France

France as a leading music country doesn’t need further recommendation. In the baroque era, it could compete with Italy, in the 19th century with Germany; during a great part of the 20th century, Paris was the musical capital of the world.

France displays a mixture of cultures. E.g. Brittany and the Provence have their own characteristics. French and German traits meet in the Alsace; the regional dialects are German, as are many names of places and inhabitants, and Protestantism occurs more than in any other French region. In the same way but to a lesser degree, the Flemish past plays a role in the region of Nord/Pas de Calais, while Basque and Catalonian culture has permeated the south-west.

In this website, France takes up eleven sections of which five are devoted to Paris. From the centre of Paris, spirally follow the successive ‘arrondissements’ of the capital and the regions of the country.