Take Advantage of Those Cheap Flights

For some years now a group of the airlines labelled “low-cost airlines in Europe have been taking part in a price war attempting to offer the lowest air fares to a host of European cities. It’s quite normal to hear that one of the major low cost airlines for example Ryanair or Easyjet has an offer of return flights from the UK to France, Germany or Spain for £1 (approx $1.45). There could be taxes and airport landing fees to be added to the fare, but it’s still a real bargain if you’re looking to see a variety of European cities. The downside of these cheap flights is that they often make use of to the smaller municipal airports instead of the better known biginternational ones. This sometimes means that a flight that is advertised to a major European city actually lands up to fifty miles away. There can be some plus-points with this situation, the regional airports often provide a much quicker turnround on check-in and luggage because they’re servicing a much smaller number of flights. The downside is that transportation serving these airports can be patchy at best and a very popular option is to hire a car from the airport. The following are a variety of the great cities that we have visited using cheap flights. We’re confident that you’d enjoy visiting any of these great, you can rest assured that they have plenty to offer to visitors to their shores.

Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow, once known for its hard, unforgiving living conditions has seen a Renaissance and has become a wonderful, architecturally diverse city attracting a vast number of visitors throughout the year. The trendy West part of the city is home to one of the oldest universities in the United Kingdom. Perched on a hill in the middle of the Medieval part of Glasgow, the students add greatly to the vibrant, fun loving and cosmopolitan atmosphere of that area. The budget carriers utilise Prestwick Airport some 51 km (35 miles) north east of the city centre and you will find a good road between the airport and Glasgow city centre. It’s a popular sightseeing area, so it is advisable to rent a car at Glasgow Airport before setting out on your trip. An uncrowded half hour journey from Prestwick along the M77 motorway takes you to the city centre. Glasgow is a perfect starting point for a trip out to the Trossachs National Park. A mere 13 mile (20 km) journey out of Glasgow and you might find yourself enjoying stunning countryside on the back of a pony, whilst a 50 km (30 mile) drive eastwards along another excellent motorway will find you in Edinburgh together with its amazing festivals, Princes Street shopping, the historic Castle and Holyrood Palace.

Florence, Italy

Without doubt one of Europe’s most stunningly beautiful locations, Florence is served by the airport at Pisa, some 50 miles (84 km) west of Florence. Rent a car at Florence airport and you’ll be perfectly positioned to explore Pisa’s leaning tower, the wonders of historic Florence and a selection of some of the most picturesque countryside in the whole of Europe, that of the disturbingly beautiful Tuscany. Thus it is hardly surprising that Florence is one of the leading historic cities in the whole of Europe. Once you arrive at the city of Florence you will discover that most of the centre of the city is pedestrianized thus preserving the many ancient statues and architectural treasures from the pollution and vibrations caused by hectic traffic. The complete lack of traffic overwhelms you with a sense of tranquility as you walk from one monument to the next. You don’t have to walk too far before experiencing the evil, ear splitting roar from the scooter riders of Florence. Other than the Ponte Vecchio all of the bridges into the city centre are noisy, polluted places, thus giving us an added incentive to keep to the ancient alleyways and peaceful inner sanctums of Florence’s wonderful piazzas.

Tours, France

Tours is the ideal centre for discovering France’s beautiful Loire valley and its magnificent chateaux The perfect centre for exploring the Loire Valley renowned for its amazing array of palatial residences, Tours has quite a number of its own charms. Although the small airport is only a couple of miles out of town, you really need to hire a car in the Loire Valley in order to explore some of the most picturesque towns and villages to be found anywhere in France. Along the banks of the River Loire between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes, a host of cultural treasures are presented for the visitor to feast their eyes on. A UNESCO site, the Loire Valley offers beautiful 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. Tourists from around the world are drawn to the historic towns that are situated along the banks of the Loire. Towns such as Blois, Chinon and Tours have lots to see and do whilst the most popular chateau is maybe that on the estate of Chambord. Throughout the area you will discover little, family owned vineyards selling a variety of wonderful wines at budget prices. Look out for the word “degustation”, which means sampling I guess, and provided that ‘Le Patron’ is not enjoying a long leisurely lunch you will be made very welcome and he will be delighted to offer you a tasting of his complete selection of wines. Naturally, it is vital that you take a tee-totaller as your driver, some of these tasting sessions can get very serious!.