshine a year, but in summer it could be a very suffocating city. Nice has a rich history and fascinating landscapes, is a very visited city and receives great number of tourists each year, some of its buildings have baroque style and some others have Proven็al, medieval and Genoese architecture. Also has an easy access to the nearest destinations such as Antibes, Monaco, St Tropez and the Provence region.

Dijon Travel Guide

Dijon is the capital city of burgundy and is located in the center of the C๔te d'Or department at the eastern part of France, with a population of more than 200,000 people. Dijon in ancient times was called Castrum Kelly, and was home to the Dukes of Burgundy (Jean sans Peur, Philippe le Bon and Charles le T้m้raire) and one of the best cities in Europe in art and sciences. As in many other cities in France, the wine in this city is very good and is often the perfect company of a delicious regional meal, Dijon is famous for its mustard of the same name, and for a yearly flower show. The architecture in Dijon is very amazing, many old streets and building has been restored to give the city a better aspect for visitors. In Dijon are located more than 90 historical monuments, as well as many mansions dated from the 17th century, cathedrals and Palaces, as the Estate of Rameau and Bossuet where Gustave Eiffel was born. Florissimo is the International flower show celebrated in Dijon every three years. Some time ago the Formula 1 Grand Prix of France was realized in this city. Now the race track of Dijon-Prenois hosts many motor sports. And dijon is also known for its football team which is the second highest league in French football.

Toulouse travel guide

Toulouse is located 705km (438 miles) southwest of Paris, 245km (152 miles) southeast of Bordeaux, 97km (60 miles) west of Carcassonne, is the fourth-largest city in France and is the gateway to the Pyrenees mountain range, is an agricultural market center and an aero-research center and one of the great cities of French art (it has seven fine museums). The food in Toulouse and in the rest of the Midi Pyrenees region, could be among France's most memorable. This city is situated half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and has a population of about 1.1 million inhabitants in 2006. Toulouse is well known because of it's the high-tech center of the aerospace industry in Europe, it hosts the headquarters of Airbus S.A.S. and the National Center for Space Research has been headquartered here for more than 3 decades. Toulouse is a very beautiful city, has a lot of architectural buildings, gardens and squares and also is a culture venue, this is the result of being the centre of Europe’s aerospace industry and space programme. Once Toulouse was the capital of the Visigoths and later the center of the comtes de Toulouse (counts of Toulouse).

Golf courses in France

The golf dates from the 19th century when the English came to take the Pyrenean, and there are many golf courses in France, more than five hundred, so if you go there for a golf holiday or just want to play you can contact the regional tourist office and they can help to locate one golf course.

Getting France

There are many different ways of getting France, you can travel by air, by bus, or by train, all of them have enough capacity and the prices are also comfortable. You can reserve some direct passage, but other companies offer benefits on negotiation of special prices. Now there is a easiest and exciting way to travel to France from Great Britain, with the Eurotunnel, inaugurated in 1994 now you can get France in approximately 35 minutes from Folkestone to Calais/Coquelles, you can take a car from there or you can take the classic train, the service is open 24 hours a day and the 365 days of the year. Travelling by plane is a good option too, if you are in any of UK's regional airports it'll be cheap and easy to get to Paris, and not only the capital but also all the french cities. The competence always benefits the consumer and this is not the exception, flight operators are competing all the time for getting more passengers than the other one, the prices gets as little as possible in the market, specially when you are travelling to Nice or Paris. There are several options available if you want to travel by train, Ports all along the south coast of England (Portsmouth, Southampton, Plymouth, Poole) will take you to Roscoff, Le Havre, Cherbourg, Caen and Dieppe in northern France, if you're travelling from London to Paris you can get there in approximately 2.5 hours, Eurostar provides a passenger service which you can join either in London at Waterloo or at Ashford in Kent. Ferries are very comfortable in France, they are equiped with restaurants, entertainment for adults and children, and places to relax. Travel by sea is the relaxing option, you can enjoy the journey specially if you travel in summer, when the weather is perfect. To have your passport valid is very necessary if you are planning to visit France, check if it is valid all the time you will be in this country.

