{"id":1566,"date":"2024-02-17T06:07:39","date_gmt":"2024-02-17T05:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/?page_id=1566"},"modified":"2024-02-17T06:08:55","modified_gmt":"2024-02-17T05:08:55","slug":"france","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/zh\/france\/","title":{"rendered":"France"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France Free Tour<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paris Free Tour<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strasbourg Free Tour<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bordeaux Free Tour<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nice Free Tour<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lyon Free Tour<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marseille Free Tour<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toulouse Free Tour<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Montpellier Free Tour<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

France<\/strong>, country<\/a> of northwestern Europe<\/a>. Historically and culturally among the most important nations in the Western world, France has also played a highly significant role in international affairs, with former colonies in every corner of the globe. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean<\/a> and the Mediterranean Sea<\/a>, the Alps<\/a> and the Pyrenees<\/a>, France has long provided a geographic, economic, and linguistic bridge joining northern and southern Europe. It is Europe\u2019s most important agricultural producer and one of the world\u2019s leading industrial powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"France\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

France<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

France is among the globe\u2019s oldest nations, the product of an alliance of duchies and principalities under a single ruler in the Middle Ages<\/a>. Today, as in that era, central authority<\/a> is vested in the state, even though a measure of autonomy<\/a> has been granted to the country\u2019s r\u00e9gions<\/em> in recent decades. The French people look to the state as the primary guardian of liberty, and the state in turn provides a generous program of amenities for its citizens, from free education to health care and pension plans. Even so, this centralist tendency is often at odds with another long-standing theme of the French nation: the insistence on the supremacy of the individual. On this matter historian Jules Michelet<\/a> remarked, \u201cEngland<\/a> is an empire, Germany<\/a> is a nation, a race, France is a person.\u201d Statesman Charles de Gaulle<\/a>, too, famously complained, \u201cOnly peril<\/a> can bring the French together. One can\u2019t impose unity out of the blue on a country that has 265 kinds of cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This tendency toward individualism<\/a> joins with a pluralist outlook and a great interest in the larger world. Even though its imperialist stage was driven by the impulse to civilize that world according to French standards (la mission civilisatrice<\/em>), the French still note approvingly the words of writer Gustave Flaubert<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I am no more modern than I am ancient, no more French than Chinese; and the idea of la patrie<\/em>, the fatherland\u2014that is, the obligation to live on a bit of earth coloured red or blue on a map, and to detest the other bits coloured green or black\u2014has always seemed to me narrow, restricted, and ferociously stupid.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Britannica Quiz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which Country Is Larger By Population? Quiz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France has also been influential in government and civil affairs, giving the world important democratic ideals in the age of the Enlightenment<\/a> and the French Revolution<\/a> and inspiring the growth of reformist and even revolutionary movements for generations. The present Fifth Republic<\/a> has, however, enjoyed notable stability since its promulgation on September 28, 1958, marked by a tremendous growth in private initiative<\/a> and the rise of centrist politics. Although France has engaged in long-running disputes with other European powers (and, from time to time, with the United States<\/a>, its longtime ally), it emerged as a leading member in the European Union (EU)<\/a> and its predecessors. From 1966 to 1995 France did not participate in the integrated<\/a> military structure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)<\/a>, retaining full control over its own air, ground, and naval forces; beginning in 1995, however, France was represented on the NATO Military Committee, and in 2009 French President Nicolas Sarkozy<\/a> announced that the country would rejoin the organization\u2019s military command. As one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council<\/a>\u2014together with the United States, Russia<\/a>, the United Kingdom<\/a>, and China<\/a>\u2014France has the right to veto decisions put to the council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paris skyline<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paris skyline at dusk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The capital and by far the most important city of France is Paris<\/a>, one of the world\u2019s preeminent cultural and commercial centres. A majestic city known as the ville lumi\u00e8re<\/em>, or \u201ccity of light,\u201d Paris has often been remade, most famously in the mid-19th century under the command of Georges-Eug\u00e8ne, Baron Haussman<\/a>, who was committed to Napoleon III<\/a>\u2019s vision of a modern city free of the choleric swamps and congested alleys of old, with broad avenues and a regular plan. Paris is now a sprawling metropolis, one of Europe\u2019s largest conurbations, but its historic heart can still be traversed<\/a> in an evening\u2019s walk. Confident that their city stood at the very centre of the world, Parisians were once given to referring to their country as having two parts, Paris and le d\u00e9sert<\/em>, the wasteland beyond it. Metropolitan Paris has now extended far beyond its ancient suburbs into the countryside, however, and nearly every French town and village now numbers a retiree or two driven from the city by the high cost of living<\/a>, so that, in a sense, Paris has come to embrace the desert and the desert Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among France\u2019s other major cities are Lyon<\/a>, located along an ancient Rh\u00f4ne valley trade route linking the North Sea<\/a> and the Mediterranean; Marseille<\/a>, a multiethnic port on the Mediterranean founded as an entrep\u00f4t for Greek and Carthaginian traders