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South of France

The South of France is known for its great cuisine and Roman ruins. It has several tiny villages and also boasts of big cities like Marseille. This part is home to the Riviera and the Pyrenees, a mountain region separating the country from Spain. The Dordogne is one of the most beautiful regions in France and is a must see.

Central France

This region is one of the quietest parts of France but has the famous Loire Valley as a part of it. The valley is studded with extraordinary castles and quaint towns. The cathedral in Chartres makes it one of the most beautiful cities in terms of French property.

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Eastern parts of France

Alsace and Burgundy fall in the east of France. These regions are known for their wines and are characterized by magnificent hills. Dijon, Nancy and Strasbourg are some of the famous cities in this region.

Western France

Western France faces the Atlantic coast. It is adorned with beaches, beautiful cities and lush hills. The atmosphere in this part of France sets it apart from the rest. The Neolithic ruins on the beaches remind visitors of its Celtic origin and give the entire region an additional historic and enchanted aura.

Most of the attractions in France are in the form of natural or built heritage. Some popular sites include the Eiffel Tower, a 19th century tower that was built for the World Fair. It is comprised of 7300 tones of iron. The Louvre Museum, the first national museum in the country, hosting a collection of artefacts, sculptures and paintings from all over Europe. The Basilica of the Sacred Heart houses more than 200 steps that provide one the most splendid views of Paris. Apart from the major cities, some other small communes and villages are also breathtaking and must-see locations. France is also home to several famous cathedrals and the world’s largest traffic round-about at the Arc de Triomphe.

Chateauforsale.org is a website promoting the finest and best luxury french chateaux and vineyards for sale in France. The website regularly covers a variety of topics relating to France on their French Property Blog. Follow them on twitter @frenchchateaux.

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The area of ​​extinct volcanoes is located in the southern part of central France and administratively falls under the region of Auvergne. Volcanic rocks (the rocks resulting from volcanic activity) are divided into four smaller areas. In order from south to north they are Monts du Cantal, Cézallier, Monts Dore and the Chaîne des Puys.

The southernmost mountain is Monts du Cantal, consisting of a single giant stratovolcano (a volcano composed of layers of lava and pyroclastic rocks) with a diameter of 50 km. Originally it was 3,000 metres high and was created by multiple eruptions relatively recently – in the period before 13 to 2 million years ago. French claims that it is Europe’s largest stratovolcano. The whole Cantal mountains were covered with glaciers in the Quaternary. If you want to enjoy distant views you can get up to the Puy Mary (1787 m) – on the way you will see number of flowers in mountain meadows, lots of cows, whose milk is used to produce excellent cheeses, including Cantal cheese, known throughout France and delivered already to the court of Louis XIV.

A little further north lies Cézallier area, the least attractive for tourists, consisting of basalt lava flows that originated from 8 to 3 million years ago.

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Much more attractive is the third area – Monts Dore with the highest peak of the Puy de Sancy (1,885 meters). It is also a stratovolcano, but smaller and younger. It was created 3 million years ago by a huge volcanic eruption that created a great caldera (a large circular or elliptical crater) consisting of layers of acid ignimbrite and trachyandesite lava flows. View of the eruption must have been really impressive, but also malignant for all living in the vicinity. Fine ash fell even hundreds of miles away. Crater reached a height of up to 2 500 meters. Volcanic activity then continued until about 200,000 years ago and later even erosion and glacier topography changed the original caldera. To the top of the Puy de Sancy you can get by a cable car and then walking for about 20 minutes. The reward is again superb view (in good weather you can even see Mont Blanc) and flowering alpine meadows.

But the most beautiful and most attractive is the last part – the northernmost areas of the chain of volcanoes Chaîne des Puys. On a line about 40 kilometers long, were created up to 48 volcanic cones, lava domes and maar. The youngest is the volcano Puy de Paria. This is a typical type of Stromboli volcano and you can still see beautifully preserved crater here. The landmark of this part is the Puy de Dôme volcano, created about about 12,000 years ago. The peak is a popular place for hang gliders or paragliders. View from the top is really worth and during the nice weather you will see the horizon of the Alps.

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