France For Families - July 2004 Newsletter

Welcome to the second edition of the France For Families Newsletter! France For Families is a recently launched online travel guide providing free and independent advice on family holidays in France, with information on booking your holidays in France and guidance on the best places to visit.

Eurotunnel - let your children tune in to Eurotunnel’s own radio frequency 95.6 (classical) or 99.8 (pop) where they will find quizzes, chat and music to help pass the time. For more ideas on passsing the time on long car journeys visit the entertaining the kids section in France For Families.

Ferries - if you haven't booked your channel crossing yet it's worth checking out the new Speed Ferries service from Dover to Boulogne. P&O Ferries also have some good deals available. Full details and links direct to their websites from our ferries page.

Péages - it is worth noting that there are several toll free sections:

Heading south from Calais on the A16 it costs €6.30 as far as Abbeville. From here to Rouen on the A28 it is toll free, while continuing on the A16 to Paris is €9.00.

The west coast route has toll free sections, particularly helpful for those travelling to the Vendée/Charente/Bordeaux areas. From Caen, heading west via Avranches on A84 and then south on N137 past Nantes is an excellent toll free route.

Similarly, if the Dordogne region is your holiday destination the central France route via Orleans is free on the A20 from Vierzon to just south of Brive-la-Gaillarde. A good route from the northern channel ports to the Dordogne is via Rouen on the A28 and then on to the N154 via Evreux, Dreux and Chartres to Orleans where a short stretch of paying motorway brings you to the A20 and south. The N154 is currently being upgraded to motorway status and its completion will result in an excellent journey right through to the Dordogne area. Watch this space for details!

Route planning - For advice on route planning and driving in France, visit our Driving in France section where you will find useful advice and links to the free ViaMichelin route planning service and the Bison-Futé website which provides information on traffic blackspots and roadworkds on the major routes.

Rest Areas - a new addition to the France For Families website is a section offering advice on the best Rest Areas. With Aires de Repos every 10km or so it is really helpful to know which are the pick of the crop and especially the ones that the children will appreciate! You can link to this section from our Driving in France page.

Overnight stops - highly recommended if you are travelling a long way and there are a myriad of options to choose from - check out our Hotels section and Chambres d'Hôtes section for details. There are several new additions recently added.

Public Holidays - there are a couple of public holidays during the summer. It's worth being aware of them as it can be difficult to get petrol and the shops and banks are usually closed. You can find a link to details of French national holidays on our money page.

On the website you can find brand new regional sections covering Paris and the Côte d'Azur with no fewer than 30 new web pages covering the best attractions, beaches, museums, monuments and towns.

Our section on the Charente/Vendée has some new additions including free bicycle hire in La Rochelle and the zoo at La Palmyre.

Born in 1994? The Aquarium Aliotis is celebrating it's 10th birthday this year offering free admission to all children born in 1994! Make sure you take some ID!

There is a new feature at the Aquarium du Val de Loire - flat bottomed boat on the river.

The Zoopark de Beauval in St Aignan-sur-Cher has some 4000 different animals on display with some of the rarest surviving species.

The Fantasy Forest at Mosnes offers a huge range of entertainment for older children including assault courses, go karting, mountain biking and much more besides.

Bike rides in the forest of Chambord - join a forester on a two wheeled ramble through the forest. It's not cheap, but bikes and lunch are included. Reservations required on telephone 02.54.50.40.00.

Nocturnal show at the Château de Blois is performed in English each Wednesday in peak season. For more details email: chateau@ville-blois.fr or telephone 02.54.78.72.76.

Wine Discovery Tours - In the Cher area you are invited on different themed tours that allow amateur wine enthusiasts to learn more about wines and the history of wine growing in the Lore Valley. For more details email: contact@vins-centre-loire.com or telephone 02.48.78.51.07. For further information on Loire wines visit our wine section.

Le Tour de France cycle race - if you are holidaying in ‘l’hexagon’ during July you might be able to take in one of the stages of the 91st Tour de France, the world’s premier cycle race. This year the action kicks off on July 3^rd in Liège (Belgium) and continues SW via Arras, Chartres, Angers (Loire) through to Quimper (Brittany). It then continues from Central France southwards through The Lot to the Pyrénees then NE via Carcassonne and Nimes to the Alps with the closing stages leaving Besançon on 24^th July for a finish in Paris on 25^th.