Jun
26
For some years now a number of the airlines labelled “low-cost airlines in Europe have been embroiled in a price war trying to offer the cheapest fares to a host of cities throughout Europe. It’s quite normal to see that one of the major budget carriers such as Easyjet or Ryanair has an offer of return flights from Britain to Germany, Spain or France for £1 (approx $1.45). There might be airport landing fees and taxes to be added to that, but it remains a real bargain if you’re keen to visit a variety of cities throughout Europe. One of the major drawbacks of these flights is that they frequently fly to the smaller local airports rather than the better known majorinternational ones. This sometimes means that a flight that is supposed to be flying to a major European city actually lands some 50 miles away. In fact there are a number of advantages with this situation, the smaller airports often provide a much slicker service on check-in and luggage because they are catering for a much smaller number of flights. The disadvantage is that public transport serving these airports can be patchy at best and an extremely popular alternative is to hire a car from the airport. Here are some of the beautiful cities that we’ve visited using cheap flights. We are confident that you’ll enjoy a visit to any of these great, without doubt they have a lot to offer the visitor to their shores.
Glasgow, Scotland
Glasgow was once an extremely unattractive planning disaster but the city has undergone a Renaissance and has become a wonderful, architecturally divine city welcoming a vast number of visitors throughout the year. The trendy West part of the city is the home of one of the oldest universities in the U.K.. Situated on a hill in the middle of the Medieval part of Glasgow, its students bring a cosmopolitan, fun loving atmosphere to the city. The low cost carriers use Prestwick Airport some 51 km (35 miles) to the north east of the centre of Glasgow and there is a good road between the airport and the city centre. This is a popular sightseeing area, so the best idea is to rent a car at Prestwick Airport in advance of your trip. A congestion free half hour journey from the airport along the M77 motorway takes you to the centre of the city. Glasgow is an ideal base for a journey to the Trossachs National Park. Just 20 km (13 mile) drive out of Glasgow and you might discover sensational countryside on the back of a pony, whilst a 30 mile (50 km) drive eastwards along another excellent motorway will take you to Edinburgh , the city of festivals complete with Princes Street shopping, Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh Castle and the seaside.
Florence, Italy
Without doubt one of Europe’s most impressively beautiful locations, Florence is served by the airport at Pisa, which is 84 km (50 miles) west of Florence. Hire a car at Florence airport and you’ll be perfectly positioned to take in Pisa’s leaning tower, majestic Florence and a selection of Europe’s most picturesque countryside, that of the disturbingly beautiful Tuscany. It therefore will not come as a huge surprise that Florence is one of the most popular historic cities in the whole of Europe. When you arrive in Florence you will find that a large proportion of the city centre is pedestrianized thus preserving the many ancient statues and architectural treasures from the vibrations and pollution caused by busy roads. As a result you are overtaken by a sense of peace and quiet as you wander from one fragment of history to the next. You don’t have to walk too far before being hit by the evil, ear piercing roar of the scooter riders of Florence. Apart from the Ponte Vecchio all of the bridges into the city centre are noisy, polluted places, thus providing a further incentive to keep to the ancient alleyways and peaceful inner sanctums of Florence’s beautiful piazzas.
Tours, France
Tours is the ideal base for discovering France’s wonderful Loire valley and its stunning chateaux The ideal centre for exploring the Loire Valley famed for its amazing selection of palatial residences, the city has a number of charms of its own. Although the small airport is but a couple of miles from town, you really need to hire a car in the Loire Valley to fully explore a selection of the most picturesque towns and villages to be found anywhere in France. A host of cultural treasures can be found along the banks of the Loire. A UNESCO site, the Loire Valley offers scenic countryside, historic villages and lots of flamboyant castles. Formerly the “Retreat of Kings” back in the days of the Renaissance and the middle ages, the Loire Valley was a favourite location for the French monarchy. Former working fortified castles were converted into elegant palatial trophy residences and these are now the region’s main tourist attractions. Visitors from all over the world are drawn to the historic towns that are situated along the banks of the Loire. Towns such as Blois, Tours, Orleans and Chinon have so much to see and do whilst the most popular of all the chateaux is probably that on the estate of Chambord. Throughout the area you will discover small, family owned vineyards offering a variety of wonderful wines at budget prices. Look out for the word “degustation”, which means sampling I guess, and as long as ‘Le Patron’ is not enjoying a long leisurely lunch you will be made very welcome and he will be more than willing to offer you a tasting of his complete selection of wines. Of course, it is strongly advised that you take a non-drinker as your chauffer, some of these tasting sessions can become extremely alcoholic!.
