France remains the world’s number one tourist destination, and it’s not hard to understand why. France has it all – or more or less. It has tourist sights for all tastes; it has some of the greatest beaches in Europe, as well as the highest mountains and the finest historic monuments, the most beautiful cities, the most idyllic countryside, the most magnificent castles, the finest rivers, and plenty more, not to mention some of the best restaurants and the finest wines and more hotels than any other country in Europe.
France has something for everyone, which is one of the reasons why it remains the world’s number one tourist destination. It has magnificent holiday opportunities for everything from a short weekend city break, in places such as Paris, Nice or Bordeaux, to a relaxed family holiday in a gite in the countryside, a week or two’s relaxation by the seaside, or an energetic break hiking, climbing, kayaking or cycling in France’s great outdoors.

Education

France is no longer simply a country to which many retire, or buy a holiday home. It is also a country where an increasing number of younger families from abroad now choose to live and work.One of the most important issues for them is the education of their children. So we dedicate a large number of pages in these Guides to a review and description of the education system in France.It will be of some comfort to these families to report that education has always been a key priority of any French government, whatever their political colour.

1. Université de Caen Basse-Normandie

   Founded in 1432, the Université de Caen, Basse-Normandie is one of Europe’s oldest academic institutions, and is located in the center of Caen. It is a multi-disciplinary university, welcomes 24,000 students each year and offers at more than one hundred different programs.
   The Carré International (International Square or Center) is located in the heart of the city, on the main campus, and offers programs throughout the year which are designed to support French language acquisition – from introduction to the strengthening of linguistic skills. The Carré International offers 5 levels of training, from complete beginner to advanced level, sixty instructors, more than 2,000 students each year, a multi-lingustic multimedia resources center, self-service languages labs, multimedia classrooms and a one-stop office designed to give a better welcome to foreign students who chose to study abroad in Caen.

2. Université Claude Bernard Lyon I

   The university Claude Bernard Lyon 1 consist of faculties of sciences , medicine and pharmacy. Based on its budget and the number of its research laboratories, the university is seen as the principal higher education establishment of the region and figures in top five French universities. The school welcomes each year more than 28 000 students of which more than 60% are registered in professionalized systems: Health, I.U.T., DEUST, professional bachelors and professional masters, engineers. Practically all the formations of sciences and physical and athletic activities adopted the European system of the higher education called LMD in France. Most of the scientific disciplines are taught to Lyon 1: actuarial, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, electric engineering, data processing, management, mathematics, mechanics, physics, Earth science and so on. The University Curriculum offers a very wide range of programs in medicine, pharmacy, deontology, etc. The force of the university lies in its high calibre research that are known on the world scale. The university currently possesses 102 units of research labs, of which 41 in association with the C.N.R.S., 22 with l’I.N.S.E.R.M., 4 with of other research organizations, 24 welcome teams and 1 young team.

3. Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis

   The Nice Sophia Antipolis University (French: Université Nice Sophia-Antipolis) is a university located in Nice, France and neighboring areas. It was founded in 1965 and is organized in eight faculties, two autonomous institutes and an engineering school. At the heart of the Mediterranean Basin, the Université Nice Sophia Antipolis has developed a vivid cosmopolitan spirit. A prestigious training and research institution, a broad range of high-quality teaching programs and a privileged study environment has drawn an ever-growing number of scholars and professionals from around the world to the French Riviera.
   It has about 25,000 students, including approximately 1,300 graduate students and almost 20% foreigners, spread over several campuses and units of training and research (UFR). It has just over 1,300 teachers, lecturers and moniteurs.