Former provinces of France

The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Containing the capital city of France, Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the Paris Region (, ). Île-de-France is densely populated and retains a prime economic position on the national stage, and it covers , about 2% of metropolitan French territory. Its 2017 population was nearly one-fifth of the national total.

Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: Aguiéne), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is situated in the southwest corner of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It is composed of five departments: Dordogne, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes, and Gironde. The Romans established Gallia Aquitania as a province. In the Middle Ages, Aquitaine was a k

Picardy (; Picard and , , ; West Flemish and ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date to the Middle Ages: it gained its first official recognition in the 13th century through the nation of Picardy at the University of Paris and entered French administration in the 14th century.

Normandy is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.

thumb|A map of Gascony, showing a wide definition of the region. Other definitions may encompass a smaller area.

vassal territory of France, 918–1482

The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately .

The Dauphiné (, , ; or ; or ), traditionally known in English as Dauphiny, is a former province in southeastern France during the Ancien régime, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present-day departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois.

county and historic territory in the Low Countries

former European sovereign state, then dukedom of France

former state

former subdivisions of France

Béarn (; ; or Biarn; or Biarno; or Bearnia) is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Basque provinces of Soule, Lower Navarre and Labourd, the Principality of Bidache, as well as small parts of Gascony, it forms the current Pyrénées-Atlantiques department. The capitals of Béarn were successively Beneharnum (until 841), Morlaàs (from 1100), Orthez (from the second half of the 13th century) and then Pau (beginning in the mid-15th century).

West-Flemish-speaking region of France

Poitou ( , , ; ; Poitevin: Poetou) was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe.

Artois ( , ; ; Picard: Artoé; English adjective: Artesian) is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities include Arras (Dutch: Atrecht), Saint-Omer, Lens, and Béthune. It is the eponym for the term Artesian.

province in France

historical province of France, located in Centre-Val de Loire

Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine formed the bulk of the Indre-et-Loire department as well as parts of the new departments of :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vienne.

thumb|France in 1477, when Guyenne (southwest) was a part of the royal domain thumb|The gouvernement général of Guyenne and Gascony in 1733 Guyenne or Guienne ( , ; ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of Aquitania Secunda and the Catholic archdiocese of Bordeaux.

historical province in the Basque Country, France

countship

Labourd (; ; ; ) is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques département of Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is one of the traditional Basque provinces, and identified as one of the territorial component parts of the Basque Country by many, especially by the Basque nationalists.

thumb|200px|Flag of Roussillon, which was the flag of the Crown of Aragon, to which Roussillon's lords were [[vassal from the High Middle Ages]] thumb|200px|right|Roussillon coast thumb|200px|right|Grape pickers near Maury, Pyrénées-Orientales|Maury right|200px|thumb|A snow-capped Mount Canigó (Canigou) (2785 m) across the Roussillon plain

thumb|250px|Mauléon, capital of Soule

Périgord ( , ; ; or ) is a natural region and former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne department, now forming the northern part of the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is divided into four areas called the Périgord Noir (Black), named so for the truffles that can be found there, the Périgord Blanc (White), for chalk cliffs and quarries, the Périgord Vert (Green), for forests and forestry, and the Périgord Pourpre (Purple), for wine and viticulture. The geography and natural resources of Périgord make it a region rich in history and wildlife,

The Bourbonnais (; Occitan: Borbonés) was a historic province in the centre of France that corresponds to the modern département of Allier, along with part of the département of Cher. Its capital was Moulins.

The Duchy of Orléanais () is a former province of France, which was created during the Renaissance by merging four former counties and towns. However after the French Revolution, the province was dissolved in 1791 and succeeded by five départments (less some communes to others).

thumb|Map of France, with Bresse shaded red thumb|right|Typical Bresse farm house

former French province

former French province

historical province and a wine-producing region in France

Angoumois (; ), historically the County of Angoulême, was a county and province of France, originally inferior to the parent duchy of Aquitaine, similar to the Périgord to its east but lower and generally less forested, equally with occasional vineyards throughout. Its capital was Angoulême with its citadel and castle above the river Charente.

medieval French county

thumb|240px|Vermandois in the possession of the House of Valois-Burgundy, from 1435 to 1477 (southernmost county on map) thumb|Porte St-Jean

The Lyonnais (, ) is a historical province of France which owes its name to the city of Lyon.

Beaujolais ( , ) is a French ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) wine in the Burgundy region. Red Beaujolais wines are generally made of the Gamay grape, which has a thin skin and is low in tannin, but like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally. Whites, 1% of production, are made mostly with Chardonnay, though Aligoté was also permitted until 2024. Beaujolais tends to be a very light-bodied red wine, with relatively high acidity. In some vintages, Beaujolais produces more wine than the Burgundy wine regions of Chablis, Côte d'Or, Côte Chalonnaise, and Mâconnais put together.

countship

wine region of France

Nivernais (, ) was a province of France, around the city of Nevers, which forms the modern department of Nièvre. It roughly coincides with the former Duchy of Nevers.

