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Depending on your point of view, Paris is not at its best in July, and especially August. Parisiens exit the city in their millions, especially on the first weekends of July and August - heading for their “vacances”, often in other parts of France. Hence many things in the city are closed, and the proportion of tourists to locals can be overwhelming. It still seems strange to a Brit that the holiday “season” seems to stop abruptly at the end of August - timetables change, campsites close, attractions move into a “off-season” mode.

However, there are good things happening in Paris in mid-summer, as the website www.ete.paris.fr shows. There are the inevitable celebrations for the French National Day (Bastille Day) on 14 July - fireworks at the Trocadero and the Champ de Mars (by the Eiffel Tower).

Then there is the annual Paris Plages (beaches on the River Seine) voie Georges-Pompidou in the 4th arondissement, at the Bassin de la Villette near Stalingrad in the 19th et quai de la Gare, near the Bibliotheque Nationale in the 13th. Open from 21 July to 21 August they aim to create a seaside atmosphere with real sand and fun in the heart of the city.

There is also BMX racing and plenty of activities around the Canal d’Ourcq with boat rides along the canal for just €1 per person; pedalos, canoes, kayaks. Guided tours are also available following the route of the Canal which winds its way through the Paris suburbs, offering a different view of the city.

Free concerts in the Parisien parks, an ephemeral garden in the front of the Hotel de Ville, cinema, literature…….. not forgetting the final stage of the Tour de France finishing on the Champs Elysees on Sunday 27 July 2008

For more info see www.ete.paris.fr

Another French icon, the Solex motorised bicycle used to be a common sight throughout France - although in earlier times it was powered by a noisy smelly little 2-stroke petrol engine. Something like 80 million Solexs were produced as a cheap form of transport after the Second World War.The original production line closed at the end of the 1980s, but now it has been re-invented as the E-Solex an environmentally-friendly way of getting around town using battery high efficeincy power to boost your pedalling.

You can now enjoy a one of these very French machines by hiring one for a day or half-day in St Omer (62 Pas-de-Calais, Nord Pas-de-Calais).

Les Belles Echappees also hire out Citroen 2CVs, tandems and trikes and offer a number of packages which can include route suggestions, restaurant and hotel combinations etc.

Les Belles Echappées invite you to a journey off the beaten track in search of simple pleasures connected with emotion and collective memory.

You can find a video showing the 2CVs in action on You Tube Les Belles Echappees translates as a good time or break!

Les Belles Echappees, Chemin des murs, Ferme de l’Abbaye - 62500 CLAIRMARAIS
Tél : 03.21.98.11.72

There are other options for raking to the road “a la francaise” - e.g. the 2CV tours of Paris with 4 roues sous un Parapluie (4 wheels under 1 umbrella); Or hire a classic Citroen TA in the Loire Valley with Quart de Tours (37 Indre-et-Loire, Centre)

Further south Joffreny Tours offer classic and modern British cars (and others) for touring the French countryside from their base near Chalus (87 Haut Vienne, Limousin) - although helpfully they have an office in the UK

Lots to do and see - Hire a classic standard MGB Roadster, a V8 MGB Roadster, a BMW Z3 Roadster or a Triumph Stag (soft-top or hard-top) and take off on a sightseeing tour of the Limousin, Charente and Dordogne, in west central France, with all of its historic towns and picturesque chateaux, and sample some of the fine food and wine along the way. This is beautiful touring country and there are very few cars on the road…

Pope Benedict will be doing his own version of the Tour de France with all its encumbent entourage, large crowds, blocked roads and hotels full in September 2008. Although the timetable is provisional at the moment, he is due to be in Paris 12-13 September 2008 to meet President Sarkozy, celebrate mass at Notre-Dame Cathedral and hold an open air mass on the Esplanade des Invalides.

Lourdes (65 Hautes-Pyrenees, Midi-Pyrenees) is scheduled for 13-15 September 2008, celebrating the 150th Anniverasy of the Apparition of the Virgin, on which this otherwise unremarkable market town in the foothills of the Pyrenees has built its fame and prosperity. I assume His Holiness will fly from Paris to Lourdes - its a bit far by Popemobile!

Apparently Lourdes has the second highest number of hotels in France after Paris!

For more info the the Lourdes 2008 Jubilee celebrations see www.lourdes2008.com

Paris always evokes the nostalgic image of the lonely and tortured artist toiling away in his or her studio with a view over the rooftops and chimneys of Paris.

It was probably never quite like that, although certainly there were studios with panoramic views but designed mainly to supply plenty of light.

In the 10th arrondisement, the artists of Belleville have an annual festival when they throw open their doors (portes ouvertes) to allow all and sundry the opportunity to view their creations - and hopefully purchase too!

More than 250 artists will be showing their work in over 170 locations - courtyards, gardens, streetside for 4 days from 16-19 May 2008 from 2pm - 9pm (rather reinforces the idea of artists leading a dissolute life!).

So there should be something there to please most art lovers - and a unique opportunity to see another side of Parisian life.

See our map of Paris for the location

See the website for Les Ateliers d’Artistes de Belleville

There are many ways of getting to Paris from London, but doing it by rowing boat is not the obvious one - but that’s what teams of rowers are doing starting on 2 May 2008 on the London 2 Paris Rowing Challenge. Leaving from Westminster Bridge in the centre of London at 11.00am and rowing down the Thames, then to Dover. From there they strike out diagonally towards Fecamp and Le Havre at the mouth of the Seine - in the process crossing the busiest stretch of water in the world - before heading into the calmer waters of the Seine to Rouen and on to Paris. But even on this stretch there are some big boats and less room to manoeuvre.

