Welcome to the 16th France For Families newsletter. As we look forward to the summer holiday, thoughts of long, hot, relaxing summer days are forefront in our minds. However, it goes without saying that this spring has seen some very unusual weather patterns, from a wonderfully hot and sunny April to a wetter May/June. As we write this, even now in the middle of July, the weather is far from settled. So the big question is ‘what will the summer bring in terms of weather?’ Unfortunately here at France For Families we cannot answer that question, but what we can do is to give lots of advice on how to make planning your holiday as hassle free as possible, ranging from things that are essential before you start your holiday, to tips on keeping the kids entertained on the long journey, as well as having regional pages packed full of advice of things to do when you are there. Check out our article below if your travels take you to the French Riviera this summer. If you’re heading for the Pyrénées, Normandy, Languedoc, Dordogne or Provence then you will find articles in recent newsletters.
Télépéage Liber-t: If you are a frequent traveller to France, or simply want to save yourself a bit of time at the ‘péage’ toll booths then purchasing a Telepeage Liber-t card may be worth considering. These are special badges with an in-built sensor that can be attached to your windscreen and allows you to use specially designated lanes at the toll booths (marked with an orange ‘t’) – long queues at peak times could be a thing of the past. No money or credit cards are used – your journey is simply registered on the electronic system and either your nominated bank account/credit card is debited for the toll fee. This Liber-t system costs €30 for the badge (which is refunded should you ever stop needing it) and there is a monthly charge of €2. This €2 is charged via your bank account/credit card but only for those months that you actually use the system. Signing up for Télépéage Liber-t is fairly straightforward although the SANEF websiteis only in French. The application form is available here.
Beam Deflectors: It is worth mentioning that the plastic beam deflectors do not work with the new halogen headlights with which many newer cars are fitted. In these cases headlights need to be manually adjusted.
Route Planning: The growth in Satellite Navigation systems (sat-nav) can be a boom to planning your journey through France, although here at France For Families we admit to still enjoying the route planning phase, as it all helps to get you in holiday mood. However should you decide on having a back up route planned, it is worth looking at www.viamichelin.com as well as www.mappy.com. It is also worth noting that rather than following a road number as we would do in the UK, French directional signs usually give the next village/town on your route, as well as the next major conurbation, rather than a road number. This can be quite disconcerting until you get used to it.
Road signs: As you can see from our road signs page, French road signs follow the same system as those we use in the UK – rectangular signs give information, triangular signs are warnings and circular signs are to stop you doing something you shouldn’t do. In addition, yellow coloured signs are for temporary situations like roadworks and brown coloured signs give tourist information. Here are also a few key phrases that you will come across on French roads, along with a translation:
Aire – service area/rest area
Allumez/Eteinez vos feux – Headlights on/off
Attention – watch out
Autres directions – Other directions
Brouillard – fog
Centre ville – Town centre
Cédez le passage
Circulation interdite – no way through
Déviation/Fin de Déviation (yellow sign)
Douane – Customs
Fin de Chantier – end of roadworks (yellow sign)
Fin d’allumage des feux – headlights off
Gare à péage – booth for paying toll ticket approaching
Interdit - forbidden
Interdit aux piétons – no pedestrians
Passage à niveau – Level crossing
Passage pour piétons – zebra crossing
Priorité à droite – Give way to traffic from the right
Prochaine sortie – next exit
Rappel – remember
Route barrée – Road closed
Section à péage – toll road/booth for getting tickets approaching
Sens unique – one way
Serrez à droite – keep right
Sortie – exit
Stationnement payant horodateur – parking meter
Ticket – toll booth ticket machine
Toutes direction – All directions
Traveaux – Roadworks (yellow sign)
Un train peut en cacher un autre – more than one train possible (at an
unmanned level crossing)
Verglas – black ice
Virage – bend
Voie - lane
Zone piétons – pedestrian area only
Focus on
the Cote d’Azur
This month we have chosen to focus on the
Côte d’Azur (otherwise known as The French Riviera). This part of
France with its many well-known coastal towns, like
Cannes,
St Tropez and
Nice, seems to conjure up images of the rich and famous, sunning
themselves on golden beaches, sipping drinks on sunlit terraces. While
no doubt this still happens, there is much else to offer holiday-makers
and especially families to this part of the French coast and its
hinterland.
Beaches obviously are a main attraction and there are plenty to
choose from. For toddlers and younger children nothing can beat the
real thing – they all seem to love the sea and sand. However
water related theme parks are an alternative for families with older
children who maybe want a bit more excitement than the sea. While
pricey, these will give a full days entertainment. Still on a watery
theme it is also worth taking a
boat trip to visit the islands off the coast.
