Review of French Tourism for 2011

2011 has been a successful year for French Tourism, with increases in numbers of tourists visiting various historic and cultural sites.(http://www.francesoir.fr/actualite/societe/patrimoine-le-chateau-de-chambord-veut-defier-le-mont-saint-michel-171817.html)
Mont Saint-Michel again reported the greatest number of visitors with about 3,000,000 visiting the fabulous site in the famous Bay of Mont Saint-Michel.  However a competitor site which hopes to catch up by 2019 is the famous château de Chambord  in the Loire, which had an increase of 50,000 visitors for 2011 year to hit a record of 780,000.

The Ministry of Culture also announced good results regarding attendance of museums, which grew 5% in 2011 with a total of 27 million !
the Museum of the Louvre, had 8.8 million, an increase for the fourth consecutive year. It is ahead of the Palace of Versailles (more than 6 million), the Pompidou Centre (3.6 million, an increase of 15%!) and the musée d'Orsay (3.1 million).

Where did you visit this year ? And can you recommend anywhere either on this list or some hidden gems that are not usually mentioned ? We certainly love the theme park Puy du Fou which is listed as having over a million visitors a year.

The most popular theme park is still the two Disneyland, Paris parcs which receive 14.5 million visitors a year and the Parc based around the French character Astérix, Parc Astérix near Paris which has 1.6 million visitors a year ! The Futuroscope theme park at Poitiers has 1.6 million visitors a year.

And of course we cant forget The Eiffel Tower in Paris which has 6.8 million paying visitors a year although I am sure a lot more who just go along to take a photograph !
Another popular sites to give a try is the La Villette science museum in Paris which has around 3 million visitors.
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Things to do in the Camargue Area of France

The Camargue is our favourite place in France. I only visited it for a day but it completely captivated me. We had a ride on the white horses, arranged just as we were passing which was fantastic. And then stopped for lunch in Saintes Maries de la Mer. The Camargue is a triangular area of Provence with the town of Arles to the north and the Rhone delta to the east. It is made up of wetlands, pastures, dunes and salt flats. Part of it was designated a nature reserve in 1927 and in 1970 the area was granted National Park status.      

Many of the tourists come to see the famous Camargue horses, and the flamingos which are the symbol of the Camargue National Park.  You can also see the distinctive Camargue Cattle which are black with long horns and are tended by French "cowboys" called "les gardiens", who ride the white camargue horses. It is possible to go for a ride on these horses.

 There are three major towns in the Camargue :

• Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (population 2,000)
• Aigues Mortes (population 6,000)
• and Arles (population 55,000).

The main road through the Camargue goes from Arles to the north to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a lovely village on the Meditteranean to the south. If you are here in May you can see the traditional and colourful Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer Gypsy festival & pilgrimage which is one of the major Provence events. Every year the Roma celebrate and worship their patron saint, Saint Sarah in the coastal village of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the Camargue region.

Port Camargue
You can explore this area and see the extensive area of marinas and yachts.

Arles
Bulls have roamed the marshes of the Camargue since antiquity and form part of daily life in this region. You can go and watch the traditional "Feria Corridas" or bullfighting in the Roman arena of Arles, which take place from Easter up to the end of September each year. Before the Feria, you can view the bulls in the "Espace Toro", and you will be able to find out more about bullfighting traditions in the south of France, Provence region. (Bulls are not killed in bull fights in France).   

Orange
The Roman Theatre in Orange is a fantastic building to visit. It has a 65 m long stage and still has some of the original accoustic wall. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the Roman Theatre was no longer used as a place for entertainment. Restoration only began in the early 1800's. The use of the Roman Theatre as a stage for lyrical and musical performances became prevalent in 1971. All of the world's great lyrical artists have performed there.

Seaquarium Le Grau du Roi (5km)
An aquarium with different sections including seal and dolphin shows and a touch pool as well as Mediterranean and tropical fish.

Aqualand Cap d'Agde

If you have younger children or teenagers with you who would like to have a day in a water park then the excellent Aqualand Cap d'Agde is well worth a visit. This is a large waterpark with an excellent selection of pools and slides. Suitable for toddlers and teenagers. It has over 20 attractions on 4 hectares of beaches and waterslides to suit the whole family. It is quite expensive but it is a fun day out. Mind you if you are like me and you would be too scared to go on any of the flumes etc then it is a bit much having to pay the full adult fee !

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A Room with a View - or...a Caravan with a View or a Mobile Home with a View ?

