Archive for September, 2010

P&O’s Pride of Bilbao passenger ferry has docked in Portsmouth harbour for the last time, after the ferry operator scrapped its route to northern Spain after 17 years.

The twice-weekly crossing between Portsmouth and the Spanish city of Bilbao has long been a popular starting point for Britons embarking on a French holiday in the Pyrenees.

However, falling passenger numbers and increased competition from rival firms has forced P&O to cancel the service. With it, P&O’s 45-year presence in Portsmouth will come to an end, reports BBC News.

P&O spokesman Brian Rees said that efforts had been made to make the vessel profitable, but that in the end the firm was forced to take the difficult decision to scrap the route.

“We just can’t make the sums add up,” BBC News quoted Mr Rees as saying.

“It’s a desperately sad day – there is a very tight-knit ship’s company. Unlike the short crossings, you really get to know the customers,” he added.

Regular passengers on the Pride of Bilbao are sure to be disappointed by its demise, but they will be encouraged by news that Brittany Ferries has stepped into the breach and will operate its own service between Portsmouth and Bilbao.

Brittany Ferries group commercial passenger director Mike Bevens told The News that the route still had a great deal of potential, and that he was sure the firm’s new service would be popular with passengers.

“Despite the Portsmouth to Bilbao route being dropped this month by a competitor, we are confident of making it a success,” Mr Bevens said.

“Also, our marvellous French crew provide outstanding service, which results in high levels of repeat business and loyalty amongst our customers,” he added.

The new Brittany Ferries service between Portsmouth and Bilbao will start in spring next year, with services departing every Sunday and Friday and returning Tuesday and Saturday.

A UK-based regional airline has set up a base in the French city of Dijon, offering Britons a new option as they plan a holiday in the Dordogne.

Eastern Airways, which operates out of Humberside Airport in North Lincolnshire, specialises in UK domestic flights but has decided to expand its operations across the Channel.

From the airline’s new French base at Dijon Bourgogne Airport, passengers will be able to hop on flights to Toulouse and Bordeaux, in the Aquitaine region.

According to This is Grimsby, routes out of Dijon will be served by two 29-seater Jetstream 41 aircraft, and will bring the airport its first scheduled services in more than seven years. Fares will start from €82, including taxes.

Eastern Airways was established in 1997 and has gained a reputation for punctuality and high levels of service. The airline has operated charter flights in France for a number of years, and ran scheduled flights out of Angers in 2007.

Chris Holliday, chief operating officer at Eastern Airways, said that the new French routes would “significantly reduce cross-country journey times,” and and allow the French market to benefit from the airline’s expertise.

Dijon Airport’s managing director, Daniel Lefebvre, has welcomed the new service and said that it will provide a real boost for the local economy.

“No doubt these first two routes will increase trade between Burgundy and the two regions of Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrenees, and will benefit the local economy. With Eastern Airways, Burgundy will regain its taste for air travel,” Travel Daily News quoted Mr Lefebvre as saying.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy will make an official visit to the Dordogne on Sunday, to mark the 70th anniversary of a major archaeological discovery in the region.

On September 12, 1940, four teenagers discovered a complex of caves known as ‘Lascaux,’ in which a number of Paleolithic cave paintings were found.

Experts do not know exactly when the paintings were made, but they estimate that some could be 18,000 years old. Most of the paintings depict large animals which probably lived in the area thousands of years ago.

The site was opened to the public in 1948, and gained UNESCO World Heritage status in 1979. However, the caves have been closed since 1963 as the paintings were becoming damaged by carbon dioxide and the presence of a black mould.

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the discovery, President Sarkozy and Frédéric Mitterrand, France’s Minister of Culture and Communication, will visit the cave before unveiling a commemorative plaque in the nearby village of Montignac.

Only two of the cave’s discoverers are still alive, and both will be present on Sunday for a day of public festivities and special events to celebrate the anniversary.

“It’s a very special occasion for me, even if it would have been nice for all four of us [cave discoverers] to be here,” 83-year-old Simon Coencas told AFP.

“The spirit of this event will be one of celebration rather than commemoration. We want everyone to make the most of the presence of the cave’s two surviving discoverers,” added Marie-France Gauthier, assistant to the Mayor of Montignac.

France’s national meteorological service, Météo-France, has issued a severe weather warning for 11 departments in central and southern areas of the country.

According to Le Monde, the alert covers southern Auvergne, Languedoc and western parts of Paca and the Rhône-Alpes, and will stay in place until 7am on Wednesday.

At the moment, the departments on alert are the Ardèche, Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme, Gard, Isère, Hérault, Loire, Lozère, Rhône and Vaucluse.

Météo-France expects up to 25cm of rain to fall today, with 10cm anticipated in the Ardèche and around Montpellier, Nîmes and St Etienne. Lyon is set to experience its heaviest rainfall for 10 years.

Le Monde say that school bus services in the Gard department have been cancelled, while many schools are likely to remain closed until the worst of the weather has passed.

Britons currently enjoying a French holiday should take extra care if they plan to use the roads today, as driving conditions are likely to be hazardous. Small country roads in particular are best avoided, as there is a high risk of flash flooding.

“The weather front will continue to move across the country on Tuesday, with a mixture of rain and storms,” Météo-France said in a statement cited by Europe 1.

“Rain will be particularly heavy in the South East and over departments where severe weather warnings have been issued,” the Météo-France statement continued.   

There is no doubt that one of the most enjoyable parts of any French holiday is sitting in a traditional bar, sipping a coffee and soaking up the unique ambiance.

Indeed, France’s café culture has long been a major draw for visiting tourists. However, a report by RFI suggests that many of the country’s traditional café-bistros are struggling to make ends meet and may be forced to close.

According to the RFI report, the number of cafés in France has fallen from 200,000 in 1960 to fewer than 41,000. The situation is particularly difficult for rural cafés, which rely on regular visitors and tourists for their income.

Cafés have been hard-hit by the economic downturn. Not even Paris has escaped the damage, with more than 2,000 of the capital’s cafés closing down in 2009 alone.

While the financial crisis has played a major role, experts have also laid much of the blame on the smoking ban, as well as tougher measures against underage drinking and drink-driving.

However, industry expert Laurent Lutse believes that many cafés are closing purely because they have failed to move with the times and are unable to offer a service to suit modern-day standards.

“Many [traditional cafés] were obsolete anyway and not up to the standard. You have to provide something else, invent a new concept,” RFI quoted Mr Lutse as saying.

The good news for regular visitors to France, though, is that café owners will be upping their efforts over the coming years as they look to improve their service and win back customers from modern chains. Expect more comfortable seating, friendlier service and wider access to wi-fi connections.