In France, temperature is expressed in degrees Celsius (°C).
0°C equals 32° Fahrenheit and 20°C equals 68° Fahrenheit.
The French climate is a temperate one, but varies according to region. Average winter temperatures are between 0°C and 8°C and average summer temperatures range from 16°C to 24°C.
It may rain at any time of year, but it tends to rain more in the spring and autumn. Don't forget your raincoat and umbrella.
The climate in Touraine is mild and temperate. Météo France (France's national weather service) issues updated forecasts three times a day, which are available at www.meteo.fr
France strives to preserve and enrich its culture, promote it and open it up to a wide audience, both in France and abroad.
Here are some key events in French cultural life not to be missed:
- 21 June: Fête de la musique (the national music festival). Any amateur musician can improvise and play in public places and cafés; on this occasion, certain professional musicians also play for free.
- July: Fête du cinéma (film festival). One full-price ticket lets you see as many films as you want over the three-day period. The Printemps du cinéma festival in March works on the same principle.
- The 3rd weekend in September: the Journées du patrimoine (cultural heritage days), during which certain prestigious historical monuments are open to the public only on these days.
French broadcasting includes over 180 television channels.
The most accessible channels are:
TF1, France 2, France 3, France 4, France 5 (educational channel) and Arte (Franco-German arts channel) and M6.
There is also a local TV channel in Tours: TV Tours.
Radio
France has a lot of radio stations with very different formats:
- Music stations (NRJ, Skyrock, Fun, Europe2, etc) offer younger audiences modern music non-stop
- General stations (RTL, Europe 1, France Inter, France Culture…) offer news and programmes on politics, French society etc.
- News stations (France Info, RMC) offer news and bulletins round the clock.
All radio stations broadcast in frequency modulation (FM).
Press
France has several thousand newspapers and magazines.
The major dailies:
- Le Monde
- Le Figaro
- Libération
Regional dailies, the Nouvelle République in Touraine.
Weekly general-interest magazines:
- L'Express
- Le Nouvel Observateur
- Le Point
- Marianne
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All shopping districts in French towns have clothes shops, for all tastes and at all prices.
In France, there is a winter and a summer collection. And after each collection, there are sales offering unsold stock at knockdown prices (20 to 50% off the regular price). The winter collection sales take place in January, and the summer collection sales in July.
In France there are three meals: breakfast, lunch (between 12 noon and 1pm) and dinner (7pm-8pm).
Not much time is spent over breakfast, often consisting of just a hot drink (coffee, tea or chocolate) and bread with butter or jam.
Lunch and dinner usually consist of four courses, a starter, a hot dish (meat or fish with vegetables), cheese and dessert.
French tend to drink water with their meals, mostly still bottled water. Wine tends to be drunk more at weekends.
France has a rich culinary tradition, and each region has its specialities.
Here is a sample of what you will find in Touraine: wine, goat's cheese, cooked meats (rillons - greaves, rillettes - potted meats, andouillettes - chitterlings sausages), fish from the river Loire and sweet specialities (Tours nougat, wine jam, poires tapées - preserved pears…)
Food is generally bought in hypermarkets, supermarkets or at the market.
There is also a wide range of smaller specialist food shops such as delicatessens, butcher's shops, baker's shops and confectioner's…
Department stores are open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 8pm. Specialist stores are open from 9am (baker's shop open earlier) to 7.30pm.
There are markets in several districts of Tours where producers and growers from around the region sell their produce.
