Self catering in north & northeast France

From the white cliffs of Cap Gris Nez to the spruce forests of the Vosges mountains and the plains of Alsace, the North east of France is an area which has the big advantage of being the most easily accessible part of France for visitors from northern Europe. Much of the region is less than two hours' drive from Calais. It is a region full of history, now remembered through a wide array of monuments from its great gothic cathedrals to its sad memorials to the Great War. Away from the northern coast and the industrial area around Lille and Valenciennes, it is a region that remains profoundly rural, a region of rolling hills and wide plains, giving way to the forests of the Ardennes and the Vosges. There are even famous wine-growing areas around Rheims in Champagne and in the Rhine valley in Alsace. For a week's break or a weekend break without the hassle of a long drive, it is a part of France that has plenty to offer.

Access to northeast France
By road: from Calais or Lille: The whole region is easily accessible via the A 16 or A26 motorways from Calais, or the A1 / A2 motorways from Belgium and Holland via Lille or Valenciennes.
Access by rail: Direct Eurostar connections from London to Calais-Fréthun (1h 15 minutes), Lille (1h 50) or Paris (2h 40) , with car hire facilities on arrival.
International Airports in or serving northeast France :
Strasbourg, Basel-Mulhouse.
Peripheral airports: Paris Charles de Gaulle, Luxembourg, Brussels, Brussels Charleroi, Karlsruhe-Baden.
Low cost airlines serving this region:
Easyjet: Paris CDG, Basel-Mulhouse
Ryanair: Paris Beauvais, Brussels-Charleroi, Karlsruhe-Baden.
Flybe : Paris CDG
BMI: Paris CDG, Brussels
The airport at Lille has no flights to or from the UK.

More regional info:

• Guide to the Nord–Pas-de-Calais region
• Champagne-Ardenne guide
• A short guide to Lorraine
• Alsace guide