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Boating
With thousands of miles of canals and an extensive network of beautiful rivers, boating in France is a great way to discover the country. You can cruise through some of the most varied countryside in Europe - moving slowly through castles, vineyards, fields of sunflowers, forests and even glaciers. Each region offers its own special landscapes, history and local cuisine. Brittany provides picturesque villages and castles, the canals of Alsace Lorraine will take you past beautiful medieval fortified towns and the splendor of the Black Forest, whilst the South of France offers the fabulous Carmargue, with a huge variety of wildlife, including flamingos and capybaras - the world's largest rodent. Add to that the wonderful selection of local wines and you have the ideal holiday. |
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Countryside at your fingertips
From Thiérache to the Baie de Somme, via Beauvaisis and the Marne Valley, the countryside is never the same! Paddling in Thiérache or on the river Oise is the occasion to discover green forests, ideal for daydreaming and walks.
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Breaks on the Lakes in Rhône-Alpes
There are around one hundred lakes and ponds scattered across the Rhône Alpes, in particular in the Dauphiné, Haute Savoie, Savoie and Ain départements. There are so many cool and fresh havens in the heat of the summer including Lakes Geneva, Bourget and Annecy. These are three of the biggest lakes in France. |
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Lake Aiguebelette in Rhône-Alpes
Lake Aiguebelette, nestling at the gateway to the Chartreuse nature park, the 3rd largest natural lake in France by size, is a private lake that belongs to the Chambost family and EDF (French Utility Company). |
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Lake Bourget and Annecy in Rhône-Alpes
Considered the largest natural lake in France, it shelters around fifty species of fish. During the summer, Lake Bourget is held in great regard for sailing, water skiing and diving, since the temperature of the water is between 20 and 25oC. |
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Bateaux de Saint-Leu and Bateau L'Alphee
The Saint-Leu district, whose origins date back to the Middle Ages, is crossed by the Somme. At the time, water and mills could supply the necessary energy to weavers, stainers, tanners and millers. Nowadays, St Leu is the ideal place for saunters.
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On The Water
680 km of waterways, 1100 km of banks for walking or fishing, excursions on and around the water taking you to Belgium and looping you back to France! |
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River Tourism in Midi-Pyrénées
By boat, you'll see the Midi-Pyrénées in a completely different way. With the canals of southern France, the Baïse and the Lot, this region promises an unusual view of the country. Forget your car: let houseboats, trip boats and other hotel boats take over and take you wherever your fancies may lead to discover the beauty of the countryside and the warmth of the inhabitants of southwestern France.
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The Saut du Doubs Waterfall
Listed as a 3-star "Grand Site National", Saut du Doubs and its natural pools are some of the most remarkable locations in the entire region.
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River Cruising
In Lorraine, water has plenty to attract visitors. In addition to the trout streams and lakes in the hills of Vosges, there are lakes such as Madine, Le Stock, Mittersheim, Messein, Gondrexange and Le Lindre which is famous for the wide range of birds. |
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Boating in Provence/Cote D'azur
Reputed to be uncontrollable, the Rhône is today a pleasantly navigable river and the stretch that flows through Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is one of the most picturesque sections. |
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Sailing in Brittany
Whether for competitions, regattas or simple sailing trips, Brittany is an ideal location for water sports and activities, thanks to its 3500 kilometres of coastline together with its many rivers and lakes. Today there are 120 sailing schools and 230 water sports centres. |
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Boating Hire in Brittany
Hire companies offer routes departing from Dinan, Hédé, Messac, Redon, Rohan, Pontivy, La Roche-Bernard and Sucé-sur-Erdre. No licence is required to pilot these boats on the Breton canals. |
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Boat Trips in Alsace
Enjoy the Waterways! The boat journey between Mulhouse and Strasbourg is a truly outstanding experience. The total journey covers some 120 km, enabling you to visit the region's three main towns: Mulhouse, Colmar and Strasbourg. |
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Boating Routes in Brittany
Breton rivers and canals form a network of more than 600 km of navigable waterways reserved for leisure activities and boating. |
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A Boat Trip on a Traditional “Gabarre”
These large traditional craft, synonymous with the history of the Dordogne over the centuries, once transported leather from the tanneries in Bort-les-Orgues, wood from the Corrèze, as well as other agricultural products, downstream as far as Bordeaux. |
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Water Sports in Burgundy
Exploring the local waterways in a canoe or kayak is a great way to discover secluded spots whcih larger watercraft simply cannot reach. |
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Boating in Poitou-Charentes
From Angoulême to the ocean, the Charente winds its way through the ancient provinces of Angoumois and Saintonge. Boats equipped for river cruises perpetuate the traditions of the gabares, who used to transport paper and Cognac. You will be immersed amidst the zone known for its eau de vie (water of life). |
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Boating in Burgundy
By sail or motor, Burgundy is ideally suited for exploring by boat and there are a large number of companies in the area who will make all the arrangements you need for a holiday on the water.
