France at a Glance Regions Towns and Villages of France We know it's a bit of a root trying to find anything in France. Hopefully, we've made this task easier. Below we have listed all the regions of France with links to their pages. Below these are French towns in alphabetical order.

French Regions

French Towns and Villages

Alsace (9)

Regional capital: Strasbourg

On the left bank of the Rhine, lies the French Province of Alsace, France's nexus to Germany, whose geographical location within the European context is of economic import.

Towns in Alsace: Colmar, Mulhouse, Obernai, Strasbourg

Aquitaine (18)

Regional capital: Bordeaux

Historically, Aquitaine essentially owed its wealth to its famous vineyards in the Bordeaux region and vast pine forests.

Towns in Aquitaine: Agen, Arcachon, Bayonne, Bordeaux, Dax, Pau, Saint Jean de Luz

Auvergne (16)

Regional capital: Clermont-Ferrand

The mountainous features of this region, in central France, have always contributed to its relative isolation feeling of going back in time.

Towns in Auvergne: Aurillac, Clermont-Ferrand, La Bourboule, Montlucon, Vichy

Brittany - Bretagne (1)

Regional capital: Rennes

Brittany currently is the main agricultural area of France and improved roadways and railroads have spurred new industrial development in its cities (motor vehicle plants in Rennes, engineering and electronics in Brest).

Tourism also plays an active economic role.

Towns in Bretagne: Brest, Carnac, Dinan, Dinard, Lorient, Quimper, Rennes, Saint Malo, Vannes

Burgundy - Bourgogne (12)

Regional capital: Dijon

Burgundy can be likened to a great autobahn on the north-south axis of the European continent.

Towns in Bourgogne: Auxerre, Beaune, Chalon Sur Saone, Dijon, Macon

Centre (11)

Regional capital: Orléans

This region is of very high agricultural importance to France's cereal production.

Towns in Centre: Amboise, Blois, Bourges, Chartres, Chateauroux, Chinon, Orléans, Tours

Champagne-Ardenne (7)

Regional capital: Chalons-en-Champagne

The Champagne region sports rich agricultural resources such as cereal crops and vineyards which produce the famous vintage, Champagne.

Towns in Champagne-Ardenne: Epernay, Reims

Corsica - Corse (22)

Regional capital: Ajaccio

The island of Corsica is a self-contained region with a small population attributed to emigration, based upon poor economic prospects.

Towns in Corsica: Ajaccio

Franche-Comté (13)

Regional capital: Besançon

Besançon is the hub of France's watch and clock-making and high precision engineering industries.

Towns in Franche-Comté: Besancon, Dole, Montbeliard

Ile-de-France (6)

Regional capital: Paris

The region includes about 1/5 of the population of France, including the Paris metropolis, and has the highest concentration of economic activities in the country.

Towns in Ile-de-France: Chaumont, Fontainebleau, Montigny-le-Roi, Paris, Provins

Languedoc-Roussillon (20)

Regional capital: Montpellier

Languedoc-Roussillon is currently enjoying a rebirth as a result of agricultural diversification, expansion of tourism, and the establishment of advanced technology industries and research, especially around Montpellier, an important university center.

Towns in Languedoc-Roussillon: Aigues Mortes, Albi, Ales, Beziers, Carcassonne, La Grande Motte, Montpellier, Narbonne, Nimes, Perpignan, Saint Paul de Vence, Sete

Limousin (15)

Regional capital: Limoges

Limousin is important for its agri-foodstuffs and leather industries. The "Porcelaine de Limoges" which produces world renown wares is also here.

Towns in Limousin: Brive, Limoges

Lorraine (8)

Regional capital: Metz

Lorraine is now engaged in a far-reaching program of industrial conversion and diversification of activities in Metz and Nancy, the university center.

Towns in Lorraine: Epinal, Metz, Nancy

Midi-Pyrénées (19)

Regional capital: Toulouse

The largest of metropolitan France's 22 regions and traditionally an agricultural area.

Towns in Midi-Pyrénées: Cahors, Castres, Figeac, Lourdes, Moissac, Montauban, Montbard, Rocamadour, Rodez, Tarbes, Toulouse

Nord Pas-de-Calais (4)

Regional capital: Lille

The Province, France's major industrial region in the 19th century (thanks to the coal and textile industries) and the most heavily populated.

Towns in Nord Pas-de-Calais: Arras, Berck Sur Mer, Calais, Cambrai, Douai, Dunkerque, Le Touquet, Lens, Lille, Maubeuge, Montreuil-sur-Mer, Saint Omer

Lower Normandy - Basse-Normandie (2)

Regional capital: Caen

Formerly, an agricultural region its economy has undergone some change recently with the development of the agri-foodstuffs industry and the creation of a number of light industries (engineering, automobiles, electronics).

Towns in Basse-Normandie: Alencon, Antibes Juan Les Pins, Bagnoles-de-l'Orne, Bayeux, Caen, Cabourg, Cherbourg, Coutances, Deauville-Trouville, Honfleur, Lisieux, Mont St Michel

Upper Normandy - Haute-Normandie (3)

Regional capital: Rouen

The main feature of Upper Normandy economy is the extensive development of the Lower Seine with its two major ports of Le Havre and Rouen (France's 2nd and 5th largest).

Towns in Haute-Normandie: Dieppe, Eu-Le Treport, Evreux, Giverny, Le Havre, Pont Audemer, Rouen

Pays de la Loire (10)

Regional capital: Nantes

The region is second in France in terms of agricultural production and first place for livestock breeding.

Towns in Pays de la Loire: Angers, Cholet, La Baule, La Roche Sur Yon, Laval, Le Mans, Les Sables d'Olonne, Nantes, Saumur

Picardy - Picardie (5)

Regional capital: Amiens

Picardy is another rich agricultural area which has an enhanced agri-foodstuffs industry (sugar, flour mills).

Towns in Picardy: Amiens, Beauvais, Chantilly, Chateau-Thierry, Compiegne

Poitou-Charentes (14)

Regional capital: Poitiers

The Poitou-Charentes region has been experiencing increased industrialization for the last few decades after evolving from an agrarian economy devoted essentially to cattle raising and vineyards to produce Cognac.

Towns in Poitou-Charentes: Angouleme, Cognac, Ile de Re, La Rochelle, Le Vigeant, Niort, Noirmoutier, Poitiers, Saintes

Provence-Alpes-Côte d´Azur (21)

Regional capital: Marseille

Provence is called Provence, because it was the Roman Province where they loved to come to escape the heat of Rome. The place is built out of Roman ruins, some of which are still standing like the Antique (meaning old) theatre in Orange, a glorious amphitheatre where Pavarotti once sang, and one of the original Arcs de Triomphe, which is riddled with very un-Roman bullet holes. This region owes its wealth to its Mediterranean coastline, excellent climate and natural beauty.

Towns in Provence: Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Aubagne, Avignon, Bandol, Cannes, Cavaillon, Draguignan, Gap, Hyeres, Les Baux-de-Provence, Mandelieu-La-Napoule, Marseille, Martigues, Menton, Nice, Orange, Saint Raphael, Saint Remy de Provence, Saint Tropez, Salon-de-Provence, Toulon,

Rhône-Alpes (17)

Regional capital: Lyons

Rhône-Alpes ranks second in importance in population and economic development among metropolitan France's 22 regions.

Towns in Rhône-Alpes: Aix-les-Bains, Annecy, Chambery, Evian-les-Bains, Grenoble, Lyon, Montelimar, Roanne, Saint-Etienne, Valence, Villefranche-Sur-Saone