The awe inspiring Atomium – the 335ft tall model of an iron crystal built for the 1958 World Fair – just inside the outer ring road in the north of Brussels, as seen through the windscreen. You can park virtually underneath.
Author Archives: driveeuropenews
A pre-visit to Louvre-Lens: the hot ticket 2013. One hour from Calais/ Dunkirk
There isn’t much to see just yet. The five, low rise, glass-walled pavilions are barely visible at the top of a small incline. Workmen are adding the finishing touches – barriers in the car park, signs, even sand blasting the row of terraced houses opposite.
They’ve got a week to make it all perfect. On 12 December, French president François Hollande will open the latest outpost of the Louvre art museum, in Lens, a former mining town in northern France (pop 36,000). It’s perfectly sited for people living in the south east of England.
The €200m, 28,000 sq feet exhibition space, designed by Japanese minimalist architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, will house masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Raphael, Rubens and Rembrandt. The exhibition ends with Delacroix’s 1830 Liberty Leading the People, a symbol of the French Revolution.
500,000 visitors a year are expected but anything less than a smash hit will be a disappointment. No word yet on opening hours or ticket prices though the Paris Louvre is free for under 18s and €11-15 otherwise.
The museum is already well signposted. Follow signs to Lens Ouest (west), 25 miles by dual carriageway south west of Lille.
It’s just under 65 miles from Calais, the vast majority on the wonderful – smooth, superfast – A26 (€7.20 toll each way) but quicker to Dunkirk – 59 miles – via Lille on the A25 (which is not tolled).
Louvre Lens shares car parking with Stade Bollaert, used in the 1998 World Cup. The area was previously best known for the Battle of Vimy Ridge. A 250 acre memorial, opened by King Edward VIII before his abdication in 1936, is five miles further south.
Bruges – Ghent – Brussels – Louvre Lens
552 miles, £320, three days, four cities.
The highlight was definitely driving through Brussels last night.
Details to follow, including the new Louvre outpost in Lens, northern France – less than an hour from Calais – opening next week.
We’re off to Brussels tomorrow for two days
It might seem mad to drive to Brussels considering we’re twenty minutes from Kings Cross: Eurostar takes just three hours to get there and costs from £69 return (our return ferry fare is £68, plus petrol for the approx 500 mile round trip).
BUT, we’re also going to Bruges, Ghent and maybe Antwerp. Sad to say we’ve never been to any of these places despite driving past about twenty times.
We’ve been to Brussels a few times. Looking forward to the B&B, in Etterbeek, a south eastern suburb near Leopold Park, close to where we’re going. The owner sounds very Bruxellois.
The only problem is parking. There are no car parks in the vicinity, just on-street. We’re going to wing it.
Might have time to check out the green plastic modern art Christmas tree controversially erected in Grand Place – and hopefully the Atomium too – but the schedule is looking ambitious. If we make it to Bruges and Brussels we’ll be happy. See Twitter @DriveEurope for how we’re getting on…
P.S. Late News: if you haven’t yet heard about the 124 mile long traffic jam in Russia you have now.
Thirty eight is the going rate on the Dover Strait
All three short crossing ferry operators – from Dover to Calais or Dunkerque – are offering sailings for £38 in December and January.
But whereas DFDS and www.myferrylink.com charge from £38 per crossing, P&O wades in today with prices from £38 return.
That’s slightly sick making for us who have just booked with DFDS for £68 return in early December. And we didn’t even take advantage of the free amendment either…
In all three cases, the low fares will not apply on the busiest dates, before and after Christmas & New Year. DFDS says peak times are 21-22 December from Dover and 5-6 January from Calais. They charge £40 extra each way on these dates.
If you haven’t booked your Christmas crossing yet check myferrylink.com. Our test run (out 21.12, back 26.12) saw the former SeaFrance operator £30 less than the next cheapest.
As always with special offers double check against the standard fare, it might suit you better.
What we really, really want this winter: Range Rover Evoque. About to dip under £30k.
Dismissed by some as a faddy fashion item, fifteen months after launch the Range Rover Evoque is still going incredibly strong. Demand is three times higher than anticipated. There’s a six month waiting list for some models. The factory is working around the clock (for the first time) to make nearly 10,000 a month. The vast majority are exported.
This amazing car isn’t just keeping Jaguar Land Rover afloat, it could be keeping the entire country’s head above water too.
The base model – 2.2 litre diesel, front wheel drive – retails at £29,195, but you still can’t get your hands on even a second hand one for less than £30,000. The cheapest Evoque on the company’s pre-owned website is £30,829 (rising to £48,950).
The compact, classy 4×4 is a genuine do anything, go anywhere car – from Casino Square to a narrow mountain pass. It will be the car to be seen in on the slopes this winter. And it’s British. Sod BMW’s X1 K2 Powder Ride.
The icing on the cake is literally the full length panoramic sunroof. Here we see (or rather can’t see) the only cloud on the horizon. Of the 186 used cars for sale, only one has – for touring drivers – this essential option.
The ‘roof components are made in factories previously devastated by the Asian tsunami. While it’s sorted now, they haven’t filtered down to the used car market yet.
Don’t worry there’s always next year. For those concerned the passion for the Evoque will pass we say, no way. The Evoque’s appeal is firmly rooted in the breadth of its abilities. The badge makes it irresistible.
Weekend news roundup: filthy weather; in-car camera bargains; Xmas offers +++
Filthy weather is expected across Europe for the start of December says the BBC. Plenty more snow is expected in the Alps. Torrential rain in Italy & Balkans. Even Istanbul is max 17° C all week. At the time of writing it’s -23° C in Murmansk.
