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Interesting facts about France

When we talk about France, which is the first thing that comes to your mind? Is it Paris, fashion, museums or perhaps French cuisine?

Either way, France is one of the countries with the largest number of tourists in the world, and rare are those who remained indifferent to its charms. For this reason, I decided to write a post about some interesting facts that you perhaps did not know about France.

  • In this country, which is often called a hexagon (because of the distinctive geographical map layout), it is illegal to take photos of police officers and vehicles.
  • In France, one street in every city is named after one of the greatest writers and the most significant personality of the Romantic movement – Viktor Igo.
  • France produces more than 400 types of cheeses.
  • Wearing a white wedding dress in France is a tradition that goes back to year 1499.
  • The Eiffel Tower is a metal tower built on the Champ de Mars in Paris and today is landmark and symbol of this city. It was built in 1889 as a showpiece for the World’s Fair to celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution. Until 1930 it was the largest building in the world with its 300 meters height. It is named after the engineer who designed it, Gustave Eiffel.
  • France has created the first Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1789.
  • The first department store was founded in France in 1838.
  • In every region of France there are a number of kisses when people meet. It’s 5 times in Corsica!
  • France has received the largest number of Nobel Prize for Literature in the world.
  • Guillotine was created in France and was last used in 1977.
  • The most visited attraction in Paris is not the Eiffel Tower (5.5 million) nor the Louvre (5 million), but Disneyland (13 million).
  • There is only one STOP sign in the whole Paris.
  • French toast is not really French. It was invented by Jospeh French and was named after him. The problem was  that he forgot to add apostrophe on Joseph, and today it is believed that it originates from France.
  • Lui XIX was the king of France for only 20 minutes.
  • Famous French inventions are: Air balloon, parachute and submarine.
  • France is the first country in the world to introduce car registration plates.
  • More people speak French in Africa than in France.

Photo credit: Pixabay.com

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Written by lejla1311

4 Comments

  1. Very interesting facts, namely the fact that there is only one stop sign in Paris. It must be very daunting to drive and stay alive. But France is certainly renowned for its literature and palaces notably Versailles. I am surprised though by the fact that Disneyland has so much visitors. It is too bad because France has so much more to offer for tourists. Thank you for a very interesting reading.