France, the largest country in Europe, is bounded to the north by the English Channel (La Manche), the northeast by Belgium and Luxembourg, the east by Germany, Switzerland and Italy, the south by the Mediterranean (with Monaco as a coastal enclave between Nice and the Italian frontier), the southwest by Spain and Andorra, and the west by the Atlantic Ocean.

The island of Corsica, southeast of Nice, is made up of two de'partements. The country offers a spectacular variety of scenery, from the mountain ranges of the Alps and Pyre'ne'es to the attractive river valleys of the Loire, Rho^ne and Dordogne and the flatter countryside in Normandy and on the Atlantic coast. The country has some 2900km (1800 miles) of coastline.