France is officially divided into 22 administrative regions (plus four overseas), then further divided into 96 departments.
Each French department falls entirely within one region, and has its own local 'capital' town - called a prefecture. Each department is further subdivided into 'communes' - locally administered areas (there are approximately 37,000 communes in France, approximately representing each place in France).
Confusingly some parts of France that you might visit are best known by their 'department' name e.g. Dordogne is a department forming part of the Aquitaine region, while others are better known under their region name eg Brittany (where the region includes several departments)
The departments below are listed by department number - these 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 (until spring 2010).
| Dept No. | Department Name | Region | Prefecture | Communes* |
| 01 | Ain | Rhone-Alps | Bourg-en-Bresse | Ain communes |
| 02 | Aisne | Picardy | Laon | Aisne communes |
| 2A | Corse-du-Sud | Corsica | Ajaccio | Corsica communes |
| 2B | Haute-Corse | Corsica | Bastia | see Corsica above |
| 03 | Allier | Auvergne | Moulins | Allier communes |
| 04 | Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | Provence-Alps-Cote d'Azur | Digne-les-Bains | Alpes-de-Haute-Provence communes |
| 05 | Hautes-Alpes | Provence-Alps-Cote d'Azur | Gap | Hautes-Alpes communes |
| 06 | Alpes-Maritimes | Provence-Alps-Cote d'Azur | Nice | Alpes-Maritimes communes |
| 07 | Ardèche | Rhone-Alps | Privas | Ardèche communes |
| 08 | Ardennes | Champagne Ardenne | Charleville-Mezieres | Ardennes communes |
| 09 | Ariège | Midi Pyrenees | Foix | Ariege communes |
| 10 | Aube | Champagne Ardenne | Troyes | Aube communes |
| 11 | Aude | Languedoc Roussillon | Carcassonne | Aude communes |
| 12 | Aveyron | Midi Pyrenees | Rodez | Aveyron communes |
| 13 | Bouches-du-Rhône | Provence-Alps-Cote d'Azur | Marseille | Bouches du Rhone communes |
| 14 | Calvados | Lower Normandy | Caen | Calvados communes |
| 15 | Cantal | Auvergne | Aurillac | Cantal communes |
| 16 | Charente | Poitou Charentes | Angouleme | Charente communes |
| 17 | Charente-Maritime | Poitou Charentes | La Rochelle | Charente-Maritime communes |
| 18 | Cher | Centre (Loire Valley) | Bourges | Cher communes |
| 19 | Corrèze | Limousin | Tulle | Correze communes |
| 21 | Côte-d’Or | Burgundy | Dijon | Cote d'Or communes |
| 22 | Cotes-d’Armor | Brittany | Saint-Brieuc | Cotes-d'Armor communes |
| 23 | Creuse | Limousin | Guéret | Creuse communes |
| 24 | Dordogne | Aquitaine | Périgueux | Dordogne communes |
| 25 | Doubs | Franche Comte | Besancon | Doubs communes |
| 26 | Drôme | Rhone-Alps | Valence | Drome communes |
| 27 | Eure | Upper Normandy | Evreux | Eure communes |
| 28 | Eure-et-Loir | Centre (Loire Valley) | Chartres | Eure-et-Loir communes |
| 29 | Finistère | Brittany | Quimper | Finistere communes |
| 30 | Gard | Languedoc Roussillon | Nimes | Gard communes |
| 31 | Haute-Garonne | Midi Pyrenees | Toulouse | Haute-Garonne communes |
| 32 | Gers (see Gascony) | Midi Pyrenees | Auch | Gers communes |
| 33 | Gironde | Aquitaine | Bordeaux | Gironde communes |
| 34 | Hérault | Languedoc Roussillon | Montpellier | Herault communes |
| 35 | Ille-et-Vilaine | Brittany | Rennes | Ille-et-Vilaine communes |
| 36 | Indre | Centre (Loire Valley) | Chateauroux | Indre communes |
| 37 | Indre-et-Loire | Centre (Loire Valley) | Tours | Indre-et-Loire communes |
| 38 | Isère | Rhone-Alps | Grenoble | Isere communes |
| 39 | Jura | Franche Comte | Lons-le-Saunier | Jura communes |
| 40 | Landes | Aquitaine | Mont-de-Marsan | Landes communes |
| 41 | Loir-et-Cher | Centre (Loire Valley) | Blois | Loir-et-Cher communes |
| 42 | Loire | Rhone-Alps | Saint-Etienne | Loire communes |
| 43 | Haute-Loire | Auvergne | Le Puy-en-Velay | Haute-Loire communes |
