Why We Love the French

We love the French for their wine and cheese. Popular French wines, champagne, and cognacs are made in the Bordeaux, Alsace, Loire, Rhone and Bourgogne regions. Add a wedge or two of their world-famous cheese, like Brie or Camembert, into the mix and it's a perfect combination.

We love French actors and actresses who attend the Cannes Film Festival, including the lovely and talented Juliette Binoche.

We love the French for their amazing sights and tourist attractions, including the Eiffel Tower (pictured), Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, Fontainebleau Castle, Arc de Triomphe, Pyrenees National Park and, yes, even Disneyland Paris.

We love hearty French meals like beef bourguignon (pictured) and rabbit stew. We also like other French classics, like escargot, foie gras and mussels.

We love watching the final laps of the Tour de France as the cyclists push themselves through the streets of Paris to be the first to cross the finish line.

We can't forget about the numerous bakeries that line the streets of small towns and big cities in France. Le Boulanger de Monge, Au 140, and Le Notre are just a few places known for the French-style baking, baguettes and flakey croissants.

We'd be remiss if we didn't mention the wonderful fashion created by popular French designers Coco Chanel, Pierre Cardin, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent.

We love French desserts like crème brulee (pictured), chocolate mousse and flan.

We love how the French spend time with friends and family at cafes in Paris' Le Marais neighborhood. Grab a cup of coffee and a croissant, sit outside and let the people-watching begin.

We love the French for their big opera houses like Opera Ganier (pictured) and Opera de Paris. France has also been the setting for numerous musicals and operas, including Phantom of the Opera, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Les Miserables and Beauty and the Beast.

The Statue of Liberty is another reason we love the French. France gave us the 151-foot gift as an expression of friendship and the ideal of liberty and freedom.

We love shopping at markets for food and rare antiques. Open-air markets, like Paris' Rue Montogueil, are usually the best places to find fresh food.

We love The Louvre, the home of Leonardo daVinci's 'Mona Lisa.' Visitors can also view art from French impressionists, like Monet and Manet.

We love Marie Antionette for leaving us with the immortal line 'Let them eat cake.' The Queen of France was convicted of treason during the height of the French Revolution and beheaded in 1793 at Place de la Concorde in Paris.

We love the French Riviera and all of its celebrity hot spots, including Casino Square in Monte Carlo (pictured), the Cannes Film Festival and the Grand Prix in Monaco.

We love the French for creating the infamous can-can dance made popular by the cabaret dancers at the Moulin Rouge. Hundreds of people pack the venue, located in Paris' red-light district.

We love France's rich history including the French Revolution, the Allied Forces' invasion of Normandy during World War II (pictured) and the controversial leader Napoleon Bonaparte.

Quiche is the ultimate all-in-one meal: chopped meat, vegetables, cheese and eggs in a flaky pastry crust. What's not to love?

We love the French for their opulent castles and palaces including the Palace of Versailles. It was home to King Louis XIV and the royal family, and the center of political power in France from 1682 to 1789.