Les Criques de Porteils, Collioure

When you book a camping holiday abroad it can be difficult to visualise exactly what view you are going to get from your mobile home, tent or caravan. You can arrive at your campsite and if you have booked with Keycamp or Eurocamp or similar companies often you end up following your rep - who is often on a bicycle ! - and you await with trepidation to find out which part of the campste you are going to spend the two weeks of your summer holiday !

However wiser travellers get booked up well in advance and if you want to guarantee that you will have a fantastic Sea View or Lake View from your holiday mobile home or caravan then this is entirely possible to do.

Eurocamp and Keycamp allow you to book certain zones in some of their campsites and some of these zones offer a view.

We can recommend one in France on the Mediterranean, one in Spain also on the Meditteranean and one on Lake Garda in Italy.

Les Criques de Porteils, Collioure

In France near the border with Spain you will find the small Les Criques de Porteils Campsite overlooking the Meditteranean Sea.

This site has numerous sea view plots to either take your own caravan or tent or you can book a mobile home with Eurocamp by clicking here.

Nestled on the rocky coves that typify this small corner of France, this terraced Castels parc has direct access to several small pebble beaches. Criques de Porteils is ideal for a quiet family holiday or couples seeking a cultural retreat from the hustle and bustle of the nearby resorts of Argelès Plage, which is a short drive away.

Read our review of this site on Best French Campsites at http://www.bestfrenchcampsites.com/campsites/collioure/lescriquesdeporteils.html.

Cala Gogo, Playa d'Aro, Costa Brava, Spain

Cala Gogo in Spain has a Beach Zone that is bookable. Eurocamp don't guarantee a view from every mobile home on the Beach Zone though but if you can manage to book one like the one photographed here then surely that is a dream holiday !

Click here to view the Cala Gogo campsite with Eurocamp. 

Camping Eden Lake Garda

In Italy you can visit the popular Lake Garda area and why not make sure you have a view of the Lake by booking one of the mobile homes with a view at Camping Eden on the Western side of the Lake. 






You can also read our review of this site at http://www.bestitaliancampsites.com/italiancampsites/campingeden/campingeden.html.



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Euros - Here to Stay ?

Well after this weeks deliberations between various European Leaders, it looks like we will be continuing to use Euros while on holiday in Europe. If you havent used Euros before then they may take a little time to get used to !

There are Euro bank notes which come in

• 500E (500 Euros)     
• 200E
• 100E
• 50E
• 20E
• 10E and
• 5E denominations.

There are also coins, which can be

• 2E  or
• 1E 

And you can also get Cents which are worth less that a Euro. 100Cents equal 1Euro. There are 50Cent, 20Cent, 10Cent, 5Cent, 2Cent and 1Cent coins.
So for example something might cost 1E 50 which means 1 Euro 50 Cents.

Below are photographs of the various types of money to get used to. The actual designs on each Euro are designed to reflect the different countries of Europe so you may find that your Euro is not actually a French one, but they can be used in any European countries which have the Euro as a currency.

The most likely paper money you will come across will be the 50E, 20E, 10E and 5E notes :

 

2E and 1E will be found as coins : 

And finally the small fry ! A Euro is made up of 100 Cents so you might find the following in your change :

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Les Journées du Patrimoine - France

European Heritage Days (EHD) is a joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission. Every year for a weekend in September (in 2011 in France it was 17th - 18th September), you can take the opportunity to visit (for free !) buildings, monuments and sites, many of which are not normally open to the public.  The aim of the European Heritage Days programme is to increase public awareness of the importance of heritage, and to awaken the interest of young Europeans in their common history. The event now takes place in 50 countries from the Baltic to the Balkans, from Iceland to the Iberian Peninsular and gives Europeans a chance to explore both their own heritage and also that of their neighbours if they happen to be visiting another country.

The event began in France in 1984, with La Journée Portes Ouvertes, and has now spread throughout Europe.  In France it is now known as Les Journées européennes du patrimoine and in the UK we have come to know this event as either :

• English Heritage’s Heritage Open Days,
• Open House London,
• Doors Open Days in Scotland,
• Open Doors Days in Wales, and,
• European Heritage Days in Northern Ireland.

It is a fantastic chance to see into all sorts of building and to find out first hand what happens there. For example this past weekend in Paris, 12,000 people took the chance to pay a visit to the Sarkozy's residence at the Elysee Palace !
In total, there were over 12,000,000 visitors to all sorts of buildings around France. The website will show you what you can visit in a particular region : http://www.journeesdupatrimoine.culture.fr/  In Brittany, for example, you could visit abbeys, chateaux, chapels, churches, forts, museums, manors, gardens and semaphore stations, in fact in total there were 611 open doors events in Brittany this year !

