Food in France is the foundation on which much of Western cuisine was built. The country elevated cooking and wine to art, codified its techniques, and made the meal a daily ritual worth lingering over. To eat in France is to travel through a patchwork of regional traditions, from the cream and cider of Normandy to the bouchons of Lyon, the cassoulet of the southwest, and the olive oil and herbs of Provence. Each region guards its own dishes and its own wines, and together they form the richest food culture in Europe.

The traditions run deep and varied. Lyon claims the title of the country's gastronomic capital, its bouchons serving hearty classics, while Burgundy braises its beef and Provence simmers its ratatouille. The wine regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne pour the world's most celebrated bottles, and the country counts hundreds of cheeses, a different one, it is said, for every day of the year. The baguette and the croissant anchor every morning. Food and drink in France span the rustic regional table and the heights of haute cuisine.

Today the table runs from bistro to temple of gastronomy. The best food and drink in France lives in the regional bistros, the wine estates, the cheese cellars, and the celebrated restaurants. Visitors searching France food tours or top food experiences will find market walks, cooking classes, and wine and cheese tastings. Among the most satisfying things to do in France, a long lunch in a Lyon bouchon explains the whole national philosophy. The country did not just feed itself well. It taught the world what eating could be.