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Time
differences
France is GMT +1 (in summer).
Telecommunications
Telephone:
There
are 30.8 million telephone lines and 1
person out of 2 has a mobile phone.
The country is divided into 5 regions with
different codes, e.g. Paris and its region
is 01 + 8 numbers, the north west is 02,
the north east is 03, the south east is 04
and the south west is 05
To phone France from abroad, you have to
dial the country code, 33 followed by the
regional code + the number of your
correspondent. Within France you have to
dial the regional code + the n°, even
within the same region.
For the French territories you have to
dial 00, then the country code + the 6
numbers of your correspondent. To call
abroad from France, dial 00 + the country
code + the number of your
correspondent.
French
territory codes :
Guadeloupe
(590) ; Guyane (594) ; Martinique (596) ;
Réunion ( 262)
St-Pierre-et-Miquelon (508),
Mayotte (269).
Other
useful numbers :
-
12 : information
- 18 : fire brigade
- 15 : emergencies
- 17 : police
Radio/Television
:
Television
channels:
-
«ANTENNE 2»
- «CANAL FRANCE
INTERNATIONAL»
- «CANAL+»
- «LA CINQ»
- «FRANCE RÉGIONS 3
(FR3)»
- «M6»
- «LA SEPT»
- «TÉLÉVISION
FRANÇAISE (TF1)»
- «TV5 EUROPE»
+ many others if you have a cable or
satellite television
Radio
channels :
-
« EUROPE 1 »
- « RADIO FRANCE »
- « RADIO FRANCE INTERNATIONALE (RFI)
»
- « RADIO MONTE CARLO (RMC)
»
- « RADIO TÉLÉ
LUXEMBOURG (R.T.L.) »
- « SOCIÉTÉ NATIONALE
DE RADIO TÉLÉVISION
FRANÇAISE OUTRE MER (RFO)
»
- « SUD RADIO »
+ many other local and regional
channels
Press/Newspapers
:
The main French dailies are
:
-
« La Croix
L'Événement »
- « L'Équipe »
- « Le Figaro »
- « France Soir »
- « L'Humanité »
- « The International Herald Tribune
»
- « Libération »
- « Le Monde »
- « Le Parisien »
- « Le Quotidien de Paris »
- « Ouest France »
- « Le Progrès »
- « Sud Ouest »
- « La Voix du Nord »
The
leading weekly papers are
:
- « Le Canard Enchaîne
»
- « L'Événement du
Jeudi »
- « L'express »
- « Le Journal du Dimanche »
- « Le Nouvel Observateur »
- « Paris Match »
- « Le Point »
Airports
Several large towns in France have their
own airports:
Bordeaux :
Tel.
05 56 34 50 00/Fax. 05 56 34 23 01, web
site : www.aeroport.fr
Distance from town : 13 kms west, taxi
fare 130 F, parking (1h) 10 or 18F, public
transport : Jetbus 37F
Clermont-Ferrand
Tel 04 73 62 71 00, web site :
www.clermont-fd.cci.fr
Distance from town : 6 kms, taxi fare 70F,
parking (1h) 7F, public transport :
navette 25F
Corse
:
Airport
Ajaccio Campo Dell'Oro : Tel. 04 95
21 13 66/Fax. 04 95 20 42 65
Dijon
:
Airport
Dijon Bourgogne : Tel. 03 80 67 67 67/Fax.
