Fed up of the same old holiday to France? Joanna Booth picks out a few themed breaks that will make your trip across the channel well worthwhile
Food and wine
If you dreamt of calling any other nation the cradle of haute cuisine in front of the French, you’d probably get a slap. Where else would you choose for a culinary break?
Tasting Places’ gourmet cookery holiday will teach you to make great French food. The schedule isn’t too hectic – the morning is usually taken up with cooking classes, but the afternoons are free, save for the odd cheese tasting or talk on foie gras.
You may be learning to cook, but you won’t be treated like the help. You’ll stay in Gascony in the Chateau de Pallanne, an elegant 18th century property with a sweeping double staircase and parquet floors. For moments not spent cooking or eating, there’s a heated swimming pool and a 12-hole golf course.
If you’d rather not dedicate an entire holiday to cookery, Inghams offers shorter experiences to satisfy your inner foodie. Baked to Perfection is a three-hour course in a real French bakery, learning the secrets to making crisp baguettes and fluffy croissant. Courses cost €60.
Chocaholics should sign up for Hotel Chocolat. The chef who supplies the chocolate for the Georges V will teach you how to make a range of sweet treats including truffles and caramel. The class costs €180 for three hours or €295 for a whole day.
Page and Moy is introducing a new tour for next year, the French Wine Trail from Alsace to Burgundy. The nine-day trip not only includes wine tastings and visits to cellars, but also allows you to discover the historic cities, medieval villages, imposing abbeys and hillside fortresses of the area.
If you like the good life in general, try Kirker Holidays Discover the Dordogne tour, which offers food and wine with a little walking in between. Set in the Quercy region, it combines cooking demonstrations, tips on using ingredients such as truffles, and wine tasting with gentle strolls through chateaux grounds, private garden picnics and visits on foot to picturesque towns and villages.
Railways
Your holiday train experience in France needn’t start and end with Eurostar. The middle can be a rail extravaganza too, courtesy of French Travel Service. Its free-ranging rail tours combine high-speed travel on Eurostar and TGV with voyages of discovery on tiny routes through little-known areas.
It’s a great way to experience a different side of France, your views complemented by the rattle of the rails. You can choose from regions as diverse as Jura, Auvergne, Pyrenees and Corsica.
New for 2009 is the Allier Gorges route. This line winds its way south from Clermont-Ferrand through the mountains of the Massif Central, giving views of the otherwise inaccessible Allier Gorges.
History
France’s most popular historical breaks must be the famed battlefield tours. Trips to the theatres of the First and Second World War are offered by many operators. You can visit Ypres, the Somme and Dunkirk, among other names rendered synonymous with conflict.
New next year for Leger Holidays is the five-day Walking Arras tour, where a specialist guide will lead you by foot around the area which remained on the front line for much of the Great War.
There’s more to French history than the wars, however, as a new tour from Kirker proves. Carnac and the Megalithic Monuments of Morbihan explores one of Europe’s most important prehistoric sites. This area of Britanny is rich in ancient history, and full of standing stones. This five-night tour is led by an expert guide.
Active
The French countryside is best experienced at a leisurely pace, so leave your car behind. Specialists Saddle Skedaddle offer a wide range of cycling holidays, or you can turn to Susi Madron’s Cycling for Softies for luxury stays and gentle exercise. HF Holidays, Sherpa Holidays and Exodus offer a range of escorted and self-guided walking and cycling tours.
Explore also provides these, plus multi-activity breaks for families in Dordogne, Corsica, Ardeche and Chamonix. These can include anything from canyoning and canoeing to rope swings and zip slides.
Horse lovers can turn to specialists Equine Adventures, which offers a riding tour of the Dordogne. You’ll follow trails through thick forests and hidden valleys on the back of your well-schooled, four-footed best friend. You’ll be spending up to six hours a day in the saddle, so you’ll need to be confident to walk, trot and canter in open country.
If you love messing about in boats, Hoseasons has a range of boating holidays in France. A new base for next year is in Meilham in Aquataine, so you can cruise through one of the most unspoilt areas of France.
Sample packages
- French Travel Service offers the six-night Allier Gorges tour from £599 (01243 778125)
- Leger Holidays five day Walking Arras tour starts from £339 (0845 458 5599)
- Tasting Places week-long cookery holiday in Gascony starts from £2,200 (020 8964 5333)
- Kirker Holidays seven-night Discover the Dordogne tour costs from £1,855 (020 7593 2284)
