There's the holiday where you pack the kids and all your belongings into a taxi, drag it all onto a ferry or train, arrive in France hot and stressed, take another taxi to your hotel in the centre of Paris that you've paid an extortionate fee for, unpack and try to pacify the kids.



You then spend the next fortnight experiencing the delights of modern Parisian public transport. Jostling along with all the other holiday makers as well as commuters, you're only other option is taxi cab but this can get expensive. You rush from one sight that you just have to see to another, trying to cram in as much as possible.

At the end of the two weeks you can safely claim to have been to the top of the Eiffel Tower and inspected the Mona Lisa in the Louvre Museum among other expected things to have done in France. You've met numerous English people who don't actually live that far from you in Britain and sampled the delights of the French interpretation of English food. You arrive home as exhausted and stressed as before you left.

Alternatively, you could try this.

Using car hire in France, take a leisurely drive down to Provence, in the South of France. Rent out a private cottage in a sleepy little village where the kids have unlimited space and fresh air. Get up when you're ready and indulge in a laid back breakfast of local fayre.

Warm croissants, fresh butter, local speciality cheeses and pastries along with honey, fruits and deli meats can all be purchased from your local village shop.

This area of France is known for its outdoor markets which serve as much as a social function as a place to buy things. Life is taken at a relaxed pace and afternoon siestas are still observed between 12.30pm and 2.30. Hill top towns are best reached with car hire and here you will get ample chance to mix with the friendly locals and get a real taste of the simple French life rather than the slices of what is portrayed to holiday makers.

If this is a little too laid back for your tastes, take your hire car and make the most of all France has to offer. By all means, visit Paris to see the famous landmarks but stop along the way. Visit the innumerable flea markets in Lille, Northern France and test your knowledge of antiques, maybe picking up a bargain or two.

If your taste is history and castles, drive you hire car to the Loire Valley, just south of Paris, where there are over 120 chateaux open to the public. There is the Burgundy region of France to satisfy the taste buds of wine enthusiasts everywhere with its abundance of vineyards. Wine tasting is an essential part of holidaying in France. Wine tasting is essential, full stop!

A drive to Limoges will be well worth the fee of car hire in France by itself. Birthplace of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, take a stroll through the city streets and imagine what life would have been like for him there. Look around and take a guess at what would have inspired Renoir to produce some of his paintings. Pick up some perfectly different souvenirs in the form of the famous porcelain that comes from this area of France.

For botanical enthusiasts, try Montpellier in the South of France. The country's first botanical garden was planted here in 1593. The University of Montpellier was the study place of famous prophesier Nostradamus.

However you wish to spend your holiday in France, car hire is a great way to get around. It puts you in charge of your own itinerary and allows you to savour all the aspects of France that you would miss out on if you sat in Paris for two weeks.