03 80 63 92 15
Lille
:
Airport
Lille Lesquin : Tel. 03 20 49 68 68 web
site www.aeroport.fr
Distance from town : 12 km, taxi fare
100F, parking (1h), public transport : bus
30F
Lyon
:
Airport
Lyon Satolas : Tel. 04 72 22 72 21/Fax 04
72 22 74 71, web site
www.lyon.aeroport.fr
Distance from town : 25kms east, taxi fare
200 F Lyon centre, 180F Villeurbanne,
parking (1h) 12F,
public transport : Satobus 49.50F, Satobus
Grenoble : 130F
Marseilles
:
Airport
Marseille Provence : Tel. 04 42 14 14
14/Fax. 04 42 88 04 77, web site
www.marseille.aeroport.fr
Distance
from town :
25kms north-west,
taxi fare
200F, parking (1h) 14F,
public
transport:
bus Marseilles : 50F, bus Aix-en-Provence
44F
Montpellier
:
Airport
Montpellier Méditerranée :
Tel. 04 67 20 85 00/Fax. 04 67 22 02 12,
www.montpellier.aeroport.fr Distance from
town : 7 kms south-east, taxi fare100F,
parking (1h) 14F, public transport : bus
25F
Mulhouse
:
Airport Basel-Mulhouse : Tel 03 89 90 31
00, www.euroairport.com
Distance from town : 25 kms Mulhouse, 5
kms Basel, taxi fare 250F Mulhouse, 35FS
Basel, parking (1h) 6F/1.50FS)
public transport : bus Mulhouse 40F, bus
Basel 2.80FS
Nantes
:
Airport
International Nantes Atlantique : Tel. 02
40 84 80 00, www.nantes.aeroport.fr
Distance from town : 8kms south-west, taxi
fare 110F, parking (1h) 5F/10F, public
transport : navette 38F
Nice
:
Tel 04 93 21 30 30, site web
www.nice.aeroport.fr
Distance from town 7kms, taxi fare 150F,
parking (1h) 12 F, helicopter service from
Monaco
public transport : bus Nice railway
station 23F, bus Nice bus station 8.50F,
bus Sophia Antipolis 40F
Paris
:
Airport
Paris Charles de Gaulle : Tel. 01 48 62 22
80/Fax. 01 48 62 67 12, www.adp.fr
Distance from town : 25 kms north-east,
parking (1h) 14 F,
public transport : RER (train) to town
every 10 minutes : 49 FF
Bus every 15 minutes : 48 FF
Air France bus every 12 minutes : 60 or 70
Frs
Paris
:
Airport
Paris Orly : Tel. 0149 75 15 15,
www.adp.fr
Distance from town : 14km south, taxi fare
160F, parking (1h) 14F,
public transport : RER (train) 31.50F,
Orlyval 57F, Orlybus 35F, Jetbus 26.50F,
Air France bus 45F
Transfers Orly-CDG : RER 104F or Air
France bus 75F
Pau
:
Tel 05 59 33 33 00, site web
www.pau.aeroport.fr
Distance from town : 7 kms north, taxi
fare 100F, parking (1h) 5F, public
transport : bus 30F
Poitiers
:
Airport
Poitiers Biard : Tel. 05 49 58 28 85
Strasbourg
:
Strasbourg
International Airport : Tel. 03 88 64 67
67/Fax. 03 88 68 61 12,
www.strasbourg.aeroport.fr
Distance from town : 7kms north, taxi fare
150F, parking (1h) 10F, public transport :
bus 27F (bus + tram)
Toulouse
:
Airport
Toulouse Blagnac : Tel. 05 61 42 44 00,
www.toulouse.aeroport.fr
Distance from town : 10kms north-west,
taxi fare 110F, parking (1h) 13F, public
transport : bus 23F
Car
rental
In
France you drive on the right side of the
road and give priority to vehicules coming
from the right.
The speed limits are 50 kph in built up
areas, 110 kph on major roads and 130 kph
on the highways.
Avis
:
Avis has one or several offices in all the
towns in France.
The telephone number of the central
reservation office is 08 02 05 05 05 or 33
1 55 38 68 60
A few towns :
Aix en Provence : 04 42 21 64 16
Ajaccio : 04 95 23 92 55, airport 04 95 23
56 90
Amiens : 03 22 91 31 21
Avignon : 04 90 87 17 7, airport 04 90 84
17 70
Biarritz : 05 59 29 26 88, airport 05 59
23 67 92
Bordeaux : 05 56 91 65 50, airport 05 56
34 38 22
Calais : 03 21 34 66 50
Cannes : 04 93 94 15 86
Clermont-Ferrand : 04 73 25 72 06, airport
04 73 91 18 08
Dijon : 03 80 43 60 76
Grenoble : 04 76 86 62 50, airport 04 76
65 41 96
Le Havre : 02 35 22 77 73, airport 02 35
53 17 20
Lille : 03 20 06 40 32, airport 03 20 87
59 56
Lyon : 04 72 33 37 19, airport 04 72 22 75
43
Paris 01 42 66 67 58, airports Le Bourget
01 48 38 51 00, Orly 01 49 75 44 92,
Roissy 01 48 62 34 34
Marseilles : 04 91 93 02 92, airport 04 42
14 21 63
Monaco : 00 377 93 30 17 53
Montpellier : 04 67 92 51 92, airport 04
67 20 14 95
Mulhouse : 03 89 44 18 18, airport 03 89
90 29 39
Nice : 04 93 80 63 52, airport 04 93 21 36
33
Perpignan : 04 68 34 26 71, airport 04 68
61 58 97
Rennes : 02 99 31 10 01, airport 02 99 85
99 85
Saint Malo : 02 29 40 18 54
Saint Tropez : 04 94 97 03 10
Strasbourg : 03 88 78 03 99, airport 03 88
68 82 53
Toulouse : 05 61 47 33 38, airport 05 34
60 46 50
Tours : 02 47 49 21 49, airport 02 47 49
21 49
All Avis
cars are completely equipped, have done
less than 15,000 kms and have an average
age of 3 months. The vehicles are
carefully prepared and checked between
each rental using a procedure containing 7
obligatory control points. The cars are
rented with a full tank.