There has also been a new category added this year, with the Announcement by Frédéric Miterrand, the French Minister of Culture and Communication, that certain houses would be recognised as "Maisons des Illustres". These are houses where famous people have lived and you can find a list of the 111 houses on this website : http://www.culture.fr/fr/sections/themes/maisonsdesillustres/articles/111-maisons-illustres
They include the houses of  :

• Louis Pasteur (scientist) in Franche Comté
• Pierre-Auguste Renoir (painter) in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur
• Jules Verne in Picardy
• Pierre-Auguste Renoir (painter) -Atelier de Renoir - Essoyes
• Victor Hugo (writer) in Upper Normandy
• Napoléon Bonaparte - Maison Bonaparte - Ajaccio
• Louis Braille (inventor of Braille) - Maison Louis Braille - Coupvray, Ile de France
• Charles de Gaulle in Nord-Pas de Calais
• the Champollion family house in Figeac, Midi-Pyrénées, (Champollion translated the Rosetta Stone which led to the understanding of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs) 

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Final Motorhome Show of the Season 2011

Well if you've have survived the credit crunch with any money left then why not follow your dreams and go along to the final big Motorhome Show this year and see if you can spot a bargain new or used motorhome. It's on at Shepton Mallet showground near Bath this weekend from 9th -11th September. With all that space to display the motorhomes we can get a real chance to get a good look round them, although if you are seriously buying its probably best to go along early on the Friday to avoid the weekend crowds !

There will also be lots of accessories and outdoor clothes for sale as well and if you really can't decide which motorhome to buy then why not wait until Saturday night when they announce the winner of the Motorcaravan of the Year awards !

I've just been talking to some other campers (retired !) who spend the winter in the South of Spain and Portugal, spending 4 months on campsites and with fees for longer term stays as low as 10 Euros per night then its a great way to spend the winter months ! Especially if we get another winter like the last two !

Here is a link to the Show Website - let us know if you get along to it and how you get on - http://www.stoneleisure.com/september-the-big-end-of-se-2/

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Fabulous Camping Products for Gadgety Camping !

We enjoyed our holidays this year and because we ended up taking our tent to a site with electric hookup, we ended up using the campsite WiFi and watched the finals of The Apprentice in our tent ! OK its not what you would call wild camping but it was good fun and added just a little luxury to the holiday. We were also able to charge our gagdets making any car journeys that bit more enjoyable.

Here are some products from Amazon that people have found to actually be very useful for camping and are actually listed as bestsellers by Amazon in their camping section. This fabulous small LED light from Rolson Tools costs under £3 has great reviews and we find it really adds a lot of light to our tent. So why not get a few at that price ?

Did you get a Kindle ? They are great for taking abroad on holiday as you can load up as many books as you like onto them so it really cuts down on luggage as you wont need to take a pile of books with you ! However if you want to read them in a tent or late night in the caravan without disturbing others then this handy Kindle light would be useful and has great reviews too :

I have also used a head torch to read in a tent - here is a good one :

And if you have booked a plot with electric hookup for your tent then you will need one of these in order to get the electricity into your tent :

Remember French and other Continental campsites may have the two pin plugs and may not have an adapter for you to borrow, so please check in advance with your campsite or why not try something like this adapter :

OK I know you're still thinking about that Kindle I mentioned ! So if you haven't already treated yourself here are two from Amazon. They both use WiFi to download books from the Kindle store but the more expensive one also has 3G so you can download on the move if you are in a 3G reception zone.

  

So why not give Gadgety Camping a shot and let us know how you find the Kindle. I find I can read well with one even though I am a slow reader - what about you - let us know what you think !

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World Heritage Sites in France

Here is a list of all the World Heritage Sites in France as listed by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.  Currently, thirty-seven properties in France are inscribed on the World Heritage List. Thirty-three of these are cultural properties, three are natural properties, and one is mixed.

These are the ones currently listed and I have put the Region afterwards so you can see if you are going to be holidaying nearby.
Have you been to see any of these and what are your memories of them - which ones would you recommend to other holidaymakers ?

