Départements and Regions
in France in Alphabetical order French
départements all have a number and you will find this number being used as part
of the local postcode and on vehicle registrations. Listed below are regions of
France showing the Département with the capital city/town (Préfecture).
Aquitaine
- One of the largest regions
in France. Aquitaine is in the very south-west stretching from the Spanish border
up the Atlantic coast until it meets Poitou-Charentes, while to the east it borders
the Midi Pyrénées region. It is made up of five departments: Pyrénées_Atlantiques
(64 - Pau), Landes (40 – Mont-de-Marsan), Gironde (33 - Bordeaux), Lot-et-Garonne
(47 - Agen) and Dordogne (24 - Périgueux) The main cities and towns are: Bordeaux,
Pergueux, Bergerac, Bayonne, Pau, Biarritz, Arcachon, Mimizan and Lourdes.
Alsace-Lorraine
- Located in Franc’s most north-eastern corner bordering Belgium, Germany and
Luxembourg. Alsace-Lorraine breaks
down into the departments of Meuse (55 – Bar-le-Duc), Meurthe-et-Moselle (54
- Nancy), Moselle (57 - Metz), Vosges (88 – Ėpinal ), Bas-Rhin (67 - Strasbourg)
and Haut-Rhin (68 - Colmar). The main cities and towns are: Strasbourg (home
of the European parliament), Nancy, Metz, Mulhouse and Colmar.
Auvergne
- Right
in the heart of France, is Auvergne. This is the area that includes the Massif
Central. It has four departments. Allier (03 - Moulins), Puy-de-Dome (63- Clemont-Ferrand),
Cantal (15 - Aurillac) and Haute Loire (43 – Le Puy). The main cities and
towns are: Clermont Ferrand, Moulins, Montluςon, Aurillac and Vichy.
Burgundy
- This is located to the south-east
of Paris. Burgundy is best known for its wines and fine cuisine. It has four departments.
Côte d’Or (21 - Dijon), Nièvre (58 - Nevers), Saône-et Loire (71 - Mâcon) and
Yonne (89 - Auxerre ).The main cities and towns are: Dijon, Auxerre, Nevers,
Beaune and Macon. Brittany
– This is France’s most north-westerly region and is very much independent in
tradition, culture and the Breton language. It has a great deal of coastline.
The four departments are: Finistère (29), Côtes-d’Armor (22) Ille-et-Vilaine
(35) and Morbihan (56). The main cities and towns are: Rennes, Vannes, Brest,
Roscoff, Quimper, Lorient and St Brieuc. Centre
– This is in the centre, but
commonly referred to as the Loire Valley along with parts of it’s neighbouring
region – Pays de la Loire with the River Loire making the boundary between the
cooler north and warmer south of the country. The departments are: Cher (18
- Bourges), Eure-et-Loir (28 - Chartres), Indre (36 – Châteauroux), Indre-et-Loire
(37 – Tours), Loir-et-Cher (41 – Blois) and Loiret (45 Orléans). The
main cities and towns are: Tours, Orléans, Bourges, Chartres, Blois and Châteauroux.
Champagne-Ardennes
– Famous for the first part
of it’s name. The departments are: Marne (51 – Châlons-en-Champagne), Haute-Marne
(52 – Chaumont), Aube (10 – Troyes) and Ardennes (08 – Charleville-Mézières).
