Powerful lookup capabilities are included in almost every electronic dictionary. However, improvements are still conceivable in the exploration of the lexical information within the dictionary and in the integration of the dictionary into other applications. In this paper, we illustrate the most salient functions of the Base lexicale dufrançais (BLF), an online lexical database for general French. The major features of this interactive database are the integration of a dictionary (DAFLES), automatically generated exercises (ALFALEX) and corpus applications (CATS) in order to create a powerful learning environment for learners of French. The DAFLES focuses on the learner's needs by providing separate access paths according to receptive or productive needs. ALFALEX trains the language learner on global lexical knowledge as it is described in the DAFLES. The corpus applications enrich the lexical description by providing the (comparative) combinatorial profiles of words as well as examples and sentences for the exercises.