The country known as France is an assembly of distinct regional identities with deep historical roots. The current regional administrative boundaries do not, in most cases, correspond to the historical boundaries. They do, however, group together the smaller administrative divisions called "départements", in force since the French Revolution. To understand how the French refer to places in their country, you'll need to have in mind the "départements", but also the "provinces" or "pays" that may no longer appear on the administrative map. To give you an idea, here's a non-exhaustive list: L'Anjou, Les Ardennes, l'Aubrac, Le Berry, La Beauce, Le Beaujolais, Le Pays Basque, la Catalogne, La Charente, Le Champagne, La Lorraine, l'Alsace, le Jura, La Languedoc, les Landes, Le Gers, Le Poitou. You will come across these names as you discover the wines and cheeses of France, since these are always associated with a particular 'terroir". The more you eat (well and widely) the more you'll learn about France. You'll also 

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Below is a set of photo albums from each current region of France. Each album contains photo galleries with from more specific locations within that region. Refer to this map of France to get your bearings.

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