in the 6th century bce; Nantes<\/a>, an industrial centre and deepwater harbour along the Atlantic coast; and Bordeaux<\/a>, located in southwestern France along the Garonne River<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Land of France<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Ch\u00e2teau Gaillard<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ch\u00e2teau Gaillard, a 12th-century castle, overlooks the Seine River in the Normandy region of northern France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France lies near the western end of the great Eurasian landmass, largely between latitudes 42\u00b0 and 51\u00b0 N. Roughly hexagonal in outline, its continental territory is bordered on the northeast by Belgium<\/a> and Luxembourg<\/a>, on the east by Germany<\/a>, Switzerland<\/a>, and Italy<\/a>, on the south by the Mediterranean Sea<\/a>, Spain<\/a>, and Andorra<\/a>, on the west by the Bay of Biscay<\/a>, and on the northwest by the English Channel<\/a> (La Manche). To the north, France faces southeastern England across the narrow Strait of Dover<\/a> (Pas de Calais). Monaco<\/a> is an independent enclave on the south coast, while the island of Corsica<\/a> in the Mediterranean is treated as an integral<\/a> part of the country<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relief<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The French landscape, for the most part, is composed of relatively low-lying plains, plateaus, and older mountain blocks, or massifs. This pattern clearly predominates over that of the younger, high ranges, such as the Alps<\/a> and the Pyrenees<\/a>. The diversity<\/a> of the land is typical of Continental Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three main geologic regions are distinguishable: the skeletal remains of ancient mountains that make up the Hercynian massifs; the northern and western plains; and the higher young fold mountains in the south and southeast, including the Alps and the Pyrenees, with their attendant narrow plains. Much of the detailed relief can be attributed geologically to the varying differences in the resistance of rocks to erosion. A great deal of the present landscape detail is due to glaciation during the Pleistocene Epoch<\/a> (about 2,600,000 to 11,700 years ago). France lay outside the range of the great ice sheets that descended<\/a> upon the northern part of Europe<\/a>, so the direct sculpting of the land by ice was restricted to the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Vosges<\/a>, Corsica, and the highest summits of the Massif Central<\/a>. Just outside these glacial areas, in what are known as periglacial lands, repeated freezing and thawing of unprotected surfaces modified slopes by the movement of waste sheets (formed of shattered bedrock), producing very much the landscape that exists today. Pleistocene periglacial action generated the sheets of the fine windblown limon<\/em>, or loess<\/a>, that is the basis of the most fertile lowland soils, and it possibly also created the Landes<\/a>, a sandy plain in southwestern France. The development of river terraces<\/a> (flat, raised surfaces alongside valleys) was another characteristic of periglacial action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hercynian<\/a> massifs<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The physical structure of France is dominated by a group of ancient mountains in the shape of a gigantic V, the sides of which form the two branches of Hercynian folding<\/a> that took place between 345 and 225 million years ago. The eastern branch comprises<\/a> the Ardennes, the Vosges, and the eastern part of the Massif Central, while the Hercynian massifs to the west comprise<\/a> the western part of the Massif Central and the Massif Armoricain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These highlands are composed of resistant metamorphic, crystalline, and sedimentary rocks from the Paleozoic Era<\/a> (about 540 to 250 million years ago), the last including coal deposits. They share the common characteristic of repeated planation, or flattening. Some variety is provided by subsequent deformation and faulting, such as in the ridge-and-valley areas of the Massif Armoricain, where upland surfaces are deeply carved by valleys in dramatic fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ardennes<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Ardennes<\/a> massif is an extension, from Belgium<\/a> into France, of the great Rhine Uplands, characterized<\/a> by rocks of slate and quartz from the Paleozoic Era. Differential erosion of Paleozoic rocks has produced long ridges alternating with open valleys crossed by the Sambre and Meuse rivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vosges<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Alpine earth movements produced a great upswelling along the line of the present upper Rhine, leaving the Vosges<\/a> with steep eastern slopes that descend to a rift valley containing the plains of Alsace<\/a> and Baden; on the west the upland descends rather gently into the scarplands of Lorraine<\/a>. The Vosges reaches its maximum elevation in the south, near the Alps<\/a>, where crystalline rocks are exposed; the highest summits are called ballons<\/em>, and the highest is the Ballon de Guebwiller (Mount Guebwiller), with an elevation of 4,669 feet (1,423 metres). To the north the Vosges massif dips beneath a cover of forested sandstone from the Triassic Period<\/a> (about 250 to 200 million years ago). Britannica QuizFrance: A History Quiz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Massif Central<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cha\u00eene des Puys<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cinder cones of the Cha\u00eene des Puys in the Massif Central, France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vast<\/a> plateau of the Massif Central<\/a> covers about 33,000 square miles (86,000 square km), or some one-sixth of the area of the country<\/a>. The Massif Central borders the Rh\u00f4ne-Sa\u00f4ne valley on the east, the Languedoc<\/a> lowlands on the south, the Aquitaine Basin on the southwest, and the Paris Basin<\/a> on the north. The planation that occurred following the creation of the Hercynian belt removed the ancient mountain chains, but the block was uplifted under the impact of the Alpine mountain-building movements, with a steep descent on the east and southeast, nearest the Alps, and a gentle decline under the later sediments of the Aquitaine Basin to the west and the Paris Basin to the north. Much of the western massif, notably Limousin<\/a>, consists of monotonous erosion surfaces. The centre and eastern parts of the massif were much fractured in the course of the Alpine movements, leaving behind upthrust blocks, of which