I've fallen in love with Saint Paul de Vence

Advantages: Beautiful place
Disadvantages: expensive

...My dad?s friend and his wife work in the South of France and they live in Saint Paul de Vence. I?ve been fortunate enough to visit them with my parents 4 times in the last couple of years. The first time we went to the village, we were staying in a hotel in Nice and only went to St Paul for the afternoon/evening. The following three times, I we stayed in their house in the village for a few days. Having now visited on more than one occasion, I think I have a good feel for this lovely little place. Every year this village sees millions of tourists pass through it?s cobbled streets every year and as it?s such a beautiful place I can see why? Where is it? Saint Paul de Vence is a small walled village located in Provence, in Southern France. We fly to Nice airport (with easyjet) and our friend picks us from there. A taxi from...

bluejules 12.09.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Saint Paul de Vence, France

St Paul-de-Vence

Advantages: 300 days of sunshine per year
Disadvantages: hard to get there

...I recently went to St Paul-de-Vence for my holiday. I am lucky enough to have a friend who owns a beautiful 5 bedroom house with a large swimming pool, so accommodation wasn't a worry for me. I was quite happy to sit by the pool and soak up the sun, but I also enjoyed going down to the village to look in all the lovely small shops and local markets. I thought I would write this review and share it with you. I hope you enjoy it" St Paul-De-Vence. Dating back to the 11th Century, St Paul-De-Vence lies between mountains and sea, overlooking the Mediterranean sea on the world renowned French Riviera. It stretches over 1,700 acres and is home to over 3,000 inhabitants, 300 of which live within St Paul village. St Paul de vence is one of the most visited, best preserved and well kept medieval towns in France. No cars are allowed...

keak123 26.11.2006 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Provence (France)

  "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
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
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
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Lille (France)

SAINT PAUL de VENCE

Advantages: History Art Beauty
Disadvantages: 2,500,000 Other Visitors

...As you drive towards the picturesque village of Vence on the road from Cagnes-Sur -Mer the breathtakingly beautiful  sight of Saint Paul de Vence will appear before you. Few are the people who could see this for the first time and not stop to gaze in admiration before rushing on intent on visiting the ancient village that has remained so well preserved for centuries. Saint Paul preserved so long by poverty is now one of the worlds biggest tourist attractions with 2,500,000 visitors a year. It owes much of this fame to the artists attracted here throughout much of the twentieth century. The artists themselves were as much attracted by the 300 days of sun a year as the many suitable subjects for their work. Among those who came and worked here were Renoir, Duffy, Matisse, Chagall, Signal, Valloton, Derain and Soutine. There can not be...

richard1952 08.09.2002 (10.09.2002) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Provence (France)

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
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
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
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Agay (France)

Pierre et Vacances - great holidays in France

Advantages: holiday apartments, ideal for families, a lot of activities
Disadvantages: expensive extras

...This year, we spent two weeks of our summer vacation in France, in a club village of Pierre et Vacances. Pierre et Vacances is the largest company offering holiday apartments and holiday homes in France (if not in the whole of Europe) with more than 60 locations (residences, hotels and club villages). Most of the locations can be found at the French south coast (Provence, Côte d'Azur, Languedoc-Roussillon), but there is a large choice available at the Atlantic coast, in Normandy and Brittany, as well as a few locations in Paris and in the French Alps. There are studios for two, apartments for four, six or eight, and houses for 10 persons, all built in the regional style, furnished appropriately and quite cosy. There are two-, three- and four-star locations (the stars are called suns at Pierre et Vacances). Depending...

Michael-S 28.08.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of General: France

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
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
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
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of 2007 AA Road Atlas France (AA Atlases) - AA Publishing