“Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford”

So declared the restless 18th century English writer, Samuel Johnson. But if you do tire of London, or simply just want a change of scence, why not hop over the Channel for a recharge?

  The poet Betjemen @ St Pancras

Beautiful Paris

Louvre © Jeff Li

How to get there

Train really is the most efficient way to Paris, with the high speed Eurostar train taking you from the centre of London (St Pancras International) to the centre of Paris (Paris Gare du Nord) in two and a quarter hours (when the train’s on time of course). It’s also less polluting than the plane

A WORD (or two) OF ADVICE –if you’re incorporating a trip to Paris, Brussels or elsewhere into your London trip, PLAN, PLAN, PLAN – if you make your booking at least two weeks in advance you’ll get MUCH better fares, and you can book with Eurostar up to four months before you set off 

Travelling by public transport in Paris

You can also book hotel and train packages via the Eurostar website

What to do once you're there

Click on the following links for Paris' main attractions (there is usually an English language version)

Where to stay (click hotel for link):

Tripadvisor’s’ Top 5 Paris hotels

(most are £150+ per person, per night)

1.       Hotel Ares Eiffel 

2.       Hotel Luxembourg Parc Hotel 

3.       Hotel Elysees Regencia Paris 

4.       Hotel des Academies et des Arts 

5.       Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris

And others (£70-120 or less per person, per night)

(source: The Guardian online)

1.       Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais 

2.       Windsor Hotel 

3.       Hotel Mayet 

4.       Hotel Arvor Saint Georges 

5.       Alcove and Agape 

6.       Hotel Beaumarchais 

7.       Hotel Bourg Tibourg 

8.       Hotel du Nord

Vive La France!

There are, of course , other terrific options to Paris alone. Here are just a few of what France has to offer...

                                                           Le Pont d'Avignon © Gaëtan Bourque 

Avignon

Why? 

The scent of lavender along Rhône-side cycle paths; Provençal flavours; Côte de Rhône wines; the gardens, villages and fountains; the Rhône river flows through it...Get the free Avignon Pass from the tourist office for access to major attractions

How to get there 

Between July and September you can travel directly there in six hours from London by Eurostar. Outside those summer months, take the Eurostar from London to Lille and catch the high speed TGV from there straight to Avignon – more straightforward than going all the way to Paris and changing trains there. Of course, if you’re already in Paris, just catch the TGV from Paris to Avignon (you can of course get to Paris from London by Eurostar)

Where to stay 

Hotel d’Europe 

Best Western La Magnaneraie 

La Mirande Hotel 

De L’Horlage Hotel 

Hotel Boquier

(Tripadvisor top five)

Lyon 

Lyon's Festival of Lights © Trey Ratcliff 

Why?

The food! Lyon is supposed to be one of the, if not the, top gastronomic destinations of France; opera and arts; the city that gave birth to the modern day film culture – the Lumière brothers grew up here; Florentine architecture and Roman attractions; the lovely Rhône and Saône rivers run through the city; bustling nightlife

For more information check out the Lyon Tourist Board website

Where to stay

Tripadvisor top three

Hotel de la Cite Concorde

Hotel La Residence

Hotel Axotel Perrache

How to get there

From London: Easyjet and BMI for cheap flights (book in advance); British Airways, Air France, KLM also fly to Lyon

Eurostar from St Pancras to Lille or Paris for interchange to TGV

Orleans

Why?  

The Loire Valley’s capital; just an hour from Paris so a nice day trip, although you’ll need more than that if you want to visit all the ‘chateaux’ 

Where to stay 

Marguerite Hotel - €45-60 per person per night 

Des Cèdres - €60-120 pppn 

For more information visit the Orleans Tourist Board

...et finalement

Favourite French (language) films 

1.    En Coeur en Hiver – Claude Sautet’s film is masterfully directed, the acting is superb and the script subtle and the music sublime

2.    Ridicule – after the shock of the opening scene, this turns out to be superb

3.    Le Hussard sur le Toit (The Horseman on the Roof) – a surprisingly intriguing film

4.    Cyrano de Bergerac - Gérard Depardieu in fine form

5.    L’Appartement

6.    La Vie en Rose – and mainly ‘cos of Marion Cotillard’s powerful performance: what an actress!

7.    Etre et avoir

8.    Rosetta – a hard-hitting Belgian film

1.    Zidane

2.    Belleville Rendevous – a Belgian film set in 1960s France. Sorry but this is so creepy

3.    A Very Long Engagement – a very long film and it tries too hard

Favourite French singer: Gérard De Palmas

And composers: Fauré, Debussy, Ravel