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TOURISM

Where in France can you get away from the crowds this summer?

France is opening up to tourism for fully vaccinated travellers, but the French are also being urged to holiday in France this year - which means that some parts of the country may be even busier than a normal summer.

Published: 7 June 2021 13:08 CEST
Where in France can you get away from the crowds this summer?
France has some stunningly beautiful areas that are frequently ignored by tourists. Photo: Thierry Zocolan/AFP

Les vacances, c’est en France (the holidays, they’re in France) declared president Emmanuel Macron, urging the French to support the country’s battered tourist industry by staycationing this year.

Reservations in popular tourist destinations are already up 30 percent on last year as French people book their holidays while fully vaccinated international travellers are also allowed back in from Wednesday.

EXPLAINED This is how France’s traffic light system for vaccinated travellers works

The upshot being – some places could be pretty busy this year.

So if you’re looking for a more peaceful break, or you would just feel more comfortable staying away from crowds, here are some suggestions of areas to head for and those to avoid.

According to BFM.TV, reservations in France are up by more than 30 percent compared to 2019, while holiday booking website PAP Vacances recently published a list of the most sought after places.

Those holidaying in August (the most popular time of the year for French people to travel) seem to be mostly heading south to the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region with the département of Var – which includes Saint Tropez  – the most popular area.

The beaches of the French Riviera could be even more crowded this summer. Photo by GERARD JULIEN / AFP

The list of most in-demand areas from PAP Vacanes is:

  1. Les Issambres, Var
  2. Sainte-Maxime, Var
  3. Capbreton, Landes
  4. Lège-Cap-Ferret, Gironde
  5. Lacanau, Gironde
  6. La Teste-de-Buch, Gironde
  7. Hyères, Var
  8. Saint-Raphaël, Var
  9. Porto-Vecchio, Corse-du-Sud
  10. Fréjus, Var 

Assuming that you want to avoid the crowds, here are a few things to think about when booking your holidays.

READ ALSO 10 of the best Covid-compliant activities in France this summer

Seaside v countryside

Whilst the list above includes a number of sought after beach resort destinations, summer house rentals have also seen an even bigger boom.

Some people are looking to book a large space for their family and friends, with many turning to the countryside – as opposed to the seaside – for better prices.

According to NotreTemps.com, houses located inland cost an average of €172 per person for the week, compared to €207 for a place by the sea. Inland areas such as Gordes and Sorgues, both located in the stunning Provencal countryside, are continuing to experience a boom in rental reservations this summer.

On the other hand, according to NotreTemps, accommodation in mountainous and urban areas has been neglected, so maybe consider a hiking trip to the Pyrenees or a trip to one of France’s stunning smaller towns such as Annecy or Avignon.

READ ALSO Morvan: Why you should visit one of France’s most beautiful and least-known areas

Remember France’s ‘forgotten’ areas

For obvious reasons, seaside resorts are popular for holidays, but France also contains some stunning countryside and in some of the sparsely populated central départements you really can get away from it all.

Creuse, Corrèze and Cantal all have beautiful scenery and wide open spaces and we are particularly fond of Auvergne, with its rugged mountainous areas and delicious cheesy mashed potatoes.

READ ALSO 10 reasons to visit France’s Auvergne area

Choose an adventure holiday

To really take advantage of all that fresh air and natural beauty, why not have a cycling holiday along some of France’s many cycle routes?

READ ALSO Vineyards to canals – 7 of the best cycle routes in France

There is also great hiking – particularly in the Alps and Pyrenees – and numerous holidays offering activities for the adrenaline junkie from whitewater rafting to abseiling.

Or think about staying in a hotel

According to Femina.fr, only 6 percent of French holidaymakers will choose to stay in a hotel. With the likes of AirB&B dominating the holiday accommodation market, and 72 percent of travellers deciding to stay in holiday villages or campsites, this could be the year to get a bargain if you do fancy a hotel stay.

Maybe take the train

With no need to share a space with strangers or wear a mask, it’s no surprise that the number one mode of transport this summer is expected to be the car. 

But this means that during the summer months, France’s roads and motorways will likely be full of traffic jams.

BMF.TV reported that although 8/10 French travellers want to travel by car, they do believe there’ll be more people on the roads this year.

Horrifying, 36 percent of French people also say they fear that with limited ability to travel over the past 18 months, they may have seen a decrease in their driving skills – and it’s not the French are famed for being good drivers at the best of times.

With only 8 percent expected to take the train and SNCF’s announcement this week of considerably cheaper train travel for all ages, taking the train might be a quieter and more affordable way of getting to your desired destination – as well as avoiding roads full of traffic-jams and crazed French motorists.

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TRAVEL NEWS

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail operator and the GDL train drivers' union have reached a deal in a wage dispute that has caused months of crippling strikes in the country, the union said.

Published: 26 March 2024 09:55 CET
German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of €420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of €2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some €200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of €2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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