"Fake France" a Paris Travel Page by ExGuyParis

France Miniature is a park not far outside Paris, where they have constructed miniature versions of some of France's most beautiful buildings and towns. We had friends visiting, and my wife said she wanted to try a place she had never been before. (After the 10th visit to Giverny, for example, it gets a bit boring!)

So she chose what, on one level, is a totally tacky touris trap. On another level, however, it introduced us to some amazing things we now want to view full-sized.

This is a replica of the port at Saint Tropez. Pretty impressive... and the little boats actually chug around the port.

This is the mini-version of Chartreuse du Reposoir, a monestary in the French Alps (Haute-Savoie ). I've tried to take these photos to give a sense of the detail and skill in creating the model. If you squint just a bit, it almost looks real.

Visit the France Miniature web site for details:

http://www.franceminiature.com/ve/

You can take a train and bus to get there, or with a car, it is a short drive southwest of Paris (see web site for maps, directions, public transport info, etc.)

Rachel and Molly attack a model, to offer a sense of the true scale of the replicas.

"See a female colossus... her mountainous torso, skyscraper limbs, giant desires!" (Tag line from the 1958 film "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman"!)

Someone obviously spent a lot of time on these things.

Another thing I want to see in full size-- the Basilique de Notre Dame de Lourdes.

Somehow this story always makes me think of a Four Tops song...

helps to make this believable.

France Miniature includes impressive models of many chateaux scattered around France.

The park is laid out like a map of France, so you visit each region, and then travel in the "real" direction to discover another region. Here, the famous Parisian landmark, Sacre Coeur.