Gévaudan (; ) is a historical area of France in Lozère département. It took its name from the Gabali, a Gallic tribe.

area in Normandy

thumb|125px|Coat of arms of the county of Rouergue thumb|Map of Rouergue, showing modern departments: Aveyron, Lot and [[Tarn-et-Garonne]] Rouergue (; ) is a former province of France, corresponding roughly with the modern department of Aveyron. Its historical capital is Rodez. It is bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc, on the east by Gévaudan and on the west by Quercy.

thumb|Coat of arms of Forez Forez (; ) is a former province of France, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern Loire département and a part of the Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme départements. thumb|Map of the Plain of Forez, 1894. The final "z" in Forez () is not pronounced in the Loire département; however, it is pronounced in the western part of the former province, essentially when referring to the correspondent Forez mountains (on the border between Puy-de-Dôme and Loire. The name is derived from the city of Feurs. Franco-Provençal is the language that was historically s

The Comminges (; Occitan/Gascon: Comenge) is an ancient region of southern France in the foothills of the Pyrenees, corresponding approximately to the arrondissement of Saint-Gaudens in the department of Haute-Garonne. This region is normally associated with the former domain of the Counts of Comminges, although earlier definitions are based on the Diocese of Comminges or the territory of the Convenae.

natural region in France

Ponthieu (; ; ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France. Its chief town is Abbeville.

The Bugey (, ; Arpitan: Bugê) is a historical region in the department of Ain, eastern France, located between Lyon and Geneva. It is located in a loop of the Rhône River in the southeast of the department. It includes the foothills of the Jura mountains, and the highest point is the Grand Colombier. Bugey is divided into two sub-regions: Haut Bugey and Bas Bugey. The inhabitants of Bugey are known as Bugistes or alternatively as Bugeysiens.

former province of France

Quercy (; , locally ) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and Auvergne.

Aunis () is a historical province of France, situated in the north-west of the department of Charente-Maritime. Its historic capital is La Rochelle, which took over from Castrum Allionis (Châtelaillon) the historic capital which gives its name to the province.

thumb|Map of Bigorre thumb|500px|Map of France in 1477; the County of Bigorre is visible in the southwest. thumb|"A Peasant|Paysan of Bigorre", [[James Duffield Harding, c. 1831.]] Bigorre (; Gascon: Bigòrra) is a region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region known as Gascony. Today Bigorre comprises the centre and west of the département of Hautes-Pyrénées, with two small exclaves in the neighbouring Pyrénées Atlantiques. Its inhabitants

thumb|The Neuf pond, dried out, close to Bouligneux in Dombes (May, 2014).

The Mâconnais () district is located in the south of the Burgundy wine region in France, west of the Saône river. It takes its name from the town of Mâcon. It is best known as a source of good value white wines made from the Chardonnay grape; the wines from Pouilly-Fuissé are particularly sought after. Almost all the wine made in the Mâconnais is white wine. Chardonnay is the main grape grown in the district—in fact, there is a village of that name in the far north of the region. Some plantations of Gamay and Pinot noir are made into red and rosé Mâcon, making up no more than 30% of the total

Velay () is a historical area of France situated in the east Haute-Loire département and southeast of Massif Central.

thumb|125px|Coat of arms of CouseransCouserans (; Gascon: Coserans ) is a former county of France located in the Pyrenees mountains. Today Couserans makes up the western half of the Ariège département, around the towns of Saint-Girons and Saint-Lizier. A small part of Couserans is also in the extreme south of Haute-Garonne, just across the border from Ariège.

thumb|right|Bellême, one of Perche's capitals thumb|Location of Perche in France thumb|17th-century map of Grand Perche and Perche Gouet Perche () (French: le Perche) is a former province of France, known historically for its forests and, for the past two centuries, for the Percheron draft horse breed. Until the French Revolution, Perche was bounded by four ancient territories of northwestern France: the provinces of Maine, Normandy, and Orléanais, and the region of Beauce. Afterwards it was absorbed into the present-day departments of Orne and Eure-et-Loir, with small parts in the neighboring

Vivarais (; ; ) is a traditional region in the south-east of France, covering the département of Ardèche, named after its capital Viviers on the river Rhône. In feudal times part of the Holy Roman Empire with its bishop as count, it became in 1309 one of the Capetian territories as included in the Languedoc province of the French realm, and continued to be a French province until 1789.

Bessin () is an area in Normandy, France, corresponding to the territory of the Bajocasses, a Gallic tribe from whom Bayeux, its main town, takes its name.

thumb|Aquis Segeste (:fr:Aquis Segeste|fr), archeological founds. Gaulish and later Roman cult place near [[Sceaux-du-Gâtinais ]] Gâtinais () or Gâtine () was a province of France, containing the area around the valley of the Loing, corresponding roughly to the northeastern part of the département of Loiret, and the south of the present department of Seine-et-Marne. Under the Bourbons, the Gâtinais had already been divided between the provinces of Île-de-France and Orléans. In the words of the modern tourist slogan for the "two Gâtinais", it lies between the Seine and the Loire.