The French eat heroic quantities of cheese

The French take their food very, very seriously - and when the food's this good, so should you.

Even the pickiest eater will be seduced by the divine simplicity of the perfect just-baked baguette, while the more adventurous might like to leave their prejudices at home and let their taste-buds decide about the likes of snails, frogs' legs, foie gras or garlic in heroic quantity.

Real French food is all about the regions, so wherever you stop, a meal can give you a valuable lesson in the history and geography of the land: fishy bouillabaisse in the port town of Marseille; apple tart from the fertile orchards, beef cooked in the red wine of Burgundy, or the hearty Spanish-influenced cassoulet of the Languedoc.