26 Interesting Facts About France

France, the land of people, the l’hexagone, the country of rich culture and art, is a unitary sovereign comprising the parts in Western Europe. France is the biggest country by size in Europe at 643,801 km sq., which includes the islands of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion Island.
From having some of the world’s oldest buildings to world’s oldest human being, France is pretty astonishing in itself! Let us read more about it:
france

1. Most Visited

tourist

France is the most visited country in this whole wide world!
Source: expatia.com, Image: whisper.sh

2. Lutetia

lutetia

Ever heard about Lutetia? Originally, Paris, the capital of France, was a Roman city called Lutetia.
Source: firstslide.com, Image: plus.google.com

3. STOP!

stop sign

You won’t find more than one ‘Stop’ sign in the whole city of Paris!

Source:confessedtravelholic.com, Image: yelp.com

4. Marrying From The Grave

wedding

In France, one can marry a dead person. Interesting.
Source: expatia.com, Image: playbuzz.com

5. French Toast

toast

Guess what? It isn’t French! and so isn’t French Fries.
Source: expatia.com, Image: freepic5.com

6. King for 20 minutes

Louis-Antoine-dArtois

Louis XIX was a King for just 20 minutes between the abdication of his father and then his own abdication in favour of his nephew, the Duke of Bordeaux.
Source: confessedtravelholic.com, Image: wikimedia.com

7. Licence Plate

number plate

The genius behind the licence plate was French.
Source: facts.randomhistory.com, Image: flickr.com

8. Prenom

napoleon

It is legally offensive to name a pig “Napoleon” in the French country.
Source: facts.randomhistory.com, Image: wikimedia

9. Flag Fact

white flag

In early 19th century, the French Flag was a plain white.
Source: expatia.com, Image: reddit.com

10. National Animal

gallicrooster

The National animal of France is the Gallic rooster.
Source: Wikipedia, Image: birds.co.uk

11. Salut!

SALUT

‘Salut’ is used both for greeting and parting.
Source: factslide.com, Image: frenchtourism.com

12. When A Pig Was Hanged

pig

In late 14th century, a pig was hanged for the murder of a child.
Source: factslide.com, Image: animalforus.com

13. Nobel Indeed

french

France has won the most Nobel Prize for literature and second most for mathematics
Source: randomhistoryfacts.com, Image: wikipedia

14. Metric System

french revolution

It was during the time of French Revolution that the metric system was introduced.
Source: travelfrance.com, Image: flickr.com

15. City Of Lights

tower

Named as the “City Of Lights”, the ‘lights’ in the phrase is connotative of the intellects of France.
Source: factslides.com, Image: flickr.com

16. Eiffel Tower Lost It

disneyland paris

The most visited venue is not Eiffel Tower or The Louvre, but Disneyland in Paris.
Source: factslides.com, Image: godisney.com

17. Perfume Capital

grasse

Grasse is considered the perfume capital of the world.
Source: expatia.com, Image: pinterest.com

18. Wedding Bells

bride

The tradition of wearing white gowns was started by the French people in late 15th century.
Source: travelfrance, Image: weddinggowns.com

19. Highest point

M

Not only Mont Blanc is the highest point in France, but it is also the highest in Europe.
Source: Wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

20. Tour de Eiffel

EIFFEL

The Eiffel Tower is painted every seven years.
Source: factslides.com, Image: wikipedia

21. Bikini

The two-piece bikini as we know it now, was invented in France in 1946 and was almost called atome (atom).

Source: confessedtravelholic.com

22. Cannes Film Festival

CANNES

In may, the city of Cannes holds the most important Film Festival called Festival de Cannes for two weeks.
Source: facts.randomhistory.com, Image: wikipedia

23. Busiest Railway Station

gare du nord

The famous Gare du Nord Railway Station is the busiest railway station in the entire world.
Source: Wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

24. You’ve Been Fished

poission

If you’re in France on the first of April, don’t get surprised by the paper fish stuck on your back. You are now officially a ‘Poisson d’Avril’ (April Fish).
Source: confessedtravelholic.com, Image: pinterest.com

25. Oldest Human Voice

It’s in French that the oldest human voice is recorded.
Source: facts.randomhistory.com

26. Cheesy Affair

cheese

France produce about a billion tonnes of cheese and more than 1,200 varieties of it throughout the year.
Source: confessedtravelholic.com, Image: pinterest.com