France is one of those countries that seems to capture everyone’s imagination. There are beautiful cities, tiny villages, incredible food, castles, beaches, mountains, famous art, and some of the most recognizable landmarks in the world.
My family has visited France in real life, but we also had a great time exploring it from home. Instead of simply reading **fun facts about France**, we cooked French food, watched movies, read books, listened to French music, and made our own Matisse-inspired art.
Whether you’re learning about France with your kids, studying countries around the world, or just curious about French culture, these fun facts and activities are an easy way to get started.
Photo Credit: Depositphotos
France at a Glance
Capital: Paris
Continent: Europe
Population: About 69 million people
Official language: French
Currency: Euro
Government: Republic
Largest country in: The European Union by area
Famous landmarks: Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Palace of Versailles and Mont-Saint-Michel
Known for: Food, art, fashion, castles, wine, beautiful villages and a very long history
25 Fun Facts About France
Photo credit: Deposit Photos
France has given the world everything from Impressionist art and hot-air balloons to the baguette and the metric system. Here are 25 fun and interesting facts about France that kids and adults may not know.
What Is France Known For?
France is known for the Eiffel Tower, Paris, French food, fashion, art, castles, wine and beautiful countryside. It is also famous for artists such as Claude Monet and Henri Matisse, historic landmarks like the Palace of Versailles and the Louvre, and foods including baguettes, croissants, crêpes and hundreds of varieties of cheese.
France’s Geography
1. France is the largest country in the European Union by area.
Metropolitan France stretches from the English Channel and Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, while French territory also includes overseas regions around the world.
2. France has about 69 million people.
Paris is its largest city, but millions of people live in smaller cities, towns, villages and rural areas throughout the country.
3. France has beaches and mountains.
You can visit Mediterranean beaches in southern France, ski in the Alps, explore the Pyrenees, and see dramatic coastlines along the Atlantic and English Channel.
4. France shares borders with eight countries in mainland Europe.
Those neighbors are Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Spain and Andorra.
5. France has territory in several parts of the world.
Because of its overseas regions and territories, France isn’t confined to Europe. French territory can also be found in the Caribbean, South America, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific.
Famous French Landmarks & Art
6. The Eiffel Tower was never supposed to be permanent.
It was built for the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris and was originally intended to stand for only about 20 years.
7. The Eiffel Tower can grow slightly taller in hot weather.
Metal expands when it heats up, so the iron tower can change height slightly as temperatures rise and fall.
8. The Louvre was once a royal palace.
Before becoming one of the world’s most famous museums, the Louvre served as a fortress and later a palace.
9. The Mona Lisa lives in France.
Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting hangs in the Louvre, where it attracts enormous crowds every year.
10. Some of the world’s most famous artists worked in France.
Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Edgar Degas and Auguste Renoir are just a few of the artists closely associated with French art.
Fun Facts About French Food
11. France takes bread very seriously.
The baguette is such an important part of French culture that the craftsmanship and culture surrounding it were added to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
12. France is famous for an enormous variety of cheeses.
Different parts of the country produce their own cheeses, ranging from soft Brie and Camembert to blue cheeses and hard Alpine varieties.
13. Croissants weren’t invented exactly the way most people think.
The modern French croissant was influenced by Austrian crescent-shaped pastries before French bakers transformed it into the flaky pastry we know today.
14. French meals can last a long time.
Meals are often treated as time to slow down, talk and enjoy several courses rather than simply eat as quickly as possible.
15. France has very different regional foods.
Alsace is known for dishes influenced by neighboring Germany, Brittany is famous for crêpes, Provence uses Mediterranean flavors, and Normandy is known for apples, cream and cheese.
Things France Gave the World
16. The first successful hot-air balloon flight happened in France.
The Montgolfier brothers developed their hot-air balloon in the 1780s, and the first crewed free flight took place near Paris in 1783.
