Ferries to France
You will find yourself spoiled for choice when it comes to selecting your ferry travel to France from England and Ireland.
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For short-sea crossings on the Channel, both P&O Ferries and Seafrance sail to Calais from Dover, and LD Lines offer services from Dover to Boulogne, with its sister company Transmanche Ferries sailing from Newhaven to Dieppe.
Alternatively, Norfolkline offers its popular Dover to Dunkerque route.
And if you prefer the train, you can travel to France from England with Eurotunnel and Eurostar.
Brittany Ferries sail from Portsmouth to Cherbourg, Caen and St Malo, from Poole to Cherbourg, and from Plymouth to Roscoff. It also offers ferries to France from Ireland, on their Cork - Roscoff route.
You can also sail to France from Ireland on the route Rosslare - Cherbourg, with both Irish Ferries and Celtic Link.
LD Lines operates between Portsmouth and Le Havre, while Condor Ferries offers frequent sailings on the following routes: Portsmouth to Cherbourg, Poole and Weymouth to St Malo. It also sail to France from the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey.
Celtic Link Ferries provide daily ferry services to Cherbourg in northern France from Portsmouth, or you can get to Cherbourg on one of their three services a week from Rosslare in souther Ireland.
You can also book a ferry to France from Corsica or Sardinia, with SNCM and Corsica Ferries, or from northern Africa to France with SNCM and Comanav/Comarit Ferries.
France is not only the largest country in Europe but also the most visited in the world, and no wonder. It offers prominent city landmarks, spectacular scenery, 1,800 miles of coastlines, much of it beautiful beaches, and the chic resorts of the Cote d’Azur, plus stunning mountain ranges for winter sports.
The weather changes frequently throughout the year as the Atlantic influences the climate of the western coastal areas from the Loire to the Basque region. Expect a mild climate and frequent rain; however, summers can be very hot and sunny. Visit the south of France, where you can enjoy the warm Mediterranean climate throughout the whole Riviera. Alternatively head inland to the French slopes of the Pyrenees or the Alps for some of the world’s best skiing throughout the winter.
Getting around
You can explore the country using its excellent network of roads. Not a traffic jam in sight, and rarely any roadworks either. Motorways bear the prefix ‘A’ and some of these are toll roads (péage), which are not cheap. National roads are marked ‘N’ while minor roads are classed as ‘D’.
French Railways (SNCF) operates a nationwide network of 21,250 miles of track. The high speed TGV runs from Paris to Brittany and southwest France, to Lyon and the southeast and to Strasbourg and the east.
Sightseeing
The capital of France, Paris, and its famous Eiffel Tower, are a popular destination for holidays or weekend breaks. Combining a stay in Paris with a visit to Disneyland is a great familt holiday.
Many people head to the Normandy coast either for its lively night life or the Norman countryside, with its cool, wooded valleys and its beech and pine forests that offer a haven of peace and tranquillity.
Brittany has a long, rugged coastline, but also glorious beaches, such as La Baule. This most westward region of France, where the Bretons speak their ancient language and carry on age-old traditions, attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year.
The country is stuffed with wonderful cathedrals, including Reims, Chartres and Tours, and the Louis chateaux of the Loire are not to be missed.