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Anjou, at the Heart of the Loire Valley
The Loire River, which passes through Anjou became a part of the first stretch of any river on the planet to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Experiences by boat, the Loire looks at its very best along this 80 mile stretch. |
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Boating in Loire (Western)
An Unforgettable Holiday. Hire a boat for the family, as a couple or between friends, and wander over 375 km of navigable waterways. No need for a licence to drive these boats, which have all the home comforts: spacious cabins, bathrooms with WC and shower, fitted corner kitchen, and a sundeck to make the most of both sunshine and countryside.
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Languedoc-Rousillon’s Fishing Villages
Looking for authenticity? You’ll find it in the fishing ports. You can buy fresh fish, shellfish and seafood right off the boat in Grau-du-Roi, Palavas, Sète or Collioure. |
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Water Sports and Fishing in Normandy
Whether it’s sailing, canoe-kayaking, kite surfing or wind surfing, Normandy has excellent facilities around the coast and inland. For those on holiday who want to take out a boat just for a few hours, there are plenty of sailing centres which hire out equipment. |
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Boating in Languedoc-Roussillon
This region is lush with boating opportunities. With its 27 marinas and 30,000 moorings, Languedoc-Roussillon makes very good use of its Mediterranean location. |
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Watersports Auvergne
Auvergne, being known as the "land of lakes and volcanoes" is rich with numerous water sports. Natural and artificial lakes are in use all year round for sporting activities. From fishing and swimming to water skiing and kayaking, there is no limit to what can be done. |
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Boating in Aquitaine
For centuries, the region's waterways were used for transporting wines, salt, oil, flour, spices, lace and a whole host of other goods. Today, they offer an original way of travelling, a gentler way of getting around and that marvellous sensation of seeing towns and villages from a most original angle, almost catching them by surprise. |
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The Dordogne Valley in Limousin
The Dordogne Valley in Limousin, from Bort les Orgues to Beaulieu is a powerful, turbulent, fairytale valley, abundantly stocked with fish and with its riverside towns. |
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The Ocean and Estuary in Aquitaine
The Ocean and Estuary in Aquitaine : Cordouan Lighthouse and Blaye Citadel.
These are two jewels in the crown of Aquitaine heritage. The first, anchored to a rock in the waters of the Atlantic by the Gironde Estuary and with its light set 67.5 metres high, has been guiding boats since 1584 and standing opposite the Médoc and the Ile Paté, the rock of Blaye has been a crucial strategic site since Roman times. |
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Not to be missed in Picardy
With its exceptionally rich architectural heritage, this province is a preserve of Gothic art. Famous for its cathedrals, it offers the discerning an opportunity to explore its towns and their medieval wonders. |
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Not to be missed in Champagne-Ardenne
The fruit of its vineyards is so famous that the first thing you think of in this region is a glass of champagne. You can of course begin the journey underground and visit the wine cellars. Reims, its magnificient cathedral or its museum of fine arts, should not make you forget the 'vine-growers' villages spread around the region. There is also the Ardennes with its wild forests, populated by roe deer and hares. |
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Not to be missed in Languedoc-Roussillon
The Mediterranean on one side, the eastern Pyrenees to the south and Lozère to the north, Languedoc-Roussillon takes pleasure in the contrats if its stepped relief. |
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Not to be missed in Paris
Some cities call to mind lovers, others architecture, yet others an intellectual, cultural or appealing popular atmosphere. Paris has all these faces, plus lots more to discover depending on your particular interest. |
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Not to be missed in Franche-Comté
This is a region with distinct faces. In the north, the valleys of the Haute-Saône which, from the Grays region to the Saône Vosges, passing through Vesoul, back onto the region of Belfort. Châteaux and churches give added attraction to its towns and villages, and a great many museums house specimens showing the traditional craftmanship related to wood, but also to clock making. |
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Not to be missed in Poitou-Charentes
The dispute between Ancient and Modern is not on the agenda in this region where the vestiges of the past are keyed neatly into an openness to the future. |
