Take Away Meals： are supplied by a number of restaurants and eateries in the area. It，s best to state you want a takeaway when making your order as sometimes eateries have different rates for meals eaten in and those eaten out. Hotels will also often cater for this and some will even do up a picnic hamper for their guests. Ask for details on arrival.
Thai Food： Possibilities range from Tom Yam soup and other well known dishes to the more traditional. Restaurants can be found in most areas and some shopping complexes.
Vegetarian Cuisine： Whether you are simply following a healthy diet when on holiday or vegetarian products are your preference，you are well catered to here. Most hotel/resorts offer vegetarian dishes as do an ever increasing number of local eateries.
Traditionally，France has been a culture of wine consumption. However，this characteristic has lessened with time，and nowadays only 23% of the French consume wine every day. Especially，the consumption of lowquality wines during meals has been greatly reduced. Beer is especially popular with the youth. Other popular alcoholic drinks include pastis，an aniseedflavored beveragebeverage n.饮料 drunk diluted with cold water，especially in the summer.
The legal drinking age for most spirits is 16；it is not customary that shopkeepers or bartenders check for the age of consumers.
Shopping in France
法国购物
到法国旅游的人，总会抽出一些时间逛街购物，而一提起购物，人们就会想到巴黎的高档时装店或诸如“老佛爷”、“春天”等在国际上都享有盛名的大型百货公司。然而近几年来，一种名为“工厂商店”的购物中心却吸引了越来越多的消费者，正渐渐成为一种跨世纪的消费时尚。
在巴黎东南200公里的特鲁瓦，一家酿酒厂于几年前利用厂内的闲置库房建起了“工厂商店”，并取名为“名牌大街”。整个“大街”分布在5个大型建筑内，占地2．7万平方米。商店中男女时装、日用百货、儿童玩具、鞋帽服饰等应有尽有，每天来这里购物的人不仅有来自各地的法国人，而且还有来自比利时、瑞士等邻国的消费者。
据介绍，这里出售的商品大多是诸如耐克、鳄鱼、皮尔·卡丹等国际驰名品牌，但价格却比其他商场便宜30％～50％，有的甚至达70％。也许有人会问，如此便宜的名牌产品会不会是假冒伪劣？这一点尽可放心，这里绝无假货。因为法国政府的有关法律规定，厂家若生产质次的产品供工厂商店低价出售，则属非法经营，要受到严厉处罚，“工厂商店”若经营仿造的名牌产品，也同样要受到严厉惩罚。
世界上最有名，最时尚的设计师都在法国有门市。单单在巴黎的香榭丽舍大道上也有上百家商店，百货公司，另外还有购物中心，和购物大道，来到法国一定能享受购物的乐趣。但也别忘记还有很多市集和露天市场，售卖的东西繁多，说不定也另有收获。除了名牌时装香水外，法国还有很多值得夸赞的工艺品。法国有很多乡村至现在还保持传统技术制手工精致的陶器，玻璃精工，花边编织和造纸等等，这些富地方色彩工艺品都是作为纪念品或手信的上佳礼物。
法国有些物品非常出名，如：利摩曰瓷器；布列塔尼蕾丝；坎佩尔瓷器、古董；巴黎和“香水之都”格拉斯的香水；巴黎围巾、艺术品、鞋子和其他皮件、银器、雪橇；吉安陶器；塞夫尔瓷器；尚提利蕾丝；佩里戈尔的手艺品、彩绘丝；巴卡担水晶；贝胡格艺术品。
巴黎大部分的百货公司都在塞纳河的右岸区，一般在开放时间由星期一至六早上9时30分至晚上7时，星期日休息。而中小型的商店在午膳时间亦会暂停营业（中午12时至下午2时）。百货公司大减价通常在12月中，1月及6月至7月的最后一个星期。而名牌时装则通常在3月及7月。
France offers a variety of shopping choices with value for money quality and excellent services. Be it fashion，designer products，traditional crafts or the latest，hightech electrical and electronic goods，France has it all and some.
Art Paintings，sketchessketch n.略图，草图，概略，梗概，草图，拟定 vi.绘略图，素描 v.勾画，handicrafts and other art forms can either be purchased from local galleries，the artists themselves or from shops specialising in these items. They prove popular with visitors seeking something a little out of the ordinary that will bring fond memories of their time here and make for a very worthwhile shopping suggestion.
