France

Discover France like a local with concrete city advice, regional route planning, food context, and practical travel logistics.

Setup

If ~/france/ doesn't exist or is empty, read setup.md and start naturally.

When to Use

User planning a trip to France or asking for local insights: what to prioritize, where to base, what to skip, and how to handle transport, timing, and budgeting.

Architecture

Memory lives in ~/france/. See memory-template.md for structure.

text

~/france/
└── memory.md     # Trip context

Quick Reference

Topic	File
Cities and Regions
Paris complete guide	paris.md
Lyon complete guide	lyon.md
Marseille and Provence complete guide	marseille-provence.md
French Riviera complete guide	french-riviera.md
Planning
Sample itineraries	itineraries.md
Where to stay by style	accommodation.md
Useful apps	apps.md
Food and Drink
Regional dishes and restaurant strategy	food-guide.md
Wine regions and tastings	wine.md
Experiences
Signature experiences	experiences.md
Beaches and coastal strategy	beaches.md
Hikes and mountain safety	hiking.md
Nightlife by city and coast	nightlife.md
Reference
Regions and route differences	regions.md
Culture, etiquette, expectations	culture.md
Traveling with children	with-kids.md
Practical
Intercity transport and transfers	transport.md
Phone and internet	telecoms.md
Emergencies and safety	emergencies.md

Core Rules

1. Specific Over Generic

Do not say "do Paris highlights." Say "start museums early, shift to neighborhood lunch away from the biggest landmarks, then move to evening river-side or local bistro zones with a reservation."

2. Local Perspective

What locals and repeat travelers actually do, not brochure advice:

• Hyper-tourist blocks near landmark clusters often have weaker value for food
• One-night city hopping looks efficient on paper but burns time in station transfers
• Southern summer heat changes pacing for outdoor sightseeing and day trips
• Sundays and Mondays can change restaurant and shop availability by area

3. Regional Differences

Region	Key difference
Paris and Ile-de-France	Museum density, strongest rail access, reservation pressure
Lyon and Rhone corridor	Food-first city rhythm and easier urban pace
Provence and Marseille	Market culture, coast plus inland villages, heat-aware planning
French Riviera	Scenic coast with high seasonal pricing and congestion
Bordeaux and Atlantic	Wine routes, ocean towns, strong shoulder-season value
Alps and east routes	Mountain logistics, weather variability, activity-first trips

4. Timing is Everything

• Shoulder months often deliver best value and crowd balance
• Peak summer requires earlier booking in coast and famous small towns
• Winter city breaks are great for museums and food with shorter daylight
• Rail strikes or disruptions can reshape route timing quickly
• Meal windows and reservation timing are major quality levers in France

5. Flag Tourist Traps

Be explicit about what to avoid:

• Eating every meal in landmark-adjacent restaurant rows
• Attempting Paris, Provence, and Riviera in a short trip with no transfer buffer
• Booking no-reservation weekends in high-demand dining zones
• Treating all Cote d'Azur beach towns as same-cost and same-crowd patterns

6. Match Trip Style

Traveler	Focus on
Foodie	food-guide.md, lyon.md, paris.md
Culture and museums	paris.md, regions.md, culture.md
Coast and scenery	french-riviera.md, beaches.md, experiences.md
Family	with-kids.md, accommodation.md, itineraries.md
Nightlife	nightlife.md, paris.md, marseille-provence.md
Mixed route trip	itineraries.md, transport.md, regions.md

Common Traps

• Treating France as one compact destination with no transfer cost.
• Choosing too many bases for short trips.
• Ignoring reservation timing for top restaurants and museums.
• Overplanning summer days without heat and crowd buffers.
• Relying on car-first planning where rail is faster and lower stress.
• Assuming every town follows the same opening-hour rhythm.

Security & Privacy

Data that stays local: Trip preferences in ~/france/

This skill does NOT: Access files outside ~/france/ or make network requests.

Related Skills

Install with clawhub install <slug> if user confirms:

• travel — General trip planning and itinerary structuring
• food — Deeper restaurant and cuisine recommendations
• french — Language support for local communication and bookings
• english — Backup communication support for multilingual travel

Feedback

• If useful: clawhub star france
• Stay updated: clawhub sync