Lets Get Travelling

Local Jersey resident Peter Walsh has launched a campaign to build a bridge between Jersey and France.

He has already sounded out local civil servants on the island and has written to French President Nicolas Sarkozy asking for his support.

Previous ideas concerning a bridge between Jersey and France have been dismissed as impractical but Mr Walsh feels that the Oresund Bridge and others like it linking Denmark and Sweden have proven that such a bridge can pay its way through tolls in 25 years.

Mr Walsh argues that the link would allow Jersey to expand its economy without creating local housing problems and there would also be huge savings on freight.

He also proposes green benefits with tidal electricity turbines attached to the piers of the bridge allowing the island to generate its own electricity.

Since the first package holidays were offered to Spain in the 1960s its popularity as both a holiday and investment destination has remained undimmed.

Even today when cheaper air fares have made more of the world affordable and accessible, Spain still ranks as the number one destination after nearly 50 years for five key reasons:

• Accessibility - a network of airports across the country operating all year round and good inward infrastructure
• Affordability - whilst prices have rocketed in some areas for buyers there are still bargains to be had and the wealth of holiday property for rental keeps prices keen for tourists
• Quality - if you pick your investment property or holiday rental wisely you can get a lot for your money
• Wide appeal - holidaymakers, second home owners, business owners, family relocations, retired…there’s something for everyone in Spain
• Investment potential - whilst the ‘rock bottom’ bargains may have gone, any investment in Spain can generally be a lower risk than emerging countries

Girona has managed to escape the stag and hen parties that descend on the bright lights and big city bars of Barcelona, 60 miles further to the south. And as it is only 2 hours away from the UK, it is near enough to be a perfect weekend city break.

If you’re looking for a bit more culture, then Girona is for you. The city has a population of around 80,000 so it is still small enough to walk everywhere but with a good mix of interesting restaurants, traditional shops and boutiques, galleries and antique dealers, there is enough to keep even the keenest culture-vultures happy.

Fans of the film Perfume will recognise the Pujada de Sant Domenec, a flight of stone steps leading up to the Sant Martí Sacosta Church with a gloomy lane framed by a basket arch slanting off to the left. This location, and others around the city, were used to create the 18th Century French town of Grasse in the film, and it is one of the most photographed and romantic spots in Girona.

With a wealth of cafes in the Plaça del Vi (Wine Square) it’s the perfect spot to relax with friends, a good book or to simply take time out to watch the world go by.

Ryanair flies to Girona from London Luton and London Stansted, as well as 11 other regional airports.

Researchers in Israel have uncovered a new reason for adopting the Spanish custom of siestas.

A study by researchers at the Brain Behaviour Centre in the University of Haifa showed that a 90-minute siesta improves long-term memory and improves the ability to retain data.

Two groups took part in the testing and those who took a siesta adapted to new learning tasks better than the group that did not, provided the comparison was made before nightfall. The following morning, abilities between the two groups were back to equal.

So if you enjoy a siesta on holiday in Spain, make sure it’s a habit you get into back at home too!

Holidaymakers planning a trip to Lanzarote could find it more difficult to get a hotel room after 22 hotels were ordered to be demolished.

The demolition order follows a court case that ruled that 22 hotels were illegally built after two councils had openly flouted a ban on building hotels.

Eight five-star hotels, 10 smaller hotels and four others under construction were ruled illegal. All together they account for over 7,700 rooms or apartments on the island.

Top class hotels that could be pulled down include the Melia Volcan, Iberostar Papagayo, Gran Castillo, Natura Palace, Rubicon Palace, Papagayo Arena and Son Bou.

Authorities may grant an amnesty in the same way as the council in Marbella did when it discovered thousands of illegally built hotels and homes, many owned by Britons, in 2006. In return for not sending in the demolition crews, the council forced developers to hand over large areas of land into public ownership.

However, not everyone would welcome this outcome and the final decision on action remains unclear.

