20 Jul, 2010
trip to France
If you are planning a trip to France, you must know how to make the trip a memorable one ensuring that you can comfortably visit all the famous tourist destinations for which the country is best known for. It is important that you have enough information about the various means of internal as well as inter-state transportation available in France to travel within the country or to and from other countries. To make your trip hassle free, you must know about the best ways to reach from one place to another in France that mainly depends on the locations and the public transports commonly available in those regions.
Ferry to France are the most popular way to travel from the UK through the English Channel, preferred by travelers mostly on their vacation to the continent. Among the internal transports of the country, France is known to offer an excellent and one of the best railway networks across the world. To travel from the southwest region of France or from Brittany to Paris, you can avail TGV or the train grande vitesse and for traveling within Paris, both locals and tourists may avail the RATP service, which is a combination of rail, underground and a bus network operating all across the capital. If you think air travel will be much easier and quicker to reach your desired destination, you will find at least one good airport serving every major French town or city. Air France is the main airline offering regular trips between these cities everyday but if you travel in peak seasons, you must check availability of tickets on the official website of Air France.
ferry travel on the other hand is the best way to enjoy the spectacular scenic views in the coastal regions of France. You can travel with the BACs, the state owned car ferries connecting the mainland with the larger French islands on the nearby Atlantic coast and sail across the Gironde estuary where the Dordogne and Garoone rivers merge. There are several ferry lines operating for specific islands, such as, SNCM ferries operate between the Corsica Island and the mainland. You will find many vessels offering regular crossings to visit the historic sites, villages or towns. This public transport is the best suitable option if you want to enjoy the scenic beauty of the wonderfull French canals in a relaxing way. By exploring the region in this way you will come to know about the rich historical background of rural France. Cruising boats are another way of sailing through the waterways that is available with or without crews. The cruise boats include small cabin cruises as well as large commercial vessels that offer you luxurious trip in a relaxing way. This kind of ferry boats provide wide range of facilities to keep the travelers entertained throughout the journey and are available in various price ranges.
Choose from the above travel options that suits your budget, timing and preference.
13 Jul, 2010
Norfolkline Ferries
Although self drive family holidays are most common in France and other parts of continental Europe, it may not be enough relaxing and enjoyable as you expected it to be, particularly when you are driving a car with your children. Kids become restless halfway the journey wanting to get down and have fun as they lose patience very quickly, which may make the situation very much unpleasant to start off a holiday. It may spoil your journey as well as make it stressful. When planning for a self drive holiday across the Channel the first ferry route that comes to everybody’s mind is Dover to Calais which is the shortest route to the continent, though certainly not the best and cheapest option for all destinations. If you are starting off from the South-East of England via Dover to Calais, you need to take the roads around London, including the M25 which is not at all an ideal start to a pleasant and relaxing holiday!
Travellers, however, can prefer to travel with the ferries to France on the Dover-Dunkirque route operating exclusively for motorists, particularly on my holidays. Having direct access to the A16 and A25 motorways, this is the best suitable route for many European destinations including France, Belgium, Germany and many more. Another important thing you must take into consideration before going for self drive holidays is the type of ferry crossings you are opting for. A longer ferry crossings is ideal in many situations, especially it is more cost saving than the short ferry crossings as you can save on your fuel.
It is worth going for an overnight sailing with less driving than a short ferry journey combined with longer drive depending on your final destination, as it saves lot of cost on the ever increasing fuel prices. The added advantage of a longer ferry journey is it provides you ample scope to spend minimum time in driving and enjoy quality time with your family. It is much more adventurous than the regular ferry crossings. You will be thrilled to know about the range of amenities offered by the modern fleets of ships running on the Dover – Dunkirque route. Starting from the basic accommodations the ferry France provides club class seats, comfortable lounge area and cabins suitable for families. You can easily get off your car and take rest in these cabins which would make you refreshed by the time you reach the port to proceed for your desired destination.
They also offer you a surprising range of modern day facilities to make your journey relaxing and comfortable which includes bars and restaurants, cinemas, designated play areas for kids, great value onboard shopping etc. Thus your holiday starts as soon as you board the ferry vessel, much before you reach your actual destination.
28 Oct, 2007
Each year France has more visitors from overseas than any other country in the world. This is for various reasons: the country has magnificent scenery, great beaches, a large number of historic monuments and medieval villages; and of course Paris itself – the Eiffel Tower alone attracts 20,000 visitors each day!
So how best to discover France yourself?
The perfect way is to stay in a French holiday rental property – these are known as French gites. These gites vary in size type and location, and can be anything from a small cottage in the country to a luxurious clifftop villa with a private swimming pool.
The main attraction is that you will be staying in exactly the same kind of property that French people themselves live in. Read the rest of this entry »
