French Geography and Nature

Geography And Nature

268 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.

Practise Geography And Nature now

Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.

All 268 questions

  1. Complete the sentence about Paris with the correct year: Parts of the city along the Seine have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site since ______.
  2. Complete the sentence about Lyon with the correct year: According to the Globalization and World Rankings Research Institute, Lyon is considered a Beta city, as of ______.
  3. Complete the sentence about Toulouse with the correct year: Toulouse has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Canal du Midi was designated in ______ and shared with other cities.
  4. Complete the sentence about Nantes with the correct year: Although Nantes was the primary residence of the 15th-century dukes of Brittany, Rennes became the provincial capital after the ______ union o…
  5. Complete the sentence about Strasbourg with the correct year: The Roman camp of Argentoratum was first mentioned in 12 BC; the city of Strasbourg which grew from it celebrated its 2,000th anniversary…
  6. Complete the sentence about Strasbourg with the correct year: Between 362 and ______, Strasbourg was governed by the bishops of Strasbourg; their rule was reinforced in 873 and then more in 982.
  7. Complete the sentence about Bordeaux with the correct year: The city, known as the "Pearl of Aquitaine", was voted European Destination of the year in a ______ online poll.
  8. Complete the sentence about Lille with the correct year: Archeological digs seem to show the area as inhabited by as early as ______ BC, most notably in the modern quartiers of Fives, Wazemmes and Vie…
  9. Complete the sentence about Le Havre with the correct year: After the ______ bombings the firm of Auguste Perret began to rebuild the city in concrete.
  10. Complete the sentence about Le Havre with the correct year: The Port ______ project increased the container capacity to compete with ports of northern Europe, transformed the southern districts of the…
  11. Complete the sentence about Saint-Étienne with the correct year: James, the Abbey of Valbenoîte had been founded by the Cistercians in ______.
  12. Complete the sentence about Dijon with the correct year: In ______, Swiss and Imperial armies invaded Burgundy and besieged Dijon, which was defended by the governor of the province, Louis II de la Tr…
  13. Complete the sentence about Clermont-Ferrand with the correct year: Clermont-Ferrand has been listed as a "tectonic hotspot" since July ______ on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
  14. Complete the sentence about Clermont-Ferrand with the correct year: Growing in importance under the Capetian dynasty, in ______ it hosted the Council of Clermont, where Pope Urban II called the First…
  15. Complete the sentence about Le Mans with the correct year: Since ______, the city has hosted the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world's oldest active endurance sports car race.
  16. Complete the sentence about Le Mans with the correct year: In ______ the citizens of Maine revolted and expelled the Normans, resulting in Hugh V being proclaimed count of Maine.
  17. Complete the sentence about Brest, France with the correct year: By the early modern period, however, Brest had become a military harbour, which Richelieu established in ______.
  18. Complete the sentence about Tours with the correct year: The prefecture was partially destroyed during the French Wars of Religion in the late 16th century and again during the Second World War in Jun…
  19. Complete the sentence about Amiens with the correct year: The ______ Battle of Amiens was the opening phase of the Hundred Days Offensive which directly led to the Armistice with Germany.
  20. Complete the sentence about Limoges with the correct year: Since the 1990s, the city has had a basketball club, Limoges CSP, which has won several French championships and the European championship in…
  21. Complete the sentence about Limoges with the correct year: Because of its heritage policy, it has held the label "City of Art and History" since ______.
  22. Complete the sentence about Perpignan with the correct year: Floods have occurred, as in ______ when the rising of the Têt in Perpignan destroyed 39 houses, leaving more than 60 families homeless.
  23. Complete the sentence about Perpignan with the correct year: Salvador Dalí proclaimed the station to be the "Cosmic Centre of the Universe" after experiencing a vision there in ______.
  24. Complete the sentence about Besançon with the correct year: Thanks to its rich historical and cultural heritage and its unique architecture, Besançon has been labeled a "Town of Art and History" since…
