France booking guide: 2013 - Telegraph The train from London St Pancras to Périgueux (change in Paris and Limoges) takes 7h36: book through Rail Europe (0844 848 4070; raileurope.co.uk). Public transport is slow and limited. Hire a car: the big companies are at the airports and HolidayAutos (0871 472 5229; holidayautos.co.uk) has competitive rates. France 2013 Booking Directory Crossing the Channel For the cheapest fares, research and book on operators' websites, and for peak-season travel book well ahead, especially on longer crossings. Eurotunnel (eurotunnel.com) Folkestone-Calais car shuttle train service. P&O Ferries (poferries.com) Dover-Calais. MyFerryLink (myferrylink.com) Dover-Calais. Set up last summer, this operator uses ferries acquired by Eurotunnel from the now defunct SeaFrance. DFDS Seaways (dfdsseaways.co.uk) and LD Lines (ldlines.co.uk) Last summer, these companies began operating a joint service on their cross-Channel routes. Currently, Dover-Dunkirk and Dover-Calais ferries sail under the DFDS brand Newhaven-Dieppe and Portsmouth- Le Havre sail under LD Lines. Brittany Ferries (brittany-ferries.co.uk) Portsmouth to Caen, Cherbourg, St Malo; Poole- Cherbourg; Plymouth to Roscoff and, winter only, St Malo; fastcraft Portsmouth-Cherbourg, conventional ferries on other routes. Strike action paralysed services for 10 days in September. The operator claims the subsequent agreement with the unions has removed the prospect of further, similar action. Condor Ferries (condorferries.co.uk) Catamaran services to St Malo via the Channel Islands, mostly from Poole, some from Weymouth. Also weekly, summer conventional ferry service Portsmouth-Cherbourg. By train Eurostar (eurostar.com) operates year-round services from London and Kent to Paris, Calais, Lille and Disneyland Paris. Through fares are possible from regional stations in Britain and to many French cities. Next summer, as well as its weekly service to Avignon (July 6 to September 7), Eurostar will test a weekly service (May 4 to June 29) to Lyon, Avignon and Aix-en-Provence - but note that 80 minutes is added to the return journey for security checks in Lille. Rail Europe (raileurope.co.uk), the UK representative of SNCF, can book trips combining Eurostar with TGV and local services, any rail journey within France, and French rail passes. For all services, book well ahead for cheapest fares. And before booking, refer to seat61.com: Telegraph Travel readers' favourite website in 2012 offers invaluable advice on French train travel. By air Use skyscanner.net to find out who flies where and compare fares. But before booking, also calculate extra charges for luggage and so forth. By coach Eurolines (eurolines.co.uk) offers sometimes cheap fares to Paris and other cities, and last spring Megabus (uk.megabus.com) started cut-price London-Paris services. This is our selection of companies offering the best quality, value and choice of holidays to France. French Expressions (01752 878040; expressionsholidays.co.uk) Luxurious city, beach and touring hotels. French Travel Service (0844 848 8843; f-t-s.co.uk) Good for citybreak and touring rail/hotel packages. i-escape.com Detailed reviews of 85 stylish places to stay in France, covering most budgets; some worthwhile negotiated deals. Inntravel (01653 617000; inntravel.co.uk) Short foodie breaks to country inns near the Channel ports. Kirker Holidays (020 7593 2283; kirkerholidays.com) France's best top-end hotels, plus some three-star gems - a big choice, with its firstever France brochure in 2013. sawdays.co.uk The publisher is the best source for chambres d'hótes (b&bs). Countrywide Brittany Ferries (0871 244 0744; brittany-ferries.co.uk) Good for gîtes and cottages in north-west France, packaged with company's ferry crossings; blanket 25 per cent discount for bookings by February 11. cottages4you (0845 268 1560; cottages4you.co.uk) Part of the Hoseasons Group, with 2,500 villas and cottages in France, the biggest agency selection. Dominique's Villas (020 7738 8772; dominiquesvillas.co.uk) Of the upmarket portfolios, the most interesting and geographically widespread. Tots to Travel (0845 269 4126; totstotravel.co.uk) Rentals ideal for families with young children, thoroughly inspected and written up. homeaway.co.uk The best of the websites on which owners advertise for direct bookings. More than 100,000 properties in France, many with previous guests' reviews, and excellent search options. Regional specialists Alternative Aquitaine (01395 576655; alternative-aquitaine.co.uk) Coastal south-west France. Brittany Travel (0345 230 1380; brittany.co.uk) The leading Brittany specialist. The Gascony Secret (01924 439521; gascony-secret.com) Desirable châteaux and farmhouses. Peak Retreats (0844 576 0170; peakretreats.co.uk) Alpine apartments and chalets. Simply Périgord (0033 553 545431; simply-perigord.com) Enticing