Cities in France

Paris is the capital and largest city of France, with an estimated city population of 2.04 million in an area of , and a metropolitan population of 13.2 million as of . Located on the river Seine in the centre of the Île-de-France region, it is the largest metropolitan area and fourth-most populous city in the European Union (EU). Nicknamed the "City of Light", partly because of its role in the Age of Enlightenment, Paris has been one of the world's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, culture, fashion, and gastronomy since the 17th century.

Lyon (Franco-Provençal: Liyon; formerly Lyons in English) is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, and southwest of Geneva, Switzerland.

Marseille (; see below) is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, near the mouth of the Rhône river. Marseille is the second-most populous city proper in France, after Paris, with 886,040 inhabitants in 2023 over a municipal territory of . Together with its suburbs and exurbs, the Marseille metropolitan area, which extends over , had a population of 1,900,957 at the January 2022 census. The cities of Marseille, Aix-en-Prove

Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is a prefecture and commune in, and the largest city of the Grand Est region of northeastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin department and the official seat of the European Parliament.

Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department. Its inhabitants are called "Bordelais (masculine) or "Bordelaises (feminine). The term "Bordelais" may also refer to the city and its surrounding region.

Nice ( ; ) is a city located in the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million over an area of approximately or about the size of Singapore. Located on the French Riviera, the southeastern coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea, at the foot of the French Alps, Nice is the second-largest French city on the Mediterranean coast and second-largest city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region after Marseille. It is approximately from the principality of Monaco and from the F

Toulouse (, , ; ) is a city in Southern France, the prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Paris. It is the fourth-largest city in France after Paris, Marseille, and Lyon, with 514,819 inhabitants within its municipal boundaries (2023); its metropolitan area has a population of 1,513,396 inhabitants (2022). Toulouse is the central city of one of the 22 metropolitan councils of France. Between the 2014 and 2020 censuses, its metropolitan area was the third

Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord department, and the main city of the European Metropolis of Lille.

Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population of the metropolitan area () is 712,886 (2022). People from Rouen are known as Rouennais.

Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 327,734 in Nantes proper (2023) and a metropolitan area of over 1 million inhabitants (2022). With Saint-Nazaire, a seaport on the Loire estuary, Nantes forms one of the main north-western French metropolitan agglomerations.

Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. As of 2023, 310,240 people live in the city proper, while its metropolitan area has a population of 813,272 as of 2020. Montpellier is the third-largest French city near the Mediterranean coast, behind Marseille and Nice, and the seventh-largest city of France overall. The inhabitants are called Montpelliérains.

Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Isère department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the capital of the Dauphiné historical province and lies where the river Drac flows into the Isère at the foot of the French Alps.

Rennes (; ; ; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany region and Ille-et-Vilaine department. In 2023, the city had a population of 230,890 inhabitants, while the larger metropolitan area is the 10th most populated in France with a population of 789,516. The inhabitants of Rennes are called Rennais (masculine) and Rennaises (feminine) in French.

Dijon (, ; ; Burgundian: Digion) is a city in and the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. As of 2023, the population of the commune was 161,830, making it the most populous commune in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is a French city that serves as the capital of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland.

Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.

Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,351 (2023). Its metropolitan area () had 510,669 inhabitants in 2022. It is the prefecture (capital) of the Puy-de-Dôme département. Julien Bony is its current mayor.

commune in Seine-Maritime, France

thumb|right|The Maine (river)|Maine, the castle, and the spires of the cathedral Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the province are called Angevins or, more rarely, Angeriens.

Metz ( ; ; , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Est region. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany and Luxembourg, the city forms a central part of the European Greater Region and the SaarLorLux euroregion.

Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: Sant-Etiève), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

city and commune in Meurthe-et-Moselle, Grand Est, France

Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune has a population of 92,188 (2023), with about 16,000 (estimate from Avignon's municipal services) living in the ancient town centre enclosed by its medieval walls. The Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Avignon, a cooperation structure of 16 communes, had 197,102 inhabitants in 2022.

Orléans (; ) is a city in north-central France, about 120 kilometres (74 miles) southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the department of Loiret and of the region of Centre-Val de Loire.

Nîmes is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Cévennes mountain range, the estimated population of the commune of Nîmes stood at 148,561 in 2019.

Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var department.

port city in the Finistère department, Brittany, France

Caen (; ; ) is a city and commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000, making Caen the second largest urban area in Normandy and the 19th largest in France. It is also the third largest commune in all of Normandy after Le Havre and Rouen.

Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 138,668 inhabitants as of 2022 while the population of the whole metropolitan area was 526,370.

Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. With 136,449 inhabitants (2023), it is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. A central landmark of the city is Amiens Cathedral, the largest Gothic cathedral in France. Amiens also has one of the largest university hospitals in France, with a capacity of 1,200 beds. The author Jules Verne lived in Amiens from 1871 until his death in 1905, and served on the city council for 15 years. Amiens is the birthplace of French president Emmanuel Macron.

Mulhouse ( , ; ; , meaning "mill house") is a French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the border with Switzerland and Germany. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace after Strasbourg.

Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Mediterranean Sea and the scrublands of the Corbières massif. It is the centre of the Perpignan Méditerranée Métropole metropolitan area.

Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated on the first western foothills of the Massif Central, Limoges is crossed by the river Vienne, of which it was originally the first ford crossing point.

Aix-en-Provence, often known as simply Aix, is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the subprefecture of the arrondissement of Aix-en-Provence, in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The population of Aix-en-Provence is approximately 148,000. Its inhabitants are called Aixois or, less commonly, Aquisextains.

French commune in Réunion

commune in Sarthe, France

Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially simply Boulogne, until 1924 officially Boulogne-sur-Seine, , 'Boulogne-on-Seine') is a wealthy and prestigious commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France, located from the centre of Paris at Notre Dame. It is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and thus the seat of the larger arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt. It is also part of the Métropole du Grand Paris. Boulogne-Billancourt includes one island in the Seine: Île Seguin.

Annecy ( , ; , also ; Italian: Annesì) is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, south of Geneva, Switzerland.

subprefecture and commune in Île-de-France, France

Beauvais ( ; ; ) is a town and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris.

Villeurbanne (; ) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France.

Argenteuil () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Argenteuil is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department, the seat of the arrondissement of Argenteuil. Argenteuil is part of the Métropole du Grand Paris.

commune in Seine-Saint-Denis, France

Sélestat (; Alsatian: Schlettstàdt; German: Schlettstadt) is a commune in the Grand Est region of France. An administrative division (sous-préfecture) of the Bas-Rhin department, the town lies on the Ill river, from the Rhine and the German border. Sélestat is located between the largest communes of Alsace, Strasbourg and Mulhouse. In 2023, Sélestat had a total population of 19,589.

commune in La Réunion, France

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