Arrival to Bordeaux

By carYou can easily reach Bordeaux by car, you can take the A10 motorway south through the towns of Orleans, Tours and Poitiers into Bordeaux, if you are arriving from Paris. Take the A63 highway, this one runs from Arcachon an the southwest part of the city, the A62 runs the southeast part. Try to avoid driving from 8 to 10 a.m and from 4 to 7 p.m or you will find crowded highways. If you arrive from the east of France take the N80-E70. By planeThe main airport is the Bordeaux's Merignac Airport is located in the west part of the city, in Merignac at 15km (9 1/3 miles) away form Bordeaux. If you are traveling from Paris the fly takes an hour approximately. There are local and international flights from London, Madrid, Barcelona and Dublin.Tel. 05-56-34-50-50 http://www.bordeaux.aeroport.fr/ By trainGare Saint Jean is the Bordeaux's train station, located 3km away from the city centre on the west bank of the river and it just takes 30 minutes to arrive to the centre if you like to walk or five minutes if you take a taxi. About 12 to 15 trains arrive every day from Paris's Gare Montparnasse, They arrive one every two hours approx. and go south (Toulouse, Marseille, Nice), north (Paris, Angoul่me, Poitiers) and east (P้rigueux and Clermont-Ferrand).Tel: +33 08 92 35 35 35.http://www.sncf.fr By busIn front of the train station is located the bus station, you'll find a bus every 45 minutes almost all the day, children ride free.

French Music

French music is a mixed of a variety of music styles, it has for example a bit of Latin America, Africa and Asia music, and is considered the center of music in Europe. Corsica and mountainous Auvergne are twoof the regions that conserve the folk and traditional french music, which used as principal instrument the piano accordion. Auvergne, Limousin, Morvan, Nivernais, Bourbonnais and Berry all of them form the Central part of France, and is there where the French bagpipe tradition and the hurdy gurdy are still alive. The bagpipe dates from seventeenth century having as representative musicians: Bernard Blanc, Fr้d้ric Paris and Philippe Prieur, and was developed in the regions of Auvergne and Berry. The hurdy gurdy comes to be a fusion between piano accordion and violin, and the result is a magnific melody, this music style can be found also in Spain, Hungary and Russia. The southern part of France has also its own music, which is called trobamuffin, which is Occitan raggamuffin, and is played by the Massilia Sound System, a well known reggae group. French Opera is also well known, the first opera may be Ak้bar roi du Mogol, having to Jean-Baptiste Lully as the best compositor of this style of music. Hector Berlioz was one of the greater and innovative compositors of the nineteenth century, him and Georges Bizet, Jules Massenet, Gabriel Faur้, Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy were the pionners whose revitalized french music. Nowadays, the most important innovative kind of music developed in France is that called "spectral music", which is very popular in Europe and in the Unithed States.

The people of France

France is poblated by three main ethnic groups: Celtic, Latin and Teutonic or Frankish, France had the major population of Europe from 1945 until the end of 1960s. Now its population estimates 64,102,140 inhabitants. The French people comprise all French citizens, including the French overseas departments and territories. In the twentieth cenury France had high rate of immigration, mainly from Southern Europe, the Maghreb, Africa and Asia. There are many french famous people, just an example here is a list of some of them: Claude Monet, Victor Hugo, Antoine de Saint-Exup้ry, Jeanne d'Arc, Napol้on Bonaparte, Louis Braille, Louis Pasteur, Gustave Eiffel, Jean Cocteau, Gustave Flaubert, Jean Paul Sartre, Voltaire, Paul C้zanne, Paul Gauguin, Blaise Pascal, Fran็ois Jacob, Blaise Pascal, Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve, Jean Reno, Jean Rochefort, Pierre Cardin and more. These days french people takes much importance to the appearance of people, it seems to be that the fashion had influenced them all, they look to others and likes to be looked at, it's a good point since the restaurants and all recreation places are the most of times clean and well decorated. They like the fashion and the good cuisine. Most of the times french people are very courteous and they are direct too, they are accustomed to say the things like they are, direct to the point, if you sometime get annoyed by this, you will later realize that french people are friendly and polite if you get more in touch with them.

Lyon Travel Guide

Lyon is the third largest city in France, is located 431km (268 miles) southeast of Paris and 311km (193 miles) north of Marseille, is the capital of the Rh๔ne-Alpes region and the second largest contributor to the French economy after Paris, has a population of 413 000 inhabitants. Lyon is between two hills: the Fourvi่re and Croix-Rousse and between two rivers: the turbulent Rh๔ne and the tranquil Sa๔ne. Lyon is a very industrial city, textile manufacturing is one of the most important here, but not only that, this city is known as the capital of gastronomy, like Paris, this city has the largest number of Michelin-starred restaurants, the most famous chef Paul Bocuse has his restaurant in Lyon and this city can be called the cuisine's paradise. Lyon is considered an UNESCO World Heritage List since December 1998, specifically the Saint-Jean and the Croix-Rousse areas. A very beautiful city with its architectural renaissance buildings and monuments. Lyon is also called the 'city of light' because of its history which began on Fourvi่re Hill, when the city was under the Romans, and the city was proclaimed capital of the three Gauls, while during this period Lyon obtained a big development in economic, politic, religious and military aspects. The tradition od the city of Lights or 'Lugdunum' (as called by the Romans) is still present, every evening more than 100 sites across the city are lit up to show the splendor of Lyon’s architecture.

