France Attractions Midi-Pyrenees

Country Name: French Republic

Capital City: Paris

Population: 60,876,136 (2006)

Population Growth: 0.35% (2006)

Currency: euro (EUR)

Languages: French

Area: 547,030 sq km

Inflation Rate: 1.5% (2006 est.)

Unemployment Rate: 8.7% (December 2006)

Domain extension: .fr

FRANCE ATTRACTIONS BY PROVINCE

Midi-Pyrenees -Midi-Pyrenees Region (Occitan: Mi?gjorn-Piren?us; Gascon: Mieidia-Piren?us) is the largest r?gion of metropolitan France, larger than the Netherlands or Denmark, twice larger than Massachusetts, and half the size of Indiana. Midi-Pyr?n?es is best known worldwide for three local "products" that have achieved world fame: Airbus aircrafts, Roquefort cheese, and the Catholic pilgrimage center of Lourdes. This goes a long way into unveiling the extreme contrasts and diversity that exist within the very heterogeneous r?gion of Midi-Pyr?n?es.

Midi-Pyrenees Main Attraction province

Toulouse is a city in southwest France on the banks of the Garonne River, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The Toulouse metropolitan area is the second largest in southern France and one of the fastest growing in Europe. It is the home base of the European aerospace industry, such as Alcatel Espace and EADS Space, and hosts the headquarters of Airbus S.A.S.

Cahors is a town and commune in western France, in the Lot d?partement. The name is probably most famous as a label for an AOC region of French wine. The Valentr? Bridge, which is the symbol of the town, was begun in 1308 and completed in 1378. A legend holds that the architect had a pact with the devil to help complete it. When the bridge was restored in 1879, the architect Paul Gout made reference to this by placing a small sculpture of the devil at the summit of one of the towers. (Photo: Author: Bernd Gehrmann License: GNUFDL)

Lourdes is a town in the Hautes-Pyr?n?es d?partement in France. It is the largest Catholic religion pilgrimage location in France. It is situated in the south of the country in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains, and has about 17,000 inhabitants. It is said that in February 1858 the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a 14-year-old girl called Bernadette Soubirous in the remote Grotto of Massabielle. A statue of the Madonna of Lourdes was erected at the site in 1864. Soon the previous chapel structure was replaced with a pilgrimage basilica. Bernadette Soubirous entered the Monastery of Nevers in 1866 and was canonised in 1933. (Photo: Author: Schwarzw?lder, License: GNUfdl)