the most conspicuous<\/a> is the Morvan<\/a>, the forested bastion<\/a> of the northeastern corner of the massif. Downfaulted basins filled with sediments from Paleogene and Neogene times (i.e., about 65 to 2.6 million years ago), such as the Limagne near the city of Clermont-Ferrand<\/a> in south-central France, were also formed. Faulting was associated with volcanic activity<\/a>, which in the central part of the region formed the vast and complex structures of the massifs of Cantal and Monts Dore, where the Sancy Hill<\/a> (Puy de Sancy), at 6,184 feet (1,885 metres), is the highest summit of the Massif Central. Farther west, on the fringe of the Limagne, is the extraordinary Cha\u00eene des Puys<\/a>, whose numerous cinder cones were formed only about 10,000 years ago and still retain the newness of their craters, lava flows, and other volcanic features. Numerous mineral springs, such as those at Vichy<\/a> in the central Auvergne<\/a> region, are a relic<\/a> of volcanic activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The eastern and southern portions of the massif, from the Morvan through the C\u00e9vennes<\/a> to the final southwestern termination of the massif in the Noire Mountains (Montagne Noire), are marked by a series of hill masses that overlook the lowlands of the Rh\u00f4ne<\/a>–Sa\u00f4ne<\/a> river valley and the r\u00e9gion<\/em> of Languedoc-Roussillon; at least one of these uplands, Beaujolais<\/a>, has become famous for the grapevines grown at its foot. Between the hill masses lie infolded coal deposits at locations such as Al\u00e8s<\/a>, Decazeville, Saint-\u00c9tienne<\/a>, and Blanzy (Le Creusot) that are of more historical than contemporary importance. To the southwest the rocks of the massif are overlain by a great thickness of limestones (causses<\/em>) from the Jurassic Period<\/a> (about 200 to 145 million years ago). Lacking in surface water and little populated, this portion of the massif is crossed by rivers that trench dramatic gorges<\/a>, notably that of the Tarn. Extensive cave systems bear remains of prehistoric art, such as that of P\u00eache-Merle in the Lot valley and the Lascaux Grotto<\/a> in the V\u00e9z\u00e8re valley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Massif Armoricain<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Massif Armoricain<\/a> is contained mostly within the r\u00e9gion<\/em> of Brittany<\/a> (Bretagne), a peninsula washed by the Bay of Biscay<\/a> on the south and the English Channel<\/a> on the north. The massif continues beyond Brittany eastward and across the Loire to the south. It is much lower than the other Hercynian massif; its highest point, the Mont des Avaloirs<\/a>, on the eastern edge of the massif, attains an elevation of 1,368 feet (417 metres). Alternating<\/a> bands of Paleozoic sediments and granitic rocks give the massif a generally east-west grain, particularly expressed in the headlands and bays of its rugged coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The great lowlands<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The Paris Basin<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Between the Ardennes<\/a>, the Vosges<\/a>, the Massif Central<\/a>, and the Massif Armoricain<\/a> lie the sedimentary beds that make up the Paris Basin<\/a>. Alternating beds of limestones, sands, and clays dip toward the central Paris Basin, their outcrops forming concentric patterns. Especially to the east, erosion has left the more resistant rocks, usually limestones, with a steep, outward-facing scarp edge and a gentler slope toward the centre of the basin. The central Paris Basin is filled by rocks from the Paleogene and Neogene periods, mostly limestones, that form the level plateaus<\/a> of regions such as Beauce<\/a>, Brie<\/a>, \u00cele-de-France<\/a>, Valois<\/a>, and Soissonnais. This area is mostly covered with windblown limon<\/em>, which is the basis of an excellent loamy soil. The limestone levels overlap in sandwich formation. Eroded remnants of higher formations have been left behind as isolated hills called buttes, perhaps the most famous of which is in Paris\u2014the Butte de Montmartre, on which is one of the city\u2019s most famous districts. Sandy areas adjoining the limestone formations bear forests, such as the Forest of Fontainebleau<\/a>, southwest of Paris<\/a>. In the east, in the regions of Lorraine<\/a> and Burgundy<\/a>, are Triassic and Jurassic rocks; among the scarps the Moselle Hills are noted for their minette<\/em>, low-grade iron<\/a> ore. In the extreme southeast the Jurassic limestone Plateau<\/a> de Langres<\/a> forms the watershed between the Seine<\/a> and Rh\u00f4ne-Sa\u00f4ne river systems; it is crossed by major routes linking Paris with the south. The eastern basin includes the chalk country<\/a> of Champagne<\/a> and the Argonne<\/a> massif. In the western part of the Paris Basin, scarps in the Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks of Normandy<\/a> are not prominent. The chalk plateau is trenched by the lower Seine in a course marked by spectacular meanders and river cliffs. The plateau surfaces are frequently mantled by clay-with-flints and other residual deposits, producing heavy soils with much forest, grassland, and orchard cultivation. Farther north the wide chalk plateaus of Picardy<\/a> and Artois<\/a> are generally covered with limon<\/em>, which provides for a rich agriculture; many stretches of magnificent white chalk cliffs line the English Channel coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Flanders Plain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the extreme north the French boundary includes a small part of the Anglo-Belgian basin<\/a>. Coastal sand dunes protect the reclaimed marshes of French Flanders<\/a> from invasion by the sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Alsace<\/a> Plain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