Inland the scenery is varied with a string of hilltop villages like Fayence, Mons and Callas and even larger Grasse and Biot with their museums overlooking the Med below. Or alternatively why not drive into the foothills or even up Mont Vinaigre for spectacular views. Further inland, west of Draguignan takes you to an area of vineyards and forest and to the impressive Gorges du Verdon. East takes you along the coast past the tiny principality of Monaco and on towards the Italian border, which makes an interesting days excursion. With lots of sunshine and summer heat this is definitely worth the journey for a relaxing holiday.
Following on from this ‘Focus on……’ article we would like to introduce a website specialising in family based activities on the Cote d’Azur. They have kindly written an article for us which is reproduced here:
Family First article for
France for Families
If you are planning to visit the sunny
French Riviera with your family during the summer break you’ve chosen
the right destination!
The French who were previously a little behind some Northern European countries when it comes to services for young families are quickly catching up! Baby changing facilities, high chairs, lifts, pedestrian areas to give just a few examples are now much easier to come by. It also offers many fun and cultural activities for all ages, whether you prefer adventure (such as climbing through trees from 2 years, go-carting from 3 years or rafting down white water rapids from 5 years), art & creation (such as perfume creation and pottery painting from 3 years or cooking from 5 years), nature trails, water and theme parks and much more you’ll be spoilt for choice!
You’ll also be pleasantly surprised by the increasing number of private beaches that now cater specially for young families. Menton, Monaco, Nice, Juan-les-pins & Cannes all boast beach areas with small play grounds ideal for the under five’s, small swimming pools, babysitters and kids clubs. La Dolce Vita in Menton even has a kid’s bathroom with a child size toilet and shower and an indoor play and rest room open during the summer months. If you fancy a more economical solution, the public beaches are generally very well kept, but do not forget to bring along your own sun umbrella to protect the youngsters. We advice heading off to Antibes and the county’s other western, coastal towns to find sand, Monaco for a kids play area or Villeneuve Loubet, the region’s only town that has been awarded the “Station Kid” label. Most places do however organise some activities for children on the sea front during the festive season.
If you have not yet booked your accommodation family friendly options can be found. If you are ecologically minded try out the luxury tree houses and their inviting, natural swimming pool in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, camp or B & B on a farm up on the hills surrounding Nice or if you want a taste of coastal luxury head off to Monaco to its famous “Beach” resort providing kids entertainment from 2 years old in July and August.
All this and more can be found in www.familyfirst.fr - a guide to the French Riviera for families. Enjoy your stay!
New TGV
route opened
With the first phase having opened on June
10th this TGV route eastwards towards
Strasbourg is the latest exciting new addition to the French
high-speed rail network. Designed by the haute couturier Christain
Lacroix the new TGV trains are stylish with specially designated areas
for families and stations ‘en route’ are either new or have been
re-vamped. The French pour large funds into their rail network and this
Alstom V150 train has already broken the world speed record in April of
this year at 574.8 kph (365 mph). Journey times on the 252 mile line
between Paris and Strasbourg will be cut from 4 hours to 2 hours 20 mins
thanks to an average speed on the route of 320 kph (199 mph) The line
goes through Reims, Metz and Nancy, making the regions of
Eastern France much more readily accessible. Good deals can be had
by checking out
www.voyages-sncf.com.
Ultimate French Leave by Richard Binns
Following
on from our recent series of book reviews, the France For Families team
recently purchased the last in the prolific writings of traveller
extraordinaire – Richard Binns. His name may already be familiar to
many of you either from his books or from his website which is
recommended by France For Families on its
restaurant pages. Richard Binns spent a lifetime touring round
France, on the strength of which he self-published many travel books. He
was particularly partial to what he called ‘Hidden France’ which he
discovered by keeping off motorways and instead explored the smaller D
roads. This latest book revisits many of the areas he has been to before
in ‘Mapaholics France’ with detailed itineraries and places to visit.
There is also a fully updated restaurant section that covers the more
less well-known parts of France. His style is very readable, his foody
knowledge immense and his views honest and to the point. The book also
contains a food glossary and a section outlining regional cuisine.
Having followed his suggestions many times over the years we have never
been disappointed and we look forward to discovering new gems on future
holidays.
Sadly Richard died last Christmas but this his last book will be an excellent addition on our bookshelves.
Let’s hope that sunnier days are around the corner and that wherever you find yourself on holiday in the next few weeks that you have a great time.
Bonnes vacances!
France For Families