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Sainte VictoireFrench words: Sainte Victoire , Montagne Sainte Victoire , Montagne de la Victoirealternative words: Mount Saint Victory keywords: mountain, southern france related topics: Aix-en-Provence related web sites: http://www.amisdesaintevictoire.asso.fr , http://perso.wanadoo.fr/art-deco.france/cezanne.htm explanation: Raised in east of Aix-en-Provence, Sainte Victoire is not only the favorite mountain of its inhabitants but also famous artistes such as Cezanne and Picasso. In fact, Paul Cezanne realized between 1882-1887 several pictures on Sainte Victoire while Pablo Picasso settled his atelier between 1959-1962 at the Vauvenargues castle on the northern slope. You can reach the peak of "Croix de Provence", 945m high, in 3h on foot from the parking of Vauvenargues. Since the great fire of 1989, its access is restricted. SaumurFrench words: Saumurkeywords: human heritage, loire region, tourist resort, town, wine related topics: Angers related web sites: http://www.ville-saumur.fr , http://www.ot-saumur.fr , http://perso.wanadoo.fr/saumur-jadis/ explanation: Abbey of Saint Florent old near Angers being devastated by Vikings in 9th century, the count of Blois founded a new abbey of Saint Florent and the town of Saumur nearby in 956. Saumur was taken by count of Angers, Foulque III in 1026. It was taken in turn by French king, Philippe Auguste in 1203. During 16-17th century, Saumur reached the apogee as a home of French Protestantism, Huguenots. Located between Angers and Tours on the bank of Loire river, Saumur is renowned for its wine. The population is 30000. SNCFFrench words: SNCF , Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Françaisalternative words: French national railway company, French national railroad keywords: transport related topics: TGV , RER related web sites: http://www.sncf.fr , http://www.voyages-sncf.com , http://www.rff.fr , http://www.entreprise-sncf.com explanation: SNCF, French national railroad company, was created in 1938 by merging 5 private companies. Initially the government controlled 51% of the capital, but since 1982, the whole capital belongs to the state. In 1997, the railroad assets were transferred to another public company, RFF (Reseau ferre de France) in order to introduce competitions. SNCF operates not only classic trains but also high speed trains (TGV) and some Paris' suburban lines (RER), with total length of 32,000 km tracks and 180,000 employees. StrasbourgFrench words: Strasbourgalternative words: Strasburg, Strassburg keywords: human heritage, tourist resort, town related topics: European parliament related web sites: http://www.strasbourg.fr , http://www.ot-strasbourg.fr , http://www.alsace-passion.com explanation: Located in north-east of France near German boarder, Strasbourg was built as Roman's military outpost in 12 B.C. During the middle ages, Strasbourg was a free city inside Holy Roman empire and Gutenberg invented a printing method there. In 1681, France annexed Strasbourg but it had become German in 1871 until the end of WWI in 1918. Now, Strasbourg is the seat of European parliament. It is also the capital of Alsace and the population 261000. Old Strasbourg was enlisted in Unesco world heritage in 1988. | |