Dordogne properties. Vintage Travel (01954 261431; vintagetravel.co.uk) High-quality houses with pools in the south-west, Provence, Cóte d'Azur and Brittany. Wake up in France (020 7118 3818; wakeupinfrance.co.uk) Strong in the Vendée and Ile de Ré. The main camping operators, Eurocamp (0844 406 0552; eurocamp.co.uk), its sister company, Keycamp (0844 406 0319; keycamp.co.uk), and Canvas Holidays (0845 268 0827; canvasholidays.co.uk), sell packages to dozens of mostly large French campsites, with children's clubs and various activities included in the rates at some locations. Most bookers stay in mobile homes, though Eurocamp is offering stylish "safari tents" at more sites this year; Keycamp has ceased offering tents altogether in 2013. Also consider the smaller, longestablished mobile homes operators Carisma Holidays (01923 287339; carisma.co.uk), for stays on campsites with direct access to westcoast beaches, and Matthews Holidays (01483 285213; matthewsfrance.co.uk). If you travel with your own camper van/caravan/tent, you can save a packet. For recommended campsites, turn to alanrogers.com, pierreetvacances.co.uk, frenchcampsites.co For coastal holiday villages with various family-orientated facilities, and residences (smaller apartment complexes), Pierre & Vacances (0870 026 7144; pierreetvacances.co.uk) is the leading company. Headwater (0845 619 6466; headwater.com) and Inntravel (01653 617000; inntravel.co.uk) Big choices of self-guided walking and cycling, staying at charming hotels offering good food. New for Headwater: cycling in Franche- Comté. New for Inntravel: Wheels & Wanderings, combined walking/ cycling breaks in the Tarn and Loire. HF Holidays (0845 470 8558; hfholidays.co.uk) and Ramblers Worldwide Holidays (01707 331133; ramblersholidays.co.uk) Good options for well-run guided walking. Saddle Skedaddle (0191 265 1110; skedaddle.co.uk) Broad programme of French cycling holidays, some guided and taxing (St Malo to Nice is new), others selfguided and easy. Exodus (0845 287 7643; exodus.co.uk) Good for adventurous stuff, including trekking in the Alps and Corsica, and tackling the same Pyrenean climbs as riders in the Tour de France. Acorn Family Holidays (0800 074 9791; acornfamilyholidays.co.uk) Good-value, multi-activity, family camping breaks in the Ardèche and Normandy. Esprit Holidays (01483 791900; espritfamilyadventures.com) Active summer family holidays with excellent childcare in Belle Plagne and, new for 2013, the Cóte d'Azur. General escorted tours Riviera Travel (0844 826 2122; rivieratravel.co.uk) Telegraph Travel readers' favourite escorted-tour operator in 2012: keenly priced breaks to Paris, Normandy, the Loire, Provence and the Dordogne. Great Rail Journeys (01904 521936; greatrail.com) The best company for upmarket, escorted holidays that include rail travel: 21 French tours, Alsace and the Route des Vins being new. Its sister company, Treyn Holidays (01904 734939; railholidays.com), has lots of more affordable French tours. Expert-led, specialist tours Arblaster & Clarke (01730 263111; winetours.co.uk) The leading wine-tours specialist: a city break to Beaune (Burgundy) and a Southern Champagne and Chablis Vineyard Walk are new. Holts Tours (01293 865000; holts.co.uk) Inspiring battlefields and history tours specialist; a Medieval Normandy tour is new. Leger Holidays (0844 504 6251; visitbattlefield.co.uk) Affordable First and Second World War tours. The Miracle of the Marne and the Battle of Verdun tour visits the new Museum of the Great War. Martin Randall Travel (020 8742 3355; martinrandall.com) Intellectually stimulating tours on history, architecture, art and music; a June art tour focusing on major Impressionist exhibitions in Normandy is tempting. Naturetrek (01962 733051; naturetrek.co.uk) Great choice of wildlife tours - searching for butterflies, birds and wild flowers. Independent trips Belle France (01580 214010; bellefrance.co.uk) Some imaginative short breaks, such as exploring Paris in a 2CV or accompanied by a professional photographer. Boating Le Boat (0844 463 3594; leboat.co.uk) Part of TUI: cruiser rentals from 27 French bases, one-way drop-offs often possible. Freewheel Afloat (0116 255 8417; freewheelafloat.com) Rents pénichettes - lovable, quintessentially French barges. European Waterways (01753 598555; gobarging.com) Longestablished hotel barge specialist; wide choice of vessels and routes. Corsican Places (0845 330 2113; corsica.co.uk) Packages using quality villas, apartments, hotels and its own charter flights, including a new Heathrow-Figari service. directcorsica.com Good local knowledge, reams of information on the website and 150 inspected properties of all types and prices. uk.franceguide.com - the French Government Tourist Office website. holidayfrance.org.uk - the Association of British Travel Organisers to France website.