Departments and Regions in
France in Alphabetical order
French
departments all have a number and you will find this number
being used as part of the local postcode and on vehicle
registrations. Listed below are regions of France showing
the Department with the capital city/town (Préfecture).
Aquitaine
- One of
the largest regions in France. Aquitaine is in the very south-west
stretching from the Spanish border up the Atlantic coast until
it meets Poitou-Charentes, while to the east it borders the
Midi Pyrénées region. It is made up of five departments: Pyrénées_Atlantiques
(64 - Pau), Landes (40 – Mont-de-Marsan), Gironde (33 - Bordeaux),
Lot-et-Garonne (47 - Agen) and Dordogne (24 - Périgueux)
The main cities and towns are: Bordeaux, Pergueux, Bergerac,
Bayonne, Pau, Biarritz, Arcachon, Mimizan and Lourdes.
Alsace-Lorraine
- Located in Franc’s most north-eastern corner bordering Belgium,
Germany and Luxembourg.
Alsace-Lorraine breaks down into the departments of Meuse
(55 – Bar-le-Duc), Meurthe-et-Moselle (54 - Nancy), Moselle
(57 - Metz), Vosges (88 – Ėpinal ), Bas-Rhin (67 - Strasbourg)
and Haut-Rhin (68 - Colmar). The main cities and towns are:
Strasbourg (home of the European parliament), Nancy, Metz, Mulhouse
and Colmar.
Auvergne
- Right
in the heart of France, is Auvergne. This is the area that includes
the Massif Central. It has four departments. Allier (03 -
Moulins), Puy-de-Dome (63- Clemont-Ferrand), Cantal (15 - Aurillac)
and Haute Loire (43 – Le Puy). The main cities and towns
are: Clermont Ferrand, Moulins, Montluςon, Aurillac and
Vichy.
Burgundy
- This is
located to the south-east of Paris. Burgundy is best known for
its wines and fine cuisine. It has four departments. Côte
d’Or (21 - Dijon), Nièvre (58 - Nevers), Saône-et Loire (71
- Mâcon) and Yonne (89 - Auxerre ).The main cities and towns
are: Dijon, Auxerre, Nevers, Beaune and Macon.
Brittany
– This is France’s most north-westerly region and is very much
independent in tradition, culture and the Breton language. It
has a great deal of coastline. The four departments are: Finistère
(29), Côtes-d’Armor (22) Ille-et-Vilaine (35) and Morbihan (56).
The main cities and towns are: Rennes, Vannes, Brest, Roscoff,
Quimper, Lorient and St Brieuc.
Centre
– This is
in the centre, but commonly referred to as the Loire Valley
along with parts of it’s neighbouring region – Pays de la Loire
with the River Loire making the boundary between the cooler
north and warmer south of the country. The departments are:
Cher (18 - Bourges), Eure-et-Loir (28 - Chartres), Indre
(36 – Châteauroux), Indre-et-Loire (37 – Tours), Loir-et-Cher
(41 – Blois) and Loiret (45 Orléans). The main cities
and towns are: Tours, Orléans, Bourges, Chartres, Blois and
Châteauroux.
Champagne-Ardennes
– Famous
for the first part of it’s name. The departments are: Marne
(51 – Châlons-en-Champagne), Haute-Marne (52 – Chaumont), Aube
(10 – Troyes) and Ardennes (08 – Charleville-Mézières).
Franche-Comite
– This area
is on the border with Switzerland. It is the region of the
Jura mountains housing several ski resorts. The departments
are: Jura (39 Lons –le- Saunier), Haute Saône (70 –Vesoul),
Doubs (25 – Bescançon)
and
Territoire de Belfort (90 – Belfort) The main cities are
– Bescançon
and Belfort.
Languedoc
– Roussillon
– The southern region is bordered by the Mediterranean on one
side and the Pyrénées on the other. It stretches from the Spanish
border up to Provence. It is well known as one of France’s sunniest
regions. The five departments are Gard (30 – Nîmes),
Hérault ( 34 – Montpellier), Lozère (48 – Mende), Aude
(11 – Carcassonne) and Pyrénées-Orrientales (66 – Perpignan).
The main cities
include Montpellier, Perpignan, Carcassonne, Béziers and Nîmes
Limousin
– This rural
region is in France’s green heart. The departments are: Corrèze
(19 – Tulle), Creuse (23 – Guèret) and Haute Vienne (87
– Limoges) The main towns and cities are: Limoges, Aubusson
and Tulle
Midi-Pyrenees –
This is France’s largest region.
