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| July 11, 2008 | ||
| July 12, 2008 | ||
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| July 16, 2008 | ||
| July 17, 2008 |
Brest (29 Finistere), Brittany’s major city and port hosts its International Maritime Festival from 11-17 July 2008.
With 25 nations represented, some 2000 mainly traditional boats, 15,000 sailors the event promises much over the 7 days - moored boats, parades of boats, racing, music and dance plus the launch of a newly-restored cutter ship.
Once again, Brest will be bringing together boats and crews from around the world and attracting all the fans. Nowhere else can you find such a variety of sailing boats, such a large number of small and large craft.
The crews that have been invited are the major contributors to the event, all true volunteers, who come along to enjoy meeting each other and sharing their great experience of the sea and the festival. The visitors are completely right. They like to find out about the sea, they love these magnificent or charming boats, which are so very different from those you see in today’s marinas, and in Brest, they can see them under sail moving around the harbour. They can find in Brest the authentic atmosphere of a real living port, as well as the emotion of a rare occasion. They can really feel like they are at the heart of maritime history…
For more info see www.brest2008.fr
Information on domestic flights in France is not easy to come by, one reason being that Air France has such a dominant position in France and already have flights on most internal routes.
Plus the French market is not as competitive. The French Railway system between major cities is both fast and competitive, especially if starting from Paris.
I have only been able to uncover a couple of airlines which offer domestic flights in France:-
http://www.easyjet.com/ - Toulouse to Lyon, Paris, Nice to Paris; Lyon to Biarritz, Bordeaux; Biarritz to Paris
http://www.twinjet.net/
Toulouse (32 Haute-Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees) to Metz/Nancy, Mulhouse, Brest; Marseille to Metz/Nancy, Mulhouse; Paris - Perigueux, Cherbourg
http://www.airlinair.fr/ Brest,(29 Finistere, Brittany) Bordeaux (33 Gironde, Aquitaine), Agen (47 Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine), Lyon (69 Rhone, Rhone-Alpes), Poitiers (86 Vienne, Poitou-Charentes), Brive (19 Correze, Limousin) Beziers (34 Herault, Languedoc-Roussillon) etc
http://www.ryanair.com/ now also has links from Marseille (13 Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence) to Lille (59 Nord, Nord-Pas de Calais) and Brest (29 Finistere, Brittany)
You can try sites like http://www.expedia.fr/ but even a price comparison site like http://www.baisse-de-prix.com/voyages.php seems to offer little new – it looks like Air France have cornered the market with little opportunity for discounting.
| July 11, 2008 | to | July 17, 2008 |
The port of Brest (20 Finistere, Bretagne) hosts its Maritime Festival from 11-17 July 2008. This major Atlantic port has a long and proud maritime history most recently as a departure point for Atlantic liner crossings.
It is not a static collection of boats on display but rather lively fleets and crews in action… offering genuine scenes and the authentic ambiance of a port in full operation.
From morning till night, hundreds of sailboats, all different, cast off, sail and race, then they return to the harbour, with thousands of sailors onboard. Nautical activities, spontaneous or organised, follow one after the other within the harbour shelter, to the great delight of visitors on the quays…
A few days earlier the Tour de France cycle race starts its 3 week ride in Brest with the accompanying celebrations.
For more on the Mariticme Festival see www.brest2008.fr
For more on the Tour de France see www.letour.fr
| July 5, 2008 |
The Tour de France 2008 (21 stages, 3500 km) startson 5 July 2008 in Brest (29 Finistere, Brittany) and runs for 197.5km to Plumelec (56 Morbihan, Brittany).
For more on the Tour de France 2008 see www.letour.fr/
For coverage on ITV see www.itv.com
The number of budget airline routes to France from the UK is continuing to grow, as is the number of French destinations - no longer restricted to the major cities. This really does open up some of the less well-known parts of France.
The list below shows the extent of the coverage - and this excludes flights to Paris which are available from most local airports. Some flights are seasonal, so please check with the airline for timetables and availability.
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