Venue Guides
BORDEAUX
The Stade Chaban-Delmas is the home of Bordeaux's football club, and has a capacity of 34,440 after a facelift prior to the 1998 World Cup finals.
The old Parc Lescure no longer hosts regular top-flight rugby as the city does not have a club in the elite.
It has hosted six French championship finals though - the last in 1971 - while in 1999, Les Bleus beat Namibia here in a Rugby World Cup pool match.
CARDIFF
The Millennium Stadium succeeded Cardiff Arms Park as the home of Wales' rugby
union team, and is one of the world's leading stadia.
The 72,500-capacity arena, complete with a sliding roof, hosted the 1999 World Cup final, which saw Australia defeat France 35-12.
It was also the home of English football's FA Cup and League Cup finals while Wembley was being rebuilt.
EDINBURGH
Murrayfield, which has a capacity of 67,500, is where Scotland have played their home games since 1925.
The stadium once housed 104,000 people for an international between the Scots and Wales in 1975. But it has since been redeveloped, with 12 years of renovation work completed in 1994.
It hosted games in the 1999 World Cup, including New Zealand's 30-18 quarter-final win over Scotland.
LENS
The Stade Felix-Bollaert, capacity 41,400 and home of Lens' football team, is set to host three matches in the World Cup.
It takes the name of the commercial director who was a key figure in the construction of the stadium in the 1930s.
It has a great atmosphere, and has hosted two rugby union matches - Ireland's defeat to Argentina in the 1999 World Cup and a France win over Romania in 2003.
LYON
The Stade Gerland is the home of football side Olympique Lyonnais, the champions of France for the past six years.
The 41,100-capacity stadium hosted New Zealand's 47-3 routing of France in last year's November Tests.
It has played host to international football matches, including those in the 1998 World Cup, although the cycling track that used to skirt the pitch disappeared prior to football's European Championships in 1984.
MARSEILLE
The Stade Velodrome, the home of Marseille's football team, hosted its first football match in 1937.
The 59,500-capacity stadium, famous for its electrifying atmosphere and home to a loyal support base, has since been used for international football and rugby matches. France's last rugby game there was a 26-16 win over Australia in November 2005.
Each of its four stands are named after a local celebrity.
MONTPELLIER
La Mosson, which has a capacity of 33,650, plays host to the city's second-tier football club, Montpellier-Herault SC.
The arena owes its name to the river that flows at its foot.
For the World Cup, it will get a new pitch, two giant screens, an enlarged press stand, new lighting and refitted dressing rooms.
NANTES
The Stade de la Beaujoire is the home of Nantes' football team, and has a 38,000-plus capacity.
It was constructed in 1984, after Nantes quit their Stade Marcel-Saupin for a more modern arena that was to host European Championship football matches that year.
It was again renovated prior to the 1998 football World Cup, and has hosted a number of rugby union games.
PARIS
The legendary Parc des Princes has a capacity of 47,870, and is football club Paris St Germain's home stadium.
Before a sporting arena was built there, the area was a woodland park set aside for princes' recreational activities.
France's rugby union team played its home matches there from 1973 until 1998, when the Stade de France took over as the national stadium.
Paris' Top 14 side, Stade Francais, sometimes play their big matches at the Parc, which will host five matches in the World Cup.
ST DENIS
The state-of-the-art, 80,000-capacity Stade de France, located in the St Denis district just north of Paris, is the country's national stadium.
It was built for the football World Cup finals in 1998, and has a roof that covers six hectares and is illuminated for evening matches.
It took over from the Parc des Princes as the home of the French rugby union and hosted the 2003 World Athletics Championships.
It is well-connected to the centre of Paris thanks to the city's metro network.
ST ETIENNE
The Stade Geoffrey-Guichard is probably the most atmospheric arena in France, with 35,650 people able to pack themselves in to give the ground a special, intimidating buzz.
It is the home of St Etienne's football club, which dominated French soccer in the 1960s and 1970s.
It has four distinct stands, following extensive rebuilding work in 1968, and hosted its first international rugby union match in 2001 when France beat Fiji 77-10.
TOULOUSE
The Stade Municipal, capacity 35,700, is the home not of Toulouse's all-conquering rugby union team, but of its less successful football club.
The arena was originally used from 1949 as the bull ring of the `Pink City', but soon became the home of Les Violets.
It was renovated for the 1998 football World Cup finals, and hosted France's 28-19 victory over Fiji in the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
