"What am I bid for the Eiffel Tower ?" "Do I hear £300 billion ?!"

Only joking ! Can you guess which is Europe's most visited entrance paying monument, attracting no fewer than 8 million tourists each year ? Yes you've got it, the Eiffel Tower ! And now it has also been declared "the most valuable monument in Europe" as it is worth an estimated £344billion to France’s economy, with regards to numbers of visitors and numbers of jobs created etc as well as tourism and image and brand value for a country. The basic costs of the monuments or buildings and the land they are built on was not taken into account. (findings of a study by Monza and Brianza Chamber of Commerce in Italy.)

The next most valuable European attractions are Rome's Colosseum and then the Tower of London !

Eiffel Tower statistics -

• It is 320m (1,050ft) high. 
• It was built in 1889 at a cost of 8 million francs which is around £30 million today.
• It is named after engineer Gustave Eiffel whose company designed it.
• It took around 2 years to build.
• It was built as a symbol for the Universal Exhibition of 1889.
• It was the tallest monument in the world until New York’s Chrysler Building in 1930.
• It is the most visited attraction in Europe.
• When the temperature is very high, the height of the Tower can increase by up to 18 cm.
• Wind can cause the tower to move sideways - the maximum recorded was a sideways move of 9 cms during the December 1999 storm (don't worry its built to withstand this !).
• Gustave Eiffel also designed and built the framework for Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty which now stands at the entrance of New York's harbour.

If you would like to plan a visit to the Eiffel Tower you can visit the official website at : http://www.eiffel-tower.com/

There is also a new Children's Discovery Course on Level 1 of the Tower which will help children answer the questions that are published in their excellent Booklet that is given out to Children - http://www.eiffel-tower.com/images/PDF/enfants/livret.pdf

If you would like to stay in a campsite in or near Paris, we have a selection at Best French Campsites at http://www.bestfrenchcampsites.com

 

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See Paris by Bike !

Here is a whole new way to experience Paris. You can make use of the new Velib' bike hire service in Paris. It is one of the biggest bike hire services in the World, with over 20,000 bikes available for hire. There are various "Velib" hire sites throughout the city. You can hire a bike for a reasonable price at one site and leave the bike at another. A daily ticket is only 1.70€ and you can use Vélib’ as often as you want during 24 hours! The 30 first minutes of each trip are always free of charge. It's only 8 € for a 7-day ticket to use Vélib’ as often as you want during 7 consecutive days! Again, the 30 first minutes of each trip are always free of charge. (For more information : https://aboen-paris.cyclocity.fr/)

To find out about possible cycle routes in and around Paris then you might want to get this a fantastic guide book :

It tells you routes to use in and around Paris, a description of things you might see and it also has handy sections about the parts of a bike and also about the law with regards to cycling in France.

We have recommended a campsite right in the centre of Paris, on an island on the Seine, so if you really want to explore Paris that might be ideal - have a look at our website to find out some more :
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Triumph at Oscars for French Films including The Artist

The French Film The Artist has won Best Film and Jean Dujardin has won Best Actor at the Oscars - Well done !

Hugo, which is set in Paris, has also won in 5 categories and Midnight in Paris has won Best Screenplay. So a definite French feel to the winners, which are listed in full at :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16700124


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Spectators's Guide to the Tour de France

If you are lucky enough to be camping near the Tour de France cycle race route this year then here are some handy tips to help you sound like a knowledgable follower of Cycling !

We went along to watch the race two years ago as it left the small town of Auray in Brittany at the beginning of a stage (or etape as its called in French) and we had a great day out.

This year the Tour runs from Saturday July 2rd to Sunday July 24th 2011, it will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,430.5 kilometres. The route varies each year but always includes some short flat sprint sections and some mountainous sections before culminating in Paris with a sprint. This year the "Grand Start" is in the Vendee and then it continues through Brittany, Normandy and Central France before heading south to the Pyrenees then across to the Alps before heading back for a final finish in Paris.

If you are able to catch the tour then go along to watch about two hours before when you will catch the "Caravane" which is a series of mad looking vehicles and characters who throw lots of freebies to the crowd - great fun !"

Then the race itself will flash past - we nearly missed it after all the waiting !  Either our watches were wrong or they set off two minutes early.

Watch out for the following jerseys - they all have a meaning !
The YELLOW Jersey is awarded to the overall leader of the race.