Renting from Avis automatically means that
the car passengers, renter and/or driver
are covered by a third party insurance as
well as an insurance covering repatriation
and the immobilization of the vehicule in
case of an accident.
You can
reserve a car :
- from your travel agent
- from the international reservation
centre at 0 820 05 05 05
- or from any Avis agency
Avis has an interactive network worldwide,
a client can reserve a car instantly from
anywhere in the world.
We
recommend that you pay your rental using
your accredited Avis card or with another
credit card accepted by Avis : American
Express, Visa, Mastercard, Diners.
Through a simple free membership system,
Avis gives identity and/or payment cards,
which are a real help for a rapid and
efficient service.
REASSURING
: No on-line payment, you can pay Avis
directly at the agency when you return the
car
RAPID : Avis has the quickest car rental
reservation service on the web
ECONOMICAL : The cheapest rates on the
market are available on the Avis
microsite
COMPLETE : You can rent a car anywhere in
the world.
The Avis network : 5000 agencies in 172
countries, is now on-line!
EFFICIENT : Find your town (you don't have
to fill in the country), enter the date
and click on estimate
PRACTICAL : You only have to fill in 4
boxes and you will receive an e-mail
confirming the reservation.
You can even rent a vehicle at the last
minute just round the corner or ... on the
other side of the world.
Hotels
& restaurants
(see
also our list in Useful
Addresses).
Hotels
A short selection :
Lyon
- Le Colbert, 4 rue des Archers, tel 04 72
56 08 98
Renovated, a welcoming hotel, 20 rooms
from 310F to 330F
-Globe
et Cécile, 21 rue Gasparin, tel 04
78 42 58 95
A comfortable hotel furnished with
antiques. 60 rooms from 370F to
740F
- La
Cour des Loges, 6 rue du Boeuf, tel 04 72
77 44 44, courdesloges.com
An ensemble of 14th and 17th century
houses around a courtyard. 62 rooms from
1200F to 3000F.
Avignon
- Le Magnan, 63 rue du Portail Magnanen,
tel 04 90 86 36 51
Simple and quiet, most of the rooms are
arranged around a charming patio. 31 rooms
from 305F to 375F
- Le Blauvac, 11 rue de la Bancasse, tel
04 90 86 34 11
In the centre of the old town, a 17th
century house with 16 rooms from 340F to
415F
- Le Garlande, 20 rue Galante, tel 04 90
80 08 85
Next to the church tower of the St Didier
church, decorated in Provencal style. 12
rooms from 330F to 400F.
Bordeaux
- Le Libertel Claret, in the centre of the
Charton district, tel 05 56 01 79 79 Fax
05 56 01 79 00
From the top floor you get a splendid
panorama over the town.
Montpellier
-Hôtel Sofitel Tel 04 67 99 72 72
Fax 04 67 65 17 50
Ideally situated next to Antigone and two
minutes away from the place de la
Comédie. A very pleasant hotel with
a panoramic view over the town from the
8th floor.
Nantes
-Hôtel Novotel Nantes Cité
des Congrès, Tel 02 51 82 00 00 Fax
02 51 82 07 40
In the heart of the renovated district
around the St Félix canal, a light
and pleasant area just a few minutes from
the centre of town.
Toulouse
- Grand Hôtel Jean Jaurès,
Tel 05 34 41 31 21, Fax 05 61 63 15 17
Well placed not far from the station, the
Capitole and the Saint Seurin district.
