France

Step aboard in Southampton & straight into that holiday feeling. No flights, no hassle. Just the excitement of the days ahead and the promise of memorable moment. So, relax and raise a toast as the UK drifts from sight. Before you know it, you’ll be watching your destination come into view. But where will it be ?

Founded in 1517 to serve the French capital, Le Havre marks your opportunity to explore the innumerable sights and experiences of Paris. Often called the City of Light, you will be spoilt for choice.
Sense the gothic splendour and folklore of Notre Dame Cathedral, weave among the priceless artworks in the Louvre, amble the Champs Élysées to Arc de Triomphe, and experience the magical Eiffel Tower.

Brest is located amidst a dramatic landscape near the entrance of the natural rade de Brest (Brest roadstead), at the west end of Brittany. It is situated to the north of a magnificent landlocked bay, and occupies the slopes of two hills divided by the river Penfeld. The part of the town on the left bank is regarded as Brest proper, while the part on the right is known as Recouvrance. There are also extensive suburbs to the east of the town. The hillsides are in some places so steep that the ascent from the lower to the upper town has to be effected by flights of steps and the second or third storey of one house is often on a level with the ground storey of the next.

La Rochelle is nearly the midpoint of France’s western coast and is known as the ‘White City’ for the light reflecting from its limestone buildings. From here, you’re near the Cognac region and town. Centuries-old timbered and flower-decked stone houses promise a wonderful stroll, and a call to the Hennessy Distillery is a must; it will reveal the secrets of the distillation of white wines from the Charente region, and the story of an Irish army captain who established it in the mid 1700s.

Military port, Cherbourg has also become, thanks to its privileged location at the tip of the Cotentin and its harbor almost always in calm waters, a traditional stopover for transatlantic ships, such as the Queen Elisabeth II – but also the Titanic which embarked a few there. travelers before its fatal inaugural crossing.

TO HAVE
Thomas-Henry Museum
This museum houses collections of paintings centered on the theme of Cherbourg and the sea. In the other rooms, art collections from the 15th to the 19th century: Fra Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Murillo, Poussin, Rigaud are some of the stars, in the company of neoclassical painters from the 19C. Canvases by local painters: Guillaume Fouace, Millet (yes, the author of the Angelus) and sculptures by Armand Le Véel (1821-1905).

Step aboard in Southampton & straight into that holiday feeling. No flights, no hassle. Just the excitement of the days ahead and the promise of memorable moment. So, relax and raise a toast as the UK drifts from sight. Before you know it, you’ll be watching your destination come into view. But where will it be ?