France Budget Travel Guide provides an overview of France for travelers who are planning a trip there. In this guide, you can find details on going to France and your transportation options when there. Also listed are the cities located throughout the country.
France Budget Travel Guide is created for the benefit of travelers on a limited budget. Whenever possible, I will provide information for you to use public transport or to buy daily passes that will provide a discount over single-journey fares. This guide is geared to the needs of independent travelers, but even if you are traveling on a package tour, you will benefit from the details provided here.
France is a country in Western Europe. With a size of 674,843 square kilometers (260,558 sq miles), France is the biggest country in Continental Europe. It shares a border with many other European countries including with Belgium and Luxeumbourg to the northeast, Germany and Switzerland to the east, Italy to the southeast, and Spain to the southwest. In addition, the tiny principality of Monaco forms an enclave to the south of France while Andorra is a small independent country between France and Spain. Across the English Channel lies the British Isles to the northwest.
The 2010 estimate places the population of France at around 65.4 million. It is the fifth largest economy in the world by nominal Gross Domestic Product, and the 8th largest by Purchasing Power Parity. The capital of France is Paris. This city of 2.2 million is located in a Métropolitan area of 11.7 million people. It is both the largest city within one of the most populated Métropolitan areas in Europe.
In addition to mainland France, which is called Métropolitan France, the country also count a number of territories in North America, the Caribbean, South America, southern Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and Antarctica. The forms of government in these territories range from overseas department to overseas collectivity.
France is one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. It has much to offer in terms of sights and is particularly famous for its cuisine, history, fashion and culture. In this Travel Guide to France, I want to provide you with a description of every major tourist destination and sight that the country has to offer. You will find these listed on the right column. When I complete describing each destination, I will place a link to this page, so check back often as the information is added regularly.
In planning your trip to France, it is prudent to check the price of hotel rooms from different hotel booking websites before placing your reservations. You will discover that different booking sites offer vastly different rates for the same rooms. To get the best value for your money, use our free France Hotel Search Engine to view and compare room rates from different hotel booking sites. It helps you in making an informed decision that can save you a lot of money
You can also use the search console below. Just key in the dates of your trip, and the engine will generate a list of hotels with the best prices, as plucked from the different Online Hotel Booking websites.
The best time is spring, around May. If you are going to France for skiing, then it's winter that is best in the French Alps and the Pyrenees.
What to wear in France
Lightweight clothing for summer and waterproof gear for the mountains. Warm clothing required in winter, including along the Mediterranean coasts.
Budget Travel to France
The following are the airports serving Paris:
Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG) is located 23km (14 miles) to the northeast of Paris. It is the biggest airport in France and a major travel hub for Europe. It also consists of many terminals, and can be confusing. Allow ample time to find your way around, especially if you need to transit. CDG is the homebase for national carrier Air France, which uses Terminal 2 along with its SkyTeam Alliance partners Dutch KLM, AeroMexico, Alitalia, US Continental, NorthWest, Delta Airlines and Korean Air. Trains connecting CDG to Paris runs every 15 minutes, costs €8.50 and makes the journey to the Châtelet-Les Halles station in 40 minutes. There is a high-speed TGV train station within the airport that provides connection to Lille and Brussels to the north, and Rennes and Nantes to the south, bypassing Paris.
Orly International Airport (ORY) is the older airport serving Paris. It is used by Air France for domestic flights, as well as other international carriers for European destinations. Orly is forty minutes from Paris on OrlyBus from the Métro Denfert-Rochereau station, and the fare is €6.
Aéroport de Paris Beauvais Tillé (BVA) is another airport serving Paris. This small regional airport is used by low cost carriers including Ryanair.
France Entry Requirements
Nationals of US, Australia, Canada, Britain and other EU countries do not need a visa for entering France.
Budget Travel within France
By flight
The following airlines provide domestic flights within France:
How to explore France by Train
Trains are a great way to explore France. The national railway company is called SNCF, which stands for Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français. The Voyages SNCF website shows you the schedules and allows you to book interregional trains. For regional trains, go to Ter-SNCF website.
France uses the Euro, €. Banknotes are in denominations of €500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 while coins are in denominations of 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, €1 and €2. Banking hours are from 9:00am to 12:00 noon and 2:00pm to 5:00pm.
At time of writing (Oct 2007), USD1.00 = EUR0.71 For the latest exchange go to the Oanda Currency Converter.
France comprises 26 administrative regions, of which 22 are in metropolitan France (the French mainland), four are overseas regions, and Corsica is a territorial collectivity. These regions are further subdivided into 100 departments. The following is a list of all the regions of France, with their departments in brackets.
Before booking a hotel room, make sure you are getting the lowest price for it. Different hotel booking websites offers the same room at different prices. If you stick with one site all the time, you could be paying more for the same room. Now why pay more?
The form below is a Research Engine. It doesn't take bookings. Instead it lets you find the hotel booking website that offers the room you want at the lowest price. You can see and compare what different sites are offering, and then click to choose the one with the best price. Do this, and you're guaranteed to save a whole lot of money on your room reservations!
Our Flight Checker helps travelers compare flights and get the lowest fare for their trips. If you're flying somewhere, use our Flight Checker to compare the rates from different airlines. To use it, enter where you will be flying from, where you will be flying to, your departure date and return date. Select the number of passengers, and then click search.
Our engine will return you a list of possible flights that you can take. You can compare the fare of different airlines for your trip. Click on your selected airline, and we transfer you to the airline website.