France, with an area of 547,000 sq km, is the largest country in Europe.
Parts of the southern regions of the country are mountainous. Along its south-western border with Spain and Andorra, and south-eastern border with Italy and Switzerland are the Pyrenees and the Alps, respectively. Mont Blanc, at 4,819 m, in the Alps, is the highest peak in western Europe.
Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany are located to the north and northeast of the country. Its territory also includes the island of Corsica, which is off the Mediterranean coast to the southeast of Nice. The principality of Monaco is located in the south along the Mediterranean
In the centre, north and west of the country are the plains, river basins and rolling hills through which four main rivers flow. These rivers are the Rhone, which flows into the Mediterranean, the Loire, which flows into the Atlantic, the Seine, which flows into the English Channel and the Garonne, which flows into the Bay of Biscay.
