16 Maps That Will Change How You See France

There are a lot more wolves there than you think.

Posted on March 24, 2016, 12:08 GMT

Pierre Michonneau

Rédacteur chez BuzzFeed, France

1. A map showing the number of kisses it is customary to give in each region.

2. A map showing the presence of wolves in 2008.

3. And the same map in 2016.

4. France as represented by an Arab cartographer in 1154.

The map, which was originally oriented north-downward, has here been turned upside down.

5. The evolution of French territory from 985 to the present day.

6. The names of the tribes who lived in Gaul in the first century BC.

7. A map showing different regional languages.

8. The main Roman roads starting from Lugdunum (Lyon), the capital of Gaul, and secondary roads.

9. The areas covered in France by the various Parisian stations today.

10. A map showing the proliferation of motorways from 1940 to the present day.

11. France as seen by a sixteenth century Italian monk.

12. The Frankish kingdom under Charlemagne.

Note the presence of "Austrasie", which was one of the names proposed in 2016 for the Grand Est region.

13. A map showing the location of French nuclear power plants.

14. A map showing levels of sunshine in France.

15. A map comparing the GDP of French regions and the GDP of equivalent countries in 2011.

16. Finally, and most importantly, a map showing which areas call this a "Galette des Rois", and which call it a "Gâteau des Rois".