  25. Complete the sentence about Orléans with the correct year: Orléans belongs to the vallée de la Loire sector between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes-sur-Loire, which was in ______ inscribed by UNESCO as…
  26. Complete the sentence about Rouen with the correct year: Claimed by both the French and the English during the Hundred Years' War, it was on its soil that Joan of Arc was tried and burned alive on 30…
  27. Complete the sentence about Mulhouse with the correct year: The first textile printing works in Mulhouse were established in ______ by Samuel Koechlin, Jean-Jacques Schmaltzer, Jean-Henri Dolfus and J…
  28. Complete the sentence about Caen with the correct year: Around ______, William the Conqueror began construction of the Château de Caen, which became the centre of the ducal court.
  29. Complete the sentence about Caen with the correct year: Caen fell to Philip II of France on 21 May ______, and was incorporated along with the remainder of Normandy into the Kingdom of France.
  30. Complete the sentence about Avignon with the correct year: Papal control persisted until ______ when during the French Revolution it became part of France.
  31. Complete the sentence about Avignon with the correct year: Due to its architectural and cultural importance during the 14th and 15th centuries, it was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in ____…
  32. Complete the sentence about Avignon with the correct year: The last major earthquake of significant magnitude was on 11 June ______.
  33. Complete the sentence about Cannes with the correct year: Construction of a castle in ______ fortified the city then known as Cannes, and at the end of the 11th century construction was started on two…
  34. Complete the sentence about Cannes with the correct year: Around ______, Cannes detached from the monks who had controlled the city for hundreds of years and became independent.
  35. Complete the sentence about Calais with the correct year: The Channel Tunnel has connected Calais and Folkestone since ______.
  36. Complete the sentence about Calais with the correct year: Calais remained under English control until its recapture by France in ______.
  37. Complete the sentence about Calais with the correct year: In May ______, it was a strategic bombing target of the invading German forces, who took it during the siege of Calais.
  38. Complete the sentence about Dunkirk with the correct year: The name Dunkirka was first mentioned in a tithe privilege of 27 May ______, issued by Count Baldwin V of Flanders.
  39. Complete the sentence about Dunkirk with the correct year: Upon the extinction of the Counts of Flanders with the death of Louis II in ______, Flanders was acquired by the Burgundian, Duke Philip the…
  40. Complete the sentence about Dunkirk with the correct year: At the beginning of the Eighty Years' War, Dunkirk was briefly in the hands of the Dutch rebels, from ______.
  41. Complete the sentence about Dunkirk with the correct year: Spanish forces under Duke Alexander Farnese of Parma re-established Spanish rule in ______ and it became a base for the notorious Dunkirkers.
  42. Complete the sentence about Poitiers with the correct year: The second battle, in ______, a lionized military capstone was the Battle of Poitiers which was one of the focal battles of the Hundred Year…
  43. Complete the sentence about Poitiers with the correct year: Until ______, Poitiers hosted the ruins of a vast Roman Amphitheatre, which was larger than the Amphitheater of Nîmes.
  44. Complete the sentence about Poitiers with the correct year: Furthermore, Roman baths built in the 1st century and demolished in the 3rd century, were uncovered near the amphitheater in ______.
  45. Complete the sentence about La Rochelle with the correct year: The Dukes of Aquitaine granted it a charter as a free port in ______.
  46. Complete the sentence about La Rochelle with the correct year: In ______, Guillaume X to all intents and purposes made La Rochelle a free port and gave it the right to identify as a commune.
  47. Complete the sentence about Biarritz with the correct year: The oldest mention of the city appears in a cartulary, Bayonne's Golden book, from ______, where it is named Bearids; some years later the n…
  48. Complete the sentence about Biarritz with the correct year: In ______, Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry II of England, who became suzerain of the Duchy of Aquitaine.
  49. Complete the sentence about Biarritz with the correct year: Mentions of this château occur as late as ______, in the letters patent of Henry IV.
