The highest mountain ranges in France are the Alps which run along two-thirds of the eastern border down to the Mediterranean, and the Pyrénées in the south, on the border with Spain. The highest peak in France is Mont Blanc in the Alps, on the Italian border. It is 4807 metres high.

Because France is so big the weather varies enormously from one part of the country to another. In Brittany, on the north-west coast, it is often quite mild, with moist winds from the Atlantic Ocean bringing plenty of rain. The north-east has hot summers and cold winters. In the mountainous regions there is lots of snow in the winter, and this can stay on the tops of the mountains all year long. The south has a Mediterranean climate, with mild winters and hot summers. In the spring a very strong, cold wind known as Le Mistral blows down the Rhône valley. It can make life quite unpleasant, and it is sometimes said that people living in the region are bad-tempered at this time of year. Le Mistral is so strong that people have to put stones on their roofs to stop the tiles blowing off. Mischievous villagers sometimes tell foreign tourists that the wind was so strong it blew the stones on to the roof!