A Portrait of France...

THE FRENCH THEMSELVES are the best advocates for visiting France, convinced that their way of life is best, and that their counry is the most civilized on earth. The food and wine are justly celebrated. French culture, literature, art, cinema, and architecture can be both profound and provocative. Whether cerebral, sensual or sportif, France is a country where anyone might feel at home.

France's landscape ranges from high mountain plateaux to lush farmland, traditional villages to chic boulevards. Its regional identites are equally diverse. The country belongs to both northern and southern Europe, and encompasses Brittany with its Celtic maritime heritage, the Mediterranean sunbelt, Germanic Alsac-Lorraine, and the hardy mountain regions of the Auvergne and the Pyreness.

The idea of life in the country - douceur de vivre (the Good Life), long tables set in the sun for the wine and anecdotes to flow - is as seductive as ever for residents and visitors alike.

People remain firmly committed to their roots, however, and often retain a place in the country where they go back for holidays or retirement. On average, there are more French people who have second homes than any other nationality; and in many areas such as Provence, the dying villages have been finding a new life as chic summer residence for Parisians and foreigners.