France

• Destinations
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• France

France is the first travel destination in the world and has lately welcomed more than 80 million visitors. A country with a rich heritage, but one that is in harmony with the modern world it inhabits. Whatever the purpose of your visit, take the opportunity to enjoy the extraordinary sites and outstanding natural beauty on offer. Stay in a hotel, have a bite to eat in a café or a top class restaurant, visit a castle or a museum. Wander through the aisles of a Parisian shop or enjoy shopping at one of the many craft markets across the country. It’s your choice.

The longest and most diverse coastline on the European continent, the most beautiful mountains in Europe, 31 UNESCO world heritage sites, a capital famed for its art, luxury and extravagance. Whatever the reason for your visit, enjoy a country bursting with flavours and traditions.

• Public holidays

  There are twelve bank holidays in the Czech Republic.  Except Easter Monday, the dates of the holidays are fixed.

  • 1st January 2013: New Years day
  • April: Easter
  • 1st May: International Worker's Day
  • 8th May: the Armistice of the Second World War
  • May: Thursday of the Assumption
  • May: Monday of Whitsun
  • 14th July: National Bank Holiday
  • 15th August: the Feast of the Assumption
  • 1st November 2012: All Saints day
  • 11th November 2012: the Armistice of the First World War 
  • 25th December 2012: Christmas day

• Top things to do

  • Paris (Notre-Dame, Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Champs Elysées, Arc de Triomphe, Concorde Place, Montmartre, Sacré Cœur’s Basilica , Versailles)
  • French Riviera (Nice, Cannes, St.Tropez , Villefranche-sur-mer)
  • Loire Castles (Amboise, Chambord, Chenonceau, Blois, Tours, Samur, etc)
  • Rhônes- Alpes (savour gastronomy)
  • Normandie (Honfleur , Deauville, Caen, Falaises d’Etretat)
  • Wine tasting (Bordeaux, Champagne, Bourogne)
  • Montblanc
  • Alsace (Christmas Market)
  • Bretagne (Brest, Dinan, Quimper, Rennes, St Malo, Cancale, Vannes)

• Getting there

  France has the benefit of a temperate, rather agreeable climate.
  Continental France is divided into four climatic zones:

  • Oceanic and humid climate with cooler summers to the west of a line from Bayonne to Lille.
  • Semi-continental climate with harsh winters and hot summers in Alsace, Lorraine, along the Rhone corridor and in the mountainous massifs (Alps, Pyrenees and Massif Central).
  • Intermediate climate with cold winters and hot summers in the north, and in the Paris and central regions.
  • Mediterranean climate with mild winters and very hot summers in the south of France.

  Local Currency: Euro / the shops accept: CB, CA, Euro card, MasterCard

  The shops open from 9-10 am to 7 – 8 pm , from Monday to Saturday

  The banks open from 9-12h30 am to 14-18h30 pm, from Monday to Friday

  The restaurants open from 11 to 1 am for lunch and from 6 to 9 pm for diner.

  Stamps : you can buy it in the post office and the Tobacconist’s.

• Did you know...?

  • With 7 millions of visitors, the Eiffel Tower is the most visited paid monument in the World.
  • The UNESCO inscribed 37 sites in France on the World Heritage List
  • In Paris 1800 monuments and buildings are forming part of the cultural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value.
  • France has 1.000 different types of cheese,
  • France is the world’s largest wine producer with 17 different producing areas ( Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Champagne, Loire, etc…)
  • Under Paris there is a tracery of 300 kilometers of catacombs
  • 2300 bottle of Champagne are uncapped every evening in the Cabarets of Paris
  • The Michelin guide has awarded 594 “chef étoiles “ to French restaurants

• Trips, Tours & Activities

  In Paris:

  • City Tour
  • Visit of Montmartre
  • Illuminations
  • Cruise on the Seine
  • Visit of the Castle of Versailles and Museum of Louvre
  • The Lido and Moulin Rouge Shows

• Accommodation

  The destination can be proud of providing a large offer of hotels corresponding to every traveler’s wish; from luxury hotels like the Banke Hotel to the most famous Palaces like Georges V or the The Ritz hotel, the 1 star economic hotels for the visitors who prefer to be out and cross the city, including 2, 3 and 4 star hotels of the best hotel chains in the cities or offering an amazing landscapes.

  Every visitor will meet his ideal hotel. For those who are interested in historic and traditional hotels as for those who are Contemporary Art amateurs, we can fulfill all your special requests.

• Transfers

  • We offer you collective or private transfers for individuals or groups.
  • We can plan transfer from the Paris Orly and CDG airports to hotels in Paris.
  • From Paris train stations to hotels in Paris.
  • Between two hotels.
  • For groups, we can plan any transfer you need all around the country.

• Meetings and events

  With the purpose of assisting you to organize your projects through our experience, we always offer you all kind of services, hotels, restaurants, sites and original activities, suggestions and ideas corresponding to your budget and objectives.

  We make your event come true!

• What we recommended

  Restaurants in Paris:

  • Typical Brasserie: La Coupole, Le Wepler , Bofinger, etc
  • Traditional Restaurants : La Procope, Le Pied de Cochon, La Vache , etc
  • Contemponary cooking: Kong, Bon , Georges , etc          
  • Étoiles Michelin Restaurants : La Tour D’Argent, Pre Catelan, Le   Meurice, etc
  • Pop culture and Trendy Bar’s: Oberkampf, Bastille, Quartier Latin and « La Butte aux Cailles ».

  Shops:

  • Le Bon Marché (older Great Shop of Paris and unique one of the left rive of Paris). Les Galeries Lafayette.
  • Avenue Montaigne - Saint-Germain Quarter : Fashion Shops, Haute Couture,
  • Prêt à porter
  • Le Marais Quarter & St Germain quarter: Designer shops

  Sites of culture:

  • Theater : Le Point Virgule, Theatre du Chatelet
  • Opéra : Opéra Garnier, Opéra de Bastille
  • Original Art Sites : The Center Pompidou, La Miroiterie, le 104, le 59 Rivoli
  • Parks : Le Parc des Buttes de Chaumont, Le parc de Luxembourg

• Special events

  Social

  • Paris Carnival
  • The Feast of the neighbors
  • “Paris Plage”
  • Gaypride
  • Paris Quartier d’été (free events planned in the street or in monuments during the summer)
  • The night of the shooting stars
  • The techno parade

  Cultural

  • “Les Journées du Patrimoine”
  • The festival of Jazz
  • Les Nuits Blanches
  • The European night of the Museums
  • The Chocolate Show
  • The motor Show
  • FIAC, The Fashion Week
  • Bastille Day 14 July French National Day
  • Orange Opera Festival (the oldest festival in France)
  • Le Beaujolais Nouveau

  Sports

  • Rolland Garros
  • Tour de France
  • Meeting Areva
  • 24 heures de Le Mans
  • Grand Prix de Monaco
  • Triathlon
  • The Paris Marathon

  Religious

  • Way of the Cross
  • Festival of the sacred Works
  • Christ’s child Crib (December)