Futuroscope at Poitiers

AIRE AT FUTUROSCOPE

The popular theme park Futuroscope has recently opened an aire de services for visitors to the park. Situated near to Poitiers in the Vienne department of Poitou-Charentes, Futuroscope has always allowed motorhomes to stay overnight on its car park, but has never provided any services for them. Now however, a new Euro-Relais service point is available with 2 platform drains & providing water & electric at 4€ each, overnight parking costs an additional 2€.

GRAFFITI AT LOCHES

Ludovico Sforza (1452 -- 1508), Duke of Milan and opponent to King Louis XII, was imprisoned for almost four years in Loches chateau up until his death. During his captivity he covered the four walls of his vaulted prison cell with a number of remarkable frescoes. Closed to the public during the past few months, both the dungeons and frescoes have been meticulously restored to guarantee the conservation of this invaluable historical testimony that was threatened to disappear because of the humidity and the ravages of time. As from May 16th, visitors can once again discover this remarkable site.

SPECIAL OFFER FROM CAMPING LE PARADIS

Camping Le Paradis is a small British owned 25 pitch campsite located just outside Mazieres in the heart of the Charente, in the Poitou-Charentes region. They are currently offering our members a 7% discount for between 1 and 6 nights and 10% discount from 7 nights onwards, for further details of the site, see the Aires & Campsite directory under Poitou-Charentes /Charente.

CAMPING NOSTRADAMUS

The credit crisis coupled with the high cost of the euro is obviously hitting the tourist industry in France & many campsites are making special offers to attract visitors, one of these sites is Camping Nostradamus. The 3 star campsite located in Salon-de-Provence (details in Campsite directory) is making a "credit crunch" offer from now until September. They are offering a pitch for a motorhome with upto 2 people (& dog) plus 4A electric hookup at 14€ per night (not including taxes) which is very reasonable for this area of France in high season. To take advantage of this offer, go to www.camping-nostradamus.com (French version) & print off the offer in the "tariff camping" section of the website.

TOULOUSE FESTIVAL

Music lovers should head for Toulouse this month as the Ville-Rose is holding its annual International Music Festival. Visitors can look forward to events such as midnight cinema, open air concerts, exhibitions & various other events at over 50 locations within the city. For full details go to www.rio-loco.org

CHAMPION SLEEPERS!

Have you ever wondered why you never see anyone as you drive through the various French villages & towns? Well, true to their reputation as leisure-loving gourmets, the French spend more time sleeping and eating than anyone else among the world's wealthy nations, according to a study published last month. The average French person sleeps almost nine hours every night, more than an hour longer than the average Japanese and Korean, who sleep the least in a survey of 18 members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). And while more and more French people grab a bite at fast-food chains these days or wolf down a sandwich at their desk, they still spend more than two hours a day eating.

STOP ACCUEIL CAMPING-CAR SCHEME

The Federation Francaise de Camping et de Caravaning Stop Accueil scheme has now been running for a few years - the idea behind the scheme is to offer reasonably priced accommodation at participating campsites for motorhomers who only require an overnight stopover. More than 500 campsites throughout France now participate in the scheme which is available to any motorhomer who only requires a stopover between 18.00 hrs & 10.00hrs. The rates for this year & a list of the participating campsites has now been announced, for full details see the "Campsites" section of our Travel department.

NEW AIRE IN LIMOUSIN

The small town of Beynat in the Correze department of the Limousin, south east of Brive, has recently installed a Euro Relais service point with platform drain in one of its car parks on the edge of town. The services include electric, drainage & water -- all free, supplied by jetons available from the local shops. Full details in the Aires directory.