East of the Paris Basin is the Alsace Plain, bordered by the Vosges on the west, the Sa\u00f4ne basin on the southwest, the Jura Mountains<\/a> on the south, the Rhine River<\/a> on the east, and Germany<\/a> on the north. The terrace and foothills bordering the Rhine are covered with soil-enriching limon<\/em>. Alluvial fans, which are laid down by tributaries emerging from the Vosges, and much of the floodplain of the Rhine and its major tributary, the Ill River, are forested. The Sundgau region of the Alsace Plain, which lies between the Jura and the Ill River above Mulhouse<\/a>, is another great alluvial fan<\/a> overlaying<\/a> impermeable clays, which hold up numerous lakes. The Rhine River and its tributaries continue to deposit thick sediments on the floodplain. The river is canalized, to the considerable detriment of the water table<\/a> on both sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Loire plains<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toward the southwest the Paris Basin opens on a group of plains that follow the Loire valley<\/a>. The hills of this area, such as the limestone plateaus of the Touraine<\/a> region and the crystalline plateaus of the Anjou<\/a> and Vend\u00e9e areas, are cut by the broad valleys of the Loire and its tributaries. The middle Loire valley, which varies in width from about 3 to 6 miles (about 5 to 10 km), is famous for its ch\u00e2teaus and its scenic beauty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Aquitaine Basin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Loire countryside links with the Aquitaine<\/a> Basin of southwestern France through the gap known as the Gate of Poitou<\/a>. The Aquitaine Basin is much smaller than the Paris Basin, and, while it is bounded in the south by the Pyrenees<\/a>, in the northeast it runs into the low foothills of the Massif Central. The slopes of both the Pyrenees and the Massif Central decline toward the central valley of the Garonne River<\/a>. The Aquitaine Basin lacks the clearly marked concentric relief of the Paris Basin. In the north it has limestone and marl plateaus cut by the fertile river valleys emerging from the Massif Central. The southern low plateaus were mostly filled by a mass of rather ill-defined Paleogene and Neogene sands and gravel called the molasse<\/em>, stripped off the rising Pyrenees. The foot of the central Pyrenees is marked by a remarkable series of confluent alluvial fans forming the Lannemezan Plateau. The Landes<\/a>, an area lying between the Garonne and Adour rivers to the west, has a surface that consists of fine sand underlain by impermeable iron pan, or bedrock. The area, once covered by heath and marshes, is now reclaimed and planted with maritime pine. South of the wide, deep Gironde estuary, the Bay of Biscay<\/a> coast is lined by enormous sand dunes, behind which are shallow lagoons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The younger mountains and adjacent plains<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Pyrenees<\/a>, Jura, and Alps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Pyrenees<\/a>, whose foothills shelter the picturesque Basque countryside, constitute<\/a> the most ancient of the more recently formed mountains in France. They stretch for more than 280 miles (450 km), making a natural barrier between France and Spain<\/a>. Their formation, which began in the Mesozoic Era<\/a> (about 250 to 65 million years ago), continued in the Paleogene and Neogene periods and perhaps even in the beginning of the Quaternary Period<\/a> (i.e., from about 2.6 million years ago). The central and highest part of the barrier is composed of a series of parallel chains with only a few, difficult-to-reach passes that have sheer drops at each end. A section of the mountain chain centring on Mont Perdu (Spanish: Monte Perdido) was named a UNESCO<\/a> World Heritage site<\/a> in 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jura Mountains<\/a>, extending into Switzerland<\/a>, are composed of folded limestone. The northeastern part of the Jura, which has the most pronounced folding, is in Switzerland. The highest point, however, is Mount Neige<\/a> (5,636 feet [1,718 metres]), in France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The French Alps<\/a> are only a part of the great chain that extends across Europe<\/a>, but they include its highest point, Mont Blanc<\/a> (15,771 feet [4,807 metres]). These majestic<\/a> mountains were formed in a series of foldings during Paleogene and Neogene times. They include the two greatest regions of permanent snow and glaciers in Europe. The northern Alps are relatively easy to cross because of the numerous valleys created by the movement of glaciers. The relief of the southern Alps is much less orderly, and the valleys, which were not affected by glaciation, form narrow and winding gorges. Like the Pyrenees, the Alps form a natural barrier, dropping sharply down to the Po River<\/a> plain in Italy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The southern plains<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

beach at Nice<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mediterranean-washed pebble beach at Nice on the French Riviera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between these young mountains and the ancient Massif Central<\/a> is a series of plains, including those of the Sa\u00f4ne and the Rh\u00f4ne rivers, which extend southward to the great triangular delta of the Rh\u00f4ne on the Mediterranean coast. Its seaward face, the Camargue<\/a> region, comprises<\/a> a series of lakes, marshes, and sand spits and includes one of Europe\u2019s important wetland nature reserves. West of the Rh\u00f4ne delta the Languedoc<\/a> coastal plain is broad and rather featureless; behind its sand-spit coast are several formerly mosquito-ridden lagoons, now part of a resort complex. At the southwestern end the foothills of the Pyrenees reach to the rocky coast of the Roussillon<\/a> region. East of the Rh\u00f4ne delta the lowlands are more fragmentary; in the C\u00f4te d\u2019Azur<\/a> region the Alpine foothills and the ancient Maures and Esterel massifs reach to the Mediterranean, forming the coves<\/a>, capes, and harbours of the country\u2019s<\/a> most famous tourist and retirement area, the French Riviera<\/a>. Corsica<\/a> is also highly regarded for its natural scenery. A number of the island\u2019s peaks reach over 6,500 feet, and parts of it are under wild forest or covered with undergrowth called maquis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drainage of France<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The river systems of France are determined by a major divide in the far eastern part of the country<\/a>, running from the southern end of the Vosges<\/a> down the eastern and southeastern edge of the Massif Central<\/a> to the Noire Mountains, the southwestern promontory of the massif. This divide is broken by occasional cols (depressions) and lowland corridors, notably the Langres<\/a> Plateau<\/a>, across the Jurassic outer rim of the Paris Basin<\/a>. Along the divide originate most of the rivers of the larger, western part of the country, including the Seine and the Loire<\/a>. Other major rivers include the Garonne, originating in the Pyrenees<\/a>, and the Rh\u00f4ne and the Rhine, originating in the Alps<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Seine<\/a> system<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Paris, France<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Seine River flows past the \u00cele Saint-Louis in Paris, France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main river of the Paris Basin, the Seine<\/a>, 485 miles (780 km) in length, is