A Street in Dijon

VISITING DIJON?

If you are intending to visit the city of Dijon in Burgundy this year, then you may want to take advantage of their Dijon Côte de Nuits Pass -- this is a 1, 2 or 3 day pass that entitles you to free admission to more than 30 top attractions as well as unlimited travel on Dijon's public transport network. You will also be entitled to a variety of discounts and added value offers at a selection of over 60 shops and wine cellars. The pass entitles you to:

• Unlimited use of public transport network consisting of buses in Dijon
• Free admission many museums and attractions including: Abbaye de Citeaux -- Château Stephen Liegeard -- Château du Clos de Vougeot -- Fromagerie Gaugry -- Le Cassissium -- L'Imaginarium -- Musée des Arts
• Free admission to regular guided tours in Dijon, Gevrey-Chambertin, Marsannay-la-Côte and Nuits-Saint-Georges
• Free visit and tasting in wine cellars located in the Côte de Nuits vineyards
• Discounts on attractions, including: Bike rentals - Segway Ride -- 'Musiques au Chambertin' Festival -- Quad Family -- Visiovisit
• Discounts at a selection of souvenir shops and wine cellars

Prices for the card are: 24 hours : 18 €,   48 hours : 32 €,   &  72 hours : 45 € and details are available on their web site www.dijon-tourism.com.

Aire at Mortagne-sur-Gironde

AIRE OF THE YEAR 2007

Every year, the readers of the French motorhome magazine "Camping-Car" vote for their "Commune de l'Annee" -- the town or village that they consider to have the best aire de service in France. The winner of the 2007 poll, which was announced at the end of last year, is the aire in the small town of Mortagne-sur-Gironde in the Charente-Maritime.

The Aire is in a lovely location on the quayside of this small port, with spaces being on grass -- accessed by a tarmac road & having open countryside on one side & the docks on the other. Comments from readers who voted for this aire were: "a magnificent aire in the middle of ducks & reeds, a marvellous place…",  " it costs only 6€ for a night here including electricity -- rare for a site next to the sea" & "a 3 star site, next to the sea". Check the site out in our directory of aires & perhaps give it a try if you are in the area.

BAD NEWS FROM BRITTANY

One of the most popular aires in Brittany has recently been sold to a property developer & the site is to be redeveloped as a multi-million Euro complex of health spa, swimming pool & apartments. The busy 50 space aire on the coast at Plougonvelin in Finistere has been bought by the French property company Bouygues Immobilier who intend to commence work on the site early in 2009 with a proposed completion date of Spring, 2010. We gather that the aire will be open as normal this year until the autumn when it will close for good.

AN OFFER FROM ARDECHE CAMPING

Ardeche Camping at Privas in the Ardeche department of the Rhone-Alpes (contact details in our sites directory) have made a special offer to any subscribers to Motorhomingfrance -- they are offering a nights stopover for a motorhome & 2 people at a rate of 35€/ night. This price includes the pitch, electricity, a meal & a bottle of wine for any visitor who lets them know they are a subscriber to our site when they book in -- what are you waiting for?

CHATEAUROUX AIRE NOW OPEN 24/7 -- 365 DAYS A YEAR

After receiving complaints from several camping-charistes that the services at the aire in Chateauroux, Indre, are only available from May to September (the opening period of the adjacent campsite) -- the town council have responded by spending 20,000€ on a second borne in Ave Daniel Benardet. This new service point also offers water, drainage & electric but accepts credit cards (rather than the jetons from the campsite). This now allows the services to be available 24/7 & 365 days of the year -- frost permitting. I only hope it also takes UK credit cards!

FERRY NEWS

Norfolkline operating between Dover & Dunkirk have increased the capacity on their 3 ferries. The ships have been refitted to allow an extra 1,000 passengers to be carried -- increasing their capacity by 27%. This additional capacity will be operational by this summer.

SeaFrance has replaced two of its slower ferries, Monet & Renoir, with a high performance ferry which will be operating from this summer.

Brittany Ferries is introducing a new £85m ferry on its Plymouth to Roscoff run this year.

Huttopia at Font-Romeu

NEW SITE FOR HUTTOPIA

Huttopia, the French company who operate popular "green" campsites in Versailles & Rambouillet, are opening a new campsite in the heart of the Catalan Pyrenees, on the vast Cerdagne plateau at Font-Romeu -- a location that provides a breathtaking view of mountains over 2,900 metres high. The resort also enjoys an exceptionally good climate, with over 3,000 hours of sunshine per year, more than any other French holiday resort. The Font-Romeu campsite will open on 4th July until 28^th September, offering 229 spacious and shaded pitches, all set in a beautiful forested site of 7 hectares. For more details visit their website www.huttopia.com.

DISABLED ACCESS IN AQUITAINE

Holidays are good... but they are even better when they are accessible to all. 173 sites and establishments have been given Tourism & Handicaps accreditation in Aquitaine.

As the new, updated Tourism & Handicaps list comes out, Bordeaux has earned accreditation for 3 tourist circuits. The sites in Aquitaine are listed in a downloadable pdf document, and here are a few ideas for sites in the rest of the region: visit the Gouffre de Proumeyssac near Sarlat or the National Prehistory Museum in Les Eyzies, discover the world of wine at Planète Bordeaux, the pleasures of fishing in the Landes (in Parentis-en-Born, Mimizan, Léon, Azur and Ondres) or the "Gens de Garonne" scenovision show in Couthures-sur-Garonne. For details of the above visit: www.tourisme-aquitaine.fr

AIRE DE SERVICES, SAINTES

The municipal aire de services in the parking area G.Martel at Saintes, in the Charente-Maritime, is no longer available after the service point was recently removed. The town council is constructing a new aire in Rue de Courbiac.