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Unforgettable names
My name sounds like something else
Troyes (trois), Foix (fois), Sète (sept) = 3 times 7!
Lyon ("lion" – a lion)
Rennes ("renne" – a reindeer, also "reine" - queen)
Cannes ("cane" – a duck, also "canne" – a walking stick)
My name makes you sing
Toulouse, Belle-Ile-en-Mer, Maubeuge... have all been celebrated in song:
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"Oh Toulouse", is a Claude Nougaro song.
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Maubeuge, at least according to a song, this town in the north of France is famous for its moonlight.
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But where is Belle-Ile-en-Mer then? Just listen to Laurent Voulzy and you’ll find out.
My name makes you smile
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Rye is near Pleure in the Jura (39). (rit = laugh, pleure = cry)
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Riche (rich) is in the Moselle (57), and Pauvres (poor) in the Ardennes (08).
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Joyeuse (07), Bidon (07), Bibiche (57) and other towns or villages with a funny name, such as Arnac-la-poste (87) have started a club.
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Bled (87) is a "lieu-dit", a part of the village Bonnac-la-Côte. Bled is also the name of a town and of a lake in Slovenia.
My name is handy in crossword puzzles
EU (76), AY(51) and IS (21) : these 3 towns with 2-letters names are well known to people who do crosswords and are favourites with those who set them.
My name is linked with history
Verdun, capital of peace
Lille, capital of Flanders
Saint-Malo, the "cité des corsaires"
Belfort, the city of the lion
I am a well-known town
Cannes is known for its Film Festival (May).
Avignon has a Theatre Festival (July).
Nice in the south of France,Dunkerque in the north and Granville in Normandy are all famous for their Carnival celebrations (February).
Angoulême organises the famous Festival de la B.D. (Cartoon Book Festival) (January).
Bourges has a Spring Music Festival.
La Rochelle is famous for its festival of chanson française.
Le Mans has a 24-hour motor race.
I am proud of the local products and know-how
Limoges is the capital of porcelain.
Grasse is renown for perfume.
Chantilly welcomes many horse-races.
Calais and Aleçon are famous for lace.
I always go crazy for sweets in Cambrai!
“une bêtise de Cambrai” is a kind of sweet.
The moon helps me give you one of the biggest tides in Europe.
Being 1 300 years old, my Abbey and my ramparts allow me, in all modesty, to call myself one of the wonders of the world and I am protected by UNESCO.
I have given up counting my visitors (at least 3 million a year), and I know my inhabitants by name: they are 180 Montois. I have a town hall, a council and shops…