Departments of France
France falls into 22 regions, containing 96 departments. Confusingly some regions are best known by their 'region' name e.g. Brittany is a 'region' of France, while others are best known by their department name - for example, Dordogne is a department forming part of the Aquitaine region.
Other parts have been 'excised' from their region for administrative reasons, such as Loire Atlantique, which includes Nantes - for a long time capital of Brittany it now no longer falls in the region at all...
Normandy meanwhile consists of two separate regions ('Upper Normandy' and 'Lower Normandy'); regions such as Midi-Pyrenees and Languedoc-Roussillon cover a whole range of places, including some 'old' regions such as 'Gascony'; and Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur is one region although usually known as Provence, with the coastal region known as Cote d'Azur (or French Riviera...)
You can see the confusion...there is no 'ideal' way to pull information together and present it on a travel site!
Map of the departments of France.
Departments of France (department number and department name) |
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01 Ain |
34 Hérault |
68 Haut-Rhin |
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02 Aisne |
35 Ille-et-Vilaine |
69 Rhône |
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03 Allier |
36 Indre |
70 Haute-Saône |
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04 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence |
37 Indre-et-Loire |
71 Saône-et-Loire |
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05 Hautes-Alpes |
38 Isère |
72 Sarthe |
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06 Alpes-Maritimes |
39 Jura |
73 Savoie |
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07 Ardèche |
40 Landes |
74 Haute-Savoie |
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08 Ardennes |
41 Loir-et-Cher |
75 Paris |
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09 Ariège |
42 Loire |
76 Seine-Maritime |
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10 Aube |
43 Haute-Loire |
77 Seine-et-Marne |
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11 Aude |
44 Loire-Atlantique |
78 Yvelines |
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12 Aveyron |
45 Loiret |
79 Deux-Sèvres |
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13 Bouches-du-Rhône |
46 Lot |
80 Somme |
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14 Calvados |
47 Lot-et-Garonne |
81 Tarn |
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15 Cantal |
48 Lozère |
82 Tarn-et-Garonne |
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16 Charente |
49 Maine-et-Loire |
83 Var |
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17 Charente-Maritime |
50 Manche |
84 Vaucluse |
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18 Cher |
51 Marne |
85 Vendée |
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19 Corrèze |
52 Haute-Marne |
86 Vienne |
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2A Corse-du-Sud |
53 Mayenne |
87 Haute-Vienne |
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2B Haute-Corse |
54 Moselle |
88 Vosges |
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21 Côte-d’Or |
55 Meuse |
89 Yonne |
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22 Côtes-d’Armor |
56 Morbihan |
90 Territoire de Belfort |
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23 Creuse |
57 Meurthe-et-Moselle |
91 Essonne |
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24 Dordogne |
58 Nièvre |
92 Hauts-de-Seine |
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25 Doubs |
59 Nord |
93 Seine-Saint-Denis |
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26 Drôme |
60 Oise |
94 Val-de-Marne |
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27 Eure |
61 Orne |
95 Val-d’Oise |
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28 Eure-et-Loir |
62 Pas-de-Calais |
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29 Finistère |
63 Puy-de-Dôme |
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30 Gard |
64 Pyrénées-Atlantiques |
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31 Haute-Garonne |
65 Hautes-Pyrénées |
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32 Gers |
66 Pyrénées-Orientales |
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33 Gironde |
67 Bas-Rhin |
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See also 'Places to visit in France' for a map of the regions of France (this site is organised around the regions rather than the departments). This list of departments in France should help if you know what department you want to visit e.g. Dordogne 24 but you don't know which region it forms part of. Note that the department numbers are very widely used, including being the first two digits of French postcodes and the last two digits of a car registration number.