joined upstream on the left bank by its tributary the Yonne, on the right bank south of Paris<\/a> by the Marne, and north of the city by the Oise<\/a>. While the Seine has a regular flow throughout the year, there may be flooding in the spring and, occasionally more severely, during the customary fall-winter peak of lowland rivers. Efforts have been made to reduce flooding on the Seine and its tributaries by the building of reservoirs. A number of islands dot the Seine along its meandering, generally westward course across the central Paris Basin and through the capital city itself. One of these, the \u00cele de la Cit\u00e9, forms the very heart of the city of Paris. Eventually the river enters the English Channel<\/a> at Le Havre<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Loire<\/a> system<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Loire<\/a>, the longest French river, flows for 634 miles (1,020 km) and drains the widest area (45,000 square miles [117,000 square km]). It is an extremely irregular river, with an outflow eight times greater in December and January than in August and September. Rising in the Massif Central on Mount Gerbier-de-Jonc, it flows northward over impervious<\/a> terrain, with many gorgelike sections. Near Nevers<\/a> it is joined by the Allier, another river of the massif. Within the Paris Basin the Loire continues to flow northward, as if to join the Seine system, but then takes a wide bend to the west to enter the Atlantic past Nantes<\/a> and Saint-Nazaire<\/a>. The Loire is artificially joined to the Seine by several canals. The river\u2019s torrential flow, a hindrance to navigation, covers its floodplain with sand and gravel, which has commercial importance. The river is also a source of cooling water for a chain of atomic power<\/a> stations near its course, which has raised concerns among environmentalists, as have various dam<\/a> projects along the river. UNESCO<\/a> designated the valley, between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes, a World Heritage site<\/a> in 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Garonne<\/a> system<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Garonne<\/a>, in the southwest, flows through the centre of the Aquitaine<\/a> Basin. It is the shortest of the main French rivers, with a length of 357 miles (575 km), and it drains only 21,600 square miles (56,000 square km). Its outflow is irregular, with high waters in winter (due to the oceanic rainfall) and in spring, when the snow melts, but with meagre flows in summer and autumn. Its source is in the central Pyrenees in the Aran (Joyeuse) Valley in Spain<\/a>, and its main tributaries, the Tarn, the Aveyron, the Lot, and the Dordogne, originate in the Massif Central. With the exception of the Gironde estuary, which is formed by the confluence<\/a> of the Garonne and the Dordogne and is fully penetrated by the sea, the whole network is generally useless for navigation and is filled with powerful, rapid, and dangerous currents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rh\u00f4ne<\/a> system<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In eastern France the direction of the main rivers is predominantly north-south through the Alpine furrow. The Rh\u00f4ne<\/a> is the great river of the southeast. Rising in the Alps, it passes through Lake Geneva<\/a> (Lac L\u00e9man) to enter France, which has 324 miles (521 km) of its total length of 505 miles (813 km). At Lyon<\/a> it receives its major tributary, the Sa\u00f4ne. The regime<\/a> of the Rh\u00f4ne is complex. Near Lyon the Rh\u00f4ne and its important Is\u00e8re and Dr\u00f4me tributaries, draining from the Alps, have a marked late spring\u2013early summer peak caused by the melting of snow and ice. While this peak is generally characteristic of the river as a whole, it is considerably modified by the contribution of the Sa\u00f4ne, of the Durance<\/a>, and of some tributaries in the Mediterranean south as a result of the fall-winter rainfall peak. Thus, the powerful Rh\u00f4ne has a remarkably ample flow in all seasons. The course of the river and the local water tables have been much modified by a series of dams to generate power and to permit navigation to Lyon. The Rh\u00f4ne also supplies cooling water to a series of atomic power stations. West of the Rh\u00f4ne the Bas Rh\u00f4ne\u2013Languedoc canal, constructed after World War II<\/a> to provide irrigation, has proved to be an essential element in the remarkable urban and industrial development of Languedoc<\/a>. East of the Rh\u00f4ne the Canal de Provence<\/a> taps the unpolluted waters of a Rh\u00f4ne tributary, the Durance, supplying Aix-en-Provence<\/a>, Marseille<\/a>, Toulon<\/a>, and the coast of Provence with drinking water and providing impetus<\/a> for urban expansion. At its delta, beginning about 25 miles (40 km) from the Mediterranean, the Rh\u00f4ne and its channels deposit significant amounts of alluvium<\/a> to form the Camargue<\/a> region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rhine<\/a> system<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Rhine<\/a> forms the eastern boundary of France for some 118 miles (190 km). In this section its course is dominated by the melting of snow and ice from Alpine headstreams, giving it a pronounced late spring\u2013summer peak and often generally low water in autumn. The Ill, which joins the Rhine at Strasbourg<\/a>, drains southern Alsace<\/a>. The Rhine valley has been considerably modified by the construction on the French side of the lateral<\/a> Grand Canal d\u2019Alsace<\/a>, for power generation and navigation. The eastern Paris Basin is drained by two tributaries, the Moselle, partly canalized, and the Meuse; the former reaches the Rhine by way of Luxembourg<\/a> and Germany<\/a>, and the latter, as the Maas (Dutch), reaches the Rhine delta at the North Sea<\/a> by way of Belgium<\/a> and the Netherlands<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The smaller rivers and the lakes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

