Main articles French language Languages of France Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, Marseille Provence Airport fifth busiest FranceThe city served international airport Marseille Provence Airport located Marignane airport fifth busiest French airport known 4th most important European traffic growth 2012extensive network of motorways connects Marseille north west (A7) Aix-en-Provence north (A51) Toulon (A50) French Riviera (A8) eastGare de Marseille Saint-Charles Marseille's main railway station operates direct regional services Aix-en-Provence Briançon Toulon Avignon Nice Montpellier Toulouse Bordeaux Nantes etc Gare Saint-Charles also one of main terminal stations TGV south of France making Marseille reachable three hours from Paris (a distance of over 750 km) just over one half hours from Lyon There also direct TGV lines Lille Brussels Nantes Geneva Strasbourg Frankfurt well Eurostar services London addition night train (Intercités de Nuit) from Luxembourg Strasbourg stops here its way Nice whereas night train from Paris Nice serves Gare de Marseille-Blancarde (fr)There new long distance bus station adjacent new modern extension Gare Saint-Charles with destinations mostly other Bouches-du-Rhône towns including buses Aix-en-Provence Cassis La Ciotat Aubagne city also served with 11 other regional trains stations east north of cityMarseille has large ferry terminal Gare Maritime with services Corsica Sardinia Algeria TunisiaPublic transport. Prehistory (before 6th century BC) Protestant (20,000), See also French cuisine Since late 18th century Paris has been famous its restaurants haute cuisine food meticulously prepared artfully presented luxury restaurant La Taverne Anglaise opened 1786 arcades of Palais-Royal Antoine Beauvilliers featured elegant dining room extensive menu linen tablecloths large wine list well-trained waiters became model future Paris restaurants restaurant Le Grand Véfour Palais-Royal dates from same periodfamous Paris restaurants of 19th century including Café de Paris Rocher de Cancale Café Anglais Maison Dorée Café Riche were mostly located near theatres Boulevard des Italiens they were immortalised novels of Balzac Émile Zola Several of best-known restaurants Paris today appeared during Belle Epoque including Maxim's Rue Royale Ledoyen gardens of Champs-Élysées Tour d'Argent Quai de la TournelleToday due Paris's cosmopolitan population every French regional cuisine almost every national cuisine world can be found there city has more than 9,000 restaurantsMichelin Guide has been standard guide French restaurants since 1900 awarding its highest award three stars best restaurants France 2018 of 27 Michelin three-star restaurants France ten located Paris These include both restaurants which serve classical French cuisine such L'Ambroisie Place des Vosges those which serve non-traditional menus such L'Astrance which combines French Asian cuisines Several of France's most famous chefs including Pierre Gagnaire Alain Ducasse Yannick Alléno Alain Passard have three-star restaurants ParisLes Deux Magots café Boulevard Saint-Germain. According Article 2 of Constitution official language of France French, Romance language derived from Latin Since 1635 Académie française has been France's official authority French language although its recommendations carry no legal weight There also regional languages spoken France such Occitan Breton Catalan Flemish (Dutch dialect) Alsatian (German dialect) Basque others (see Languages of France) Italian was official language of Corsica until May 9 1859The French government does not regulate choice of language publications individuals but use of French required law commercial workplace communications addition mandating use of French territory of Republic French government tries promote French European Union globally through institutions such La Francophonie perceived threat from anglicisation has prompted efforts safeguard position of French language France Besides French there exist 77 vernacular minority languages of France eight spoken French metropolitan territory 69 French overseas territoriesFrom 17th mid-20th century French served pre-eminent international language of diplomacy international affairs well lingua franca among educated classes of Europedominant position of French language international affairs was overtaken English since emergence of US major powerFor most of time which French served international lingua franca was not native language of most Frenchmen report 1794 conducted Henri Grégoire found that of country's 25 million people only three million spoke French natively rest spoke one of country's many regional languages such Alsatian Breton or Occitan Through expansion of public education which French was sole language of instruction well other factors such increased urbanisation rise of mass communication French gradually came be adopted virtually entire population process not completed until 20th centuryAs result of France's extensive colonial ambitions between 17th 20th centuries French was introduced Americas Africa Polynesia South-East Asia Caribbean French second most studied foreign language world after English, lingua franca some regions notably Africa legacy of French living language outside Europe mixed nearly extinct some former French colonies (The Levant South Southeast Asia) while creoles pidgins based French have emerged French departments West Indies South Pacific (French Polynesia) other hand many former French colonies have adopted French official language total number of French speakers increasing especially AfricaIt estimated that between 300 million 500 million people worldwide can speak French either mother tongue or second languageAccording 2007 Adult Education survey part of project European Union carried France Insee