Travel

The opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 caused a major change in how we travel to France, making it possible to take the train there direct, or take a car on the Eurotunnel, or stick with the older methods of crossing by ferry or plane. Some people swim, but this is not such a practical idea when you have lots of luggage with you!

A number of options present themselves when you are planning how to travel to France. These days taking a plane from one of the UK's many regional airports is a cheap and easy way of reaching not only Paris, but the provinces as well. Flight operators are in heavy competition with each other to get bums on seats and prices can be as little as 15 for a single to Paris, Bordeaux or Nice airports.

From London and the south east of England, however, the Eurostar might be the best idea as it takes you from central London to central Paris in about 2.5 hours.

You don't have to go all the way to Dover to get the ferry either. Ports all along the south coast of England (Portsmouth, Southampton, Plymouth, Poole) will take you to Roscoff, Le Havre. Cherbourg. Caen and Dieppe in northern France. This is good if you are going to Brittany. Normandy or along the Atlantic coast as it cuts down the amount of driving you need to do when you are in France. Ferries are well equipped with restaurants, entertainment for adults and children, and places to relax.

When you travel to France you will need a valid passport and so will your children. Make sure that your passport will be valid for your whole holiday as it is not much fun trying to renew it if it runs out while you are abroad.

Once you are in France you can hire a car or a bicycle to get around, or take one of the fast and efficient trains to complete your journey. There are also internal flights from Paris to most regional airports, with hot competition keeping prices at an all time low. Take advantage of this to keep your travel time to a minimum so that you have more time to relax and enjoy what this wonderful country has to offer.