Russian motorists are cottoning on to the advantages of in-car cameras in the fight against corruption says Al Jazeera. Did you know you can buy an in-car camera for £100? We’ve been checking them out at Ideas4ADIs.
Discount ferry site www.directferries.co.uk is advertising crossings with Dover-Calais operator www.myferrylink.com at £38 each way over the Christmas period (and up until the end of January). Book before 12 December.
Phase two (of nine) to reduce congestion at Dover Eastern Docks gets underway shortly. A holding area for trucks will be built between the entrance roundabout at the check-in lanes. Complete works to finish by the end of 2014. Plans for a second ferry terminal at Dover are also advancing. Still no word yet on the People’s Port proposal, to take the ancient port operator into community trust ownership.
A lorry fire onboard a Eurotunnel carriage caused delays on Thursday but was resolved without injury. Services were back to normal within two hours.
Finally, the European Commission’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) has a new website where you can keep an eye on progress and upcoming projects with fancy dynamic maps. Roads come under Core, to be completed by 2030, and Comprehensive, finished by 2050. It also includes plans for neighbouring countries, notably Switzerland and Norway.
DFDS Special Offer more expensive than standard fare! BUT
We’re off again next week. But only for a couple of days, to northern Europe, and it’s definitely not holiday.
Having blogged DFDS’ latest special offer yesterday – fares from £38 each way Dover-France in December and January – we checked it out (using the offer code ECXMAS) and every fare was indeed £38, i.e. £76 return.
But we also checked out the standard fare – on exactly the same sailings – and got it for £68 return. Mmmn.
There is a crucial difference. The special offer waives the amendment fee if you change your sailing (recently reduced from £20 each way to £10).
And you would only pay any extra on some sailings from Dover 21-22 December and all sailings from France 5-6 January (£40 each way).
To be fair to us it wasn’t entirely clear these were the only dates a supplement would apply. By the time we checked it was too late – we’d already booked the cheaper ticket.
If it goes wrong we’ll cop not just the change fee but the difference in fare on the day. Ten out of our last fourteen crossings have been amended at the last minute (at considerable cost). Oh well, it’ll make it more exciting.
News: new MX-5; LD Lines ski trip comp; free changes DFDS; Italy fake cop scam +++
You have to be brave to drive a Mazda MX-5. Perfect in the mountains, less good on fast roads when ‘bahnstormers screaming down the outside lane at 140mph leave you feeling horribly vulnerable. Still, for classic, countryside continental tours there’s little better available in the real world. Even the small boot imposes useful packing discipline. Anyway, there’s a new one on sale now, a final brush up ahead of an all-new MX-5 due 2014. Prices start at £18,495. The only question is, are you man enough?
Evo magazine took a Porsche Cayman S on a 3,500 mile, nine day, eight country European tour, topping out at 171mph in Germany. Read all about it here. Also, Autocar tackle the 27 mile Ronde, a stage on this week’s San Remo Rally.
Enter an LD Lines competition to win a skiing holiday in Tignes, eastern France, for up to four people, including accommodation and ski passes. Valid from 16-23 March 2013 to overlap with X Games Tignes, a major snowboard competition. If you cannot make these dates the prize is valid until May 12th 2013. LD Lines sails to Calais, Dieppe and Le Havre from Dover, Newhaven and Portsmouth respectively. Tignes is 613 miles from Calais and around 550 miles from the other two ports.
Meanwhile DFDS is offering free booking amendments and return fares Dover-Calais (or Dunkirk) from £38 each way in December and January. Includes a car and up to nine people. A supplement may apply on peak dates and times. Book by 12 December using offer code ECXMAS.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has added to the blizzard of reports all recommending road tolls in the UK. Meanwhile, The Big One – the joint DfT/ Treasury report on Road User Charging – is due ‘within weeks’ (but we’ve been hearing that for months now).
The Daily Mail ‘This is Money’ section helped a Lichfield couple get their money back after their insurance company refused to pay out following the Brittany Ferries’ strike in October. The company initially baulked because the couple made it home on time.
Drivers find blue dashboard lights less fatiguing say French university researchers, though nearly 10% have an adverse reaction. Further tests (on children and old people!) are on-going. VW used blue dash lights until recently while blue interior lights were also commonly offered as an option in cars up until the 1960s (apparently).
Finally, at the weekend The Sunday Times reported a fake police sting in Italy. A Romanian gang targeted guests at expensive hotels around Milan, including vehicle stop-and-searches, wearing Carabinieri (national police) uniforms. We haven’t been able to independently confirm any of the details, though the paper says the gang have all now been apprehended.
The new Rolls Royce ferry
Rolls Royce is well known for its engines but did you realise it also designs ships?
The Rolls Royce Marine division signed a deal this week to build its innovative, eco-friendly ferry with Italian operator, Lauro Shipping.
The new vessel will enter service between Campania, Ischia, Capri and Sicily.
The engines are Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) fuelled which already meet IMO emission rules due in 2016 and emit up to 40% less CO2 than diesel power. The all-important sulphur dioxide content of LNG is ‘negligible’.
A combined propeller and rudder, and no need for auxiliary power, further improves efficiency.
The rendering above is too small for cross channel duties but the design is fully scalable. The vertical bow improves stability in rough seas. There is no word yet on top speed – though it is a high-speed design – where it will be built, or exactly when it will enter service but this is not a pipe dream. Rolls Royce gas powered marine engines entered service in Norway earlier this year.
DriveEuropeNews 