1 Abbey Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, a 9th Century Church with 11th and 12th Century murals in Poitou-Charentes

2 Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay, a 12th Century Abbey in Burgundy

Pont du Gard, Nimes

3 Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

4 Vézelay, 12th Century Church and Hill in Burgundy Bourgogne

5 A 13th Century - 20th Century transboundary property in Belfries of Belgium and France Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Picardy

6 Bordeaux, Port of the Moon - Aquitaine

7 Canal du Midi (17th Century) in Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrénées  (for more information about the Canal du Midi plane trees and a fungus that is threatening them see http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/27/french-axe-thousands-plane-trees)

8 Amiens Cathedral, 13th Century in Picardy

Mont St Michel

9 Bourges Cathedral in Centre 13th Century

10 Chartres Cathedral in Centre 13th Century

11 Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Abbey of Saint-Remi, & Palace of Tau, Reims Champagne-Ardenne 13th Century - 16th Century

12 The Causses and Cévennes, Midi-Pyrénées, Languedoc-Roussillon

13 Historical center of Avignon : Papal Palace & Avignon Bridge in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 12th century - 16th century

14 Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France
15 Episcopal City of Albi in Midi-Pyrénées

16 18th Century Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans Franche-Comté

17 17th Century Fortifications of Vauban

18 Jurisdiction of Saint-Émilion, Aquitaine

19 Le Havre, the City rebuilt by Auguste Perret Haute-Normandie 20th Century

20 Mont Saint Michel and its Bay, Basse-Normandie

21 Palace and Park of Fontainebleau, Île-de-France

22 Palace and Park of Versailles, Île-de-France

23 Paris, Banks of the Seine, Île-de-France

24 Place Stanislas, Place de la Carrière, and Place d'Alliance in Nancy, Lorraine

25 Pont du Gard, 1st Century Roman Aqueduct in Languedoc-Roussillon

26 Provins, Town of Medieval Fairs, Île-de-France 

27 Historic Old Town center of Lyon, Rhône-Alpes

28 Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps transboundary property, shared with Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland

29 Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley, Aquitaine

30 Strasbourg – Grande Île, Alsace

31 Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and the "Triumphal Arch" of Orange, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

32 The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes-sur-Loire Centre, Pays-de-la-Loire

33 Cité de Carcassonne – historic Fortified City of Carcassonne, Languedoc-Roussillon

34 Gulf of Porto: Calanche of Piana, Gulf of Girolata, Scandola Reserve, Corsica Corse

35 Lagoons of New Caledonia Nouvelle-Calédonie in New Caledonia Barrier Reef

36 The Pitons, Cirques and Remparts of Réunion, La Réunion

37 Pyrénées: Mont Perdu Midi-Pyrénées, transboundary property, shared with Spain

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A Review of Trip Advisor, Review Sites and Reviewers !

I've just been reading some reviews on Trip Advisor !

It is a fantastic resource for researching a holiday but some holidaymakers' seem to have unreasonably high expectations !
And I have to say some people give themselves away when they give bad reviews ! For example I've just been reading one where a caravanner complained about unhelpful staff at a French campsite who said he had to be packed up and away by 12.00 including being out the barrier of the site. He apparently threatened to block their barrier if required to be away by 12 !  However, what does he expect ?  Every campsite I have been to expects you to be away by 10 am. Sometimes this might be so they can cut grass etc before next arrivals in the afternoon. If you are still rushing around packing beyond this time then I am always thankful that so far no-one has ever complained or charged us more ! This year in Cornwall we actually packed a day early as there was high winds and rain threatened in the forecast so we decided to use a day we had already paid for and packed at leisure and left about lunchtime.

Other comments I have seen in reviews included a site in France which had been taken over by new owners.  In fact it is the excellent site in the Vendee that we stayed at last year. The previous regular campers at the site wrote a review that they were very disgruntled to be evicted from the bar at 1 in the morning !  However I was glad to hear about a site that was strict like this - there is nothing worse than a few people keeping a whole site up at night as they make their way home from the bar !

And then there was a review from people with one of these mega motorhomes - 30 foot long ones - who were complaining about the very tight streets and bridge to get to the Camping International site in Paris !  As though the historic older buildings in Paris were actually put there by the campsite owners just to annoy them !  However I am sure that reviews like that are useful to people who are planning their route in large motor homes !

Another point which reviewers have highlighted about a number of French campsites is that in the busy months people are queuing early in the morning to put their towels on the sunloungers which they are not using immediately - surely the staff at the campsites could come up with a simple system to allow people to use sunloungers for maybe an hour at a time ? It can't be that difficult can it ? Something like the coloured arm band system which some swimming pools use so that you can stay in the pool for a certain amount of time but no longer ?

Another common moan from people is that "the campsite shop is very small and overpriced !" yet they go on to say that "we only managed to get some bread, meat, milk and newspapers" etc. Well really what do they expect ?  In the campsites we have stayed in I would say they all provided a pretty good shop and in one case it was almost a mini supermarket. They have always had sufficient food in stock for you to make a meal if you havent managed to get to the supermarket. And they have usually had fresh bread and croissants.

Review sites can definitely be worth reading as long as you bear in mind that it can often depend on the character and expectations of the holidaymaker who is writing the review !

