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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…

The French are up to their old tricks again - if they do not like what is happening to the cost of fuel, they blockade the ports and disrupt cross-channel traffic. This time it seems to be mainly the fishing and merchant fleets who are unhappy at the continuing increase in the price of fuel, especially diesel. However, French prices remain slightly lower than in the UK for fuel, allowing for the poor exchange rate.

Kent Police is issuing a strong message tonight to motorists and people intending on travelling through Dover, or planning to take holidays using Dover ferries, not to attempt to get to the port without checking that services are running.

The fisherman’s blockade of Calais is reported to be over and ferries are loading at the Port of Dover, but all travellers are strongly advised to ensure they check their bookings with their respective ferry operator before setting off on their journey.

Operation Stack is currently in place. Junctions 8 (Leeds Castle) and 9 (Ashford West) coastbound on the M20 are closed.

You can check the latest conditions at Kent Police or the Port of Dover

Operation Stack, which works to ease traffic backlog at Kent’s ports and borders, remains in place tonight and is expected to continue tomorrow.

UPDATE - FRIDAY 23 May 2008 - MESSAGE UPDATED at 22:00 hours on Friday, 23rd May, 2008

Current sea conditions in the Channel are slight to moderate, with a north-easterly breeze, Force 5, and the visibility is good

All sailings with P&O Ferries and SeaFrance to Calais and Norfolkline to Dunkerque are experiencing delays and have limited space on all departures.

SpeedFerries’ fastcraft services, from the Hoverport to Boulogne, will resume again tomorrow morning.

Port users are advised that all road improvements on the A20 through Dover are suspended over the Bank Holiday weekend and will resume on Tuesday.

Phase two of Operation Stack, the police operation to queue freight on a section of the M20 motorway to ease traffic backlog at Kent’s ports and borders, was lifted overnight.

Junctions 8-9 coastbound of the M20 are now open.

UPDATE - MONDAY 26 MAY from the Port of Dover:-

All sailings with P&O Ferries and SeaFrance to Calais, and with Norfolkline to Dunkerque are running to time with space available.

SpeedFerries’ fastcraft services, from the Hoverport to Boulogne are also on time with space on the 1420 & 1800hrs services, all other departures are fully booked.

For all the concerns about the falling exchange rate and rising fuel prices, the Telegraph(9 May 2008) still reckons that a holiday in France still offers good value for money:-

France looks a particularly good bet for a holiday this summer. With the euro soaring, your plat du jour will cost about 20 per cent more than last year, but it should still be significantly cheaper than in your local gastro-pub.

Accommodation, too, is cheaper: b&bs, gîtes and two- or three-star hotels charge 30-40 per cent less than many British counterparts. And fierce competition means that the cost of getting there is at historic lows. Here are some pointers to finding good value when crossing the Channel this summer.
By sea

Sixteen years ago it cost a minimum of £308 for a return ticket for a car plus passengers on the ferry from Dover to Calais. This August, P&O and Sea France have returns from about £50, and Eurotunnel from £98. Crossing the Channel with your own car has probably never been cheaper. But you will have to pick your travel times carefully to find these prices, avoiding peak times and school holiday weekends.

At today;s tourist exchange rate of £1= € 1.2176 euros, typical French hypermarket fuel prices are:-
Unleaded (sans plomb 95) € 1.3890 (£1.14 per litre)
Super unleaded (sans plomb 98 € 1.4290 (£1.17 per litre)
Diesel (gazole) € 1.2990 (£1.07 per litre)

You may have to pay more on autoroutes and branded petrol stations.

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

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!

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!

Beziers (34 Herault, Languedoc-Roussillon) is another of those underrated French towns usually passed by on the autoroute - this time the A9 from the Rhone Valley down to the Spanish border. My principal memory is of horrendous traffic through the outskirts when trying to reach Pezenas and Chateau Belles Eaux at Caux many years ago - it all seemed a bit scruffy. But Ryanair now flies from Bristol so it could become a weekend break destination and it is close to lots of wonderful vineyards and landscape, Probably overlooked by its more glamorous neighbour to the north - Montpellier, Beziers seems more real.

Things like traffic should improve markedly from Autumn 2008 when the A75 from Clermont-Ferrand and Millau is completed with the stretch from Pezenas to join the A9 just east of Beziers. Anthony Peregrine in the Times writes of his visit:-

Up on its hill, the centre looks masterful - the gothic cathedral, especially, would be whipping the vast surrounding wine lands back into line, given half a chance. But chance hasn’t always been on Béziers’s side. It first made big news in 1209, when papal crusaders showed up and slaughtered the population as heretics.

Subsequently, the town has grown fatter and thinner with the ups and more recent downs of the cheap-wine trade. It has played rugby, held bullfights and generally been effervescent in the Latin manner. Then it has gone back to work. Or the bar. Or welfare. So, off the lovely esplanade and main squares, many old streets have a lived-in look - lived in not by Parisian gallery-owners, but by people who are meant to live there, the ones doing washing, pushing pushchairs and hanging around clapped-out cars, wondering how the hell to get the doors back on.

It makes for engrossing wandering, once you’ve had your fill of gothic. And we’ll come back to it at the end of our drive - which you could also join, with minimal adjustments, from Montpellier.

See our map of the area
Beziers Official Tourist Office
Stay on a vineyard at Les Montels at Raujan.

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.

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).

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