Franche-Comite
– This area is on the
border with Switzerland. It is the region of the Jura mountains housing several
ski resorts. The departments are: Jura (39 Lons –le- Saunier), Haute Saône
(70 –Vesoul), Doubs (25 – Bescançon)
and
Territoire de Belfort (90 – Belfort) The main cities are – Bescançon
and Belfort. Languedoc
– Roussillon – The
southern region is bordered by the Mediterranean on one side and the Pyrénées
on the other. It stretches from the Spanish border up to Provence. It is well
known as one of France’s sunniest regions. The five departments are Gard (30
– Nîmes), Hérault ( 34 – Montpellier),
Lozère (48 – Mende), Aude (11 – Carcassonne) and Pyrénées-Orrientales (66
– Perpignan). The main cities
include Montpellier, Perpignan, Carcassonne, Béziers and Nîmes
Limousin
– This rural region is in
France’s green heart. The departments are: Corrèze (19 – Tulle), Creuse (23
– Guèret) and Haute Vienne (87 – Limoges) The main towns and cities
are: Limoges, Aubusson and Tulle Midi-Pyrenees
– This is France’s largest region. It offers
a varied landscape scene that house eight departments. Lot (46 – Cahors),
Gers (32 –Auch), Hautes-Pyrénées (65 - Tarbes), Arriège (09 – Foix), Haute-Garonne
(31 – Toulouse), Tarn – (81 – Albi) , Tarn- et-Garonne (82 – Montauban) and
Aveyron (12 – Rodez). The main cities are: Toulouse,
Auch, Tarbes, Albi and Cahors. Normandy
– Normandy
has a very similar climate to southern Britain. It follows the coastline to the
channel in the north. The area is famous for its Calvados made from apples, butter,
cheese and distinctive architecture. There are five department that are: Calvados
(14 – Caen), Manche ( 50 – St-LÔ), Orne (61 –Alençon),
Seine-Maritime (76- Rouen), and
Eure (27 – Ėvreux)
The main towns and cities are: Rouen,
Caen, Cherbourg, Dieppe, Le Havre, Honfleur and Deauville.
Nord-Pas
de Calais - Like
Normandy the climate is very similar to Southern Britain. There are two departments
– Pas de Calais (62 – Arras) and Nord (59 – Lille). The main cities
and towns are: Calais, Lille, Boulogne, Dunkerque, Le Touquet, Douai and Arras.
Paris
& Ile de France This
is the Paris region – capital of France. The departments are: Seine-et-Marne
(77- Melun), Val d’Oise (95 – Pontoise), Esonne (91 – Ėvry),
Yvelines (78 Versailles), Hauts-de-Seine, (92 – Nanterre),
Seine-St-Denis (93 – Bobigny) , Val de Marne ( 94 - Créteil) and
Ville de Paris (75 – Paris). The
main cities and towns are: Paris, Versailles, Nanterre.
Pays
de la Loire – The region runs
from the Loire valley to the Atlantic Coast. There are five departments that are:
Maine-et-Loire (49 - Angers), Sarthe (72 – Le Mans), Mayenne (53 – Laval),
Loire-Atlantique (44 – Nantes) and Vendée (85 – La Roche–sur-Yon).
The main towns are: Nantes, Angers, Le Mans (famous for the 24 hour car racing,
St Nazaire and Les Sables d’Olonne. Picardy
– Located
south of Nord-Pas de Calais. A small part of north faces the channel
– The region is split into three departments. These are: Aisne
(02 – Laon), Oise (60 – Beauvais) and
Somme (80 – Amiens).
The main
towns are: Amiens, Beauvais and Laon. Poitou-Charentes
– This is one of France’s
western regions. It is a very sunny region with some coast bordering onto the
Atlantic. The Departments are: Charente (16 – Angoulême), Charente-Maraitime
(17 – La Rochelle), Deux Sèvres (79 – Niort) and Vienne (86 – Poitiers).
The main towns are: Angoulême, La Rochelle, Poitiers, Royan and Saintes. 
Provence
& Cote d’Azur – Probably
the warmest part of France – known for it’s hot summers and mild winters, the
French Riviera has been popular for English visitors since Victorian times.
Provence has five departments – Bouches du RhÔne, (13 – Marseille),
Vaucluse ( 84 - Avignon), Var (83 – Toulon) and Alpes de Haute-Provence (04 –
Digne). Cote d’Azur borders Italy
and Monaco and is at the southern tip of the Alps and close to ski resorts. It
only has the one Department – Alpes-Maritimes (06 - Nice)
The main towns and cities are: Avignon, Nice, Marseilles, Arles, St
Tropez, Cannes, Digne Gap, Briançon, Menton and Toulon. Rhones-Alpes
– This is very much a mountainous region that is on the east side of France north
of Provence and the Cote d’Azur. It is naturally a very popular ski region. There
are eight departments. Ain (01 – Bourg-en-Brese), Ardèche (07 – Privas), Drôme
(26 – Valence), Isère (38 - Grenoble), Rhône
(69 – Lyon), Savoie ( 73 – Chambéry), Haute Savoie (74 – Annecy) and
Loire (42 –ST-Ētienne). The main towns and cities are: Annecy, Chambéry,
Grenoble, Lyon, Montélimar, St Etienne and Valance.
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