Whether your family loves a beach holiday, meadering in the countryside, skiing, relaxing by the pool, walking in the mountains, enjoying a city break or a range of all, France is the country where you can do just about everything.  We caught up with the family holidays in France specialist website Franceforfamilies.com, which holds an immense amount of information about France.

The site offers its visitors the information they need to make the most of their first or next holiday in France.  From the top attractions to visit in each region, to favourite restaurants, travel advice, checklists and a range of accommodation types to rent, including a whole section on Camping.

Here are 3 of their latest articles that could inspire you.

Rennes – Brittany’s cosmopolitan capital city
Brittany’s cosmopolitan capital city is a modern metropolis with a lively medieval heart. In previous centuries, the city played an important role in the region’s political struggles. seeing Rennes is often compared negatively with some of the more picturesque.

The Sistine Chapel of Prehistory – Lascaux, Dordogne
Lascaux is referred to as the ‘The Sistine Chapel of Prehistory’. Visit Lascaux to venture back to pre-historic times and see replicas of cave paintings around 17,000 years old. The original Lascaux cave system was discovered in 1940 by local.

Rouen – the historic capital city of Normandy
Normandy’s capital is a city of cobbled streets, tall timbered houses and Gothic churches, captured by the painter Monet in his Rouen Cathedral series.

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Trevella Holiday Park in Cornwall is a 5-star caravan and camping site located just outside the seaside village of Crantock.   At a few miles south of Newquay, the site is a perfect base to explore the Cornish coastline.

We stayed in a Static Caravan on the site’s ‘Meadow’ area for 4 nights over the Easter school break and we were not disappointed.   OK, as generally reported the weather wasn’t great, hence we opted for a static caravan rather than a tent, but still we didn’t let the inclement weather dampen our spirits and plans!

We arrived at 7pm on Monday 8th of April 2013, and were greeted by Lucy on reception, 5 minutes later we were heading through the park to our caravan to unpack.  The Caravan had decking at the front with outdoor tables and chairs and along the side of the van to the main door.  As readers of this blog will know, we stay in static caravans/mobile homes in the UK and France often, and the Swift Bordeaux we stayed in at Trevella ranks as one of the best. Good open-plan layout, french windows out to a view of the meadow (as pictured above), bathroom with double-shower and two bedrooms, with the master bedroom offering an en-suite and a large wardrobe.  We were at home!

5 things we did… (not all on the same day!)

- Visited Loe Beach near Falmouth and went Kayaking

- Got to Lizards Point and took a 2-hour hike across the rugged coastline to Kynance Cove

- Swam in the sea at Crantock Bay beach

- Had Lunch in Padstow, arrived by bike from Wadebridge along the River Camel

- Climbed up to Brent Tor Church near Tavistock, Devon

Green Spaces
The park itself has large grounds, offering substantial open green space for everyone, the main green in the middle of the park is where children, including my two, congregate to play.  The park also has a Pet’s Corners, games room, crazy golf course and adverture playground.   The park’s outdoor swimming pool is not open for swimiming until May each season.  A number of walks starting at Trevella take you across to Crantock Bay beach (1 mile away) passing by the park’s lakes and through fields.

Camping and Touring
The touring ground at Trevella is spacious and offers good washing/toilets facilities. There is a mix of grass and hard-standing pitches welcoming a range of touring vehicles.

Please use this link for more details on this top holiday park in Cornwall

I Spy Camping is pleased to announce a range of exclusive discounts for camping holidays with Canvas Holidays.

The discounts apply to all 2013 holidays book directly with Canvas Holidays only via this link http://www.canvasholidays.co.uk/i-spy or by calling our dedicated telephone number Tel: 0845 268 1940

Here are details of the discounts available to you for 7-night, 14-night and 21-night breaks.

Paris is possibly the world’s most popular destination for a city break and it is the 3rd city of my 40 cities to visit/write about in Europe this year.  I could write pages and pages about Paris, but I have decided to focus on Paris’ Fontainebleau…

This former royal residence has 1,900 opulent rooms and exquisite landscaped gardens.  It rivals Versailles in grandeur and history but has the bonus of fewer crowds. Louis XIII was born here and Napoleon I signed his abdication papers within these walls.

You enter the chateau through the stately Cour du Cheval Blanc (Courtyard of the White Horse), also known as the Cour des Adieux. Napoleon Bonaparte bade farewell to his Imperial Guard at the horseshoe staircase here before being exiled to the island of Elba. Inside, your tour begins on the first floor. Look out for the dazzling Renaissance Salle de Bal (ballroom), with its wood panels and frescoes illustrating mythological and hunting themes, and the Galerie François I, with frescoes painted by the Florentine artist Rosso, a pupil of Michelangelo.

Farther on, highlights in Les Grands Appartements des Souverains include the ornate Empress’s Bedchamber, with a bed made for Marie-Antoinette, and Napoleon’s preposterously extravagant Throne Room. L’Appartement Intérieur de l’Empereur offers a glimpse into some of the more personal aspects of the emperor’s life, although this is not his private apartment, which can be seen only on a guided tour, along with the Napoleon Museum.

The Abdication Room has the unassuming round table where Napoleon signed his deed of abdication on 6 April 1814. Save time to wander around the stunning grounds, with the elegant Grand Parterre and vast Carp Pond.

Fontainebleau has attracted kings since the 12th century, keen to hunt in the surrounding forest. Much of the chateau dates from the Renaissance, when François I built a sumptuous royal residence. He employed the cream of Italy’s artists and craftsmen to decorate the interior and laid out the garden with lakes and canals. A century later, the gardens were re-landscaped by André Le Nôtre, who also designed Versailles’s stately parterres. Various kings commissioned modifications to the chateau and Napoleon I refurnished it in 1804.

This weekend we are in Suffolk, my home county, it is March, it is cold, wet and downright miserable, but that’s no reason not to go exploring.

We are spending the weekend in Long Melford, a pretty village once the setting for the BBC TV series Lovejoy and also famed for being one of the longest villages in the England and Melford Hall’s connection with Beatrix Potter’s children stories.

Our first walk of the day starts at Kentwell Hall, behind Long Melford church (pictured above) and stretches for 2 miles across fields, dotted with sheep, cows and horses.  Wellington boots is key here!   There are plenty of people walking.

Soon you begin to see the village and the turrets of Melford Hall in the distance and the walk brings you out perfectly for a drink the 15th century Bull Hotel.

For camping around here, try http://www.clockhousefarmcaravanpark.co.uk