France

FranceFrance has been the world's most popular tourist destination for over twenty years and it's geographically one of the most diverse countries in Europe. Its cities contain some of the greatest treasures in Europe, its countryside is prosperous and well tended and it boasts dozens of major tourist attractions, like Paris, the French Riviera, the French Alps, and more . The country is renowned for its gastronomy (particularly wines and cheeses), history, culture and fashion.

National emblem

ClimateA lot of variety, but temperate winters and mild summers on most of the territory, and especially in Paris.

An occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterlywind known as the mistral.

FranceCapital Paris(and largest city)

Language French

Demonym French

Currency Euro (EUR)CFP franc (XPF)

Date Format DD/MM/YYYY

Drives on the Right

Aunt, Roof, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught, Naturally, Aluminium, Envelope

Fashion

Art

Gastronomy

Traditions and FestivalsApril Fools Day

French school children draw and cut out paper fish and try to tape them on the backs of unsuspecting friends, parents, and teachers.

Chocolates, in the form of a fish, are popular treats on April 1st and lots of parents extend the fish theme into the evening.

Traditions and Festivals

French Traditional Birthdays

A fruit tart can be a birthday cake, as well as a lemon cake or a chocolate mousse-filled tart, or any other sweet variation. In France, tarts are often heavily decorated, but not with frosting.

It is also quite common to purchase a birthday tart in France; moreso than in the U.S., and the birthday person's name is not typically written on the cake in France.

Traditions and Festivals

What to do in France?Go champagne tasting!

Champagne Barnaut is one of the few houses to make red wines as well as fizz, and it makes an equally good job of both in the heart of the tiny village of Bouzy

Montagne de Reims, Bouzy 1 pl André Collard

What to do in France?Chocolate Tasting

Cazenave has been using the same machinery to make chocolates since 1850 and keeps up the tradition of hot drinking chocolate, served under a mound of hand-whipped froth in rose-sprigged Limoges porcelain at its period tearoom.

19 rue du Port Neuf, Bayonne

What to do in France?Fill your suitcase with

market goodies by going to flea markets

Paris

What else to see in France?

The Gorge du Verdon is a 25 kilometer (15 miles) long canyon and rises a spectacular 700 meters

(2,300 feet) from the Verdon river below.

Water sport opportunities here include rafting,

kayaking, sailing and water skiing. Gorge du Verdon

What else to see in France?

Mont Saint Michel is a small tidal island located

just off the coast of Normandy. An abbey of it stands at the peak of the rocky island, surrounded

by the streets and architectures of the

medieval town.

Mont Saint Michel

What else to see in France?

Chamonix is a famous ski resort in the French Alps at

the foot of Mont Blanc. It was the site of the first Winter

Olympic games in 1924. It is a year round tourist spot as

well.

Chamonix

What else to see in France?The tower was built by

Gustave Eiffel as the entrance arch for the

International Exhibition of Paris of 1889. Since its construction more

than 200,000,000 people have visited it making it

the most visited paid tourist attraction in the

world.

Paris

French people cheek kiss to greet each other between family and friends, even between men. The number of kisses varies according to the region, from 1 (e.g. in the tip of Brittany) to 4 (e.g. Paris and most of the North), and occasionally up to 5 in Corsica.

There are over 300 kinds of cheese made

in France.

There are some 40,000 chateaux(castles, manors,

palaces...) in France

The French are the world's biggest consumers of

psychotropic drugs. About one fourth of the

population admits having taken anti-depressants or tranquillisers over the past

year.

France is Europe’s third oldest nation.

How to get there?

By planeFlights to/from Paris

The main international airport, Roissy -Charles de Gaulle (IATA: CDG)

Flights to/from regional airports:

• Bordeaux• Clermont-Ferrand• Lille• Lyon• Marseille• Nantes• Nice• Toulouse

By boat

By train◦ Eurostar - to France from the United Kingdom

and Belgium.

◦ Thalys - connecting Paris to Brussels and onward to cities in the Netherlands and Germany.

◦ Intercity trains - leave for all parts of Europe, including overnight trains to San Sebastian in Spain, Porto and Lisbon in Portugal.

By bus or carFrance has several Eurolines-hubs.

Several weekends each year in France its Black Saturday (Samedi noir) because of the start or end of school holidays and the coinciding traffic jams on the French roads.

Travelling in FranceBy planeThe following carriers offer domestic flights within France:

o Air Franceo Hop!o Air Corsicao Twin Jeto easyJeto Ryanairo Eastern Airwayso Hex'Airo Air Australo Heli Securiteo Nice Helicopteres

Travelling in France

Entry Requirements

Citizens of the Philippines must secure visas in order to be allowed to enter France. Personal appearance is

required for Filipinos who wish to apply for either Short-stay or Long-stay visa whether for tourism, business,

employment or study purposes.

Netherlands

Entry requirement Passports & Visa

Things you can bring:

•Your usual travel baggage,

•200 cigarettes and one liter of spirits,

•50 ml perfume and 0.25 liter eau-de-toilette,

•500 grams of coffee or 200 grams of coffee extract

•100 grams of tea or 40 grams of tea extract,

•Other goods with a maximum total value of € 430,

•Medicines for personal use.

Geography LocationThe European area of the Netherlands lies between latitudes 50° and 54° N, and longitudes 3° and 8° E.

Capital: Amsterdam

People2014 estimate 16,819,595

Ethnic Groups

80.7% Dutch

5% other EU

2.5%Indonesian

2.2%Turks

2% Moroccans

1.9% Surinamese

0.8% Caribbean

4.8% others

LanguageDutch

Limburgish

Dutch Low Saxon

English

Papiamento

Currency (Euro)

1 Euro equals 58.86 Philippine Peso

WeatherAverage temperature in July: 17.4 °C

Average temperature in January: 2.8 °C

STAMPPOT HARING

Cuisine

Haring

EtiquetteGetting acquainted

Conversation

Doing Business

Presents

ATTRACTIONS

Netherland

Delta Project

Kinderdijk

Keukenhof Gardens

Leiden Canals

Canals of Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Mokum, Venice of the North

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Country Netherlands

Province North Holland

Population 810,084

Languages Dutch (Official)

Turkish

Moroccans English

Currency EUR, €

The city is located in the province of North Holland (Noord Holland) in the west of the country. It comprises much of the northern part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe

Website www.amsterdam.nl

Spring, Summer,Autum,Winter

Weather

What to do in Amsterdam?

Explore Amsterdam’s best museums

Tropenmuseum

Van Gogh Museum

Joods Historisch Museum

FOAM

The Cobra Museum

Stedelijk Museum

Hermitage Amsterdam

Museum het Rembrandthuis

Alard Pierson Museum

Rijksmuseum

BLOEMENMARKT FLOATING FLOWER SHOP

Visit the famous flower market

Picnic in the Vondelpark

Rent an Amsterdam bike and get cycling

FESTIVALS

Amsterdam

Loveland Festival (Aug 9)

Dutch Valley Festival (Aug 15–17)

ATTRACTIONS

Amsterdam

Canals of Amsterdam

Anne Frank House

De Wallen