High and mighty
The hottest new hotel in the Alps this year is Le Manali in the resort of Courchevel 1650, which opened its doors on January 4. The hotel aims to marry the valley of Courchevel with that of Kullu in the Himalayas. Two large elephants stand watch on the decked terrace, and the elegant spa offers a range of oriental-themed treatments. The hotel stands at the foot of the pistes, making it perfect for exploring the runs that link the three resorts, Courchevel 1550, 1650 and 1850. Until now, 1850 has been the more upmarket of the three, but Le Manali looks set to up the glitz factor in 1650, too. A week costs from £1,081pp through Inghams (020-8780 4433, www.inghams.co.uk), including flights, transfers and half-board accommodation.

Keep the kids busy
Holidays with plenty of activities are ideal for parents with older children, and the new Families brochure from Inntravel (01653 617949, www.inn travel.co.uk) has some great options in France. Departure dates are restricted to school holidays, and accommodation is selected to ensure a range of activities – usually including cycling, horseriding and guided walks. The Farmstead, in the unspoilt Tarn region, is a collection of rustic workers’ cottages set around a pool, in the grounds of a 16th-century manor house. A week costs from £406 for a family of four, including ferry crossings, on a self-catering basis.

Wine-lover’s dream
Oenophiles should check out Le Manoir du Vignoble, a new property on Vintage Travel’s (0845 344 0460, www.vintagetravel.co.uk) France programme. Situated close to the town of Bergerac in Aquitaine, the house, which sleeps 14, is surrounded by vineyards. Complimentary tours and tastings are on offer to guests, with no obligation to buy, although the private pool area, with views across the vineyards, is the ideal spot to work your way through a bottle or two. With five bedrooms, five bathrooms and a spacious games room, this is an ideal two-family property. From £995-£2,595 a week, excluding flights.

On the right track
The new Eurostar terminal at St Pancras has increased interest in environmentally friendly rail holidays. Great Rail Journeys (01904 521936, www.greatrailjourneys.com) has added five French itineraries, all leaving from St Pancras, including one to delight vintage rail buffs. The Heritage Trains of France tour includes journeys on the Chemin de Fer du Vivarais, one of the country’s last steam trains, and the Chemin de Fer de la Mure, which runs on the route of the world’s first electric train, dating back to 1903. The journey through the Alps and the Ardèche includes stays in Tain l’Hermitage and Lyons. From £895pp, including travel, accommodation, some meals and all excursions.

A Rough Guide: the best of France

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, the publisher has produced a series of 25 guides to great travel

• Rough Guides: best of Italy

• Rough Guides: best of Spain

BACKGROUND

• The best new French holiday ideas

• Provence’s best kept secret

• A smooth family holiday in Corsica

• Bopping babies in St Emilion

• Having a boule in Provence

BACKGROUND

• Smelly Champagne sausages

• A smooth family holiday in Corsica

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• Classic cars in Cognac

Twice as Nice
Nice has suffered over the past couple of years while a new tram system has been put in place. The elegant Place Massena spent most of 2007 as a building site, but with the first trams now running and most of the works completed, the stylishly wide b o u l e v a r d s and squares are back to their best. Kirker Holidays (020-7593 2288, www.kirker-holidays.co.uk) has a three-night break, staying at the Grand Hotel Aston, which overlooks Place Massena and is a short stroll from the Old Town, from £418pp, including flights and transfers.

Surf’s up
Great news for surf-lovers: easyJet (www.easyjet.com) is starting a new route from Bristol to Biarritz, providing a useful link between the Atlantic beaches of North Devon and Cornwall and the crashing waves of the Basque coastline. There will be four flights a week, starting in April. Stay at the renovated Sofitel Thalassa Miramar, which draws on Biarritz’s spa heritage to offer a mind-boggling programme of thalassotherapy treatments and therapies to soothe your wave-bashed limbs. Doubles from about £120 a night, room-only, through Sofitel (0870 6090962, www.sofitel.com).

Learn from a master chef
Cookery schools may be ten-a-penny these days, but the chance to learn from the chef Alain Ducasse is still something special. A couple of years ago, Ducasse opened a professional training school in the Parisian suburbs that occasionally opened its doors to the public. Demand was so high that you can now take cookery classes at L’Abbaye de la Celle, a beautiful country inn owned by Ducasse in the heart of Provence. There are two half-day courses dedicated to cooking traditional Provençal cuisine – and, of course, gourmet lunches and suppers to feast on. The three-day trip costs from £630pp, including accommodation, cookery course and most meals but excluding flights and transfers, through Gourmet on Tour (020-7871 0848, www.gourmetontour.com).

Ski villagers rejoice
Someone has finally realised that a new ski resort doesn’t have to look like a 1960s car park. Arc 1950, the newest development in the French resort of Les Arcs has been built in the style of a traditional Savoyard village. All the apartments and shops are made of timber and stone, with wooden shutters and balconies; there are wrought-iron lamp-posts and even a clock tower. The resort is linked to the Paradiski area, which has 250km (155 miles) of linked pistes. Inghams (020-8780 4433, www.inghams.co.uk) has a week at the Radisson SAS Arc 1950 from £435pp, based on four sharing a two-bedroom apartment, including flights and transfers.

City of culture – and bicycles
One of the hottest French cities for a short break in 2008 is Toulouse. The city is following in Paris’s footsteps with the introduction of 2,400 bicycles at 253 different locations around the city. VélôToulouse (www.toulouse-tourisme.com) gives you the first half-hour free and you can then opt for a certain amount of hours or days. The other big news is the reopening of the Natural History Museum. The project encompasses 3,000sq m of exhibition space filled with 2.5 million species of plant and animal life, science laboratories for children, workshops and guided tours. A two-night break staying at the Mercure Toulouse George 3 costs from £207pp, including flights and transfers with Great Escapes (www.greatescapes.co.uk).

Wine and history
This year is the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I, and the travel firm Arblaster & Clarke is offering a new range of wine and history tours, combining the usual tastings and vineyard visits with an insight into the history of a particular region. The first is a Champagne in World War I tour, lead by the military historian Colonel John Hughes-Wilson, which examines the dramatic battles that raged outside Rheims in both 1914 and 1918. There are visits to both champagne houses and the battlefield at Laon. The three-night trip costs £699pp, including ferry crossing, accommodation, some meals, visits and tastings through Arblaster & Clarke (01730 263111, www.winetours.co.uk).

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