Pope’s Palace

The imposing Palais des papes towers over Avignon, a symbol of the time when the Proveneal city was the centre of the Christian world, after the papacy was moved here from Rome in 1309, due to a schism within the church. It is the largest Gothic Palace in Europe, and today visitors can enter 25 of the rooms. Although the ransacking of the palace by the French National Assembly in 1791 left many of the rooms rather empty. After seeing Pope’s Palace and Pont d’Avignon bridge, there are a few good museums, perhaps a good show at the theatre. Would only come here in future for specific festivals. It’s a sleepy town otherwise.. (more…)

Paris

Paris
Few cities leave the visitor with such vivid impressions, whether it’s the drifting cherry blossoms in the tranquil gardens of Notre-Dame, the riverside quais on a summer evening, the sound of blues in atmospheric cellar bars, or the ancient alleyways and cobbled lanes of the historic Latin Quarter and villagey Montmartre.
The city of Paris proper, with 2,125,246 inhabitants at the 1999 census, is the largest city in France. Together with its suburbs and satellite cities it forms the Greater Paris metropolitan area (French: aire urbaine de Paris) covering 14,518 km² (5,606 sq. miles), and with a population of 11,174,743 inhabitants at the 1999 census (11.5 million as of January 2004 estimates). The Greater Paris metropolitan area is the second largest in Europe (after Moscow, and along with London), and approximately the 20th largest in the world. It is also the world’s largest French speaking metropolitan area. (more…)

Valence: France

Valence Travel: France
Valence is a commune in south-eastern France, the capital of the département of Drôme, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, 65 miles south of Lyon on the railway to Marseille. Formerly the duchy of Valentinois, it was ruled by the Duke of Valentinois, a title which is still claimed by the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, though he has no actual administrative control over the area.
Highlights of Valence
The cathedral of St. Apollinaris, which has an interesting apse, was rebuilt in the 11th century in the Romanesque style of Auvergne and consecrated in 1095 by pope Urban II. It suffered extensive damage in the French Wars of Religion, but it was restored in the first decade of the 17th century. The porch and the stone tower above it were rebuilt in 1861 (more…)

Tours : France

Tours Travel: France
Tours is a city in France, the préfecture (capital city) of the Indre-et-Loire département, on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. The Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines and for the perfection of its local spoken French.
Cathedral of Tours
The cathedral of Tours, dedicated to Saint Gatien, its canonized first bishop, was begun about 1170 to replace the just-started cathedral that was burnt out in 1166, during the quarrel between Louis VII of France and Henry II of England. The lowermost stages of the west towers (illustration, right) belong to the 12th century, but the rest of the west end is in the profusely detailed Flamboyant Gothic of the 15th century, completed just as the Renaissance was affecting less traditional patrons than bishops, in the pleasure châteaux of Touraine (more…)

Tourcoing: France

Tourcoing Travel: France
ourcoing is a city and commune of northern France, in the Nord département, located near the cities of Lille and Roubaix and the Belgian border. Population (1999): 94,204.

Toulouse: France

Toulouse Travel: France
Toulouse (pronounced /tuluz/ in standard French, /tuˈluzÉ™/ in local Toulouse accent) (Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced /tuˈluzÉ?/) is a city in southwest France on the banks of the Garonne River, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. With a population of 1.05 million inhabitants in 2004, the Toulouse metropolitan area is the second largest in southern France and one of the fastest growing in Europe. It is the home base of the European aerospace industry, such as Alcatel Espace and EADS Space, and hosts the headquarters of Airbus S.A.S..
Toulouse was the capital of the former province of Languedoc (provinces were abolished during the French Revolution).. (more…)

Toulon: France

Toulon Travel: France
Toulon (Tolon in Provençal) is a city in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur région, Toulon is the préfecture (capital) of the Var département, in the former province of Provence. Population of the city (commune) at the 1999 census was 160,639 inhabitants (168,200 inhabitants as of February 2004 estimates). Population of the whole metropolitan area (in French: aire urbaine) at the 1999 census was 564,823 inhabitants.
The current mayor of Toulon is Hubert Falco.

