Twelve time zones, 300 kilometres of tunnels under Paris, and a summit height that keeps changing.
The practical numbers, before the stories.
Worth knowing: Counting its overseas territories, France spans more time zones than any other country.
The decisions that determine whether the trip works, whichever country you are going to.
Thanks to overseas territories from Polynesia to the Caribbean, France spans twelve time zones, more than any other country. Beneath Paris run some 300 kilometres of quarry tunnels, part of which hold the bones of around six million people moved out of overflowing cemeteries.
Surveyors remeasure Mont Blanc every two years because its ice cap gains and loses metres, so the official height keeps moving. The entries here also include the Provençal market that is packing up by half past eleven, the busker on the last métro, and the lighthouse cat that still patrols as though it has responsibilities.
At 00:58 the platform at Chatelet was full of people all pretending not to run. When the train came, a busker got on with an accordion and played the same song for four stops while nobody looked up and everybody listened.
We arrived at half past eleven and thought we had time. The stallholders were already packing. One olive seller pressed a bag into my hands, refused payment, and said the word for tomorrow twice, pointing at his watch.
Thanks to overseas territories from Polynesia to the Caribbean, France spans twelve time zones, more than any other country.
Beneath Paris lie some 300 kilometres of quarry tunnels, part of which hold the bones of about six million people moved from overflowing cemeteries.
Surveyors remeasure Mont Blanc every two years because its ice cap gains and loses metres, so the official summit height keeps shifting.
The lighthouse is automatic now, but the cat still patrols as though it has responsibilities. The keeper's grandson runs a cafe next door and tells the story eleven times a day.
The Arbez hotel sits on the France-Switzerland border, with the line running through rooms and a staircase.
Nothing matched that search on this page. Try a shorter word, or browse by destination.
France is one of 36 countries in the library. Read straight through a continent, or start from the map of everywhere we have written about.