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Not to be missed in Auvergne
If it were possible, the best way to travel in this region would be on the back of a donkey, just as the writer Stevenson did. It is indeed probably the pleasantest way to see this land of volcanoes, fashioned by their eruptions. Inactive for centuries, they gave birth to a strange and majestic landscape. |
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Not to be missed in Brittany
A land of seafaring people, and the aspect that makes Brittany the daughter of Neptune. Its thousands of kilometres of coastline, from Cancale to Saint-Nazaire, give it a prodigiously varied relief, with the strange rocks of the Pink Granite coast and the idyllic beaches of the Morbihan following on from one another. |
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Lille in Nord-Pas-de-Calais
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Not to be missed in the French Riviera
It is the blue of the south that defines this land. Its climate is so mild, its nature so filled with flowers that thousands of years after the Romans, English aristocrats, fed up with the greyness, fell in love with it. Since then, the Côte d'Azur has been entirely given over to summer pleasures. |
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Not to be missed in Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Traditionally an industrial region, it has now turned to tourism, a natural choice in a landscape where forests predominate, and where the Opal Coast has a host of beaches dedicated to surfing, wind-surfing, water-skiing, and more. |
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Not to be missed in Lorraine
Bordered by the three countries, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, Lorraine is a strategic region which today exudes a peaceful charm. There is no shortage of reasons to explore it. For lovers of architecture and the arts, Mirecourt, Bar-le-Duc and Epinal possess many wonders. Enthusiasts for footpaths, will find routes dotted with lakes, forests and green valleys in the Lorraine Regional Park. Another excellent reason to come is for its springs and to stay in one of the well-known spa establishments in Contrexéville or Vittel, where the gastronomy is not to be outdone. |
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Not to be missed in Midi-Pyrénées
Few regions offer such a variety of landscapes, climates and architecture. This is because the region is huge, it runs from Aveyron to Gers and from Ariège to the edges of the Dordogne. |
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Not to be missed in Burgundy
From the vineyards of Chablis to those of the Mâconnais passing through the Côte de Beaune and Côtes de Nuits, from the luminous Loire Valley to the opulent Bresse region passing through the mysterious forests of the Morvan, Burgundy is beautiful in its natural state and in every season. |
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Not to be missed in the Loire (centre)
It is western Europe's last wild river, over 1,000 km long, that shapes the region : The Loire. On its banks the aristocracy built châteaux that are among the jewels of French architecture. Amboise, Chambord, Blois, Azay-le-Rideau are all extraordinary. |
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Not to be missed in Limousin
Nature lovers who like to punctuate their walks with seeing the old craft traditions develop an immediate attachment to this region. Green woods and forests, it is also criss-crossed by water, the Creuse, Vienne and Dordogne rivers... |
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Not to be missed in Normandy
Combining in the same land the pleasures of an extraordinary coastline and those of a green and blossoming countryside, Normandy is a very fortunate region. |
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Not to be missed in Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur
Everything in this region sings, even the wind, when it is called the Mistral or the Tramontana. The great poets were able to convey its music, and painters from Cézanne to Picasso, captured its light. Provence is magical, it smells wonderfully of olive oil, lavender and thyme. |
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Not to be missed in Ile-de-France
Around Paris, Ile-de-France offers the joys of discovering both nature and culture. With 9 royal towns, 400 listed gardens and châteaux including 24 masterpieces of landscape art, medieval villages or Cistercian abbeys, the Ile-de-France region boasts a unique and fascinating heritage. |
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Not to be missed in Alsace
Very long and narrow and backing onto the Rhine, Alsace has seen its borders moved on many occasions. The ups and downs of history have caused it to hang on to a very strong regional tradition. This can be seen in its language, its folk traditions and its cuisine. Its countryside beckons the walker, with its hillsides streaked with vineyards in the Munster valley and the flower-decked valleys of the Florival.