Tarbes: France

Tarbes Travel: France
Tarbes is a French city and commune, in the département of Hautes-Pyrénées, of which it is the préfecture. It is part of the historical region of Gascony. To the south of Tarbes is the pilgrimage town of Lourdes and then the border with Spain.
The 2001 Tour de France passed through Tarbes as part of its route.
Tarbes was the birthplace of Ferdinand Foch, the commander-in-chief of Allied forces in World War I.

Strasbourg: France

Strasbourg Travel: France
Strasbourg (French: Strasbourg; Alsatian: Strossburi, “town [at the crossing] of roads�; German: Straßburg) is the capital and principal city of the Alsace région of northeastern France. It is the préfecture (capital) of the Bas-Rhin département.
Strasbourg is an important centre of manufacturing and engineering, as well as of road, rail and river communications.
Strasbourg is the seat of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights and it hosts the new seat of the European Parliament (with Brussels) after the asbestos scandal in the 1980s.
The city is known for its sandstone gothic cathedral, and for its medieval cityscape of Rhineland black and white timber-framed buildings, particularly in the Petite-France district alongside the river Ill, which has been declared a World Heritage site by the UNESCO.

Saint-Nazaire: France

Saint-Nazaire Travel: France
Saint-Nazaire is a city and commune in the Loire-Atlantique département of France, of which it is a sous-préfecture. It is a major harbor, on the right bank of the Loire river estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean.

Saint-Étienne: France

Saint-Étienne Travel: France
Saint-Étienne is a city in the central eastern part of France, 60 km. (40 miles) southwest of Lyon. Located in the Rhône-Alpes région, Saint-Étienne is the préfecture (capital) of the Loire département.
Population of the city (commune) at the 1999 census was 180,210 inhabitants (177,300 inhabitants as of February 2004 estimates). Population of the whole metropolitan area (in French: aire urbaine) at the 1999 census was 321,703 inhabitants.
Inhabitants of Saint-Étienne are called Stéphanois in French. “Saint Étienne� is the French version of Saint Stephen.

Rouen: France

ouen Travel: France
Rouen is the historical capital city of Normandy, in northern France, and presently the capital of the Upper Normandy région. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, Rouen was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy and played a major role in English history, serving as the de facto capital of England alongside London during the Anglo-Norman dynasties. As a matter of fact, it is in Rouen that the English burnt Joan of Arc in 1431.
Population of the metropolitan area (in French: aire urbaine) at the 1999 census was 518,316 inhabitants. (more…)

Roubaix: France

Roubaix Travel: France
Roubaix is a city of northern France, in the Nord département, located near the cities of Lille and Tourcoing and the Belgian border. Population (1999): 96,984.

Rennes: France

Rennes Travel: France
Rennes (Breton: Roazhon) is a city of northwestern France, in the east of Brittany. Rennes is the capital of the Bretagne région, as well as the préfecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine département.
Population of the city (commune) of Rennes at the 1999 census was 206,229 inhabitants (209,100 inhabitants as of February 2004 estimates). Population of the whole metropolitan area (French: aire urbaine) at the 1999 census was 521,188 inhabitants, ranking twelfth in France.
Rennes invests heavily in arts and culture and a number of its festivals (such as the music festival Les Transmusicales, les Tombées de la Nuit and le Travelling (a cinematic festival)) are well known throughout France. Since February 14 2005, there has been a local television channel called Rennes TV. Rennes is home to Stade Rennais FC, who play in the French Premier League

Reims: France

Reims Travel: France
Reims (English traditionally Rheims) (pronounced /ʀɛ̃s/ in French) is a city of northern France, 144 km.(89 miles) east-northeast of Paris. Its history can be traced back to the Roman Empire. Reims played a very important role in French history, as it was the place where the kings of France were crowned. Thus, the Cathedral of Reims, destroyed by the Germans during the First World War but restored since, played the same role in France as Westminster Abbey did in England. It was there that was kept the Holy Ampulla containing the Saint Chrême (chrism), which allegedly was brought by a white dove (the Holy Spirit) at the baptism of Clovis in 496, and was used for the anointing, the most important part of the coronation of French kings. (more…)