"Lille De France" - Geddit?

Advantages: Near London by train, cosmopolitan feel, excellent transport connections, eating out, plenty to see
Disadvantages: Dog poo

...I?ve now been to Lille three times in the past year or so, each previous time, merely for the day. Only over the last weekend did we stay overnight. Why Lille? Well, rather like the reason dogs lick their naughty bits, it?s because we can. Lille is the first main stop in France on the Eurostar/TGV route from the Channel Tunnel ? yes, I know you could get a train that stops at Calais (Fréthun), but that?s like getting out at Bristol Parkway and expecting to be in Bristol! Gare Lille-Europe arrives outside your train window 1 hour and 40 minutes after London Waterloo International disappears. Stage 1 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), means that we now get to hurtle through Kent at 186 M.P.H. before slowing to a mere 100 M.P.H. to shrug off the 32 miles of tunnel in a mere 20 minutes. Doing 'a ton' MORE than even the over...

BNibbles 07.12.2004 (09.12.2004) · Read review
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Review of Lille (France)

Hossegor, France

Advantages: Beats any British beach holiday hands down
Disadvantages: Strong currents on some days

...My family and I started going to Hossegor, (which is situated in the Bay Of Biscay, SW France), when I was about 5, way back in the mid 80's. Well, up he coast a tiny bit from there actually). We always stay at the same place when we're there. Its a 4star campsite called Le Vieux Port. The campsite has everything that you'd need. Even as young children we always had something to do. The entance consists of a long kind of driveway, along which runs a football pitch, crazy golf and a mini go-kart thing for the kiddies. It all looks very classy, with flags from different countries running down both sides. Then you approach the reception and main bar areas of the site. The campsite has one very very nice bar which is never too crowded, but always is full of atmosphere. There are often live bands playing here (most...

BJEEE 20.12.2000 (21.12.2000) · Read review
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Review of Lille (France)

Ipsos - Eleni Appartments

Advantages: Very friendly locals, great for families or young people
Disadvantages: Italians in August

...I've been back to Ipsos twice now and was a bit dubious about things not being the same on a second visit but boy was I wrong! I went on two girly holidays there and loved every second of it - there were many tears shed upon both times of leaving. We stayed (both times) at Eleni appartments, a small family based plot in pyrgi, just 5 minutes walk from Ipsos & the beach. The appartments were great by day, with a clean, relaxed pool & bar where families played and mixed. The great thing about it was that the pool bar owner - Spiros - would always make sure no rowdy gangs came and spoilt the atmosphere from other hotels, he'd just ask them to leave if there was trouble. The appartments themselves were basic but clean, and the owners were very helpful if you had a problem, in fact, Spiros used to wake us each morning (ok, lunch time...

Sopvic 17.10.2003 (22.10.2003) · Read review
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Review of Eleni Appartments, Ipsos, Corfu

Lyon- France's alternative city break.

Advantages: Wonderful city
Disadvantages: Pollution

...Introduction As some of you may or may not know, as part of my degree, I study an element of French language in preparation for the third year I will spend in France next year. My likely destination is Lyon and as such I decided it would be worth taking a trip to Lyon to explore what the city had to offer and get my bearings a little before I actually attended the university next year. Lyon is situated in the Rhone- Alpes region of France, which lies in the east close to the Swiss border. It is surrounded, unsurprisingly, by the Alps and is not very far away in fact from Europe's biggest mountain, Mont Blanc. It is in fact France's second biggest city residing close to St. Etienne and Geneva (in Switzerland). So I and my fiancée (who will also join me in Lyon next year) took a visit to the place. How to get there...

ashtonluke 06.07.2005 · Read review
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Review of Lyon (France)

AGAY Experience in France

Advantages: An unspoilt backwater in a sea of development
Disadvantages: Could be too quiet for some

...Calm down, there's no need to panic girls - it's not what you think. I haven't forsaken the lovely Mrs P. for the adventures of pastures new. Although there have been times whe..... You just weren't reading the title properly, were you? Have another look. AGAY - A small beach resort in the South of France between St. Raphael and Cannes. Phew! That's a relief! Let's start with a little bit of advice: If you would like to search on the web for some pictures of this picturesque little town, be prepared for some explicit images of a non-family nature. How can I put it? If you're not interested in seeing large, hairy, naked men in various poses, don't do it! If, on the other hand, you are - then feel free. Anyway.... After our hectic culture overload in Arles, it was off to the beach for a couple of days R&R (that's rest...