North of the Artois<\/a> ridge, a number of small rivers flow into the Escaut (Flemish and Dutch: Schelde) to reach its North Sea estuary through Belgium. The Somme rises in northwestern France and flows a short distance into the English Channel, and in the southwest the Charente<\/a>, rising in the western Limousin<\/a> plateau, and the Adour, rising in the central Pyrenees, flow into the Atlantic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The French hydrographic system also includes a number of natural lakes of different origin. There are the lakes in depressions carved out by glaciation at the western periphery<\/a> of the Alps, such as the lakes of Annecy<\/a> and Bourget, the latter being the largest natural lake entirely within France. Others occur on the surfaces of ancient massifs and include the lakes of the Vosges. Some lakes are caused by structural faults and are lodged in narrow valleys, as are the Jura lakes. There are also lakes of volcanic origin, such as those in the Massif Central (crater lakes and lakes ponded behind lava flows), and regions scattered with lagoons or ponds, either created by coastal phenomena, as on the Landes<\/a> (Atlantic) and Languedoc (Mediterranean) coasts, or caused by impervious<\/a> terrain and poor local drainage, as in the Sologne<\/a> plain. Major artificial lakes include the Serre-Pon\u00e7on reservoir, on the Durance River in the Alps, and the Sarrans and Bort-les-Orgues reservoirs, both in the Massif Central.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soils of France<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

On a broad, general scale, virtually the whole of France can be classified in the zone of brown forest soils, or brown earths<\/a>. These soils, which develop under deciduous forest<\/a> cover in temperate climatic conditions, are of excellent agricultural value. Some climate-related variation can be detected within the French brown earth group; in the high-rainfall and somewhat cool conditions of northwestern France, carbonates and other minerals tend to be leached downward, producing a degraded<\/a> brown earth soil of higher acidity and lesser fertility; locally this may approach the nature of the north European podzol. The brown earth zone gives way southward to the zone of Mediterranean soils, which in France cover only a limited area. They are developed from decalcified clays with a coarse sand admixture and are typically red in colour because of the upward migration of iron<\/a> oxides during the warm, dry summers. These soils can be quite fertile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over large areas of France, soils have developed not directly from the disintegrated bedrock but from the waste sheets created by periglacial action. These may provide a particularly favourable soil material; most notable is the windblown limon<\/em> that mantles<\/a> the Paleogene and Neogene limestone plateaus of the central Paris Basin<\/a> and the chalk beds to the northwest, the basis of the finest arable soils of France. The quality of the soils depends heavily upon the origin of their waste sheets; sand spreads derived from the granites of the Hercynian massifs, for example, provide only poor soils. The bedrock, however, is not without influence. Soils developed over clays are likely to be heavy and wet, although not necessarily infertile, as in the Jurassic clay and chalk vales of the eastern Paris Basin. Limestone and chalk enrich soils with lime, which is generally favourable, but there is a marked north-south contrast. The limestone areas of southern France tend to be swept almost bare of soil by erosion; the soil then collects in valleys and hollows. The soils of the higher mountains are naturally stony and unfavourable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, human action is an extremely important factor in soil quality. As soon as the original forest was cleared, some modification of the soil was inevitable. Generally, farmers through the ages have maintained or improved soil quality by draining and manuring; especially noteworthy were the activities of Flemish peasants who virtually created their soil out of a marshy wilderness. Not all human intervention has been as successful, however. For example, the degradation<\/a> of brown earths under heath in western France is not a natural feature but the product of human clearance and grazing practices. Large-scale arable cultivation with no use of animal manure is leading in places to soil degradation and soil erosion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate of France<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The climate of France is generally favourable to cultivation. Most of France lies in the southern part of the temperate zone, although the subtropical zone encompasses<\/a> its southern fringe. All of France is considered to be under the effect of oceanic influences, moderated by the North Atlantic Drift<\/a> on the west and the Mediterranean Sea<\/a> on the south. Average annual temperatures decline to the north, with Nice on the C\u00f4te d\u2019Azure at 59 \u00b0F (15 \u00b0C) and Lille<\/a> on the northern border at 50 \u00b0F (10 \u00b0C). Rainfall is brought mainly by westerly winds from the Atlantic and is characterized by cyclonic depressions. Annual precipitation is more than 50 inches (1,270 mm) at higher elevations in western and northwestern France, in the western Pyrenees<\/a>, in the Massif Central<\/a>, and in the Alps<\/a> and the Jura. In winter eastern France especially may come under the influence of the continental high-pressure system, which brings extremely cold conditions and temperature inversions<\/a> over the cities, during which cold air is trapped below warmer air, with consequent fogs and urban pollution. The climate of France, then, can be discussed according to three major climatic zones\u2014oceanic, continental, and Mediterranean, with some variation in the Aquitaine<\/a> Basin and in the mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The oceanic region<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The pure oceanic climate<\/a> prevails in the northwest, especially in Brittany<\/a>. It is characterized by its low annual temperature variation, with Brest<\/a> having an average temperature in January of 43 \u00b0F (6 \u00b0C) and in July of 61 \u00b0F (16 \u00b0C); by its extreme humidity and moderate<\/a> rainfall (35 inches [890 mm] of rain falling through the year), accompanied by cloudiness and haze; by the frequency and sometimes the violence of the west winds that blow almost constantly; and by large variations in the weather, which can change several times a day. This oceanic climate is somewhat modified toward the north, where the winters are cooler, and toward the south, where, in the Aquitaine Basin, the winters are mild and the summers warmer. There is also less rainfall, although at Toulouse<\/a> great summer storms are quite frequent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The continental region<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The plains of the northeast are particularly affected by a continental climate<\/a>. The city of Strasbourg<\/a> has the greatest temperature range in France. Winter is cold, with an average of 83 days of frost and with snow cover for several weeks, although the weather is often sunny. In summer, storms cause maximum precipitation in the region in June and July, although total rainfall is comparatively light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The climate of the Paris Basin<\/a> is somewhere between the