4 pages of holidays - Destination Sud de France

Saturday, July 19, 2014
1S
l
HOLIDAY firm Pierre &
Vacances opens its first two
Balearic properties this month.
Both on Mallorca, they offer
boltholes on the east coast of the
island best known for its beaches
and caves.
Residence Mallorca Vista Alegre
has 42 spacious one-bedroom
apartments for three people, 500m
from the sea. A family break start at
£227 for seven nights.
Residence Mallorca Portomar is
just 500m from Cala Marçal, one of
the quietest beaches in
Portocolom. Breaks start at £256
for 7 nights, based on two people
sharing on a self-catering basis.
See pierreetvacances.co.uk or
call 0870 0267 145.
l
SUPERBREAK has a great
choice of London packages
showing the history of the
British monarchy.
A Royal Day at Buckingham
Palace and Royal Mews is from
£68.90pp with an overnight at the
4H Mercure London Greenwich
Hotel. During the tour of the Palace,
visitors will see the Royal Mews, as
well as the State Room, used today
by the Royal Family to entertain
guests. Valid for arrival August 3.
Clarence House Guided Tour is
from £109 per person with a stay at
the 4H Cavendish hotel, London,
with full breakfast and afternoon tea.
Valid for arrival on August 14. See
superbreak.com or call 01904 717
359.
49
IT’S 29˚C in
TURKEY
—
seven nights at
the 4H Elite
Hotel in bodrum
is £437 per person with
On The Beach. Price
based on all-inclusive
basis with flights from
Glasgow on August 11.
See onthebeach.co.uk or
call 0871 474 3000
HOT
SPOT
PORTUGAL is
26˚C — seven
nights at the
4H
Punta
Umbria Beach
in Punta Umbria is
from £675pp with Thomas Cook Style Collection. Price is all-inclusive
with flights from Glasgow on August 23. See
thomascook.com or call
0844 412 5970.
HOT
SPOT
4 pages
of holidays
THEY say you never
forget your first
time, and I certainly won’t forget
my first visit to the
south of France.
This whistle-stop tour of
Sud de France LanguedocRoussillon, saw me enjoy for
the very first time red wine,
driving a 2CV car and a
‘Screaming Orgasm’.
That’s the cheeky nickname oyster farmer, fisherman, and seafood restauranteur Christophe Guinot has
given to the monster oysters
he serves at his new oyster
and seafood cafe in Leucate.
Christophe isn’t the kind
of guy you say no to, so it
was down the hatch — and
they were fantastic.
Next up was a tour of the
vineyards in Corbieres and
Fitou in an iconic 2CV,
which Ciotroen stopped making in the mid-90s.
Isabelle Castro runs the
tours, after moving to the
area from Paris, complete
with her three trusty 2CVs.
After a stunning dinner at
Le 35 Bis restaurant and a
perfect night’s rest at the
equally stunning La Galerie
hotel it was off to explore
BREATHTAKING
. . . medieval city of
Carcassonne and its
Canal du Midi, left
the 18km beach at Leucate.
The strong wind — Le Cerc
as it’s known locally —
makes this an ideal spot for
surfing and kite surfing,
with the European championships held here every year.
You can’t visit wine country without sampling a local
wine cellar, and in Leucate,
the new kid on the block is
Les Mas de Caprices, run by
Pierre and Mireille Mann.
Their 20,000 bottles are
snapped up on release each Carcassonne, staying in the sure you visit the Gothic
within
this
year and their gamble in Hotel des trois couronnes, cathedral
UNESCO world heritage site.
2009 to become organic-only
where
I
visited
the
ancient
My final day was spent in
is paying off. I’ve only had
red wine once, some 20 odd walled city of La Cite. Make Gruissan, where I stayed in
Chateau le Bouis.
years ago, and to be honest
it didn’t end well.
There’s a real Sud de
But Pierre assured me his
For the Hotel des trois couronnes France buzz here — a huge
Rouge A Sirorter would
see hotel-destroiscouronnes.com beach area and plenty to
explore in the old town.
change my view of red
For La Galerie see
wine and he was right. I
It may have been my
nicolas-galtier.com/en/introduction
ended up buying a botfirst visit, but it won’t
For Chateau le Bouis see
tle. Next was the stunbe my last.
chateaulebouis.fr. For a 2CV tour see
ning medieval city of
vin4heurestour.fr. For more info on the
KEVIN KELLY
area see suddefrance-developpement.com.
See Europcar for car hire.
GO: France
ROD ALMIGHTY: See Rod
Stewart at Caesars Palace
Las Vegas on a five-night
break at 5H MGM Hotel for
£1,389pp. Leaving Glasgow
September 19, 20, 26 or 27.
See bon-voyage.co.uk or call
0800 316 0194.
. . . COR-PHEW: Seven
nights’ self-catering at 2+H
Monika Hotel Apartments in
Sidar, Corfu, is from £299pp.
Leaving Glasgow August 1.
See olympicholidays.com or
call 020 8492 6868.
. . . IN THE AZULINE OF
DUTY: Seven nights’ B&B at
the 2H Azuline Hotel Galfi in
San Antonio Bay, Ibiza, is
from £479pp. Leaving
Edinburgh July 22. Call 0800
408 5594 or see jet2holidays.
. . . BELLA, BELLA: Seven
nights’ half-board at 4H Bella
Vista Hotel in St Paul’s Bay,
Malta, is from £368pp.
Leaving Prestwick August 7.
See onthebeach.co.uk or call
0871 474 3000.
. . . SALOU FOR YOU:
Seven nights’ self-catering at
3H Internacional II in Salou
is from £255pp (4 sharing).
Leaving Glasgow August 12.
See thomascook.com or call
0844 412 5970.
. . . FAIRYTALE PRINCESS:
Seven nights’ all-inclusive at
the 5H Princess Andriana
Resort & Spa is from £509pp.
Call 0800 011 4977 or see
inspiredluxuryescapes.com.
. . . JUST BEACHY: Seven
nights’ all-inclusive at 3H
Broncemar Beach in Costa
Caleta, Fuerteventura, is
from £435pp. Leaving
Glasgow August 27. See
barrheadtravel.co.uk or call
0141 222 2223.