Continental Europe
Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands.[1] It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent,[2][3] – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by some, simply as the Continent.[4] When Eurasia is regarded as a single continent, Europe is treated both as a continent and subcontinent.[5]
For the whole of the European continent including its islands, see Europe.Mediterranean and Atlantic islands[edit]
The Continent may sometimes refer to the continental part of France (excluding Corsica and overseas France), the continental part of Greece (excluding the Aegean Islands, Crete, and the Ionian Islands), the continental part of Italy (excluding Sardinia, Sicily, etc.), the continental part of Portugal (excluding the Azores and Madeira), and the continental part of Spain (excluding the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, the plazas de soberanía, etc.). The term is used from the perspective of the island residents of each country to describe the continental portion of their country or the continent (or mainland) as a whole.
Metropolitan France is also known as l'Hexagone, "the Hexagon", referring to its approximate shape on a map. Continental Italy is also known as lo Stivale, "the Boot", referring to its approximate shape on a map. Continental Spain is referred to as peninsular Spain.