oceanic and the continental. The average yearly temperature is 53 \u00b0F (11 \u00b0C) in Paris<\/a>. In addition, the relatively light annual rainfall (23 inches [58 cm]) follows a pattern of moderately heavy rain in spring and early summer and autumn, as in the oceanic countries, but the maximum amount of rain falls in summer, with storms of the continental type. In summer, spray irrigation is needed for crops in the continental climatic region and the Paris Basin<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mediterranean region<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the southeast the Mediterranean climate<\/a> extends over the coastal plains and penetrates the valley of the lower Rh\u00f4ne River<\/a> as far as the Mont\u00e9limar<\/a> area. It affects the southern Alps, the southeastern slopes of the C\u00e9vennes<\/a> and the Noire Mountains (in the Massif Central), and the eastern Pyrenees. The latitude<\/a> and the proximity of the warm Mediterranean Sea contribute to mild winters, with an average temperature of 47 \u00b0F (8 \u00b0C) in January at Nice<\/a> and with only a few days of frost. Precipitation is heavy and tends to fall in sudden downpours, especially in the autumn and spring, whereas summer is nearly completely dry for at least three months. In coastal Languedoc-Roussillon<\/a>, annual rainfall totals can be as low as 17 to 20 inches (430 to 500 mm). It is a unique<\/a> area because of its clear skies and the regularity of fine weather. This area is also subject to the violent north winds called the mistral<\/a>, which are peculiar to southern France. The winds are caused by high-pressure areas from central France that move toward the low-pressure areas of the Gulf of Genoa<\/a>. Permanent irrigation systems are characteristic of the Mediterranean lowlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Aquitaine Basin is intermediate between the oceanic and the Mediterranean climates. Winters tend toward the oceanic type, but springs and summers are warm, although less arid than in the Mediterranean zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mountains have varied climates. West-facing slopes in the Pyrenees have some of the highest precipitation figures in France. Snow cover stays from December to the end of April above 3,000 feet (900 metres) and is perpetual<\/a> above 9,000 feet (2,700 metres) in the Alps and 10,000 feet (3,000 metres) in the Pyrenees. Locally, the contrast between the sunny south-facing valley slopes (adrets<\/em>) and the shaded north-facing slopes (ubacs<\/em>) can be of great importance for land use and settlement, while some intermontane basins can have quite advantageous climates as opposed to that of the surrounding peaks and plateaus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plant and animal life<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Plant life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Vegetation is closely related to climate, so that in France it is not surprising that there are two major but unequal divisions: the Holarctic<\/a> province and the smaller Mediterranean province. Most of France lies within the Holarctic biogeographic vegetational region, characterized by northern species, and it can be divided into three parts. A large area of western France makes up one part. It lies north of the Charente River<\/a> and includes most of the Paris Basin<\/a>. There the natural vegetation is characterized by oak (now largely cleared for cultivation), chestnut, pine, and beech in uplands that receive more than 23.6 inches (600 mm) of annual rainfall. Heathland is also common, as a predominantly man-made feature (created by forest clearance, burning, and grazing). Broom, gorse, heather, and bracken are found. South of the Charente, the Aquitaine<\/a> Basin has a mixture of heath and gorse on the plateaus and several varieties of oak, cypress, poplar, and willow in the valleys. On the causses<\/em> of the Massif Central<\/a> and on other limestone plateaus, broom, heath, lavender, and juniper appear among the bare rocks. The vegetation of eastern France, constituting<\/a> a second part of the Holarctic division, is of a more central European type, with trees such as Norway<\/a> maple, beech, pedunculate oak, and larch; hornbeam is often present as a shrub layer under oak. The various high mountain zones form a third Holarctic part; with cloudy and wet conditions, they have beech woods at lower elevations, giving way upward to fir, mountain pine, and larch but with much planted spruce. Above the tree line are high mountain pastures, now increasingly abandoned, with only stunted trees but resplendent with flowers in spring and early summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second major vegetation division of the country<\/a> lies within the Mediterranean<\/a> climatic zone and provides a sharp contrast with the plant life elsewhere in France. The pronounced summer drought of this zone causes bulbous plants to die off in summer and encourages xerophytic plants that retard water loss by means of spiny, woolly, or glossy leaves; these include the evergreen oak, the cork oak, and all the heathers, cistuses, and lavenders. Umbrella, or stone, pine and introduced cypress dominate the landscape. The predominant plant life of the plateaus of Roussillon<\/a> is the maquis, comprising<\/a> dense thickets of drought-resistant shrubs, characterized in spring by the colourful flowers of the cistuses, broom, and tree heather; in most areas this is a form that has developed after human destruction of the evergreen forest. A large part of Provence<\/a>\u2019s hottest and driest terrain is covered by a rock heath known as garigue. This region is a principal domain of the vineyard, but lemon and orange trees grow there also. At elevations of about 2,600 feet (790 metres), as in the C\u00e9vennes<\/a>, deciduous forest<\/a> appears, mainly in the form of the sweet chestnut<\/a>. At elevations of 4,500 feet (1,370 metres) this gives way to a subalpine coniferous forest<\/a> of fir and pine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forest covers 58,000 square miles of France (15,000,000 hectares), which is more than a quarter of its territory. Most forests are on the upland massifs of the Ardennes<\/a> and Vosges<\/a> and within the Jura, Alps<\/a>, and Pyrenees<\/a> mountain chains, but extensive<\/a> lowland forests grow on areas of poor soil, such as that of the Sologne<\/a> plain south of the Loire River<\/a>. The planted forest of maritime pine covering about 3,680 square miles (953,000 hectares) in the Landes<\/a> of southwestern France is said to be the most extensive in western Europe<\/a>. Increasingly, forests are less a source of wood and more a recreational amenity, especially those on the fringe of large urban agglomerations, such as