The best place in France to live...

According to the annual “Better Life Index”, published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the best place to live in France is in the Midi-Pyrénées.

The region scored 7.82 out of 10 across a range of 11 criteria, including employment, health, the environment, education, civic engagement, access to services, and public safety. 

The full list of French regions is: 

1 Midi-Pyrenees (7.82/10) 
2 Limousin (7.77/10) 
3 Pays de la Loire (7.71/10) 
4 Bretagne (7.70/10) 
5 Poitou-Charentes (7.56/10) 
6 Île-de-France (7.55/10) 
7 Aquitaine (7.54/10) 
8 Rhône-Alpes (7.47/10) 
9 Auvergne (7.46/10) 
10 Basse Normandie (7.42/10) 
11 Centre (7.30/10) 
12 Bourgogne (7.22/10) 
13 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (7.10/10) 
14 Franche-Comté (7.05/10) 
15 Alsace (6.99/10) 
16 Languedoc-Roussillon (6.91/10) 
17 Lorraine (6.85/10) 
18 Haute Normandie (6.84/10) 
19 Champagne-Ardenne (6.68/10) 
20 Picardie (6.49/10) 
21 Nord-Pas-de-Calais (6.01/10) 
22 Corsica (5.66/10)

See more at: http://www.connexionfrance.com/france-oecd-better-life-index-midi-pyrenees-corsica-limousin-aquitaine-provence-alpes-cote-dazur-16106-view-article.html#sthash.ypCoxWTh.dpuf

Chamonix valley pays tribute to the Golden Age

In 2015, the Chamonix Valley will be celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the year 1865 and the Golden Age of Mountaineering, an intense period of alpine exploration and conquest that was pioneered by the Victorian mountaineers.

1865 was an exceptional year in the Alps! It was immortalised by 58 “first” ascents and 7 in the Mont-Blanc Massif, including the Aiguille Verte, the Grandes Jorasses and the remarkable Brenva Spur on Mont Blanc. 1865 was a bitter sweet year of triumph and disaster, too – Whymper’s ultimate victory over the Matterhorn turned rapidly to tragedy, when three mountaineers and Chamonix guide Michel Croz fell to their deaths on the descent. It was the 14th July – Bastille day.

Next summer, between June and September, the valley will pay tribute to the mountaineers, guides and artists of the Golden Age through a programme of exhibitions, memorial climbs, events, films, conferences and book publications. They will have the privilege of exhibiting the “treasures” of the Alpine Club (the first club of its kind, founded in 1857) and other private collections.

More information: http://1865.chamonix.fr/En

Fait maison

When is home-made, really home-made?

Visitors to France, especially those concerned about what they eat, should keep an eye open for a new sign – Fait Maison – intended to flag up restaurants where the food really is home-made.

It may come as a shock to many that in a nation renowned for its cuisine, many French restaurants simply re-heat pre-prepared food, rather than cooking it from scratch...not that this practice is peculiar to France, of course.

Conservative estimates suggest that barely 50% of restaurant meals were home-made, while the Union of Hotel Skills and Industries claims that 85% of restaurants make use of frozen or vacuum-packed food.

To many people this seems at odds with the perceived view of French culinary traditions, so a law designed to uphold those traditions was passed earlier this year, and came into force recently.

Now any restaurant that serves a home-made dish can indicate it on the menu with it new logo – in the form of a casserole with the roof-like lid. From next January it will be compulsory for all menus to carry the logo. So, if you don't see it, the food is not fait maison.

And does it matter? No-one is suggesting that any of the practices currently adopted results in poor quality food. But a high proportion of people think that the use of pre-prepared food by restaurants is incompatible with what they expect.

How will it pan out in practice? No-one can be sure. But it's an interesting development to watch.

French to hike hotel tax by 500%

Tourists in France are set to face a 500% rise in hotel tax. The controversial measure, already approved by Parliament after being initiated by Socialist MPs, will see up to £8 added to Parisian room rates.

If rubber-stamped by the Senate, visitors to French hotels would find a tax of £6.40 (8€) on their bills, rather than the current £1.20 (1.50€). This figure will rise to £8 (10€) in Paris – the most popular tourist destination in the world, where, among some 30 million a year, the biggest visitor group is British. 

While small hotels will be able to charge less, critics said the measure will stop people coming to France, which has plunged into economic chaos since a Socialist government came to power in 2012.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2674495/French-hike-hotel-tax-500-cent-Controversial-set-add-8-cost-room.html#ixzz366Q7iweA

Rude Parisians

The world's most popular city, Paris, has a reputation as the rudest place on earth for tourists. In an effort to combat this, French authorities have launched an appeal for locals to refrain from the ‘Gallic snarl’ in encounters with foreign visitors.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, warned that surliness was a pothole on the road to tourism victory: “The logic is simple. An unhappy tourist is a tourist who never comes back.”

No doubt there are many Parisians, in particular, who would not find that a matter for regret. Every summer they must endure an invasion of big bottoms in bad shorts, booming foreign voices and boors who fail to realise that under the French code of courtesy, any approach from a stranger should begin with a polite “Bonjour” – and be followed by at least a minimal effort to start the conversation in French.

But the fact remains that international surveys have repeatedly found that foreign visitors rate the French capital as one of the world’s most hostile places - although France is currently also the world’s most visited country.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/RudeParisians

Mobile roaming charges to be dropped

MAKING a call or sending an email from a mobile phone is set to cost the same across the whole of EU as it does in France from December 2015. 

Under proposals adopted by the European Parliament’s industry committee, mobile phone companies will be obliged to offer 'roam like at home' packages across whole of the EU or allow customers to subscribe to other service providers without changing their SIM card.

See more at: http://www.connexionfrance.com/european-parliament-mobile-phone-roaming-charges-law-action-operators-warning-15573-view-article.html#sthash.U9FS46oU.dpuf

Brittany Ferries deals

Brittany Ferries have just released a great new offer for all destinations in France!

Only £156 return package to all routes to France with car (up to 4 passengers!!)

Valid until: 26/04/2014

Travel Dates: 

Until 1 May 2014 (ex UK)

Routes: 

All Routes to France (Portsmouth to Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre, St Malo, Poole to Cherbourg, Plymouth to Roscoff

Offer: 

£156 return car and up to 4 passengers (£39pp)

Up to 4 days away

All other fare elements as public fares

Supplement:

Portsmouth/St.Malo ex UK £35 per booking

Restrictions:                           

Certain travel dates over Easter will not be available

Excludes BF Holiday bookings

Excludes other promotional fares

How to book:                                       

Online - see link below

Conditions:                             

Promotional conditions apply

Note – This offer can be booked within 24 hours of travel

Travel can commence in UK or France

Other:                                    

Motorcycle 50% of vehicle fare

Additional supplements apply for extra passengers, pets, larger/over height vehicles plus trailers and caravans.

Book online here:

http://tinyurl.com/BFerries-1

REMINDER

Other offers available at the moment:

Save up to 20% on French villas and apartments

Valid until: 31/03/2014

Book online here:  

http://tinyurl.com/BFerries-2

Save 25% on selected gites in Brittany

Valid until: 31/05/2014

Book online here: 

http://tinyurl.com/BFerries-3