17. Braille was invented by a French teenager.
Louis Braille created the system of raised dots after losing his sight as a child. His system eventually transformed reading and writing for blind people around the world.
18. Louis Pasteur was French.
His discoveries helped scientists understand germs and led to pasteurization, a process still used to make foods and drinks safer.
19. France helped develop the metric system.
The modern metric system grew out of efforts during the French Revolution to create a standardized way of measuring things.
20. France played an important role in the early history of photography and movies.
French inventors and artists were involved in some of the earliest photographic processes, and the Lumière brothers became pioneers of motion pictures.
French Culture & Traditions
21. France has its own Disneyland.
Disneyland Paris opened in 1992 just outside Paris and includes two theme parks.
22. French children learn to say “bonjour” early.
Greetings are an important part of everyday politeness in France, and saying bonjour when entering a shop or speaking to someone is considered good manners.
23. Bastille Day is celebrated on July 14.
France’s national holiday is marked with celebrations, fireworks, parades and events throughout the country.
24. France is divided into 18 administrative regions.
Thirteen are in metropolitan France, while five are overseas regions that are legally part of France.
25. France has much more to explore than Paris.
Paris may be the country’s most famous destination, but France is filled with medieval villages, castles, vineyards, Mediterranean towns, Atlantic beaches and mountain communities. Every region feels a little different, which is one of the reasons we enjoy returning to France.
Explore France With Kids
Reading fun facts about France is a great introduction, but we had much more fun when we started experiencing some of French culture ourselves.
Cook a French meal, watch a movie set in France, read a book about Paris, listen to French music or make your own Matisse-inspired artwork. You can choose one activity for an afternoon or put several together and create your own France day at home.
French Food to Make from Home
When I think about French food I think about cream, wine, Herbs de Provence, and other yummy things. I also think about a labor intensive dish. Here is one of our family’s favorite dishes that tastes like it takes a long time, but it doesn’t.
It seems like the place I found this recipe is an odd one, but it was one of those Pinterest links that had me end up on Reddit. Despite trying dozens of Chicken Riesling variations, this is the one I always come back to. It is easy, quick and so delicious! (Think coq au vin but ready in 30 minutes instead of 30 hours!)
*A note about cooking wine- the old adage says not to cook with anything you wouldn’t want to drink. Well, I don’t drink so it doesn’t help me too much. If you are in the same boat go to a local liquor store and ask the clerk. They will be happy to help you find something that is appropriate to cook with and isn’t too cheap or too pricey.
Riesling is a white wine from the Alsace region of France, and I do try to use Riesling when I make the recipe because it tastes good with Riesling. But in a pinch you can use a different white wine. (just please don’t use crappy cooking wine from the grocery store! You might as well use vinegar!)
This is how many mushrooms I use! It’s two containers at the grocery store chopped up fairly fine.
This is a double recipe because I know my boys will eat all of it in one sitting! (And they did) The sauce will thicken up as it cools, so don’t be alarmed if it seems a little runny at first.
Here is the final dish! I like to pull the bacon out after I have used it to cook the chicken and mushrooms in the bacon fat. I like the crisp element in with all the other silky textures.
This honestly cooks quickly and tastes like you have spent hours working on it. You can serve it over pasta, or with a crunch French bread to soak up the sauce. Either way it is an easy weeknight meal that your whole family will love!
What to watch for your movie about France
There is no end of movies to watch about France! Seriously you have your pick! I made my kids watch some old school DVD’s of some of my favorites and we had a really great week exploring cinematic versions of France.
“French Kiss”
This is such a charming movie about a woman who follows her cheating fiancee to France to try to win him back. She gets mixed up in a jewelry theft and has to team up with a Frenchman of dubious character.
This is Meg Ryan during her heyday and my kids laughed through most of the movie, so I consider it a win! It has gorgeous depictions of the French countryside and Paris as well.
