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Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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Old 6 Mar 2013
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Originally Posted by Walkabout View Post
It does mount up though (I am aiming to cross the channel every month this year up to and including September with the exception of August when all the schools turn out for their annual hols + oh yes! The French clog up their own highways with the rush to the coast in August).
For a few quid more it is possible to find an overnight ferry route with a cabin, which equates to one night with a bed rather than staying in a hotel; on balance though, I still prefer the short sea routes for many reasons.
In the case of travelling with a family, my experience (well in the past regarding the children bit) is to get the crossing over and done with asap.

Maria41 makes a point that is often quoted = "boring northern France"; but, for the Brits this can be a perception based on the rush to get to a southern destination and the quick drive down the auto routes.
In fact, northern France has lots of connections with England going back to the Norman conquest (what else) + there are masses of WW1 commonwealth war graves for anyone interested in such history. And, we haven't touched on WW2 and the beaches of Normandy.
I am actually french although I've been in the UK for 16 years now!

But the perception of french people is also that most of the north is not very interesting. Most of the north "Departements" were industrial, flat land, coal mining etc... There are pleasant places, I'm sure! I was told Lille can be nice.

Le Touquet is also pleasant in its own ways, as is Cayeux Sur Mer or Amiens... But, it pale in comparison with regions further south, in my opinion... Anything south , east of west of Paris you will struggle not to like... Each region has its own cuisine and history is everywhere. Plenty of medieval towns. Burgondy is awesome. And the wine is to die for!
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Old 6 Mar 2013
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Originally Posted by maria41 View Post
... There are pleasant places, I'm sure! I was told Lille can be nice.
Certainly it is so: I lived in Mons for a while, just over the border, and I spent a lot of time visiting the prominent WW1 locations, including Verdun, + a few of those from WW2.
I've never got around to visiting Crecy or Agincourt, but they are in my bucket list.


Quote:
Originally Posted by maria41 View Post
Le Touquet is also pleasant in its own ways, as is Cayeux Sur Mer or Amiens... But, it pale in comparison with regions further south, in my opinion... Anything south , east of west of Paris you will struggle not to like... Each region has its own cuisine and history is everywhere. Plenty of medieval towns. Burgondy is awesome. And the wine is to die for!
Yes again! I think Le Touquet still runs the sand/beaches races.

Amiens is part of the WW1 locations; I will be going by that way tomorrow and will be in Burgundy the next day, en route to the Jura and the Haute-Savoie/Chamonix
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