THE REGIONS
A-Z

With no fewer than 22 regions to choose from, and between them covering 96 départements – the equivalent of an English county – deciding where to go can be a lengthy process.

The key thing is to decide what it is you want from your visit to France: if it's beaches, you obviously won't go to the Auvergne; if it's winter skiing, then Charente Maritime is highly unlikely to hit the spot.

What is fairly certain, however, is that whatever you come in search of, France is going to deliver; it's just a question of doing a bit of homework first.

This part of the website is intended to help you to do that, by providing a short analysis of each, its key features, how to get there, and what to see and do once you arrive.

Alsace

Aquitaine

Auvergne

Bourgogne/Burgundy

Brittany/Bretagne

Centre

Champagne-Ardenne

Franche-Comté

Ile de France (Paris)

Languedoc-Roussillon

Limousin

Lorraine

Midi-Pyrénées

Nord-Pas-de-Calais

Normandy/Normandie

Pays de la Loire

Picardy/Picardie

Poitou-Charentes

Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur

Rhone-Alpes

Each has its own tourist board – the Comité Régional du Tourisme, or CRT.

Each page has contact details for the relevant office, but here is a complete list of Regional Tourist Offices.

Notwithstanding the administrative regions of France, there are a number of regions within regions that have evolved historically, and are arguably closer to the ethos of France than the bureaucratic impositions. These include the Ardennes, Quercy, the Brenne, the Alps and even that amorphous area known as Cathar Country (Le Pay Cathare)