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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!
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:-
www.easyjet.com - Toulouse to Lyon, Paris, Nice to Paris; Lyon to Biarritz, Bordeaux; Biarritz to Paris
Www.twinjet.net
Toulouse to Metz/Nancy, Mulhouse, Brest; Marseille to Metz/Nancy, Mulhouse; Paris - Perigueux, Cherbourg
www.airlinair.fr Brest, Bordeaux, Agen, Lyon, Poitiers, Brive, Beziers etc
You can try sites like 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 famous Le Mans 24 hour road race takes place 14-15 June 2008 - so steer clear of Le Mans (72 Sarthe, Pays de la Loire) for the weekend (and a few days beforehand) unless you are a motor-racing enthusiast. Admittedly things are much easier now with the A28 autoroute taking you north-south from the Channel coast and Alencon down towards Niort and the south west without entering the Le Mans itself, but traffic will be heavy - often with some wonderful classic cars to admire en-route.
For more info on the race see www.lemans.org
When the town is not full of racing enthisuasts, it is well worth a visit with a fine old medieval city centre to explore - see www.lemanstourisme.com
For more about the region and our customised searchable map CLICK HERE
| May 10, 2008 | to | May 11, 2008 |
The Coteaux du Layon - the valley of the River Layon - is known for producing some of the best dessert wines in the Loire Valley. Made from the versatile Chenin Blanc grape affected by noble rot, these can be gloriously complex and aromatic wines.
Since 1994, the village of Rablay-sur-Layon has rallied round to organise a free festival of theatre, music and singing. For 2 days, twenty or so different shows are put on in various areas and squares around the village.
The winegrowers of Rablay play an active part in preparing for the event and organize aperitif concerts and a vintage wine tasting area.
Rablay-sur-Layon (49 Maine-et-Loire, Val de Loire) lies due south of the city of Angers and not far from our favourite Anjou wine producer - Antoine Leduc at Domaine Leduc-Frouin who makes an excellent Coteaux du Layon AC.
Antoine is a very talented and respected winemaker, and also a delightful host if he happens to be around when you visit the cellars. He is ably assisted by his enthusiastic sister Natalie and their mother. We imported their wines for many years and often the wines were truly superb.
For more info on Rablay and its festival see www.rablaysurlayon.com
For more on this area see our customised map
| May 13, 2008 | to | May 18, 2008 |
From 13-18 May 2008 the city of Nantes celebrates its local wine - Muscadet! 80 restaurants, winebars and wine merchants will be offering special menus featuring the local dishes of the region and its wines! With a winemaker available to answer all you questions about these crisp fresh white wines, this promises to be a good opportunity to revisit Muscadet wines, which were so popular years ago, but whose reputation was ruined by the production (or at least UK imports) of thin acidic wines.
Many examples tasted over the last year or so have restored my faith in the appellation, offering some wonderfully rich and complex wines, especially “sur lie”, which deserve to be taken much more seriously than as just a good wine with fish! It still is a good wine with fish and seafood, but it can also provide a worthy alternative to Sauvignon Blanc and Alsace Riesling.
For more info see www.vinsdeloire.fr
Yapp is good with Loire wines and offers a Muscadet de Sevre-et-Maine from Domaine de la Morlaine at £6.95: “Bone dry with a subdued saline nose and a braving citric zest on the palate.”
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