The town of Limoux (11 Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon) south of Carcassonne and in the foothills of the Pyrenees, brightens up the winter months with its Carnaval which it claims as one of the longest in the World often running from January- mid April. (15 Jan -25 March 2012).
Weekends and Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) tned to be tje highlights with parades and floats, music and folk festivals. It all culminates on the last day of Carnaval with the the Nuit de la Blanquette (night of Blanquette) – the local speciality sparkling wine.
A trip up the iconic Eiffel Tower is a must on anyone’s first visit to Paris – and it is many years and many visits to Paris since I ascended.
I tend to take Paris in small chunks, knowing that all being well, I shall visit often again. I have still got the Louvre on my must visit list, so I have been reluctant to revisit the tower when there are other fantastic landmarks still unexplored.
But maybe I should think again – there are new restaurants, a new app and the view from any level of the tower is well-worthwhile.
On the first floor is 58 Tour Eiffel which offers a cuisine which is both simple and tasty in a friendly atmosphere. But on 2nd Floor is the new Restaurant Jules Verne – (see picture) created by chef Alain Ducasse – more stylish in a very 30s retro way and expensive but with stunning views to distract you from the gourmet food.
There is a revapled website at www.eiffel-tower.com and to prepare your visit you can now download an app for your i-Phone with maps, plans, opening times, weather etc.
A very gallic combination of herbs – the city of Tours ( 37 Indre-et-Loire, Centre) sets aside a day to celebrate with a Foire à l’ail et au basilic on 26 JULY 2012
This tradition is said to date back to the Middle Ages. On Saint Anne day, July 26th, garlic and basil producers and enthusiasts come together for an event in one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Tours. Colours ranging from white, pink and green will highlight your stroll among the bold stalls where the scents and festive colours take on a sensual nature.
more info – www.tours.fr/
Quartier des Halles – Grand Marché – Place Châteauneuf
In Chartres (28 Eure-et-Loir, Centre) the winemakers of the Loire Valley will be holding a Paulée des Vins de Loire on 15 april 2012
Designed to promote the wines produced all along this iconic river, the Paulée des Vins de Loire is also an opportunity to discover some talented young winemakers
P&O Ferries will introduce a new ship on the Dover-Calais cross-channel route this Spring.
The Spirit of France will join up with its sister ship The Spirit of Britain. The two ships combined represent a step change in the level of service and capacity offered to cross channel ferry passengers.
At more than 43,000 tons and 213 metres in length, they are not only the largest ferries ever to work the Dover – Calais route but also the most technologically advanced.
When the Spirit of France and Spirit of Britain begin working together it will represent the realisation of the largest ever inward investment made by P&O Ferries into its shipping fleet, at a combined cost of €360 million.
The Dover – Calais route is officially the busiest shipping channel in the world with over 500 ships per day passing through its waters. The combined capacity of these two ships alone will amount to a staggering 3750 passengers between them.
After the demise of P&O Ferries’ cross-channel rival, SeaFrance, the arrival of Spirit of France represents a welcome boost for the Dover to Calais route as P&O Ferries continues to bolster the capacity of this vital link between Britain and mainland Europe.
If you book a Norfolkline crossing between Dover and Dunkerque before 19 June 2009 through ferrycheap.com there are crossings available until 17 December 2009 from £19 each way in low season or £29 each way high in season.
Although the crossing is slightly longer to Dunkerque, the modern fleet lands you in a well-connected (if somewhat industrial) port which is well-connected for eastern and central France by autoroute. Even Paris is not significantly further than via Dover.
Despite the demise of Speedferries, there are still some good deals around for crossing the English Channel this summer.
Norfolkine‘s fares tend to be the most competitive now, and although the crossing to Dunkerque takes a little longer, and the arrival is into an industrial port, the new ships on the route offer all the comfort and facilities you would expect – and Dunkerque is a definite advantage as a point of arrival for eastern France, and adds relatively little time to other French destinations, given its easy access to the autoroute network.
Ferrycheap are currently offering 2009 one-way fares of £19 (low season) or £29 (high season) for a car + 4 passengers with no amendment fees – but you must book by 18 February 2009.
And now for something a little different – the wines of St Peray (07 Ardeche, Rhône-Alpes) are not often seen, but your chance comes in early September when they hold their wine festival.
Saint-Péray is the southernmost part of the northern Rhône wine region just west of Valence.See map.
The Rhône is predominantly associated with spicy red wines, but Saint-Péray is unusual for the region in producing sparkling white wines – although a little still dry white is also made. This arises because the climate is just a bit cooler and the soils a little richer than its neighbours at Cornas for example. This produces wines which are more acidic and lighter in alcohol – ideal for making fizz! The principal grape varieties are Rousanne and Marsanne. The wines are highly rated – the Guide Hachette des Vins de France describes Saint-Péray as one of the best sparkling wines in France!