  50. Complete the sentence about Biarritz with the correct year: One tower remained as of ______ when a daymark was established there, called de la Haille, then de la Humade.
  51. Complete the sentence about Colmar with the correct year: The city shifted between French and German control multiple times, before being permanently restored to France in ______.
  52. Complete the sentence about Colmar with the correct year: Colmar was granted the status of a free imperial city by Emperor Frederick II in ______.
  53. Complete the sentence about Colmar with the correct year: The city adopted the Protestant Reformation in ______, long after the northern neighbours of Strasbourg and Sélestat.
  54. Complete the sentence about Colmar with the correct year: During the Thirty Years' War, it was taken by the Swedish army in ______, which held it for two years.
  55. Complete the sentence about Chamonix with the correct year: The name Campum munitum, meaning fortified plain or field, had been used as early as ______.
  56. Complete the sentence about Chamonix with the correct year: By ______ the name had been abbreviated to a similar form to the modern Chamonis.
  57. Complete the sentence about Chamonix with the correct year: The valley was first mentioned in ______, when it was granted by the Count of the Genevois to the great Benedictine house of St.
  58. Complete the sentence about Saint-Malo with the correct year: In ______, during World War II, the Allies heavily bombed Saint-Malo.
  59. Complete the sentence about Lourdes with the correct year: In ______, Charles VI laid siege to the castle during the course of the war and eventually captured the town from the English after an 18-mon…
  60. Complete the sentence about Lourdes with the correct year: In ______, Count Gabriel de Montgomery attacked the nearby town of Tarbes when Queen Jeanne d'Albret of Navarre established Protestantism the…
  61. Complete the sentence about Lourdes with the correct year: In ______, the town was taken by forces of the Catholic League, and the Catholic faith was re-established.
  62. Complete the sentence about Lourdes with the correct year: In ______, Lourdes was incorporated into the Kingdom of France.
  63. Complete the sentence about Versailles with the correct year: Before the later palace existed, Louis XIII built a modest brick‑and‑stone hunting lodge in ______.
  64. Complete the sentence about Ajaccio with the correct year: The original city went into decline in the Middle Ages, but began to prosper again after the Genoese built a citadel in ______, to the south…
  65. Complete the sentence about Ajaccio with the correct year: After the Corsican Republic was declared in ______, the Genoese continued to hold several citadels, including Ajaccio, until the French took…
  66. Complete the sentence about Ajaccio with the correct year: The most famous of these is Napoleon Bonaparte, who was born in Ajaccio in ______, and whose ancestral home, the Maison Bonaparte, is now a m…
  67. Complete the sentence about Bastia with the correct year: In ______, the Republic of Genoa sent two governors to Corsica: Leonello Lomellino and Aluigi Toriorino.
  68. Complete the sentence about Bastia with the correct year: Then, before ______, they were recovered and absorbed, like many others in the new lordship of Giovanninello de Loreto.
  69. Complete the sentence about Louvre with the correct year: Due to urban expansion, the fortress eventually lost its defensive function, and in ______ Francis I converted it into the primary residence o…
  70. Complete the sentence about Louvre with the correct year: The museum opened on 10 August ______ with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church proper…
  71. Complete the sentence about Notre-Dame de Paris with the correct year: On 26 August ______, the Liberation of Paris from German occupation was celebrated in Notre-Dame with the singing of the Magnific…
  72. Complete the sentence about Notre-Dame de Paris with the correct year: In ______, Pope Pius VII awarded it honorary status as a minor basilica.
  73. Complete the sentence about Arc de Triomphe with the correct year: The architect, Jean-François Chalgrin, died in ______ and the work was taken over by Louis-Robert Goust.
  74. Complete the sentence about Sacré-Cœur, Paris with the correct year: Sacré-Cœur Basilica has maintained perpetual adoration of the Holy Eucharist since ______.
  75. Complete the sentence about Sacré-Cœur, Paris with the correct year: Until his death in ______, Fournier was an active builder who completed the long-delayed restoration of Nantes Cathedral.
  76. Complete the sentence about Mont Saint-Michel with the correct year: A small garrison fended off a full attack by the English in ______.
