What are your top day trips to escape Paris?
K Jones
A Versailles is so close to Paris that I'm not sure you can count it as a day trip; trains from Montparnasse station in the capital take just 12 minutes to reach this pretty town and its formidable chateau. So I shall instead recommend locations that are distinctively outside Paris yet easily accessible by rail.
Compiegne, 50 miles northeast and an hour by train from Gare du Nord, is a joy: a compact, elegant city. It has a palace to rival Versailles, except in terms of crowds. The grounds are spectacular. A few miles to the east of Compiegne is the forest location central to the 20th-century conflict. You can visit the 'Armistice Carriage' – a replica of the wagon in which the German surrender in 1918 and the French surrender in 1940 were both taken.
It is part of a sombre and informative memorial to the events and their consequences. Back in town, you can find plenty of agreeable places to lunch at prices much lower than in the capital (or Versailles).
Fontainebleau, 40 miles southeast of Paris, is served by fast (40 minutes), frequent and low-cost trains. The highlight is the Chateau de Fontainebleau, which Francis I transformed from a 12th-century medieval castle into an Italianate palace. As a royal residence, it pre-dates Versailles. After the French Revolution, the chateau became the Imperial Palace, much enjoyed by Napoleon Bonaparte; it houses the only Napoleonic throne room still in existence. The surrounding forest used to be prime hunting territory for French royalty, but is now the preserve of cyclists, hikers and rock climbers. For lunch (or an early dinner before heading back to Paris), I recommend the convivial, tasty and good-value La Petite Ardoise bistrot.
I have also heard good things about Provins, a fortified medieval town southeast of Paris. It is on the Unesco world heritage list, and on my must-visit list.
Q I have been watching all your reports about the changing rules of cabin baggage. For the last 12 months or so, on a number of flights with British Airways, ground staff have instructed that cabin luggage of certain boarding groups should be placed in the hold. How could a change of legislation impact that behaviour, if passed?
Paul B
A The background: pressure is mounting in Europe to increase the free cabin baggage allowance for every airline passenger. Consumer groups across the EU are demanding that every passenger should be allowed to carry a wheeled suitcase, as well as a 'personal item' such as a handbag or laptop bag, free of charge. MEPs at the European parliament have voted in favour of the concept. They say allowing two cabin bags on board 'would enhance transparency and consumer protection for all air travellers'.
The budget airlines say making two free bags mandatory would do exactly the opposite. It would remove the option that every passenger has to take only one, fairly small bag on board without paying extra. They add that their charges are entirely transparent; the basic fare is available to anyone, but for more than minimal baggage, you will pay extra.
While I sympathise with their view, the low-cost carriers have brought extra attention to their policies by upping the cost of baggage to an absurd degree. On 1 October, for example, I can buy a Ryanair flight from Manchester to Cork for £16.99. But taking a larger piece of cabin baggage will cost an extra £17 – more than doubling the cost. The basic fare is too low, and the charge for taking a trolley bag on board is way too high.
If the European Union presses ahead with a new law, by default, it will be imposed in the UK, I believe. The consequences will be messy. As you describe, British Airways – which has a generous two-bag limit – often has to consign the wheeled cases of lower-spending passengers to the hold. All the airlines would end up doing something similar, slowing down the boarding process and adding to costs. But I predict the EU will see sense and leave things as they are.
Q I travelled to South America fairly frequently in the 2010s, usually changing planes in Madrid or using the Avianca nonstop from London Heathrow to Bogota. For my first post-Covid visit I'm interested in something a bit different: travelling via Africa or the Atlantic islands. What are the options?
Daniel C
A Hundreds of daily flights link Europe, the US and Canada across the North Atlantic. But precious few cross the South Atlantic between Africa and Latin America. I can muster only four – all of them heading from Africa to the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, which is the main aviation hub in South America.
The most accessible from a UK perspective is the Royal Air Maroc link from Casablanca, which operates three times a week. Further south, Taag Angola connects the capital, Luanda, with Sao Paulo – once again three times weekly. And South African Airways flies on alternate days from Johannesburg and Cape Town to the Brazilian hub.
Fares are high, reflecting the limited supply of seats. If you are tempted to avail of one of them, I suggest you use a good travel agent. They may be able to leverage the alliances to which Royal Air Maroc and South African Airways belong: Oneworld and Star respectively.
You also mention the Atlantic islands. Unfortunately, I can see nothing from the Canary Islands, the Azores or the Cape Verde archipelago to South America, despite the strong heritage links. Tenerife was once connected with Caracas in Venezuela – the country known as the 'eighth isle' of the Canaries because so many islanders settled there. But the implosion of the Venezuelan economy brought an end to the link.
I can see a slightly greater chance of one of the Cape Verde islands being connected to Brazil. Both are former Portuguese possessions; Sal to Recife is under 1,900 miles, representing a four-hour flight to a key Brazilian city. But with a worldwide shortage of planes, I do not predict that route will be announced anytime soon. And neither will either of the former Air France Concorde routes be resurrected: Santa Maria in the Azores to Caracas, and Dakar to Rio.
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