The service is perfect and the staff are
very nice.
Nice
-Le Méridien, 1, Promenade des
Anglais, tel 04 97 03 44 44 Fax 04 97 03
44 45
In the centre of the city, but in
greenery, the sea is visible from all the
rooms on all the floors. 314 rooms which
are soundproof and airconditioned. An open
air pool on the 10th floor, and a
gym.
Marseilles
-Hôtel Sofitel Vieux Port, on the
Old Port, tel 04 91 15 59 00 e-mail
HO542@accor-hotels.com
Restaurants
A small selection :
Lyon
- Le Petit Léon, 3 rue Pleney (menu
at 98F)
- La Meunière, 11 rue Neuve (menus
from 99F to 151F)
- La Mère Brazier, 12 rue Royale
(menus from 185F to 325F)
Avignon
- La Ferme, chemin des Bois, île de
la Bathelasse (menus from 115F to
180F)
- La Fourchette, 17 rue Racine (menus from
100F to 150F)
- Brunel, 46-48, rue de la Balance (menus
from 98F tot 158F)
Montpellier
-La Brasserie du théâtre, 22
bd Victor Hugo
Toulouse
-Le Bon Vivre, on the place Wilson,
specialized in regional cuisine.
Your
Suitcase
In
summer : light clothing, comfortable shoes
for visits and walks, a hat to protect you
from the sun. French people dress
elegantly in town, even in summer, but at
the seaside you can walk around in a
swimming costume or shorts nearly
everywhere. In the north don't forget your
raincoat, and if you are visiting the
mountains, it is much cooler, especially
in the evening.
In winter, even in the south, you need a
good warm coat with you, and an
umbrella.
For business meetings, suit and tie are
the general rule.
Banks
The
opening hours are normally from 8h30 to
12h30 and from 13h30 to 16h30.
Exchange counters in the banks often close
earlier, but there are exchange bureaus
everywhere, often offering better rates
than you will find in the
banks.
Credit
cards are accepted everywhere, and there
are plenty of automatic
distributers.
Several
foreign banks have branches in France,
especially in Paris. In other towns you
will find French banks such as : Banque de
France (the central bank), Banque
Nationale de Paris, Crédit
Agricole,
Crédit Lyonnais, Crédit du
Nord, Société
Générale
Schools
& education
The
schooling system in France is free (State
schools) and there are also private
fee-paying schools.
Rate of
school attendance up to 16 years of age :
95.2%.
Literacy : 98.8%.
Pre-schooling
: from
3 to 5 years old
Elementary
and primary schools :
-
C.P. (6 years old) - CE1 (7 years old) -
CE2 (8 years old) - CM1 (9 years old) -
CM2 (10 years old)
High
school :
6th
form (11 years old), 5th, 4th, 3rd,
Second, First, Terminal, ending with the
Baccalauréat exam, permitting,
depending on the results, access to
different higher study centres.
Higher
education :
Universities :
there
are 91
universities
To
be accepted students must have passed the
French Baccalauréat or an
equivalent exam.
All the larger towns have upper educations
facilities, with accomodation, canteens,
sport centres etc.
You can find some of the education centres
in our listing in 'Useful Addresses'.
Guides
Petite
Planète
Guide Bleu
Guide Michelin
Observations
Information
Tipping
:
Taxes
and service charges are included in the
bill, but tips are still
appreciated.
Shopping
:
Each
region has its specialities, whether
handicraft and/or gastronomy
Clothes are not very expensive compared to
other European countries and the quality
is very good.
Tourists appreciate French luxury brands :
Louis Vuitton, Dior , Chanel, etc.
Wine, perfume
...
Sports & leisure :
Ski
: there are several ski stations in
France
(Haute-Savoie, Savoie, Alpes du Sud, near
the Italian border, les Hautes
Pyrénées).
You can even ski in some stations in
summer
(l'Alpe d'Huez, les Deux-Alpes,
Tignes, Val d'Isère,
etc.).
If you prefer cross country skiing, you
will enjoy the stations in the Jura, the
Vercors and the Vosges.
Rafting : The Durance with its rapids and
its whirlpools is a paradise for rafting
fans and daredevils.
Mountaineering, cross country cycling,
diving, hiking, horse riding, .....
Gardens : French-style, Italian, medieval
or contemporary.
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