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The Independent’s Simon Calder narrates an interesting and informative Podcast which you can download and take with you to the cosmopolitan city of Nice, an easy option with many budget airlines flying in from numerous UK airports - or take the TGV from London!

Beginning in the Promenade des Anglais, Simon Calder explores the Matisse Museum and admires the beautiful views of the hills of Provence. He also samples the region’s cuisine, trying traditional corn pancakes and dining at the luxurious Aphrodite restaurant, before tasting some locally produced wine.

The local wine is called Bellet AOC.The vineyards lie within the city limits in the hills above the town. Seldom seen in the UK, the whites are made from Rolle and some Chardonnay with Folle Noir for the reds with some Grenache and Cinsault. Rosé comes from Braquet and Cinsault. Yapp Brothers stock the Bellet AC wines of Domaine de la Source - the rosé 2007 being “a dry and fruity rosé with aromas of wild roses. On the palate, red berry flavours precede a clean, dry finish.”, whilst the 2007 Blanc is described as “An esoteric dry white wine with subtle hints of Provençal pine. The wine displays aromas of pear and wild flowers when young and quince and toasted almonds when it reaches maturity. The dry but fruity palate has balanced acidity and good fruit characteristics, preceding an alluring dry finish.”

Some Links:
Hi Hotel
Musée Matisse in Nice
Aphrodite Restaurant
Nice Official Tourist Office

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!

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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.

In this environmentally-aware age, there are new considerations when planning your trip to France - the Eurostar probably is the winner London-Paris in terms of both time (city centre to city centre) and lack of hassle. Even on overall cost it probably wins especially if you can book ahead.

But, on a longer journey to the Mediterranean coast and the Cote d’Azur? The dash between rail terminals in Paris (e.g. Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon) can be a significant disincentive for the train and adds time on an already long journey.

Sheila took the journey from London to Antibes (06 Alpes-Maritimes, Provence) by Eurostar and TGV, and here are some of her observations:

We were advised to go 1st class as it was a long journey…. St. Pancras to Antibes, changing at Lille - definitely worth the extra for the wide comfortable seats. Toilets on both the Eurostar and the following TGV were disgusting - but fine on the return journey. Food on Eurostar was good and pleasantly served. The staff were very obliging and efficient. Food on the Lille/Antibes train was just from the buffet car and not at all interesting - just sandwiches and snacks.It seemed that most people brought their own and ate on the journey but, being French, they did this at lunch time - not grazing constantly as the British seem to do.
Even in 1st class the TGV was full, and people tend to anticipate their station and prepare (with huge cases and luggage) several minutes before arrival at the station. The train does not stop for very long.
The train is very fast, but very smooth - it is a long journey so very necessary to have reading matter, ipod, or whatever to pass the time - scenery in the North rather flat, but becoming more interesting as it progresses through to the South.
We were on the top deck on the way out and it was a single decker on the return journey, but not really any noticeable difference except when coming in to a station and people’s heads were below eye level, only the stairs made it more difficult to get the luggage ready by the door when preparing to leave the train.
Despite the horribly early start, I think I’d do the same again rather than the alternative flight from Heathrow.

For example mid-week in late May 2008 you can leave London St Pancras at 07.00 and arrive in Antibes at 17.27 (local time) - a journey time of 9h27m with a 1 hour wait in Lille (59 Nord Nord-Pas-de-Calais) (but no dash across town just a saunter across the platform!). Return fare is £189.00 (£349 First Class).

Marseille features in the Independent (22 Mar 08) as being one of the top 10 travel terminals in the World for its new airport terminal, but a brickbat for the Marseille Ferry Port as one of the grimmest.

A new-look terminal, named MP2, opened at Marseille/Provence airport at Merignane especially for low-cost flying. Uniquely the terminal is designed to eliminate many services (and the associated costs) normally provided at airports. So passangers will take bags to the scanners themselves to reduce reliance on check-in staff and people will walk across the tarmac before boarding - no buses or walkways. All very much in the “no frills” mode, but at least the airport tax will be halved for domestic flights and reduced by up to 85% on European flights. The décor inside the terminal is also be “cheap and cheerful” with a combination of pink and green, purportedly symbolising a new dawn and a new way of travelling.

I suspect that if the terminal works efficiently and processes you and your baggage quickly and easily then who can bemoan the lack of other facilities. On the other hand it could be a little more trying if there are significant delays.

Terminal One remains and will continue to be more traditional, albeit hopefully less crowded than before for those travelling with the major airlines and paying more (usually).

At the other end of the scale, the Marseille Ferry Port is far from welcoming - delapidated industrial infrastructure which is reminiscent of Marseille’s rather dubious and dangerous reputation. But it is a gateway for reaching many other parts of the western Mediterranean including Corsica, Sardinia and north Africa.

The other alternative connection for Marseille is of course with the train, with Eurostar from another of the featured top 10 terminals i.e. the new St Pancras Internation station in London. The TGV line down through France to Marseille is very fast and goes through some glorious scenery as it tracks the Rhone Valley into Provence.

Your destination is then the Gare St Charles (see picture above) with its spectacular staircase (escalier) outside - a very traditional and ornate 19th Century railway terminus in the centre of the city. In the summer you can get from London to Marseille with a change of platforms in Lille, rather than a change of stations in Paris (Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon).

You can book train tickets direct from the UK to any destination in France (via Eurostar, TGV and SNCF) through RailEurope

Book Ferry tickets from Marseille with aferry.to to destinations including Corsica, Sardinia, Ajaccio, Algiers, Bastia, Calvi, Oran, Tangier and Tunis

Commission Free Euros
from the Post Office Exchange Rate as at 22 march 2008: €1.2349 = £1.00