Fontainebleau<\/a> and others of the \u00cele-de-France<\/a> region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Animal life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The fauna of France is relatively typical of western European countries. Among the larger mammals are red deer, roe deer<\/a>, and wild boar, which are still hunted; the fallow deer<\/a> is rather rare. In the high Alps are the rare chamoix and the reintroduced ibex. Hares, rabbits, and various types of rodents are found both in the forests and in the fields. Carnivores include the fox, the genet, and the rare wildcat. Among endangered species<\/a> are the badger, the otter, the beaver, the tortoise, the marmot of the Alps, and the brown bear<\/a> and the lynx of the Pyrenees. Seals have almost entirely disappeared from the French coasts. While French bird life is in general similar to that of its neighbours, southern France is at the northern edge of the range of African migrants, and such birds as the flamingo, the Egyptian vulture, the black-winged stilt, the bee-eater, and the roller have habitats in southern France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All information come from Encyclopedia Britannica<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

France Free Tour Paris Free Tour Strasbourg Free Tour Bordeaux Free Tour Nice Free Tour Lyon Free Tour Marseille Free Tour Toulouse Free Tour Montpellier Free Tour Information: France, country of northwestern Europe. Historically and culturally among the most important nations in the Western world, France has also played a highly significant role in international … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1566","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","latest_post"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"zh","enabled_languages":["en","es","zh","it"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"es":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"it":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"yoast_head":"\nBest Free walking tour Florence<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/france\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"zh_CN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"France - Best Free Tour\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/france\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Best Free Tour\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-17T05:08:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/France-pedro-lastra-suRvdiwP9Pk-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"34 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/france\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/france\\\/\",\"name\":\"Best Free walking tour Florence\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/france\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/france\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/France-pedro-lastra-suRvdiwP9Pk-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-17T05:07:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-17T05:08:55+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/france\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"zh-CN\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/france\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"zh-CN\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/france\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/France-pedro-lastra-suRvdiwP9Pk-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/France-pedro-lastra-suRvdiwP9Pk-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/france\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"France\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Best Free Tour\",\"description\":\"walking tour: Florence, Rome, Milan, Venice, Naples\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"zh-CN\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Best Free Tour\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"zh-CN\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/cropped-best-free-tour-logo-.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/cropped-best-free-tour-logo-.jpg\",\"width\":157,\"height\":145,\"caption\":\"Best Free Tour\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestfreetour.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Best Free walking tour Florence","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/france\/","og_locale":"zh_CN","og_type":"article","og_title":"France - Best Free Tour","og_url":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/france\/","og_site_name":"Best Free Tour","article_modified_time":"2024-02-17T05:08:55+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/France-pedro-lastra-suRvdiwP9Pk-unsplash-1024x683.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"34 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/france\/","url":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/france\/","name":"Best Free walking tour Florence","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/france\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/france\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/France-pedro-lastra-suRvdiwP9Pk-unsplash-1024x683.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-17T05:07:39+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-17T05:08:55+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/france\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"zh-CN","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/france\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"zh-CN","@id":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/france\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/France-pedro-lastra-suRvdiwP9Pk-unsplash-1024x683.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/France-pedro-lastra-suRvdiwP9Pk-unsplash-1024x683.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/france\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"France"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/","name":"Best Free Tour","description":"walking tour: Florence, Rome, Milan, Venice, Naples","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"zh-CN"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/#organization","name":"Best Free Tour","url":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"zh-CN","@id":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cropped-best-free-tour-logo-.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cropped-best-free-tour-logo-.jpg","width":157,"height":145,"caption":"Best Free Tour"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1566"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1568,"href":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1566\/revisions\/1568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}