France is the largest country in the EU. It is sometimes referred to as “the hexagon” because of its six-sided shape. Forests cover about a quarter of the country; only two European countries have more (Sweden and Finland).

France is the most popular tourist destination in the world, according to the World Tourism Report published in 2014. It’s the world’s most visited country, receiving about 90 million visitors per year. France’s total population is only 60 million, so tourists outnumber residents!

Paris is the capital of France, with 2.2 million inhabitants. About 30 million of the visitors to France visit Paris each year. 15 million of those visitors travel to Paris’s most frequented site, EuroDisney. Only 7 million people visit the Eiffel Tower annually. 8 million people visit the famous museum, Le Louvre.

France has 20,000 hotels, 40,000 historic monuments, 4,000 museums, and 1,500 chateaux open to the public. France also has 44 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The national language in France is French, although many people speak more than one language. The country is run by a democratic government. Roman Catholics make up 64% of the population’s religion.

France’s motto is: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity).