SINCE France is part of the Schengen agreement and is located in the European mainland, there are a few highways leading to the border without any checkpoint if one travels by land. But if one travels by plane, you can always check in at Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris. Charles de Gaulle International Airport is also France’s port of entry for all its travelers outside Europe. Why? Because the airport is home to Air France, the official carrier of the country and naturally, flights going to other continents through that airline emanate from here. Other carriers which maintain their French branch here are Dutch KLM, AeroMexico, NorthWest, Delta and Korean Air.

Because Charles de Gaulle is such a busy airport, remember to allocate three hours to come here before flight time for processing which of course includes physical, luggage and document security checks. Charles de Gaulle handles that many passengers that there is a bus station and a train station here. Charles de Gaulle International Airport is named after the most famous head of state of this country. It is said to be the second largest airport in Europe. And since it is also one of the busiest, there are even five-star hotels located at a stone’s throw from the airport – hotels such as the Holiday Inn and Sheraton. And since they are first-rate hotels, their restaurants also serve first-rate food – gourmet is on the menu and there is a different theme for the nightly dinner buffet. If one is checked in at the hotel, kids up to 12 are free. The hotel also features function rooms for large conferences which have an area of 13,000 square feet each. Other amenities are an ice machine, voicemail, wireless and high speed wired Internet connection, cable television in LCD screen, DVD player, etc. The rest of the international airports in France are located in the following cities – Clermont-Ferrand, Lille, Lyon, Marseilles, Nantes, Nice and Toulouse.

If one opts to travel to France by land, there are daily trips coming from Brussels in Belgium and of course London. One can even secure tickets from the United States via online purchase or via the US subsidiary of the French rail service SNCF, Eurostar. There are also dozens of international bus companies plying the French-transnational route. And if you come from Monaco, you can also board the ferry from there which will take you to the various southern French ports. Remember, all foreigners from non-European countries need a French visa to come to this country. European citizens are of course exempted not just due to the Schengen agreement but because of their states’ membership with the European Union.

Once you’re here in France, you can always avail of the ever-cheap car rentals at the airport. There are lots of luxury models to choose from although you can also avail of the off-road vehicles. Just don’t crash them in beach parking spaces for you will surely be fine. The French are so strict in implementing ecological laws that they don’t allow the mud of your tires to stain their paved parking spaces.