It offers a varied landscape scene that house eight departments.
Lot (46 – Cahors), Gers (32 –Auch), Hautes-Pyrénées (65
- Tarbes), Arriège (09 – Foix), Haute-Garonne (31 – Toulouse),
Tarn – (81 – Albi) , Tarn- et-Garonne (82 – Montauban) and
Aveyron (12 – Rodez). The
main cities are: Toulouse, Auch, Tarbes, Albi and Cahors.
Normandy
– Normandy
has a very similar climate to southern Britain. It follows the
coastline to the channel in the north. The area is famous for
its Calvados made from apples, butter, cheese and distinctive
architecture. There are five department that are: Calvados
(14 – Caen), Manche ( 50 – St-LÔ), Orne (61 –Alençon),
Seine-Maritime (76- Rouen), and
Eure (27 –
Ėvreux)
The main towns and
cities are: Rouen, Caen, Cherbourg, Dieppe, Le Havre, Honfleur
and Deauville.
Nord-Pas
de Calais - Like
Normandy the climate is very similar to Southern Britain. There
are two departments – Pas de Calais (62 – Arras) and
Nord (59 – Lille). The main cities and towns are: Calais,
Lille, Boulogne, Dunkerque, Le Touquet, Douai and Arras.
Paris
& Ile de France This
is the Paris region – capital of France. The departments are:
Seine-et-Marne
(77- Melun), Val d’Oise (95 – Pontoise), Esonne (91 – Ėvry),
Yvelines (78 Versailles), Hauts-de-Seine, (92 – Nanterre),
Seine-St-Denis (93 – Bobigny) , Val de Marne ( 94 - Créteil)
and
Ville de Paris (75 – Paris). The
main cities and towns are: Paris, Versailles, Nanterre.
Pays
de la Loire – The
region runs from the Loire valley to the Atlantic Coast. There
are five departments that are: Maine-et-Loire (49 - Angers),
Sarthe (72 – Le Mans), Mayenne (53 – Laval), Loire-Atlantique
(44 – Nantes) and Vendée (85 – La Roche–sur-Yon).
The main towns are: Nantes, Angers, Le Mans (famous for the
24 hour car racing, St Nazaire and Les Sables d’Olonne.
Picardy
–
Located south of Nord-Pas de Calais. A small part of north faces
the channel – The
region is split into three departments. These are: Aisne
(02 – Laon), Oise (60 – Beauvais) and
Somme (80 –
Amiens).
The
main towns are: Amiens, Beauvais and Laon.
Poitou-Charentes
– This is
one of France’s western regions. It is a very sunny region with
some coast bordering onto the Atlantic. The Departments are:
Charente (16 – Angoulême), Charente-Maraitime (17 – La Rochelle),
Deux Sèvres (79 – Niort) and Vienne (86 – Poitiers).
The main towns are: Angoulême, La Rochelle, Poitiers, Royan
and Saintes,
Provence
& Cote d’Azur – Probably
the warmest part of France – known for it’s hot summers and
mild winters, the French Riviera has been popular for English
visitors since Victorian times.
Provence has five departments – Bouches du RhÔne,
(13 – Marseille), Vaucluse ( 84 - Avignon), Var (83 – Toulon)
and Alpes de Haute-Provence (04 – Digne).
Cote d’Azur borders Italy and Monaco and is at the
southern tip of the Alps and close to ski resorts. It only has
the one Department – Alpes-Maritimes (06 - Nice)
The main towns and cities are: Avignon, Nice, Marseilles,
Arles, St Tropez, Cannes, Digne Gap, Briançon, Menton and Toulon.
Rhones-Alpes
– This is very much a mountainous region that is on the east
side of France north of Provence and the Cote d’Azur. It is
naturally a very popular ski region. There are eight departments.
Ain (01 – Bourg-en-Brese), Ardèche (07 – Privas), Drôme
(26 – Valence), Isère (38 - Grenoble), Rhône
(69 – Lyon), Savoie ( 73 – Chambéry), Haute Savoie (74 – Annecy)
and
Loire (42 –ST-Ētienne). The main towns and cities are:
Annecy, Chambéry, Grenoble, Lyon, Montélimar, St Etienne and
Valance.
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