The region can be divided into three landscape zones:
The Pic Vignemale (), at , is the highest point of the Midi-Pyrénées region; it is on the border with Spain. The Vignemale is in the Pyrénées National Park.
The main rivers of the region are the Garonne river, that flows through the Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées and Tarn-et-Garonne departments; and the Adour river, that flows through the Hautes-Pyrénées and Gers departments.
The Midi-Pyrénées region was formed by eight departments:
In 2012, The Midi-Pyrénées region had a population of 2,926,592. Its population density was inhabitants/km.
The 10 most important cities in the region were:
Alsace
Alsace (Alsatian and German: "Elsass", pre-1996 German: "Elsaß") was an administrative region of France. It is now part of the administrative region of Grand Est. Alsace was on the eastern border of France. It was on the west bank of the Upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland.
The departments in Alsace were Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin.
Before the region merged with Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine in 2014, data from INSEE stated that about 1.8 million people lived there as of 2013. Its capital was Strasbourg, the largest city. It changed hands between France and Germany many times. The people living there had an attitude and set of social values that was closer to the German ones, than the French. Language, cuisine, music, dress and customs were Germanic, and very close to the Swabian ones across the Rhine. The overall culture was generally more German than French, being somewhere between German and French.
Alsace was part of the Holy Roman Empire and was still inhabited by people speaking a dialect of Upper German. In the 17th century, all of Alsace was annexed (in steps) under King Louis XIV of France. He made it one of the provinces of France.
The Treaty of Verdun had divided the empire of Charlemagne in the 9th century, eventually causing Alsace to be frequently mentioned in conjunction with Lorraine, because the possession of these two "régions" (as "Alsace-Lorraine") was often contested in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Lorraine
Lorraine () is a former administrative region in the northeast of France. It is now part of the administrative region of Grand Est. In 2012, the population was 2,356,600.
Lorraine's capital was Metz.
The most important population centres were Nancy and Metz, with about 300,000 people each, followed by Thionville, with about 130,000. Other important cities were Epinal and Bar-le-Duc.
The departments in the region were Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, and Vosges.
Regions of France
France is split into 18 administrative regions ("régions"). These regions are a kind of local government.
Thirteen regions are in Metropolitan France (the part of the country that is in Europe). Corsica has a different status than the other 12 metropolian regions. It is called "collectivité territoriale". Five regions are overseas.
There used to be 27 regions. In 2016, some regions were combined and there are now 18. Each Metropolitan region contains between 2 and 13 of the 101 Departments of France.
Auvergne
Auvergne () is a former administrative region of France. It is now part of the administrative region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is in the Massif Central in south-central France. The inhabitants of the region are known as "Auvergnats".
The four departments in Auvergne were Allier, Cantal, Haute-Loire, and Puy-de-Dôme. Its capital was Clermont-Ferrand.
The region of Auvergne was named after the Arverni, one of the most powerful gallic tribes.
The administrative region of Auvergne was formed with the territory of the old province of Auvergne, most of the territory of the Bourbonnais and small parts of Languedoc and Lyonnais.
During World War II, Vichy (a city in the department of Allier) was the headquarters of the government of the French State.
The Auvergne region has an area of , 4.8% of France's total surface area. It was surrounded by six other former regions: Burgundy to the northeast, Rhône-Alpes to the east and to the southeast, Languedoc-Roussillon to the south, Midi-Pyrénées to the southwest, Limousin to the west and Centre-Val de Loire to the northwest.
The landscape of the region varies greatly, with valleys, mountain, meadows and forests. Much of the regions is in the Massif Central, a high region in south-central France with mountains and plateaus.
There are many dormant volcanoes (volcanoes that are not active) in Auvergne, mainly in the "Monts Dore" and in the "Chaîne des Puys". The highest point in Auvergne is the Puy de Sancy (), at high.
The northern part of the region (in the Allier department) is a land of small hills cut in two parts by a plain, the valley of the Allier river.
Auvergne has about 50 freshwater ponds and lakes. Some are high in the mountains and have volcanic origins. The "Guéry Lake" is, at high in the Puy-de-Dôme department, the highest lake in Auvergne.
The main rivers of the region are the:
The Auvergne region was formed by four departments:
The Auvergne region had a population, in 2012, of 1,354,104, for a population density of inhabitants/km.
The ten main cities in the department are:
The region is predominantly agricultural. Cattle are common and are used both for meat (beef) and for milk, which is made into a number of well-known cheeses such as Bleu d'Auvergne, Cantal, Fourme d'Ambert and Saint-Nectaire.
The main industry in Auvergne is the tyre industry, represented by "Michelin", with headquarters and history in Clermont-Ferrand, and "Dunlop" in Montluçon.
Lower Normandy
Lower Normandy (called "Basse-Normandie" in French) is a former administrative Regions of France. It is now part of the region of Normandy. The capital city was Caen. In 2007 about 1.4 million people lived there.
Lower Normandy became a region in 1956. The old region of Normandy was split into Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy. The departments in the region were Calvados, Manche, and Orne.
The economy is centered on agriculture. Cider is made there and livestock is farmed. There is a bit of textile industry as well. It was the first region of France when it comes to producing butter, cheese and horses. The west part of the region is used mainly for farming, because of the prairies. Camembert, Pont-l'évêque and Livarot cheeses come from this region.
Centre-Val de Loire
Centre-Val de Loire is one of the administrative regions of France. Its capital is Orléans but its largest city is Tours.
It was formed in 2014 from the territories of three historical provinces: Touraine (Indre-et-Loire), Orléanais (Loiret, Eure-et-Loir, Loir-et-Cher), and Berry (Cher, Indre).
The Centre-Val de Loire region is the seventh largest region of France with an area of . It is in north central France and borders with 6 regions: Normandy to the northwest, Île-de-France to the north, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté to the east, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes to the southeast, Nouvelle-Aquitaine to the south and Pays de la Loire to the west.
The distances from Orléans, the capital of the region, to other cities are:
The Centre-Val de Loire is crossed by the longest French river: the Loire, . Some other rivers that flow through the region are:
The territory of the Centre-Val de Loire region is formed mostly by large plains and low plateaus.
The "Le Magnoux" (), at , is the highest point of the Centre-Val region. It is in northwestern Massif Central, in the southern end of the Cher department.
The highest point of the different departments in the Centre-Val de Loire region are:
The Centre-Val de Loire region is formed by 6 departments:
"Arr." = Arrondissements          "Cant." = Cantons          "Comm." = Communes
, the Centre-Val de Loire region had a population of 2,577,435, for a population density of inhabitants/km.
The main cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants (2014) in the region are:
Champagne-Ardenne