France Travel Guide

Posts Tagged ‘centre’

If you appreciate the great outdoors, then be sure to head to Chamonix, which is in the Haute-Savoie region of France.

This lovely alpine town and ski resort boasts a wealth of beautiful mountain scenery, fantastic skiing opportunities, sporting and leisure activities, as well as some great shops, restaurants and bars, nightlife and other tourist attractions.

Chamonix, which is situated at the base of Europe’s highest mountain Mount-Blanc in the French Alps, has long been a skiing destination. In fact, the first Winter Olympics in 1924 were held in Chamonix.

Chamonix is a superb destination, whether it’s for an annual family vacation or just a weekend break. What’s more, it’s an ideal location to take a holiday all year round. It doesn’t matter whether it is winter or summer in Chamonix, there is always plenty of things to see and do.

This area is also ideal for a holiday property rental, as there is a great selection of self-catering accommodation here.

Not surprisingly, in the winter Chamonix is a skier’s paradise. While in the summer there are numerous activities on offer here, such as hiking, climbing and mountain biking.

While you are in Chamonix (and you don’t fancy doing any climbing yourself!) you should take a trip on the Aiguille du Midi cable car, which you get from the centre of Chamonix. From the top station (3842 metres), the views of the Swiss, French and Italian Alps are simply stunning.

If you’ve got the time, be sure to check out the Montenvers Train, which climbs to the famous Mer de Glace, France’s largest glacier.

The skiing here in Chamonix is first class. There is a fantastic mix of slopes for everyone, including beginner’s slopes, gentle runs, down-hill pistes and cross-country ski pistes.

There are five main ski area in the Chamonix valley. They are Les Houches (which has trails through the forest), Le Brévent (which is the closest ski area to the centre of Chamonix), Domaine de Balme (which is at the end of the valley), La Flégère (which is popular with snowboarders) and the well-known Agrentiere/Grands Montets (which is good for experienced skiers).

Even if you’re not a skier, but a keen on other sports, there are some great activities to be enjoyed in the summer months. There are hiking trails, mountain biking tracks, areas for mountaineering and climbing and you can try your hand at paragliding, too. Chamonix even has a golf course.

But if you don’t want a sporting holiday, there are numerous things to do in Chamonix – and that’s not just admiring the gorgeous scenery around this area.

It offers much more than just skiing here. The town offers a warm welcome to its visitors, whatever your age and interests. There’s a good selection of shops, restaurants, bars and cafes, as well as a good outdoor market on Saturdays. You will find this very useful to stock up on your food etc during your self-catering holiday.

Everything here is well thought out. The town also boasts a cinema, a bowling alley, a sports centre, an ice rink and other attractions. For example, visit the Alpine Museum, which will give you an insight into the history of Chamonix.

All in all, Chamonix is a charming place to spend a great holiday, whatever the time of year. Whether you’re interested in just spending some quality time relaxing and enjoying the amazing views or if you’re planning an adventurous holiday, you will have fun in Chamonix!

Eurostar is one of the fastest and most comfortable ways to travel across Europe, with 3 different travel classes. In Business Premier and Leisure select classes, travellers enjoy on-board meals served at their seats and a variety of dishes and drinks available at the bar-buffet. Premier travellers also benefit from numerous advantages, such as shorter check-ins, wireless internet or lounge access before departure. With a wide service offer and great efficiency (96% of the trains arrived on time in 2009), Eurostar is growing more successful each year, welcoming more than 100 million customers on board in August 2009, with about 50 trains taking the tunnel every day. Within 16 years of existence, Eurostar’s customer number has risen from 3 to 9.2 million.

Since November 2007, Eurostar’s network has undergone several modifications aiming at increasing the speed of trips. Thanks to these works, who have tremendously boosted tourism on the European scale, it now only takes 2 hours and 15 minutes to go from central London to central Paris, faster and cheaper than air travel, with an average speed of 186.4 miles per hour.

Assuming your destination is the sunny city of Nice, the Eurostar service will take you to Lille in 1 hour and 20 minutes, and you can take a high-speed train (TGV) nonstop from Lille to Nice, with a trip of about 7 hours and 22 minutes. Therefore, within less than 9 hours you can go from London to Nice with only one stop at Lille and for less than £160. For seasoned travellers, who aren’t afraid of changing stations, it is possible to go from London to Nice within 8 hours and 50 minutes with a railway station in Paris, Lyon or Marseille.

According to route-planning site Mappy.com, it takes about 13 hours and a half to drive from central London to central Nice, with costs reaching up to £240. Is it really necessary to point out how exhausting and expensive undertaking such a journey might be?

As for air travel, prices can be matched if the booking is done weeks in advance, but the trip is shorter and more convenient with Eurostar, as trains take you directly in city centres, whereas travelling through busy airports often requires long check-ins and commuting to finally reach the final destination. For example, it takes 50 minutes to go from central Paris to Charles de Gaulle airport, and 75 minutes to go from Stansted airport to Victoria station in London.  Here’s another example: a flight to Nice from London’s Luton airport takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes. If you take commuting and then checking-in into account, with almost 50 minutes on the bus on your way to Luton, 120 minutes waiting to checking, 2 hours and 30 minutes flying, and then 20 minutes to go from Nice airport to the city centre, you can spend about 5 hours and 40 minutes sitting around, or walking from one platform to another.

Let’s not also forget one crucial upside when taking Eurostar trains, which is unlimited luggage. Indeed, although your belongings on Eurostar services are searched, you can take as many suitcases as you like with you, which is rather convenient for long holidays abroad. Families and couples won’t have the trouble of counting how many clothes everybody’s allowed to bring, and how many times it is necessary to hop on and off trains, buses and planes. Eurostar is therefore a fast, comfortable and convenient way to travel, which will take you to Paris for a planned holiday or on a whim, for a day or two.