Work & Study in France

The requisites to work in France are not complicated, you just have to follow some rules and present some documents. If a french company wants to hire other nationality workers it's necessary to have an authorization from the French Ministry of Labor. This document is a very important prerequisite for a long stay of an american worker in France. After approval this authorization is send to the Office des Migrations Internationales and then forwarded to the appropriate French Consulate in the U.S.. The applicant is notified and then he or she is able to follow the visa formalities. Finally is necessary to apply for a residence card.

French History

Europe begun to be occupied from about 200,000 BC by the Homo sapiens, but have died 30,000 years ago supposedly during a period of cold weather. Around 2500 B.C the Celts came from Central Europe and settled in Gaul. The Celts were iron workers and dominated Gaul until 125 B.C., when the Roman Empire began its reign in southern France. Greeks and Phoenicians established settlements along the Mediterranean, most notably at Marseille. Julius Caesar conquered part of Gaul in 57–52 B.C., and it remained Roman until Franks invaded in the 5th century A.D. Gaul was divided in seven provinces. The Romans were afraid about populations become in local identities and begun to displace them so they avoided a threat to the Roman integrity. That's why many Celts were moved and enslaved out of Gaul. Many changes have occured during a cultural evolution under the Roman Empire, one of them was the change of the Gaulish language by Vulgar Latin, the similarities between one language and the other favoured the transition. Gaul was under the Romans control for centuries. In 486, Clovis I, leader of the Salian Franks, defeated Syagrius at Soissons and then united most of northern and central Gaul under his rule. Christianity in France received a boost when in 496, Clovis adopted the Roman Catholic form of Christianity. In some ways Clovis' reign brought stability and unity to France, but in some other ways it contributed to fragmentation, because Clovis divided up the territory as gifts and rewards. Charles Martel was the first leader of the Carolingian dynasty and is the responsible of the expansion of the Frankish kingdom and also stopped the Muslim advance. Charlemagne not only was an able military leader, but he was also a great supporter of education and the arts. During Charlemagne's period there was a Carolingian renaissance but shortly after his death the kingdom was divided. Hugh Capet was elected to the throne of France, this way the Carolingian dynasty ended and the Capetian Dynasty begun. In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy invaded England and was crowned as the English king on Christmas Day, 1066. With the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was married before with king Louis VII of France and the get married with Henry II of England, there was yielded most of the western part of France to the British Wreath. After the death of the last Capetian king Charles IV, Edward III of England claimed the French Throne and started the Hundred Years' War in 1337. With the help of a French peasant girl, Joan of Arc, Charles VIII emerged victorious in the war and drove the English back to Calais. France become a centralized state where was established an absolute monarchy having the doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings and the explicit support of the established Church. The long Italian Wars (1494-1559) marked the beginning of early modern France. Once Francis I was captured at Pavia the French monarchy had to look for allies and founded one in the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Admiral Barbarossa captured Nice on 5 August 1543 and handed it down to Francis I. During the 16th century, the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs were the dominant power in Europe, they controlled some other duchies and kingdoms across Europe. Despite all of this, French became the preferred language of Europe's aristocracy.

Bordeaux Travel Guide

Bordeaux is the capital of Gironde department with a population of 660,000 people, this is the largest cities in France and one of the largest in Europe, Bordeaux is an economic, comercial and industrial center, but its principal source is the wine trade, all the wine produced in the Bordelais region is known as Bordeaux wine. In the 5th century the city lost its importance but it was increased again when the city became the seat of the dukes of Aquitaine, the commercial activity also increased during this period.The intellectual reputation of Bordeaux was made by Montaigne and Montesquieu, who were born nearby and who were both magistrates in the city. In the 18th century Bordeaux begun exporting wine to England and the relation between these regions were better. The Third Republic was established in Bordeaux in the National Assembly in 1871. This city was the temporary seat of French Goverment during the World Wars.