proxam 24.08.2003 (30.03.2004) · Read review
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Review of Agay (France)

A long weekend in Appart'City, Lille

Advantages: Price, self-contained professional apartments, high quality accommodation
Disadvantages: Slightly cramped, a little way out of town

...We booked Appart'City for a 3 night long weekend in July, through Eurostar. At the time we booked, it was one of the cheapest options available. We knew it was a little way out-of-town, in the Madeleine district, but we decided that was an acceptable price to pay to get good quality accommodation at a low price. If you're travelling light, it's easily walkable from Lille Europe, otherwise hop on the red or green tram line (access underground at Lille Europe), and hop off at Romarin - one stop up the line. We found it difficult to actually find the building, and locals couldn't give us directions - it's not obvious that the building is a hotel, even when you're standing in front of it. Appart'City is basically a modern block of apartments which are probably mostly aimed at business travellers, but also available for tourist breaks. So...

jane_tew 19.08.2005 · Read review
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Review of Appart'City, Lille

Easiest way to get to France - Seafrance Ferries

Advantages: Cheap, the ferry was really nice inside, beautiful scenery
Disadvantages: Expensive food and gift shop

...I've been on Sea France ferries a few times now, and, lucky for me, its service is always consistent. Last weekend, me and my partner decided to go on an impulsive day trip to France, so late Saturday night, we booked returned ferry tickets to Calais from Dover. Booking the tickets was, in itself, a little bit of a nightmare if you take into account how many different companies are trying to sell you tickets for the same ferry, some more expensive than others, and often you have to fill out a form and then it'll tell you how much, so it can be time consuming if you're wanting to shop around. After looking at a few different sites, we found one (I can't remember what it was) that had foot passenger tickets as £6 each, which was cheaper even than the Sea France website. The next morning, we had a two hour drive from our town to Dover...

Stephoohla 19.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of SeaFrance Ferries

AA ROAD ATLAS FRANCE 2009

Advantages: GREAT VALUE FOR MONEY
Disadvantages: TO MANY GREAT PLACES TO VISIT

...This is a review for the 'AA Road Atlas 2009' INTRO Well it's that time of year for me where I think of going on my summer holiday This year I'm planning to take my car to France and go camping with friends, so a good map of France is a must. I looked on Ebay for maps on France and came across 1500 results for French maps, after searching page after page I came across two different maps that I've used before one was the Michelin foldout map (very good) and the other was the 'AA Road Atlas France'. As I wanted as much detail as I could get the 108 page 'AA Big Road Atlas France 2009' was at the top of my list. I managed to find the 'AA Road Atlas France 2009' map brand new on Ebay for £6.25p including the postage (retail £9.99). AA ROAD ATLAS FRANCE 2009. The 108 page 'AA Road Atlas France 2009' has everything I...

donovan74 06.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of 2007 AA Road Atlas France (AA Atlases) - AA Publishing

I love air france

Advantages: They are cooperative
Disadvantages: nothing for now

...I'm not a seasoned flyer. I have only ever flown on holiday twice in my whole sad little life. I must say that Air France did a very good job when I flew with them from Newcastle to Paris CDG and back. On the way there, they were polite, all crew spoke English, and the flight was good. It was coming back however, that they really impressed me. We got lost in CDG. A bit stupid of us really, but it is MASSIVE and there was a security scare which meant it took ages to get through the gates. In the end, we missed our flight. It was very traumatic. We had a two year old with us who had been on the go since before breakfast so was getting a bit fractious. We then had to go back through control, along with everyone else who got caught up in the security scare. It was very busy, and we had visions of us having to stay in the airport overnight...

davidsmera 05.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Air France - AFR

  Shopping in France, mum and I having a day out!

Advantages: Quick, Easy, no walking or stairs for the disabled.
Disadvantages: I can't think of any.

...Well, the Channel Tunnel. Lets start with a bit of history here. Apparently they had been digging it or trying to for far far longer than I can remember, or even my mother who is my travelling companion. According to my mum the original idea was Napoleon's. So, what is it? I have had a look at the website, and read all about it and now I know more than I did just by travelling along it, so in short, Euro tunnel is a long tunnel that goes under the sea joining France to England. There are three tunnels, the English end starts in Folkestone, Kent and the other end is in Coquelles, France, that is near Calais. I didn't know there were three tunnels, usually they only use two single track rail tunnels and the trains go in one direction only, which means you go along one tunnel on the way there and come back on the other tunnel...

solamarie 31.05.2005 (30.06.2005) · Read review
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Review of England to France - Channel Tunnel