La Géographie de France

*Corse* (Corsica)

Capital: Ajaccio A mountainous Mediterranean island, presents a mix of stylish coastal towns, dense forest and craggy peaks. Nearly half the island falls within a park whose hiking trails. Its beaches range from busy Pietracorbara to remote Saleccia and Rondinara. It's been part of France since 1768, but retains a distinct Italian culture.

Picardie (Picardy)

Capital: Amiens Historical territory and a former administrative region. Since January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. Stretching north from the suburbs of Paris and vineyards of Champagne to the beaches of the Bay of Somme on the English Channel. Amiens is a university city known for its Gothic cathedral and the floating gardens on its canals.

*Guadeloupe*

Capital: Basse-Terre Overseas region and an island group in the southern Caribbean Sea. Resembling a butterfly, its 2 largest islands are separated by the Salée River.

Franche-Comté

Capital: Besançon Former administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France, on the border with Switzerland. Since January 2016, it is part of the new region Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It's characterized by gentle mountains, fertile agricultural valleys and pine forests.

*Bourgogne-Franche-Comté*

Capital: Besançon Region created by the territorial reform of French Regions in 2014, from a merger of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. Came into existence on January 2016.

*Nouvelle-Aquitaine* (New Aquitaine)

Capital: Bordeaux The largest region in France by area, with a territory slightly larger than that of Austria. Located in the southwest. The region was created by the territorial reform of French Regions in 2014 through the merger of three regions: Aquitaine, Limousin and Poitou-Charentes.

Aquitaine

Capital: Bordeaux This was a traditional and administrative region of France until January 2016. Situated along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. Now a part of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. In the Middle Ages, Aquitaine was a kingdom and a duchy, whose boundaries fluctuated considerably.

Basse-Normandie (Lower Normandy)

Capital: Caen Former administrative region of France. On January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy.

*French Guiana* (Guinée française)

Capital: Cayenne Overseas region composed mainly of tropical rainforest. Borders Brazil to the east and south and Suriname to the west. Since 1981, when Belize became independent, French Guiana has been the only territory of the mainland Americas that is still part of a European country.

Champagne-Ardenne

Capital: Châlons-en-Champagne (formerly called Châlons-sur-Marne) Former region, bordering Belgium. Famous for its sparkling white wine, named champagne after the eponymous wine region. Now a part of Grand Est.

Auvergne

Capital: Clermont-Ferrand This region's capital is a busy university city. Historical region in central France. Now a part of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The mostly rural, mountainous area is popular for hiking and skiing, with vast forests and dormant volcanoes. An abundance of natural hot springs has spawned spa towns, known for its mineral water.

Bourgogne (Burgundy)

Capital: Dijon Historical territory and a former administrative region of France. It's famous for its Burgundy wines as well as pinot noirs and Chardonnay, Chablis and Beaujolais. The area is crisscrossed by a network of canals and studded with grand châteaux, some now luxury hotels.

*Martinique*

Capital: Fort-de-France Overseas region. Part of the Lesser Antilles. Its culture reflects a distinctive blend of French and West Indian influences. In Fort-de-France there is a statue of island native Joséphine de Beauharnais, first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. Along with French, virtually the entire population also speaks Antillean Creole.

Nord-Pas-de-Calais

Capital: Lille Former administrative region. Since January 2016, it is part of the new region Hauts-de-France. A densely populated region, having some 4.1 million inhabitants, 7% of France's total population, making it the fourth most populous region in the country.

*Hauts-de-France*

Capital: Lille Region created by a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardie.

Limousin

Capital: Limoges Former region in south-central France. Now a part of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Sparsely populated. Mainly agricultural and covering part of the rugged Massif Central mountains, it's known for beef farming and its distinctive Limousin cattle.

*Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes*

Capital: Lyon New region created by the territorial reform of French Regions in 2014; came into effect on January 2016. Resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The region covers an area of 26,916 sq miles, making it the third largest in metropolitan France, with a population of 7,695,264 (second only to Île-de-France).

Rhône-Alpes

Capital: Lyon This region's capital is the second-largest metropolitan area in France after Paris. The former region was named after the Rhône and the Alps mountain range. Now a part of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It has the sixth-largest economy of any European region (making Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes even larger).