| 44 | Loire-Atlantique | Pays de la Loire | Nantes | Loire-Atlantique communes |
| 45 | Loiret | Centre (Loire Valley) | Orleans | Loiret communes |
| 46 | Lot | Midi Pyrenees | Cahors | Lot communes |
| 47 | Lot-et-Garonne | Aquitaine | Agen | Lot-et-Garonne communes |
| 48 | Lozère | Languedoc Roussillon | Mende | Lozere communes |
| 49 | Maine-et-Loire (see Anjou) | Pays de la Loire | Angers | Maine-et-Loire communes |
| 50 | Manche | Lower Normandy | Saint-Lô | Manche communes |
| 51 | Marne | Champagne Ardenne | Chalons-en-Champagne | Marne communes |
| 52 | Haute-Marne | Champagne Ardenne | Chaumont | Haute-Marne communes |
| 53 | Mayenne | Pays de la Loire | Laval | Mayenne communes |
| 54 | Moselle | Lorraine | Nancy | Moselle communes |
| 55 | Meuse | Lorraine | Bar-le-Duc | Meuse communes |
| 56 | Morbihan | Brittany | Vannes | Morbihan communes |
| 57 | Meurthe-et-Moselle | Lorraine | Metz | Meurthe-et-Moselle communes |
| 58 | Nièvre | Burgundy | Nevers | Nievre communes |
| 59 | Nord | Nord Pas de Calais | Lille | Nord communes |
| 60 | Oise | Picardy | Beauvais | Oise communes |
| 61 | Orne | Lower Normandy | Alencon | Orne communes |
| 62 | Pas-de-Calais | Nord Pas de Calais | Arras | Pas-de-Calais communes |
| 63 | Puy-de-Dôme | Auvergne | Clermont-Ferrand | Puy-de-Dome communes |
| 64 | Pyrénées-Atlantiques | Aquitaine | Pau | Pyrenees-Atlantiques communes |
| 65 | Hautes-Pyrénées | Midi Pyrenees | Tarbes | Hautes-Pyrenees communes |
| 66 | Pyrénées-Orientales | Languedoc Roussillon | Perpignan | Pyrenees-Orientales communes |
| 67 | Bas-Rhin | Alsace | Strasbourg | Bas-Rhin communes |
| 68 | Haut-Rhin | Alsace | Colmar | Haut-Rhin communes |
| 69 | Rhône | Rhone-Alps | Lyon | Rhone-communes |
| 70 | Haute-Saône | Franche Comte | Vesoul | Haute-Saone communes |
| 71 | Saône-et-Loire | Burgundy | Macon | Saone-et-Loire communes |
| 72 | Sarthe | Pays de la Loire | Le Mans | Sarthe communes |
| 73 | Savoie | Rhone-Alps | Chambery | Savoie communes |
| 74 | Haute-Savoie | Rhone-Alps | Annecy | Haute-Savoie communes |
| 75 | Paris | Paris | Paris | |
| 76 | Seine-Maritime | Upper Normandy | Rouen | Seine-Maritime communes |
| 77 | Seine-et-Marne | Paris | Melun | Seine-et-Marne communes |
| 78 | Yvelines | Paris | Versailles | Yvelines communes |
| 79 | Deux-Sèvres | Poitou Charentes | Niort | Deux-Sèvres communes |
| 80 | Somme | Picardy | Amiens | Somme communes |
| 81 | Tarn | Midi Pyrenees | Albi | Tarn communes |
| 82 | Tarn-et-Garonne | Midi Pyrenees | Montauban | Tarn-et-Garonne communes |
| 83 | Var | Provence-Alps-Cote d'Azur | Toulon | Var communes |
| 84 | Vaucluse | Provence-Alps-Cote d'Azur | Avignon | Vaucluse communes |
| 85 | Vendée | Pays de la Loire | La Roche-sur-Yon | Vendee communes |
| 86 | Vienne | Poitou Charentes | Poitiers | Vienne communes |
| 87 | Haute-Vienne | Limousin | Limoges | Haute-Vienne communes |
| 88 | Vosges | Lorraine | Epinal | Vosges communes |
| 89 | Yonne | Burgundy | Auxerre | Yonne communes |
| 90 | Territoire de Belfort | Franche Comte | Belfort | Territoire-de-Belfort communes |
| 91 | Essonne | Paris | Evry | see Paris (no 75 above) |
| 92 | Hauts-de-Seine | Paris | Nanterre | see Paris (no 75 above) |
| 93 | Seine-Saint-Denis | Paris | Bobigny | see Paris (no 75 above) |
| 94 | Val-de-Marne | Paris | Créteil | see Paris (no 75 above) |
| 95 | Val-d’Oise | Paris | Cergy-Pontoise | see Paris (no 75 above) |
* Note: these listings provide complete alphabetical list of all the communes in France, by department - which in turn will provide you with maps, tourist information, hotels and places of interest for each of these communes (Paris communes are grouped together).
The four overseas departments are Guadelope, Martinique, La Réunion and Guyane
See 'Places to visit in France' for a map of the regions of France. 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.
Map of the departments of France.