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Capital: Paris
Total Area : 550,000 sq Km making France the largest country in Western
Europe, bigger than Spain, Germany, or the United Kingdom.
To the north, France shares
its borders with Belgium and Luxembourg to the east with Germany &
Switzerland , Italy is to the south east, and Spain to the south west.
Bounded by 4 seas, the North
Sea, the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean; France
has many ports and 5,500 km of coastline.
The backbone of France's water
system is served by 4 major rivers the Loire, the Seine, the Garonne and
the Rhone.
The tallest mountain ranges
are the Pyrenees (over 3000m) and the Alps (over 4000m) and culminating
in Mont Blanc, rising to 4,807m, which makes it the highest summit in
France and indeed in western Europe.
Sights to see in Paris
Eiffel Tower: Paris's most famous landmark was built by Gustave Eiffel
for the world exhibition of 1889, the centennial of the French Revolution.
Such a splendid piece of engineering that even in the strongest winds
it never sways more than 4 ½ inches.
Louvre: the world's largest museum, is actually the product of
centuries.It was built in the 13th century originally as a fortress by
Philippe-Auguste . Henry 1V (1589-1610), Louis X111 (1610-43) Louis XIV
(1643-1715), Napoleon (1804-14) and Napoleon 111 (1852-70) all contributed
to its construction. The glass pyramid, the most famous recent addition,
by I.M. Pei was unveiled in March 1989.
The collections are divided into seven sections :Oriental antiquities,
Egyptian antiquities, Greek and Roman antiquities, Sculpture; paintings,
prints and drawings (including the Mona Lisa) ; furniture and objets d'art.
Arc de Triomphe : 164 ft Triumphal arch, planned by Napoleon, but
not finished until 1836, 20 years after his rule. There is a small museum
halfway up the arch devoted to its history. France's unknown soldier is
buried beneath the archway, the flame is rekindled each evening at 6.30
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