So lighten up campers and enjoy your holidays without having such high expectations! Relax and enjoy !
And let us know what you think of these Review sites -  Have you picked holidays by reading them ? Did you find them useful ?

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Blue Green Algae - What are the Dangers ?

Excessive blue green algae has been a problem in various coastal and river estuary areas of France for a number of years.  Although the algae is harmless while at sea, the danger is from the hydrogen sulphide gas that is given off by the algae as they decompose when they form in large quantities and when they end up out of the water and decaying on the beach.

So far this year there have been deaths of 30 wild boar in an estuary in Brittany (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14324094) and (http://www.francesoir.fr/actualite/scienceecologie/algues-vertes-mysterieuse-hecatombe-sangliers-bretons-122622.html) and this month the deaths of two dogs on the Tarn River in the Lozère region in the South of France (http://www.francesoir.fr/actualite/faits-divers/tarn-baignade-mortelle-pour-chiens-124642.html).

Blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) are natural inhabitants of many inland waters, estuaries and the sea. In fresh waters, they are found in suspension and attached to rocks at the bottom of shallow water and along the edges of lakes and rivers.  In small numbers they are important and useful parts of the aquatic ecosystem. They convert energy from sunlight into chemically useful forms, liberate oxygen into the water, take up minerals and produce substances which enter and support food chains.

Like other floating plants, blue-green algae need nutrients to grow, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. If the water is enriched with nitrogen and phosphorus, for example from excess farm fertilisers ending up in the water and if there is also enough sunlight , a suitable water temperature and the water flow is not too hight then the numbers of blue-green algae can become excessive. Such extensive growths are sometimes referred to as BLOOMS.

Such algal blooms sometimes cause foaming on the shore-line and during calm weather they can form a SCUM. They may also use up so much of the oxygen in the water that this can be a problem for fish.
Depending on the exact species involved, scums may appear blue-green, grey-green, greenish-brown or occasionally reddish-brown.

All blue-green algae contain blue pigment in addition to green chlorophyll pigment, although the blue colouration cannot normally be seen in the living cells.  However, when blooms and scums decay, the pigments are released and a bright blue appearance may persist for days or weeks.

Blue-green algal scums can form quickly on calm days, but can be dispersed rapidly if wind and wave action increases. For reasons which are not yet fully understood, bloom and scum forming blue-green algae in freshwaters, brackish water and seawater are capable of producing TOXINS. These toxins have caused the death of wild animals, farm livestock and domestic pets in many countries.  In humans, rashes have occurred following skin contact, and illnesses have occurred when blue-green algae have been swallowed. Blue-green algal blooms and scums are not always toxic but it is not possible to tell from its appearance whether or not a bloom or scum is harmful. It has been estimated that 50% of blooms could be toxic. Waterusers, particularly children, farmers and pet-owners should treat all blue-green algal blooms and scums with caution.

A massive beach cleaning effort operates on many beaches in the Brittany area and in some places it takes up a third of a town's budget just to clear this stuff. The men or women who operate the machines wear gas monitors at all times and if these alert the to high gas levels they have to stop work. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14182135) It is a problem which towns do not want to shout too much about in case this would then affect the tourist trade, but there were recent calls for the French national government to help to tackle the problem.

Excessive nitrates used as fertilisers by farmers are blamed as these run off the fields and into water courses. The algae then feed on these nutrients. A solution may be a move to more organic or natural farming methods eg a return to leaving fields for a year of fallow with clover grown to add nutirents to the soil perhaps ? Raised water temperatures perhaps from global warming may also be an additional factor.

Could children be in danger ? Well yes, possibly, as small children are the same size as some of the dogs who have died. So it is important to take note of any warning signs and maybe avoid areas with excessive seaweed or algae unless you know how to identify the dangerous types. In the Lozère area they have recommended that the smallest children do not bathe in the area where the dogs died in the Tarn river. More information should be available in the locality where you are holidaying. However lets hope this problem gets sorted out soon !

NEWS UPDATE - 10th August 2011 - The French Minister for Ecology, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, has ordered the closure of all beaches with green algae, which cant be cleaned within 24 hours.
http://www.francesoir.fr/actualite/scienceecologie/algues-vertes-des-plages-vont-fermer-126148.html
http://www.francesoir.fr/actualite/scienceecologie/algues-vertes-il-faut-interdire-l-acces-aux-plages-125884.html

Have you come across any algae while on holiday or did you come across warnng notices ? Let us know what your experiences were and would it make you avoid holidaying in certain areas ?
For further information about algae : http://www.pawsonthelevels.org.uk/public/for_info-blue_green_algae%5B1%5D.pdf

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