  77. Complete the sentence about Mont Saint-Michel with the correct year: Mont-Saint-Michel and its surrounding bay were inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in ______ for its unique aesthe…
  78. Complete the sentence about Mont Saint-Michel with the correct year: The new bridge was completely submerged on 21 March ______ by the highest sea level, a once-in-18-years occurrence, as crowds gathe…
  79. Complete the sentence about Champs-Élysées with the correct year: In ______ the avenue was extended beyond the Rond-Point as far as the modern Place Charles de Gaulle.
  80. Complete the sentence about Champs-Élysées with the correct year: Marigny extended the avenue again in ______ as far as the modern Porte Maillot.
  81. Complete the sentence about Château de Chambord with the correct year: In ______, in the wake of the French Revolution, some of the furnishings were sold and timber removed.
  82. Complete the sentence about Château de Chambord with the correct year: Flooding in June ______ damaged the grounds but not the château itself.
  83. Complete the sentence about Château de Chenonceau with the correct year: The château has been designated as a Monument historique since ______ by the French Ministry of Culture.
  84. Complete the sentence about Château de Chenonceau with the correct year: The original château was torched in ______ to punish the owner, Jean Marques, for an act of sedition.
  85. Complete the sentence about Château de Chenonceau with the correct year: After Francis' death in ______, Henry II offered the château as a gift to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who became fervently…
  86. Complete the sentence about Château d'Amboise with the correct year: King Charles VIII died at the château in ______ after hitting his head on a door lintel.
  87. Complete the sentence about Palais des Papes with the correct year: In ______, the Palais des Papes was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its outstanding architecture and historical impor…
  88. Complete the sentence about Sainte-Chapelle with the correct year: The relics arrived in Paris in August ______, carried from Venice by two Dominican friars.
  89. Complete the sentence about Pont Neuf with the correct year: As early as ______, Henry II considered building a new bridge at the Ile de la Cité because the existing Pont Notre-Dame was congested and…
  90. Complete the sentence about Pont Neuf with the correct year: By ______, Henry III released funds from the national treasury for a new bridge and appointed a building commission for its designing and p…
  91. Complete the sentence about Pont Neuf with the correct year: The commission proceeded in ______ with modifications to its initial plan, perhaps devised by the royal architect, Androuet de Cerceau.
  92. Complete the sentence about Montmartre with the correct year: The other church on the hill, Saint Pierre de Montmartre, built in ______, was the church of the prestigious Montmartre Abbey.
  93. Complete the sentence about Montmartre with the correct year: Excavations in ______ north of the Church of Saint-Pierre found coins from the 3rd century and the remains of a major wall.
  94. Complete the sentence about Montmartre with the correct year: In ______, King Louis VI purchased the Merovingian chapel and built on the site the church of Saint-Pierre de Montmartre, still standing.
  95. Complete the sentence about Panthéon, Paris with the correct year: The placement of Victor Hugo's remains in the crypt in ______ was its first entombment in over 50 years.
  96. Complete the sentence about Panthéon, Paris with the correct year: In ______, Léon Foucault conducted a demonstration of diurnal motion at the Panthéon by suspending a pendulum from the ceiling, a cop…
  97. Complete the sentence about Centre Pompidou with the correct year: In ______, Georges Pompidou, the new president, adopted the Beaubourg project and decided it to be the location of both the new libra…
  98. Complete the sentence about La Défense with the correct year: In ______, the Nobel Tower was the first office skyscraper built in the area.
  99. Complete the sentence about La Défense with the correct year: In ______, a contract for a Défense-Cergy high-speed hovercraft train was signed and soon abandoned.
  100. Complete the sentence about Seine with the correct year: Four large storage reservoirs have been built since ______ on the Seine as well as its tributaries Yonne, Marne, and Aube.

Keep practising

More general knowledge topics

All general knowledge →

Geography And Nature in other exams

Ready for more general knowledge?

Play the GK ChallengeGeneral knowledge hub