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Not to be missed in Aquitaine
If you had to define this land by one word, il would be 'generous'. A generosity that can be seen in its variety of landscapes with hills, valleys, sandy moors and a coast that is almost wild. The Bordeaux vineyards, the Basque Country, the plateaux of Périgord... |
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Not to be missed in Rhône-Alpes
A great river and a chain of mountains give the region its name and create the pattern of life here. The Alps crowned by Mont Blanc provide a skiing area that is unique in the world. Hiking enthusiasts are becoming increasingly numerous in the summertime, walking the waymarked trails through the region's nature parks (La Vanoise, Les Ecrins, Les Bauges), and around the lakes (Lake Geneva, Annecy, Le Bourget). Nearer the Rhône, the Ardèche gorges are a paradise for canoeing. |
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Not to be missed in the Loire (western)
A land of water traversed by the Loire, the region is bathed in the north by the spray of the Atlantic Ocean. While Saint-Nazaire is an important merchant navy port, Nantes is the regional capital, and Saumur, Le Mans and Angers offer visitors a cultural heritage dominated by Gothic art and the Renaissance. |
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Not to be missed in Corsica
Mountains in the sea, pierced with torrents, Corsica, an island of rare beauty, has the full spectrum of landscapes. Dry in the south, it makes up for it with long beaches of white sand, where lazing around can be enhanced by sightseeing tours. |
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Hot Air Ballooning
Floating through the air in a hot air balloon is the perfect way to take in the scenery of the region. If you have a head for heights there is no more relaxing way to see the Burgundian countryside. |
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| News |
What's happening in France? |
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| 05/03/2009 Affordable France - composite press releases Feb09 |
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| 22/09/2008 Portrayal of France in the weekend national newspaper travel sections, 20&21 September 08 |
New art exhibition in Paris, new low cost routes, luxury Spas and environmentally friendly travel options
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| 14/12/2009 Summary of the national newspaper travel sections, 12&13 December |
Lots and lots of ski coverage, including discounting by some operators for Christmas weeks. Shopping trips to Lille, original weekend breaks and some ideas for New Year
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| 14/10/2008 Portrayal of France in the Travel sections of the weekends national newspapers |
This site gets Website of the Week in The Times, lots of ski coverage, camping, price wars, the emerging role of the travel agent and much more
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| 01/06/2009 Summary of the national newspaper travel sections, 23&24 June09 |
Wild swimming in Corsica, Cannes, 48 hours in Bordeaux, Picasso in Aix en Provence and a wine tour around Languedoc Roussillon
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| Vendée Globe |
| November |
Les Sables d'Olonne
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| Adventurous souls and adrenalin junkies will be hoisting their sails during the Vendée Globe. This round the world sailing race attracts only the bravest seafarers, since it's for solo sailors only with no stopovers. |
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| Armada - Rouen |
| July (Annual) |
Rouen - Normandy
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| During the Armada, international tall ship crews join together to pay tribute to the French navy of old, by sailing from Rouen down to the Seine estuary in magnificent ships. |
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| Cannes International Boat and Yacht Show |
| September (Annual) |
Cannes - Vieux Port
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| The Cannes International Boat and Yacht Show drops anchor for its 30th successful year at the Vieux Port and Port Pierre Canto. For sailing enthusiasts this is one of the most comprehensive - not to mention glamorous - shows on the calendar, with more than 550 boats on the water and a further 250 on land. |
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| Brest International Nautical Festival |
| July (Annual) |
Brest
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| The liveliest International Nautical Festival in the world takes place each year in Brest, featuring dynamic fleets and crews in action, displays of maritime heritage and lots of attraction. |
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| Grésilles en Féte |
| Jun (annual) |
Dijon
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The Grésille district in northern Dijon stages its annual outdoor festival of street parties, circus, concerts, exhibitions, photography competitions, modern dance and street theatre. Saturday is the climax, culminating in DJs playing late into the night.
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Newsletter
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Sign up to our newsletter for latest news, offers and deals
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| Offers |
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Special Offers on Luxury Hotel Barge Holidays!
European Waterways have some amazing special offers on their luxury hotel barges throughout France.
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Canvas Holidays - September from £199 per party
Enjoy 7 nights in a mobile home from £199 per party - inlcuding your Dover to Calais ferry crossing.
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More Offers
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| Holiday Options |
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Accommodation
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Alan Rogers Guides & Travel
Pitch reservations & mobile home holidays across France & Spain. Pay at-the-gate prices, with a small, one-off admin fee and we'll organise it all for you. Free Child Places and Special Offers available. Alan Rogers Guides have been the market leading campsite guides since 1968. Also Camping Cheque programme (www.campingcheque.co.uk) for low season touring with savings up to 60%
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VFB Holidays Wine Lovers River Cruise
5-night vintage river cruise along the Saone & Rhone rivers from £998pp. Departs 17 Oct 2010.
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1 bed apts in Cavalaire, French Riviera
1 bed apts in Cavalaire, pool and attractive grounds, 750m from beach & shops, w/c 21/8/10 - £872
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Mobile Homes in South Brittany
Pleasant parc, with pool including slide & kids club only 1000m to beach and near La Trinite sur Mer
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Corsica holidays
Corsica holiday villas with pools and by the sea. We have the biggest and best choice available.
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Campotel
KelAir Campotel operates a popular Family Holiday Programme to France, Italy & Spain. Only KelAir Campotel you will not pay for the extras. We provide decking, large gas BBB's, air conditioning where applicable as standard.
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More Holiday Options ... |
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