| The sheer physical diversity of France
would be hard to exhaust in a lifetime of visits. The landscapes
range from the fretted coasts of Brittany and the limestone hills of
Provence to the canyons of the Pyrenees and the half-moon bays of
Corsica, and from the lushly wooded valleys of the Dordogne and the
gentle fields of the Loire Valley to the glaciated peaks of the
Alps. Each region looks and feels different, has its own style of
architecture, its own characteristic food and often its own dialect.
Though the French word pays is the term for a whole country, many
people frequently refer to their own region as mon pays – my
country – and this strong sense of regional identity has persisted
despite centuries of centralizing governments, from Louis XIV to de
Gaulle.
Industrialization came relatively late to France, and for all the
millions of French people that live in cities, the idea persists
that theirs is a rural country. The importance of the land
reverberates throughout French culture, manifesting itself in areas
as diverse as regional pride in local cuisine and the state's fierce
defence of Europe's agricultural subsidies. Perhaps the most
striking feature of the French countryside is the sense of space.
There are huge tracts of woodland and undeveloped land without a
house in sight, and, away from the main urban centres, hundreds of
towns and villages have changed only slowly and organically over the
years, their old houses and streets intact, as much a part of the
natural landscape as the rivers, hills and fields.
Despite this image of pastoral tranquillity, France's history is
notable for its extraordinary vigour. For more than a thousand years
the country has been in the vanguard of European development, and
the accumulation of wealth and experience is evident everywhere in
the astonishing variety of things to see, from the Dordogne's
prehistoric cave-paintings and the Roman monuments of the south, to
the Gothic cathedrals of the north, the châteaux of the Loire, and
the cutting-edge architecture of the grands projets in Paris. This
legacy of history and culture – la patrimoine – is so widely
dispersed across the land that even the briefest of stays will leave
the visitor with a powerful sense of France's past.
The importance of these traditions is felt deeply by the French
state, which fights to preserve and develop its national culture
perhaps harder than any other country in the world, and private
companies, who also strive to maintain French traditions in arenas
as diverse as haute couture, pottery and, of course, food. The
fruits of these efforts are evident in the subsidized arts, notably
the film industry, and in the lavishly endowed and innovative
museums and galleries. From colonial history to fishing techniques,
aeroplane design to textiles, and migrant shepherds to manicure,
these collections can be found across the nation, but, inevitably,
first place must go to the fabulous displays of fine art in Paris, a
city which has nurtured more than its share of the finest creative
artists of the last century and a half, both French – Monet and
Matisse for example – and foreign, such as Picasso and Van Gogh.
There are all kinds of pegs on which to hang a holiday in France:
a city, a region, a river, a mountain range, gastronomy, cathedrals,
châteaux. All that open space means there's endless scope for
outdoor activities – from walking, canoeing and cycling to skiing
and sailing – but if you need more urban stimuli – clubs, shops,
fashion, movies, music – then the great cities provide them in
abundance
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