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An airport in south-east England has just doubled its destinations. The facility in question is the smallest airport in the London area, Biggin Hill in Kent. For the past five years Love Air (01279 681435) has operated flights to Le Touquet in Normandy. Now the airline is expanding to serve Deauville, starting on 1 July and flying on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The full fare is pounds 250 return; day trips will also be available, giving you about eight hours in France.
A train
The new Saturday seaside special express to Kent is so secret that its very existence is denied by the national rail timetable. Every Saturday at 6.58am a high-speed train sets off from Birmingham via Coventry and Kensington Olympia, destination Margate and Ramsgate. The service offers good connections from the Midlands to places such as Canterbury and Dover, without the need to change in London. A Birmingham-Ramsgate ticket costs pounds 39.50 return.
A boat
Britain's third most popular city break, after Paris and Amsterdam, is Bruges. Travellers to the Belgian city can save substantially by using the new fast ferry from Dover to Ostend rather than taking Eurostar from London Waterloo via Brussels. Travelling from Waterloo East in London (you can also join at Charing Cross or London Bridge), the trip using the train-ferry-train link is under five hours - about the same as the circuitous route from Waterloo International on Eurostar. The London- Bruges fare by rail and sea is only pounds 39 for a five-day return, saving pounds 50 on the lowest fare on Eurostar (0345 303030).
A room
"Coming soon: Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir and Picasso," announces the billboard outside the newest and flashiest hotel in Las Vegas. The Bellagio, due to open on 15 October, takes as its theme the towns around Lake Como in Italy. It is rumoured that taxis and courtesy buses will be excluded from the approach road; guests are expected to arrive by limousine.
A meal
Two courses, with a glass of wine, at a new Paris restaurant - all for less than pounds 10. That's the deal offered by chef Herve Dos Santos at Spicy, close to the Champs-Elysees at 8 Avenue Franklin Roosevelt (00 33 1 56 59 62 59). The lunch-time menu is 95F, with a three-course dinner for 130F.
A drink
Buy your way into the first-class lounge at Bangkok airport for the price of a pre-flight drink or three. The Louis Tavern has locations in both terminal 1 and terminal 2. Two hours there costs pounds 7 in first class, or pounds 5 in business class - which represents excellent value, given the price of drinks at the Thai airport. Call Bangkok airport on 00 662 535 1111 for more information.
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