Carlos Espino, a Socialist Lanzarote councillor, said: “These councils broke the order which we put in place to preserve the island, which is a biosphere. We will not have an amnesty. We will knock down what we have to.”

More court cases against other hotels in Lanzarote are expected to follow.

Despite increasing competition for the tourist pound, dollar and euro, France still regularly attracts enormous amounts of visitors from around the world.

According to the World Tourism Organization, France receives more foreign visitors per year than any other country - some 76 million in 2006. This is followed by Spain with 55 million, the US with 50 million and China with 47 million. Italy completes the top 5 with 37 million (just ahead of the UK).

And whilst Time Square was the most visited place in 2006 with 35 million tourist visitors, the top 50 most visited places compiled by Forbes Traveller includes 7 attractions in France:

9. Notre Dame, 12 million

10. Disneyland Paris, 10.6m

11. Sacre-Coeur, 8.2m

15. The Louvre, 7.5m

18. The Eiffel Tower, 6.7m

25. The Pompidou Centre, 5.1m

45. The Palace of Versailles, 3.45m

Property investors from the UK bought around £24 billion worth of foreign property last year, new figures have revealed.

According to the Association of International Property Professionals, almost 242,000 purchases were made by British buyers last year, an increase of 21% over the previous 12 months.

Volumes were up but the value of transactions remained relatively the same. This was attributed to a number of factors, including the increasing popularity of countries that still offer relatively cheap properties compared to more established markets.

Despite a move towards less expensive markets, established locations such as Spain and France were still found to dominate the buyers’ decisions in attracting 25.4% and 17% of British purchasers respectively.

According to reports from industry experts, the French Atlantic Coast is becoming more popular with British holidaymakers.

Property-Abroad.com which specialises in offering overseas property for sale in worldwide destinations, stated recently that holidaymakers have discovered they can enjoy sunshine in France at a cheaper price than on the Mediterranean coast.

Les Calvert, director of Property-Abroad.com, said: “Areas that tend to be showing more interest than previously are Aquitaine on the Atlantic Coast. The Mediterranean has always been popular, but now the Atlantic Coast is catching up and visitor numbers to the Silver Coast in Portugal are also increasing.”

He stated that holidaymakers can get the same amount of sunshine in France for about “half the price” of going to Mediterranean destinations.

French property company VEF Group also said recently that environmental concerns are making France a more popular overseas investment destination and holiday location for UK residents as it can be easily accessed by modes of transport other than air.

In February, low cost airline easyJet announced a new flight to Palma, Mallorca, from East Midlands Airport three times a week.

easyJet already flies to Mallorca from Belfast, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London Gatwick, London Luton, London Stansted and Newcastle. With BMI Baby and Monarch also flying to the island, Mallorca is readily accessible from pretty much anywhere in the UK.

Mallorca is popular with both property buyers and holiday makers. With 300 days sunshine a year, 23 golf courses, 25 marinas and some of the most stunning scenery in Europe, it’s easy to see why. New roads in the north of the island have now made many of the picturesque mountain villages more accessible and the coast benefits from beautiful natural harbours.

And with a ban on the island on any development within 25 metres of the coast, if you’ve got a beachfront property with a stunning sea view, or got your eye on buying or renting one, then you can be confident little is going to get in the way of your picture postcard view.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, budget airline Ryanair is launching a new route in May between Bristol and Béziers.

Beziers, located in the beautiful Languedoc-Rousillon region of southwest France is already a favourite with UK travellers and property owners, the latter owning around 10% of all holiday homes in the area. The new Ryanair route brings the number of Languedoc airports with a direct connection to the UK to five.

Formally a little down at heel, Beziers is undergoing something of a renaissance and now boasts a host of smart wine bars and restaurants, including La Compaigne des Comptoirs run by Michelin-starred chefs Jacques and Laurent Pourcel.

It also hosts the world-famous Feria du Beziers, centred around bullfighting every August which attracts over a million visitors to the five day event.