Antiques： A wide range of antiquesantique n.古物，古董 adj.古时的，过时的 are available. Your best bet is to scrounge around in antique shops，but if you are in the area when a local market is being held，you might be in for a surprise if you wander through a second hand stall. You，ll be surprised at the bargainsbargain n.契约，合同，成交商品，便宜货 v.议价 one can sometimes find...but you do，of course need to know what you are looking for.
Clothes： Designerwear from Paris，Milan，New York and London are on offer at the airconditioned shopping malls，fashion boutiquesboutique n.专卖流行衣服的小商店 and other stores throughout the area as well as a few other centres. Cheaper，more casual wear can be found in shops dotted throughout the country.
Electronic Goods： Cameras，computer hardware and software are on sale in the duty free shops and electronic stores in the area. Do shop around for the best rates，before you buy，as prices can and do vary greatly. The voltage and cycle of all electrical and electronic items should be checked before purchasing to ensure it matches your requirements back home. If/where possible，test all goods up to satisfaction，before making a final purchase.
Handicrafts： make for some excellent souvenirssouvenir n.纪念品 and there are a number of outlets selling this type of produce. Again，like most shopping suggestions；do shop around for quality and price，before you buy if you have time.
Jewellery： When ever one purchases jewellery it，s always a good idea to buy from reputable jewellers only and know what you are buying to start with.
Souvenirs： are on offer within many hotels/resorts as well as scattered throughout the local tourist spots，sightseeing venues and the like. These vary from cheap junk type items to some exquisitely crafted items well worth purchasing. Again，shop around if you have time.
Wine： France is a land of excellent wines and you can find wines throughout the country. The vineyards themselves generally have the best rates，but shops and cellars often have specials on vintages and there，s always the duty free shops on arrival/departure that generally offer a reasonable selection too.
Language of France
法国的语言
法语是法国的国语。法语也是联合国的工作语言之一，使用人口超过1亿。阿尔萨斯人英语正在成为法国第二语言。布列塔尼人中的一些农村居民以布列塔尼语为口语。科西嘉人日常生活中亦操当地的两种方言：一种与意大利托斯卡方言相近，另一种与撒丁岛北部方言相近。
法语为罗曼语系和印欧语族的一支，起源自拉丁文。在罗马人征服与拉丁文引进之前，高卢似乎一直是讲塞尔特语的地区。高卢语系也成为塞尔特语族的第三分支，与戈伊迪利语系（爱尔兰语、苏格兰盖尔语、曼克斯语）及布里索尼语系（威尔士语、康瓦尔语、布里坦尼语）并列。
法文对其他语言与文化的影响
只有希腊文和拉丁文，因其字根形成现代国际科学字汇基础，故能在面对西方文化的冲击时凌驾于法文之上。法文本身将数千个拉丁和希腊单字传给英文、荷兰文和德文等欧洲语言，接着这些语言又将之传入斯拉夫语、东方与非洲语言。在17世纪末到19世纪期间，法国文明就等于欧洲文明，而法文也真正成为全欧各国文人阶级的国际语言。
结果，现在可在欧洲各语言中发现大量的法文；亚、非两洲的语言则可发现少量与法语的混合语。荷兰文用krant（源自法文courant）来指“报纸”；俄文的军事用语中，有很多字如soldat与leitenant，是直接从法文soldat（士兵）和lieutenant（中尉）借来的；法文渗透入俄文每日用词的例子有restoran与shofyor，源自法文restaurant（餐厅）和chauffeur（司机）。法文借字有时常常有效地隐藏于其他罗曼语系内；意大利文comò与gioia源自法文commode（舒服的、方便的）与joie（欢乐）。
法文措辞完全国际化而出现于大多数欧洲语言的这种例子，数目相当庞大：consmmè（肉汤）、menu（菜单）、a、 la carte（照菜单点菜）、blase、（感觉麻木的）、garage（车库）、début（初演）、sabotage（怠工）、foyer（剧场休息室）、blouse（上衫）、collage（美术拼贴）以及fugue（遁走曲）。