The GREEN Jersey is the next most prestigious and is given to the leader of the sprint sections.

The red POLKA-DOT Jersey is awarded to the rider who earns most of the points on the mountainous sections of the race. The wearer of the jersey is known as the "King of the Mountains". Scotland's Robert Millar was King of the Mountains in 1984.
The WHITE Jersey is the newest of the jerseys and was introduced in 1975. It is given to the best young rider (i.e. under 25).

To impress your friends and family as you are spectating, why not casually mention some of the more famous recent winners of the race !  These include 7 times winner and surely you must have heard of him, Lance Armstrong from USA who won between 1999 to 2005.

Then there was five time winner Miguel Indurain from Spain who won between 1991 and 1995

There were two recent major French winners, Jacques Anquetil, who won five time, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964 and Bernard Hinault who won five times in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985
And there was 5 times winner Eddy Merckx from Belgium who won between 1969 to 1972 and in 1974.

Some possible British and Irish competitors who may be competing and who you can look out for are :

• Mark Cavendish, from the Isle of Man (I think he is in blue in the photograph above),
• Bradley Wiggins, the three time Olympic Champion,
• David Millar, a Scot who is one of only four British competitors to have worn the yellow jersey (the others were Tom Simpson, Sean Yates and Chris Boardman),
• Geraint Thomas, who has been an Olympic Team pursuit champion, and,
• Nicolas Roche, son of the Irish 1987 winner Stephen Roche 

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Accident at Disneyland Paris - 25th April 2011

There was an accident at Disneyland Paris on Monday 25th April 2011 with one man seriously injured and five others with minor injuries.

The accident took place on the Mine Train attraction. A piece of artificial resin rock fell off onto the train track, causing a train to derail and rise up and land on a carriage carrying 25 people. The injured man was airlifted to hospital and lets hope he recovers.

The attraction has been closed for the time being.

The question is,

• is this something that could have been avoided ? Should they not be inspecting the various parts of a ride to check that there is nothing that is working loose and needs repaired or replaced, especially those parts near moving things like trains.
• Or is this just an unfortunate accident that couldnt have been foreseen ?

I tend to think that this should have maybe been foreseen.
I have a friend who reports a terrifying ride with her young children on a ride at Disneyland Paris where she felt she was having to hold her 5 year old onto the ride. She said it wasnt even a ride that looked potentially terrifying and looked suitable for young children. I shall ask her what it was called and report back.  (I have since checked and she said it was a Nemo themed ride - no wonder she thought it would be OK for young children !)

All I can say is thank goodness I am usually too scared to go on most rides such as rollercoasters - mind you I can imagine that that mine train looks like the type of thing I might possibly have been persuaded to go on.

Update (6th June 2011) - there was recently an accident where a young girl fell out of a ride at Parc Walibi in the Rhone Alpes and it turns out that a teenager was injured when he fell out of this ride in 2003 - http://www.francesoir.fr/actualite/faits-divers/walibi-un-ado-deja-blesse-dans-meme-attraction-107847.html. The accident with the young girl is attributed to the fact that the safety barrier wasnt holding her in due to size different between her and her aunt who had taken her on the ride. Lets hope she is OK.


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Paris Guide for iPad App

Here is another new app which has been developed and would make a great Christmas present. Its the Dorling Kindersley Guide to Paris for your iPad !

http://itunes.apple.com/app/ew-paris/id403266639
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London to Paris Cycle Route !

If you are feeling energetic you might like to try this London to Paris Cycle Route ! However you better read this article first !
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11447348

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Velib Bike Network in Central Paris

You might like to try out the excellent Velib bike network in Central Paris if you are visiting Paris this year. There are over 230 miles of cycle lanes in Paris. For more information have a look at their website at http://www.blogger.com/www.velib.paris.fr

Have any of you tried this and how did you get on ? We'd love to hear whether it all went smoothly ! (not intended as a pun!)
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Transport Strikes in France

There are to be transport strikes in France from today until Wednesday, affecting air travel and train travel. To read more : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/7984463/France-strike-to-disrupt-flights-and-rail-services.html

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Young French Farmers Bring the Countryside to the Champs Elysees in Paris !

Young French Farmers brought a taste of the countryside into central Paris today. http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/827451-french-farmers-turn-champs-elysees-into-huge-farm

They were emphasising to city dwellers the importance of French agriculture to the economy and also the importance of retaining the ability to produce quality food in your own country.
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