There are two teams of 10 rowers of all ages and both sexes, and they are going to tackle this fearsome ordeal which covers 420 miles and will probably take 6 days before arriving at the Pont d’Iena near the Eiffel Tower in central Paris sometime before 8th May 2008. One team is called Le FigaROW!

The most daunting part of the whole trip must be the lengthy English Channel crossing to Le Havre with the risks of heavy seas and merchant shipping. But Le Havre is only about half-way in terms of distance, a little deceptive as the Seine meanders in anything but a straight line after the Pont de Tancarville between Le Havre and Rouen. They will of course pass under 2 impressive bridges before reaching Paris - le Pont de Normandie which takes the A29 autoroute from the north to south banks of the Seine near its mouth; and the new vertical lift bridge - the Pont Gustave Flaubert in Rouen.

Clearly the Channel section will not offer much in the way of a spectator sport,but you may be able to catch sight of them on the Thames and Seine.

See London 2 Paris Rowing Challenge - but personally I think I’d go by Eurostar!

P&V have some special offers on their self-catering apartments in various parts of France - but these are limited time offers:-

Book 2 nights and get 2 free or book 1 week and get another whole week free! - offer closes 17th May. Available on 8 Pierre & Vacances residences - CLICk FOR DETAILS

25% off 2 week holidays in August - available between 16th and 30th August - CLICk FOR DETAILS

20% off luxury Adagio Tour Eiffel Aparthotel in Paris - available before 19th May. Includes this bank holiday weekend! 25% off 2 week holidays in August - available between 16th and 30th August - CLICk FOR DETAILS

15% off 4 night breaks at the Latitudes Beach Hotel in stylish Trouville (14 Calvados, Normandie)- available until 13th May - CLICk FOR DETAILS

Velomagg in Montepellier (34 Herault, Languedoc-Roussillon) is another of the growing number of city bike hire schemes which have blossomed throughout France - and which potentially offer a different way of visiting many of France’s cities. It has also given employment to those creative people who dream up catchy logos and names for such schemes!

It all started in Paris with the Velib’ Scheme - an amalgam of Velo (cycle) and Liberte (free), which has been a tremendous success.

Vélib’ is a Self Service “bike hire” system available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Multi pick up and drop off location allows you to pick up your bike from one service point and drop off to another.

You need to subscribe, but for visitors there are 1-day and 7-day subscriptions and after the first 30 minutes you pay by the half-hour - e.g. a 90-minute hire will cost just €3 and you can pick up and drop off your bike at any of the hundreds of self-service stations across the city.

The Velib’ scheme has been based on a similar scheme VeloV in Lyon (69 Rhone, Rhone-Alpes) France’s second city. The combination of these eco-friendly and fitness focussed schemes is now spreading throughout France:-
VeloCite in Mulhouse (68 Haut-Rhin, Alsace) and Besancon (25 Doubs, Franche-Comté)
Vhello in Aix-en-Provence (13 Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence)
Le Velo in Marseille (13 Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence)
Velo in Toulouse (34 Haut Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees)
Nantes (44 Loire-Atlantique, Val de Loire)
Rouen (76 Seine Maritime, Normandy)
Bordeaux (33 Gironde, Aquitaine)
Velostan in Nancy (54 Meurthe et Moselle, Lorraine)
Velo+ in Orleans (45 Loiret, Centre)
Velomagg in Montpellier (34 Herault, Languedoc-Roussillon)

This is clearly a popular scheme, mainly aimed at local residents but may also offer a different way of seeing some of France’s major cities from a different perspective. However, I would recommend choosing a city with good cycle lanes and paths - you do get the impression that traffic in many of France’s cities is not very forgiving with errant cyclists - so do not try cycling around the rond-point of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris!!

Inevitably there are some urban myths developing - such as the fact that there are always plenty of bikes at the bottom of the Butte de Montmartre, but none at the top - for obvious reasons. And you can get caught out in busy locations if you cannot find an empty slot in which to return your bike!

Buy at AllPosters.com

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.

The Vignerons Independents, the body representing independent winemakers, holds a number of wine fairs (Salons) in Spring and Autumn each year, which are open to the public and give you the opportunity to taste from a wide selection of vineyards from every region of France, meet the winemakers and purchase wines at cellar door prices.

For autumn 2008 the dates are as follows:-

30 Oct - 3 Nov 2008 - Lyon (69 Rhone, Rhone-Alpes) - Hall Tony Garnier

7 - 10 Nov 08 - Reims ( 51 Marne, Champagne) - Parc des Expositions

14-17 Nov 08 - Lille (59 Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais) - Grand Palais

27 Nov - 1 Dec 08- Paris (75 Paris, Ile de France) - Porte de Versailles

For more info see www.vigneron-independant.com (in French)

If you are visiting Lille, there is a good B&B on the tram route to the city centre - see Alix’s Garden

The Tour de France 2008 (21 stages, 3500 km) Stage 21, the final day is usually a gentle ride through the outskirts of Paris (the overall winner is usually known by now), but there are still points to be won for the sprints and the glory of a stage win on the Champs-Elysees - so the last 5 laps around central Paris can be very exciting. Sunday 27 July 2008 starting from Etampes (91 Essonne, Ile de France) and finishing 143 km later on the Champs Elysees (75 Paris, Ile de France)
For more on the Tour de France 2008 see www.letour.fr/
For details of coverage on ITV see www.itv.com