Rent a Car France - Geography France
France boasts a large geographical diversity, making it appealing to tourists. One of the largest countries in Europe, mainland France includes snow covered mountains, an ancient central massif, rugged Atlantic coast and spectacularly picturesque Mediterranean coast.
It is bordered by the English channel, Belgium and Luxembourg to the north, Germany to the east, Switzerland and Italy in the southeast and Spain in the south.
Roughly the size of California, France is divided into 96 departments, but also includes a further 5 overseas territories (Guadeloupe/Martinique, French Polynesia, French Guyana and Reunion). Its interior is dominated by the Massif Central, consisting of several ancient ranges of hills. Some of the loveliest provinces, such as Burgundy and the Dordogne are located here, characterised by rolling vineyard hills. Also popular among visitors is the Rhone valley, cutting a north-south swathe across the country. The Seine, Rhône, Garonne, Rhine (bordering Germany) and Loire are all major waterways.
The north eastern regions are relatively flat and predominately used for agriculture. Brittany, on the Atlantic coast is characterised by rugged promontories, nearby Normandy is notable for its massive chalk cliffs, further south the coast is flatter with fine sand beaches.
The Pyranees are a mountainous region bordering Spain, while the coastline along the Mediterranean shoreline is defined by picture postcard bays, pebbly beaches and hill backdrops.
The most dramatic region is definitely the Alps, a manifold of peaks bordering Switzerland and Italy and including the Jura range. Mont Blanc is Europe’s highest peak. Offshore, France also includes the lovely, varied, island of Corsica in the Mediterranean sea.
France has many fabulous, well kept national parks, but the presence of wild animals has been severely diminished by urbanization. Forests - mostly beech, oak and pine - cover roughly one-fifth of the country. These wooded areas, as well as vast wetlands, support the bulk of the country's mammals and birds.
