Cap that

SO, WHAT are we going to do today then? Play tennis or football or volleyball or golf? Or should we take the local bus and go into town, hit the beach for sunbathing, swimming, snorkelling or windsurfing?

Phew, it's a bit hot for anything as energetic as that...

Perhaps we should just laze by one of the pools, read a book in the sun... or maybe have a lager and lunch in one of the bars here in the holiday village.

God, life is tough when you are on holiday, all these choices...

Or at least it is when you join the folk at the EuroVillages site at Cap Esterel in the South of France.

Here you are simply up to your Factor 12 in choices. You can be as energetic or as lazy as you want.

There is plenty of the hustle-bustle stuff on hand for the get-up-and-go types; including all the sports mentioned above and a few more besides. I think we briefly considered pony trekking before deciding lagers and lunch was a better idea. Either on site or within a short distance, there is just about any kind of sporting activity you could imagine, yours for the asking.

But if you've had a hard time of it in the office and don't want to do much more than chill out and catch up on the latest Stephen King or Sebastian Faulks then that's fine, too.

And that's the beauty of Cap Esterel. You can simply arrive and spend a week or two relaxing in the Cote d'Azur sunshine or you can get up to all sorts of frenetic activity (the publicly allowed variety, that is).

What's more it's that almost unheard of heaven - a place where teenagers can go off and do their own thing in almost complete safety and happiness (almost, because what teenager will ever admit to any form of complete happiness) while stress-weary parents can simply go their own way.

Indeed you can have so much fun here that we enjoyed the unique experience of our teenage daughters pacing the hallway and demanding to know where exactly we'd been until after midnight without letting them know we were going to be late and had we no consideration at all...

Still, enough waxing lyrical. What exactly is Cap Esterel all about?

Simply put, it's a purpose-built holiday village set on a hillside between St. Raphael and Nice in the south of France. At its centre is a village square around which are a host of restaurants and bars offering food from burger and chips to Mexican, Italian and native French cuisine.

The apartments are exceptionally clean, spacious and many have balconies with lovely sea or mountain views - and the scenery in this part of the world is well worth viewing.

Our apartment had cooker, microwave, dishwasher and fridge and big cupboards where the aforementioned teenagers stashed everything from Bier d' Alsace to myriad munchies bought from an excellent on-site supermarket which more than gives Sainsbury's a run for its money; and the nearby boulangerie had a stock of gateaux around which Weightwatchers would have instantly declared a no-go zone.

What is truly fantastic about this place goes beyond the obvious and extensive amenities. There is a most un-Frenchlike friendliness. All of the staff - and thanks to the garcons in the yellow bar in particular for helping make this a holiday to remember (if only we could remember the late nights there) - are genuinely nice, with an acute accent on the genuinely.

There is plenty to see and to visit off site as well. You can take the train or the bus up to Cannes or Nice or you can make your way to St. Tropez. You can even hit Monaco and get back in a day...

And, for the most part, you can also expect glorious sunshine.

So, surely, there must be drawbacks? Well, yes. One day we visited the beach at St. Raphael. We watched a posse of slim, lithe, despicably handsome French youths playing beach football. And then, that friendliness again, damn them, they invited us to join in.

Our wives still have the pictures. Tanned, bright, fit young Frenchman. And two fat old English blokes replaying the World Cup...

Still, even that turned out all right. We got a draw...

Now, which bar is it to be for the celebrations?

Fact file:

- Cap Esterel holiday village is one of a wide range of sites on offer from EuroVillages. Prices (at 2002) range from £485 to £1,026 for one week in a studio apartment sleeping four to five up to £671 to £1,457 for a house with sea view sleeping six to seven, depending on the season. Prices include an off-peak ferry crossing for a car and up to five passengers. For more details or to request a brochure call EuroVillages on 01606 787776 or visit their website at:

www.eurovillages.co.uk

Travel panel

- We decided to travel by rail overnight to the South of France. It proved a great adventure and the kids loved the sleeper train. But be warned - trains in France run on time, so work out connections carefully. And your paperwork must be in order. We had a mad dash across Paris in the rush-hour to catch our connection to the South and nearly missed it because of confusion over our sleeper-tickets. Once on board, however, a bottle of wine and a chat while whizzing through the French countryside beats driving any day. And waking up to the dazzling sunshine of the Cote d'Azur shouldn't be missed.

Costs for two adults and a 14 and 15-year-old, all standard class:

Return from York to Kings Cross (with Family Railcard) £107.40. Details, call in at York station, or contact GNER on 08457 225 225 or visit www.gner.co.uk

EuroStar from Waterloo to Gare du Nord, Paris, then Paris Austerlitz to St Raphael, return, including couchettes, £704. Contact Rail Europe on 0207 647 4900 or visit www.raileurope.co.uk

Updated: 09:04 Saturday, August 03, 2002