*Mayotte*

Capital: Mamoudzou An overseas region and archipelago in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and the coast of Mozambique. Despite being the poorest region in France, it's more prosperous than other countries of the Mozambique Channel, making it a major destination for illegal immigration. Traditional Mayotte culture is most closely related to that of the neighboring Comoros islands.

*Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur*

Capital: Marseille Region in southeastern France bordering Italy and the Mediterranean Sea. Known for diverse landscapes, from the Southern Alps and Camargue plains to rolling vineyards, olive groves, pine forests and lavender fields. To the south is the Côte d'Azur (or French Riviera), where the elegant city of Nice and glamorous resort towns such as Saint-Tropez and Cannes line the coast.

Lorraine

Capital: Metz Former region in northeast France bordering Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. Now a part of Grand Est. Both cultural and historical. Much of it is rural, with the Vosges mountains and Verdun forest offering hiking and skiing.

Languedoc-Roussillon

Capital: Montpellier This region's capital is home to a well-preserved medieval quarter. Historical coastal (former) region in southern France, extending from Provence to the Pyrenees Mountains and Spain's border. Now a part of Occitanie. The area is a major wine producer, with Vin de Pays d'Oc and sparkling Crémant de Limoux among its best-known varieties.

*Pays de la Loire*

Capital: Nantes Region is Western France with a coastline on the Bay of Biscay, and encompasses part of the Loire Valley, famed for its vineyards.

*Centre-Val de Loire*

Capital: Orléans Occupies the center of northern France. Split through the middle by the Loire Valley, defined by its farmland and palatial châteaux. It's also a primary wine-producing region, known especially for its white wines such as Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé.

*Île-de-France* (Island of France)

Capital: Paris Covers 4,638 square miles; has as its own regional council and president. Population of 12,005,077 as of 2014, equivalent to 18.2% of the population of France. Highest per-capita GDP among regions in France and the third-highest of regions in the European Union.

Poitou-Charentes

Capital: Poitiers This region's hilltop capital dates back to the Roman times. Former region on the French Atlantic coast with Roman, Renaissance and medieval history. Now a part of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

*Bretagne* (Brittany)

Capital: Rennes Bathed by the English Channel to the north and the Bay of Biscay to the south. The name of Brittany derives from settlers from Great Britain, who fled that island in the wake of the Anglo-Saxon conquest of England between the fifth and seventh centuries. Unlike the rest of France and Brittany, Lower Brittany has maintained a distinctly Celtic language.

Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy)

Capital: Rouen Former administrative region. On January 2016, Upper and Lower Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy.

*Normandy* (Normandie)

Capital: Rouen Its varied coastline includes white-chalk cliffs and WWII beachheads, including Omaha Beach, site of the famous D-Day landing.

*Réunion*

Capital: Saint-Denis An island and region of France in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar and southwest of Mauritius. The majority of the region's population speaks Réunion Creole. It has the highest GDP per capita in the Indian Ocean. The island has been inhabited since the 17th century, when people from France and Madagascar settled there. Slavery was abolished on 20 December 1848 (a date celebrated yearly on the island).

Alsace

Capital: Strasbourg Former cultural and historical region on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. Now a part of Grand Est. The economic and cultural capital as well as largest city of Alsace is Strasbourg. The city is the seat of several international organizations and bodies.

*Grand Est*

Capital: Strasbourg Previously Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine (ACAL). An administrative region in eastern France. It includes three former administrative regions: Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne, and Lorraine.

*Occitanie*

Capital: Toulouse Created from former French regions Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées. Modern administrative region. Named after the cultural and historical region of Occitania. The banner of arms of those counts, known as the Occitan cross, is used by the modern region and is also a popular cultural symbol.

Midi-Pyrénées

Capital: Toulouse Former administrative region. Since January 2016, it is part of Occitanie. Holds no historical or geographical unity. It is one of the regions of France created in the late 20th century to serve as a hinterland and zone of influence for its capital, Toulouse, one of a handful of so-called "balancing metropolises".

Overseas Departments/Regions of France

They have nearly the same political status as metropolitan departments, although they have special constitutional provisions that allow them greater autonomy and are excluded from certain domestic statistics, such as the unemployment rate. As integral parts of France and the European Union, overseas departments are represented in the National Assembly, Senate, and Economic and Social Council, vote to elect members of the European Parliament, and also use the euro as their currency. They all share French as an official language.