 |
Choosing a holiday in France |
||
|
|||
►
France
is Europe's No.1 holiday
destination; but with classic exceptions such as Paris and
some resorts on the French Riviera, tours to Disneyland Paris, tours to
the Loire Valley and holidays in the French Alps (skiing or
summer), it is a country for individual tourism rather than package
tours.
| ►► Site guide |
| Accueil en français |
| About-France.com home |
| Full site index |
| About-France.com site search |
| ►► Principal chapters on About-France.com : |
| Guide
to the
regions of France Beyond
Paris, a guide to the French regions and their tourist attractions.
|
| Guide
to Paris Make
the most of your trip to Paris; Information on attractions, Paris
hotels, transport, and lots more.
|
| Tourism in France
The
main tourist attractions and places to visit in France - historic
monuments, art galleries, seasides, and more
|
| Accommodation in
France
All
the different kinds of holiday accommodation available in France -
gites, b&b, hotels, camping, hostels etc.
|
| Planning
a trip to France
Information
on things to do before starting your trip to France..
|
| Driving in France
Tips
and useful information on driving in and through France - motorways,
tolls, where to stay....
|
| Maps of France
Cities,
towns, departments, regions, climate, wine areas and other themes.
|
| The French way of life
A mine of information about
life and living in France, including
working in France, living in France, food and eating, education,
shopping.
|
| A-Z
dictionary of France Encyclopedic
dictionary of modern France - key figures, institutions, acronyms,
culture, icons, etc.
|
| A selection of other pages |
| Tourist attractions in France |
| Guide to French wines |
| Food & eating in France |
| Camping in France |
| Guide to French hotels |
| Gites and B&B in France |
| ►►Living and
staying in France |
| Moving to France |
| Shopping in France |
| Opening and closing |
| Doctors and emergencies |
| France holiday pages: | Page 1 Preparing for a holiday to France | Page 2 : Choosing a holiday | Driving in France |
Page 2 : Choosing a holiday
France: no. 1 holiday destination
| Topic index: (click any link) | ||||
| On this page | Package holidays to France | Self catering gite holidays | Camping holidays | Winter holidays |
| Where to go | When to go | How to get there | Weather | Formalities |
Package
holidays to France.Many tour operators run package holidays to France, including coach trips to France or rail trips. Check out tour operators or agencies such as Travelsphere or Thomas Cook, or others. Eurostar offer combined train and hotel trips to Paris. Popular destinations in France for coach holidays include Normandy, Paris and the Loire Valley. And then of course there always package trips to Disneyland Paris .
If you prefer to organise your own holiday and book your own hotel, often a cheaper option, check out the About-France.com French hotel guide.
Gite holidays - self-catering in France
France has a very large selection of gites or holiday cottages for hire. There are a lot of different sites offering gites for hire, and the biggest of these is Gites de France, which many people think is an official organisation. It is not, it is just the biggest and the oldest. Gites de France has a full range of gites, from the luxurious to the rather basic. Another website offering gites is Gitelink France; the advantage here is that most of the gites, which vary from mid-range to top of the range, are run by English-speaking owners, many of whom live nearby. Many also advertise prices in sterling, even sometimes in dollars.
Camping holidays
France has Europe's greatest choice of campsites. For further details on French campsites, check out our Camping in France page. For a selected choice of small friendly campsites away from the crowds, try Rural Camping France.
Winter holidays
Three parts of France are popular for holidays in the winter months. Paris, of course, is a tourist destination all year round, and for people interested in museums, culture, shopping, and just enjoying Paris, winter is as good as any other time of year; and the museums and the Eiffel Tower are less busy than in summer.
Then there is the French riviera. From February onwards, spring is usually in the air along the Mediterranean coast, particularly in the St. Tropez - Cannes - Nice area, famous for its mimosa and early flowers.
Finally, there are the French skiing areas. The Alps and the ski resorts in other French massifs are busier in winter than in summer
Where to go:
France offers an incredible variety of regions and an amazing range of places to see and things to do. To help you plan your holiday, About-France.com has a full range of clear informed pages about France. To get started on your holiday plans, click the following links to discover......
- All the different regions of France
- Main tourist attractions and monuments in France
- Paris pages, with Paris tourist attractions and hotel guide
- A big map of France that you can zoom in on and move
- Other maps of France
- Away from it all - off the track in Rural France
- Return to part 1.... Before travelling to France .....
How to get there:
Most intercontinental flights to France land at Paris; but there are some flights direct to Nice, Lyon and a couple more French airmorts. Geneva is also a handy airport for France, as it lies right on the French-Swiss border. For more details, and for information on ferries to France from the UK, check out the About France.com Travel to France pages.
What's the weather like?
In summer, the average temperature in France is a degree or two warmer than in Britain or Belgium or Holland. But France does not often have a homogenous climate. The climate in Normandy is not the same as the climate in Provence or in Alsace. For more details, check out the About-France.com guide to the weather and climate in France.
Formalities for travel to France
European Union citizens need a valid national identity card or passport; citizens of other countries need a valid passport and, in some cases, a visa. Cars need to be insured for driving in France For full details, see part 1 - Planning your holiday to France
Going further
Visit the website of the French national tourist officeT
| Beware
of the "cheap ferries" scam Some internet sites that announce "cheap" ferry prices are actually charging more than the ferry companies themselves. View the cheap ferries information page for more details. |
Permission to reproduce information from About-France.com must be requested by email to permissions "at" about-france.com.
Link to About-France.com.
We welcome links from travel sites, sites about France, and educational websites.
Feel free to use the About-France.com logo-link on your website.
Contact:
General contact. Email to contact "at" about-france.com
Advertising: Email to adverts "at" about-france.com
We are sorry but About-France.com cannot respond to individual requests for help with planning holidays in France.
Click ad for more details or to book your hotel