An old port enclave on the banks of the river Loire, Nantes is now best known as Jules Verne’s hometown. It is one of those cities that always lives up to visitors’ expectations. So, too, does the following selection of places located in the vicinity of Brittany’s erstwhile capital, where you will get the chance to visit unique spots, have a whale of a time in the theme parks and explore villages redolent with history. Up for the adventure?

Marais Poitevin
Covering an area of 100,000 hectares and known as “The Green Venice”, the Marais Poitevin is a marshland traversed by the Sèvre Niortaise river before it flows into the Atlantic. It combines areas of dry marsh drained by man and wet marsh, part of which is channelled into navigable canals. Be sure to head for Arçais and Coulon, two of the most prominent communes in the area, where you can hire a boat or kayak to glide along the marsh waters. Or, if you prefer, you can hire a bike and ride along the bicycle paths criss-crossing this land, a natural gem situated just over an hour and a half from Nantes. Don’t miss out on it!

La Rochelle
From the 14th to the 17th century, La Rochelle was one of the leading ports in France and the point of departure for French settlers heading for Canada. Situated just two hours from Nantes, the first thing that strikes visitors to the city are its fortified towers, a throwback to a past marked by war. The Chain Tower and Saint Nicolas Tower once protected the old harbour; the Tower of the Lantern had the function of lighting it up and acting as a beacon for ships, while the Gothic Grosse Horloge or Clock Tower was the gateway into the old city. Another unusual feature of La Rochelle is that a large number of its buildings are made of limestone, prompting it to become known as the Ville Blanche or White City.

Ré Island
A 12-kilometre-long toll bridge joins La Rochelle to what is possibly one of the most picturesque spots on France’s west coast – Ré Island. Measuring 30 by 5 kilometres, the island is home to salt marshes, beaches, vineyards, bird-watching observatories and villages of irresistible charm and is blessed with a mild, pleasant climate for the area. The best way of exploring this fantastic island is by bicycle and, if you can afford to get here off season, you will avoid the crowds and the accommodation crunch (the drawback of any destination which is both beautiful and popular).

Poitiers
Poitiers, which lies about two and a half hours from Nantes, is a city charged with history which you should make a point of visiting. It was founded by a Celtic tribe known as the Pictones and built up by the Romans in the first century AD, later to become an important site in medieval times. Known for its host of churches, which are open to the public, the Church of Notre-Dame la Grande is among the most outstanding, featuring original, 12th-century frescoes in its interior. The best way to tour this city is by strolling through the streets in the old town, where you are bound to get carried away by the medieval atmosphere.

Futuroscope
This popular theme park lies just 10 kilometres north of Poitiers, with attractions based on cutting-edge cinema, audiovisual and robotic technologies. Your time at Futuroscope is sure to provide lots of entertainment and new sensations, and both adults and children will have fun here.

Book your Vueling to Nantes and get ready to enjoy these five locations in the city’s environs.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by TwoWings, Flavio Ensiki, Eric Pouhier, Erwan Deverre, Hamon jp

Beaujolais, one of France’s major vinicultural regions, lies some 50 km north of Lyons and stretches northwards through the French department of Rhône and southwards along the Saône and Loire rivers. Midnight on the third Thursday in November is one of the crowning moments in the region when, to the cry of le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé! (the new Beaujolais has arrived), local vintners release one of their youngest and most international wines. This red wine, made from the gamay grape – the most widely used in the area – is characterised by its quick, merely weeks-long fermentation and by the fact that the whole production is released onto the market simultaneously. This is achieved through what is probably one of the best known marketing operations in the viticultural sector, with a worldwide reach – Japan, the United States and Germany are among its main importers.

All this marketing madness has its origins in something far simpler, the local tradition of celebrating the end of the harvest. To this end, a young wine was made and consumed solely in the region itself. However, the official birth date of this wine is 1951, when authorisation was granted to release it onto the market on 15 November. It then became popular throughout France and sparked fierce competition between vintners, who vied to be the first to take their bottled wine to Paris. Also significant is the figure of Georges Duboeuf, one of the leading producers in the region, credited with having christened the wine Beaujolais Nouveau and being the leading promoter of the label. In 1985, the release date was moved to the third Thursday in November, while the festival was scheduled for the weekend to boost sales.

A Veritable Wine Festival

But, not everything related to Beaujolais Nouveau is commercial. There is also time for entertainment, the perfect excuse to visit this beautiful grape-growing region during the festival. All types of wine-related festive activities – known as the Beaujolais Days – are held across the region. The most famous one is Les Sarmentelles, held in the town of Beaujeu, the region’s historical capital. It lasts five days and activities include a host of wine-tasting events, and the chance to savour local cuisine, as well as to enjoy their music and dance. Sports enthusiasts will relish the Beaujolais Marathon, a race which takes runners past several chateaux and where wines and cheeses are offered at the aid stations. The whole race is run in a festive spirit, with a large number of participants wearing fancy dress. Even the city of Lyon gets involved in the celebration by organising the so-called Beaujol’ympiades, where you can join in by tasting the twelve Beaujolais AOCs.

Beaujolais Beyond Their Nouveau

Apart from their great festival, Beaujolais has a lot to see, discover and enjoy. Many tourist guides tend to compare this region to Tuscany, and they aren’t far wrong. Visitors to Beaujolais will discover beautiful scenery carpeted with vineyards, with the odd chateaux peeping out, in addition to charming stone villages and excellent culinary offerings.

Ready to toast the first wine of the season? Get your Vueling here.

Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by Goproo3, yves Tennevin, Shunichi kouroki

On its passage through Cognac and its surrounding area, the river Charente is privileged to flow through vineyards yielding white grapes that are made into one of France’s leading brandy DOs – cognac. This popular drink, which is produced by a double distillation of the wine in copper stills, is the area’s veritable driving force and one of the main attractions for whoever visits this destination in the Charente department. There are also other draws – apart from its well-known distilleries – that make this beautiful corner in the west of France well worth visiting. Ready to discover them?

Visiting Cognac

Cognac is not only the brandy. Before or after embarking on a route of the distilleries where this liqueur is made – after which this beautiful city is named – you should make a point of strolling through the city itself and succumbing to its charms. Set on the right bank of the river Charente is the castle which witnessed the birth of King Francis I, an emblematic figure of the French Renaissance, one of whose iconic artists was Leonardo da Vinci. Once in the old town, known as Vieux Cognac, we recommend you wander through its back streets where you will be transported willy-nilly to a bygone era.

Cognac Distilleries Route

As we said, the most coveted product of the area is cognac, and the distilleries where it is made, one of its main tourist attractions. There you can see first-hand how this delicate liqueur is made and, needless to say, let yourself be carried away by its bouquet and flavour in whatever tasting sessions you attend. Prominent among the best known distilleries is Hennessy, Camus, Remy Martin, Martell and Otard, located in Cognac Castle. You are advised to first get genned up at the Cognac Tourist Office, where they will show you the available routes for visiting both the large wineries and the smaller, family businesses.

Sailing the River Charente

The river Charente, after which the department is named, is one of the area’s major landmarks. For centuries it has been navigable, the artery along which such goods as salt, paper and fabrics were transported, with Angoulême acting as one of its principal river ports. One of the various options for sailing down the river is La Dame Jeanne, a replica of a gabare, the flat-bottomed boat that conveyed goods along the river in former times.

Stopping Off At Angoulême

Comic devotees would inevitably associate the name of the capital of the Charente department with the festival dedicated to the ninth art which attracts a host of enthusiasts each year. Apart from this event, Angoulême has a medieval past which has endured the passage of time. Indeed, its streets are redolent with this medieval legacy and one standout landmark is its Romanesque Cathedral.

Fire up and discover this beautiful area and its stellar product – cognac. Book your Vueling to Bordeaux, located just over one and a half hours from Cognac

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Pug Girl

A few days ago, after Banksy had updated his website, we noticed that his work is now displayed at various points in “The Jungle” refugee camp in Calais, one of the largest camps in western Europe. Despite his identity still being cloaked in anonymity, Banksy is currently one of the most highly valued artists around. His sharp, critical wit is undoubtedly the hallmark of his work.

Noteworthy among the four new artworks he posted is the one showing Steve Jobs carrying an early-eighties Macintosh, with a sack slung over his shoulder, reminiscent of the bags the forced migrants often take with them on their harsh journey. This is clearly a reference to the whole migratory movement being enacted from Syria to Europe. Jobs was, of course, the son of a Muslim Syrian immigrant and was adopted by a middle-class family of Armenian origin. That is the conceptual link Banksy draws between Steve Jobs and the Syrian diaspora.

Another Banksy offering in the same area makes reference to a famous work by Théodore Géricault, The Raft of the Medusa, painted between 1818 and 1819, depicting a group of castaways in danger, packed onto a drifting raft. This alludes to the dangerous voyage embarked on by many of these refugees who risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean on flimsy rafts. In this version, the castaways are crying out for help to a modern cruise ship speeding past near the horizon. The artist had previously drawn attention to the issues surrounding the refugee crisis in a work entitled, Dismaland.

In addition to these artworks, members of Banksy’s team set up 12 permanent installations in Calais, and a makeshift children’s playground in the camp precinct. The materials used were either sourced locally or were remnants of the Dismaland project brought here for the purpose. This new project is known as Dismal Aid.

A Much Frequented But Little Visited City

Calais is primarily a city of passage. Some 15 million people are estimated to pass through it each year as it is a compulsory way station for access between France and England. In contrast, comparatively few people actually spend some time visiting the city. However, we can wholeheartedly recommend this city in the north of France, with little over 75,000 inhabitants and just 34 km from Dover, as a tourist destination. Its charm lies not in its architecture or monuments but in its privileged siting on the seaboard and the majestic Côte d’Opale.

The city is not celebrated for its grand monuments or buildings, but it does have such landmarks as the Musée Mémoire 1939-1945, dedicated to the Second World War and housed in a bunker, a sculptural group by Rodin known as The Burghers of Calais, located opposite the City Hall, and the Cité Internationale de la Dentelle et de la Mode, the city’s Lace Museum. On display is a century-old mechanical loom with 3,500 vertical threads and 11,000 horizontal ones. Calais’ genuine heritage lies in its natural surroundings and local scenery is stunning. Come armed with your camera as the views are breathtaking. The attractive seafront is dotted with striped changing booths which take you back to the early 20th century. The sands stretch westwards for 8 km along the dune-filled Blériot beach, so named as it was here that the pioneer aviatorLouis Blériottook off on the first ever solo flight over the English Channel in 1909.

By the way, when you feel like having lunch or dinner, be sure to head for the Histoire Ancienne, a bistro specialising in regional and French dishes, some cooked on an open wood fire. This very pleasant, Parisian-style restaurant was opened in the 1930s. Prices are affordable, with dinner ranging from 19 to 28 euros.

Don’t miss your getaway to Calais – check out our flights to Lille here.

Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by Rob Sinclair, Carawah, Olivier Duquesne