The Wine Festival spreads over 3 days of festivities, including music, a festival queen, cycling, rambling, a market and wine fair. As they combine it with a Twinning festival with towns in Germany, Italy and Portugal the weekend has an international feel and offers something to attract all. For more details see www.st-peray.com
St Peray (07 Ardeche, Rhone-Alpes) 1-3 September 2006
In the UK the excellent Yapp Brothers stock the Saint-Péray of Jean-Louis Thiers “Flavoursome dry, sparkling wine with a creamy mousse, and a bracing palate of mineral and nutty tastes with a lively citric zest and pleasant toasty aromas.” £11.95
Dunkerque (62 Pas de Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais) manages to brighten up the miserable nothern French winter with its annual Carnival from22 January – 10 March 2012
The most famous, the nosiest, the most mental, but also the oldest, is the Dunkerque Carnival. For weeks on end, groups called fisherbands take the measure of each other, confront each other with sarabands and songs, disperse and liven up the town, and finally come together in one huge choir to celebrate their sailors, honour Jean Bart, and claim, with body and voice, their herrings thrown from the top of the belfry.
If you’ve never done Carnival here, you’ve never seen a real carnival !
With its climax on Shrove Tuesday(21 Feb 2012)– or Mardi Gras – Dunkerque Carnival has its roots in the secular festivities which took place as local fishermen prepared to leave their families and sail to the fishing grounds off Iceland, sometimes never to return.
After two days of costumed parades, ‘Trois Glorieuses’ is now the high point of celebrations which are marked by balls that take place all along this coastal community from long before this iconic Tuesday until long after.
As well as being on the most enchanting of French waterways through the quieter countryside of northern Burgundy, the Canal du Nivernais also offers a great cycle path alongside the canal.
Running from Auxerre (90 Yonne, Bourgogne) to Decize (58 Nievre, Bourgogne) via Clamecy(58 Nievre, Bourgogne) this is a delightful meander of 175km with a new metalled cycle path alongside the canal.
At Decize you can link to the Canal Lateral de la Loire and then the Canal de Briare to make a circular return route. on the website you can find information on hotels and B&Bs, cycle repair/hire shops etc – see www.le-tour-de-bourgogne-a-velo.com
With the completion of the 800km (500miles) cycle route along the Loire Valley comes a new website, a mobile site for use with your smartphone and a Facebook page.
loire by bike
Cleverly the French have produced an integrated approach to using the glorious Loire Valley as a tourist cycle route, enabling visitors to plan a route in detail (including hotels, restaurants, cycle shops etc) – details of access to the cycle route by car or public transport – maps, signposted cycleways, places to hire bikes and up-t0-date information via Facebook.
We know the French love cycle racing, but this is altogether a gentler matter – river valleys tend to be fairly level, and vehicular traffic can be avoided, so it should be family friendly.
And remember part of the Loire Vally is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and amongst the many attractions is Orléans (2012 is the 600th anniversary of the birth of Joan of Arc(aka the Maid of Orleans), and Nantes continues to rock as a venue for extravagant modern art.
Apart from producing excellent wines, Chablis (89 Yonne, Bourgogne) being the most northerly of the Burgundy Wine areas, it is also a pleasant small town with a weekly street market on Saturdays,
So, that’s the end of SeaFrance, the downside of which is that competition on the short sea Dover- Calais route is now reduced. Norfolkline/DFDS (Dover-Dunkerque) offers great value and the slightly longer crossing and more northerly destination does not add too much to your journey, and the links to the French (and Belgian) autoroutes are excellent.
P&O Ferries still run Dover-Calais with high frequency
The Commercial Court in Paris ordered the full liquidation of SeaFrance on the 9th January 2012. As a result, the company is no longer able to trade.
SeaFrance has always respected its obligations to its customers and regrets not being able to fulfil any outstanding customer bookings. The company has set up an automatic refund process for all current bookings and customers will be contacted about this process by email within 24 hours. Customers’ bank accounts will be credited with a full refund as soon as possible.
The staff of SeaFrance are grateful to all their customers for the loyalty and confidence they have shown and hope that they will be able to make alternative travel arrangements.
Any customers wishing to contact SeaFrance directly should call 0845 458 0666.
Weekends and Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) tned to be tje highlights with parades and floats, music and folk festivals. It all culminates on the last day of Carnaval with the the Nuit de la Blanquette (night of Blanquette) – the local speciality sparkling wine.