based sample of 15,350 persons French was first mother tongue of 87.2% of total population or roughly 55.81 million people followed Arabic (3.6% 2.30 million) Portuguese (1.5% 0.96 million) Spanish (1.2% 0.77 million) Italian (1.0% 0.64 million) People who had other languages their mother tongue made up 5.2% of populationReligion, 9th arrondissement Vaise Duchère Rochecardon St-Rambert-l'Île-Barbe Gorge de Loup Observance Champvert (north)! Map of population France Main article Administration of Paris Champagne wine flute. There 440 km (270 mi) of cycle paths routes Paris These include piste cyclable (bike lanes separated from other traffic physical barriers such kerb) bande cyclable (a bicycle lane denoted painted path road) Some 29 km (18 mi) of specially marked bus lanes free be used cyclists with protective barrier protecting against encroachments from vehicles Cyclists have also been given right ride both directions certain one-way streets Paris offers bike sharing system called Vélib' with more than 20,000 public bicycles distributed 1,800 parking stations, which can be rented short medium distances including one way tripsElectricity! The average net household income (after social pension health insurance contributions) Paris was €36,085 2011ranged from €22,095 19th arrondissement €82,449 7th arrondissementmedian taxable income 2011 was around €25,000 Paris €22,200 Île-de-France Generally speaking incomes higher Western part of city western suburbs than northern eastern parts of urban area Unemployment was estimated 8.2 percent city of Paris 8.8 percent Île-de-France region first trimester of 2015 ranged from 7.6 percent wealthy Essonne department 13.1 percent Seine-Saint-Denis department where many recent immigrants liveWhile Paris has some of richest neighbourhoods France also has some of poorest mostly eastern side of city 2012 14 percent of households city earned less than €977 per month official poverty line Twenty-five percent of residents 19th arrondissement lived below poverty line 24 percent 18th 22 percent 20th 18 percent 10th city's wealthiest neighbourhood 7th arrondissement 7 percent lived below poverty line 8 percent 6th arrondissement 9 percent 16th arrondissementTourism. Main article Administrative divisions of France The lawns of Parc des Buttes-Chaumont sunny day, After Revolution Republicans favoured Neoclassicism although neoclassicism was introduced France prior revolution with such building Parisian Pantheon or Capitole de Toulouse Built during first French Empire Arc de Triomphe Sainte Marie-Madeleine represent best example of Empire style architectureUnder Napoleon III new wave of urbanism architecture was given birth extravagant buildings such neo-baroque Palais Garnier were built urban planning of time was very organised rigorous example Haussmann's renovation of Paris architecture associated this era named Second Empire English term being taken from Second French Empire this time there was strong Gothic resurgence across Europe France associated architect was Eugène Viollet-le-Duc late 19th century Gustave Eiffel designed many bridges such Garabit viaduct remains one of most influential bridge designers of his time although he best remembered iconic Eiffel TowerIn 20th century French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier designed several buildings France More recently French architects have combined both modern old architectural styles Louvre Pyramid example of modern architecture added older building most difficult buildings integrate within French cities skyscrapers they visible from afar instance Paris since 1977 new buildings had be under 37 meters (121 feet) France's largest financial district La Defense where significant number of skyscrapers located Other massive buildings that challenge integrate into their environment large bridges example of way this has been done Millau Viaduct Some famous modern French architects include Jean Nouvel Dominique Perrault Christian de Portzamparc or Paul AndreuLiterature. As of 2009 World Trade Organization (WTO) reported France was world's sixth largest exporter fourth largest importer of manufactured goodsof 2016 World Factbook ranked France seventh largest exporter2008 France was third largest recipient of foreign direct investment among OECD countries $118 billion ranking behind Luxembourg (where foreign direct investment was essentially monetary transfers banks located there) United States ($316 billion) but above United Kingdom ($96.9 billion) Germany ($25 billion) or Japan ($24 billion) same year French companies invested $220 billion outside France ranking France second largest outward direct investor OECD behind United States ($311 billion) ahead of UK ($111 billion) Japan ($128 billion) Germany ($157 billion)Financial services banking insurance sector important part of economy Paris stock exchange (French La Bourse de Paris) old institution created Louis XV 17242000 stock exchanges of Paris Amsterdam Bruxelles merged into Euronext2007 Euronext merged with New York stock exchange form NYSE Euronext world's largest stock exchange Euronext Paris French branch of NYSE Euronext group Europe's 2nd largest stock exchange market behind London Stock ExchangeFrance member of Eurozone (around 330 million consumers) which part of European Single Market (more than 500 million consumers) Several domestic commercial policies determined agreements among European Union (EU) members EU legislation France introduced common European currency Euro 2002French companies have maintained key positions insurance banking industries AXA world's largest insurance company leading French banks BNP Paribas Crédit Agricole ranking world's first sixth largest banks 2010 (by assets) while Société Générale group was ranked world's eighth largest 2009Agriculture.