You will not find it streaming anywhere! It is so frustrating, so buy the DVD (you can get it used for a couple of bucks) and get ready to settle into some good old 90’s fun.
Some sexual content, some language.
“Midnight in Paris”
I will start by saying, I generally don’t like Woody Allen films. But Midnight in Paris is the exception! We decided to watch the movie because it features so many great artists, poets, musicians, and writers and we knew we were doing a Matisse project.
Midnight in Paris is the story of an American who is transported to 1920’s Paris each night to hobnob with the artists of the time. He is then magically transported to modern day every morning. It is a wonderful movie full of some of the best characters to ever live and create art. It is delightful to see some our modern day actors create them so realistically.
If you are an art lover, or want to expose your kids to famous artists, this is a great movie!
For the younger crowd, Ratatouille is pretty much the perfect movie to watch to learn about French cuisine and sensibilities. It is the rare cartoon that is as enjoyable for adults as it is for kids, but this is one of them.
Ratatouille is the story of Remy the rat who dreams of being a truly great chef. Being a rat is his biggest obstacle until he meets his new friend Linguini. Together they work toward greatness in a fancy French kitchen with the hopes of being allowed to truly cook!
Here are the other movies I highly recommend if you want to take a deep dive into movies about France:
Chocolat – a mysterious stranger opens a chocolate shop in town and the town is changed forever for the better.
Suite Francaise- A movie about France during WW2 and a love affair between a German being housed with a French woman. (free on Netflix)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame- Disney’s retelling of Victor Hugo’s classic book. (watch on Disney +)
The Man in the Iron Mask– my boys loved this movie when they were younger. The 3 musketeers are off on a new adventure.
Amelie– a movie about Paris seen through the lens of Amelie (a girl with a really big imagination)
What to read about France
I love this country’s book selection because it is a pop-up book. When my kids were really little they called them Pop-pop books (which is what they call my dad) and he has quite the collection that he love to read the grandkids.
This weeks supplemental French video is from Peppa Pig! If your kids don’t know and love Peppa already they will after this video.
National Geographic has a fabulous series called “Are we there yet?” is so amazing for kids. There are multiple videos for France. This one has the kids visiting the Eiffel Tower and learning all about why it is so famous!
What to craft from France
Matisse inspired collages
My sister has been giving her nieces and nephews zoom lessons about famous artists. She majored in Art History and the nieces and nephews have really enjoyed learning about different artists. When we learned about Matisse we decided that we needed to incorporate his style into our French craft.
Henri Matisse was a a French painter who was active in the early 1900’s and was responsible for the Fauvism movement in painting. His use of bright colors and unusual shapes made him a respected artist in his time. As he grew older he lost the dexterity of his hands and he turned to making beautiful decoupage.
He would cut out sheets of colorful paper in all kinds of shapes and paste them together on canvas. Some of these pieces of art would be the size of a wall, some were quite small.
We decided to emulate Matisse and make our own art decoupage. To make your own you need:
We started with our background piece of paper and then took other colors of paper and had the kids cut them however they chose.
We then cut out tissue paper in whatever shape the kids wanted. and started playing with the layout until they were happy with it.
We then used the glue stick to glue down the cardstock to the background piece of paper.
We let it dry for an hour and came back to it, we then laid down the tissue paper where the kids wanted it and used a foam brush to apply mod podge to the top of the tissue paper. (This is the finicky part and you will want to help you little ones with it. It works best if you press the brush in the middle of the shape and work out gently.)
We waited 30 minutes and then applied mod podge all over the artwork and let it dry.
I think they turned out great! The kids enjoyed having a craft where there weren’t as many rules and I enjoyed that it wasn’t too big of a mess!!
Music from France
We try to listen to music from each country while we do our craft projects. I loved pretending I was in a French cafe (a small restaurant) while we cut and pasted and chatted. It’s amazing how music can transport you. If you haven’t listened to the music from a country while you are eating or while you are crafting try it out this week!
Leave a Comment