Further information Lyon Metro Lyon tramway Trolleybuses Lyon Buses Lyon Transport Rhône-Alpes TER Rhône Alpes, Main articles History of Lyon Timeline of Lyon, Opéra Garnier Paris symbol of French Second Empire style Catholic University of Lyon. Saint Louis' Sainte Chapelle represents French impact religious architectureDuring Middle Ages many fortified castles were built feudal nobles mark their powers Some French castles that survived Chinon Château d'Angers massive Château de Vincennes so-called Cathar castles During this era France had been using Romanesque architecture like most of Western Europe Some of greatest examples of Romanesque churches France Saint Sernin Basilica Toulouse largest romanesque church Europe, remains of Cluniac AbbeyThe Gothic architecture originally named Opus Francigenum meaning French work, was born Île-de-France was first French style of architecture be copied all Europe Northern France home of some of most important Gothic cathedrals basilicas first of these being Saint Denis Basilica (used royal necropolis) other important French Gothic cathedrals Notre-Dame de Chartres Notre-Dame d'Amiens kings were crowned another important Gothic church Notre-Dame de Reims Aside from churches Gothic Architecture had been used many religious palaces most important one being Palais des Papes AvignonThe final victory Hundred Years' War marked important stage evolution of French architecture was time of French Renaissance several artists from Italy were invited French court many residential palaces were built Loire Valley from 1450 with first reference Château de Montsoreau Such residential castles were Château de Chambord Château de Chenonceau or Château d'AmboisePlace de la Bourse Bordeaux example of French baroque architectureFollowing renaissance end of Middle Ages Baroque architecture replaced traditional Gothic style However France baroque architecture found greater success secular domain than religious one secular domain Palace of Versailles has many baroque features Jules Hardouin Mansart who designed extensions Versailles was one of most influential French architect of baroque era he famous his dome Les Invalides Some of most impressive provincial baroque architecture found places that were not yet French such Place Stanislas Nancy military architectural side Vauban designed some of most efficient fortresses Europe became influential military architect result imitations of his works can be found all over Europe Americas Russia TurkeyOpéra Garnier interior showing chandeliers gilded decoration, Because of its pre-eminence Mediterranean port Marseille has always been one of main gateways into France This has attracted many immigrants made Marseille cosmopolitan melting pot end of 18th century about half population originated from elsewhere Provence mostly also from southern France.[page needed], With more than 10 millions tourists year French Riviera (French Côte d'Azur) Southeast France second leading tourist destination country after Paris regionbenefits from 300 days of sunshine per year 115 kilometres (71 mi) of coastline beaches 18 golf courses 14 ski resorts 3,000 restaurants31 Each year Côte d'Azur hosts 50% of world's superyacht fleet66. 2nd arrondissement Cordeliers Bellecour Ainay Perrache Confluence Sainte-Blandine Ambox rewrite.svg Main article Libraries Paris Ariane four rocket taking off past tower. With more than 10 millions tourists year French Riviera (French Côte d'Azur) Southeast France second leading tourist destination country after Paris regionbenefits from 300 days of sunshine per year 115 kilometres (71 mi) of coastline beaches 18 golf courses 14 ski resorts 3,000 restaurants31 Each year Côte d'Azur hosts 50% of world's superyacht fleet66. ESDES Business School Ecole Centrale de Marseille part of Centrale Graduate School, History See also Architecture of Paris Haussmann's renovation of Paris Religious buildings Paris List of tallest buildings structures Paris region. Main article Sport France Paris hosted 1900 1924 Summer Olympics will host 2024 Summer Olympics Paralympic GamesThe city also hosted finals of 1938 FIFA World Cup (at Stade Olympique de Colombes) well 1998 FIFA World Cup 2007 Rugby World Cup Final (both Stade de France) Two UEFA Champions League Finals current century have also been played Stade de France 2000 2006 editions Paris has most recently been host UEFA Euro 2016 both Parc des Princes city proper also Stade de France with latter hosting opening match finalThe final stage of most famous bicycle racing world Tour de France always finishes Paris Since 1975 race has finished Champs-ElyséesTennis another popular sport Paris throughout France French Open held every year red clay of Roland Garros National Tennis Centre, one of four Grand Slam events of world professional tennis tour 17,000-seat Bercy Arena (officially named AccorHotels Arena formerly known Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy) venue annual Paris Masters ATP Tour tennis tournament has been frequent site of national international tournaments basketball boxing cycling handball ice hockey show jumping other sports Bercy Arena also hosted 2017 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship together with Cologne Germany final stages of FIBA EuroBasket 1999 were also played Palais Omnisports de Paris-BercyThe basketball team Levallois Metropolitans plays some of its games 4,000 capacity Stade Pierre de Coubertin Another top-level professional team Nanterre 92 plays NanterreInfrastructure, Sainte Chapelle interior showing painted stonework vaulting stained glass ENTPE (École Nationale des Travaux Publiques de l'État).
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