Should we change our port of departure from France?

Simon Calder answers your questions on the ongoing riots, the joys of Sorrento and how to make the most of Sweden’s rail network

Plain sailing? The cross-Channel route from Brittany Ferries is running despite the riots (Simon Calder)

Q We are concerned about travelling through France to sail back to the UK this week with Brittany Ferries. We would like to change our booking to depart from a Spanish port instead. What is your opinion?

Stephanie L

A France has experienced a week of serious social unrest following the killing of a teenage boy by police in a Paris suburb. Riots are happening just at the start of the peak summer season for British holidaymakers to France.

The Foreign Office warns: “Many [riots] have turned violent. Shops, public buildings and parked cars have been targeted.” RATP, which provides public transport in Paris, is closing all trams and buses down by 9pm each night. Other big cities are doing the same. Understandably, many travellers are feeling anxious about crossing the Channel from the UK to France. In your case, the concern is about heading north (presumably from Spain) for at least 500 miles through France.

A couple of transport providers have been offering the chance to change (but not cancel) bookings; easyJet said passengers over the weekend could change flights without the normal £49 charge. Eurostar is offering the same courtesy to ticket holders whose arrival is likely to be after public transport shuts down.

The easyJet option has now ended, and most other firms are sticking to their normal terms and conditions. This includes Brittany Ferries. It is always possible to switch a booking for a crossing to the UK from one of the French Channel ports to a much longer voyage from Bilbao or Santander. But the additional cost of a “France bypass” is likely to run into many hundreds of pounds.

My opinion is that it is safe to travel to France – and, with a Eurostar booking for today from London to Paris, I am practising what I preach. I think it most unlikely that a traveller on the roads or visiting tourist attractions will be at risk because of the disorder. My personal rule is simple: be sensitive to possible trouble, and if it arises, walk (or drive) in the opposite direction.

There is nothing boring about Sorrento’s dramatic setting (iStock)

Q Me and my partner are stuck. She wants to go to Sorrento in September. I have this feeling it’s going to be boring. We like doing some fun things as well as relaxing. Is there anywhere else in Italy you would recommend?

Simon F

A Your partner has made a shrewd choice. Sorrento and September are made for each other. By the end of August the crowds and unrelenting southern Italian heat dissipate, leaving this pretty resort at the western end of the Bay of Naples much more agreeable than in high summer. There is nothing dull about Sorrento’s dramatic clifftop setting, and the breadth and depth of easily accessible excursions is outstanding.

For several of these, you can rely on the Circumvesuviana narrow-gauge railway that rattles right around the bay to Naples. In a very crowded field of great Italian cities, Naples is my favourite: for the contrast of grandeur and grit, the cuisine, the outstanding archaeological museum and the spectacular location. You can get the train one way and a ferry across the bay for the return.

The Bay of Naples is under the shadow of Vesuvius, and you can use the same rail line to visit the ancient ruined port city of Herculaneum as well as the more celebrated Pompeii. Also consider an outing to the summit of the smouldering volcano. Sorrento railway station is the departure point for one of Europe’s greatest public bus rides, across the peninsula to Positano and Amalfi. The destinations are impressive enough, and the views from the swaying bus are simply outstanding.

In the unlikely event that doesn’t tempt you, Italy has many alternatives. Sicily – in particular Syracuse in the east – has an overabundance of history and natural beauty. The Ligurian Riviera, with Genoa at its heart, offers plenty of hiking and some of Italy’s finest food. And I am a fan of the Gulf of Trieste, all the way around from the Italian town of Grado to Piran in Slovenia.

The town of Vasteras is just one destination to explore along Sweden’s rail network (iStock)

Q We are planning a two-centre holiday to Sweden in September, visiting Stockholm and Gothenburg and travelling between the two by rail. Is it worth stopping along the way? We would not want to stay overnight, but are happy to pause for lunch somewhere picturesque.

Name supplied

A High-speed trains between the two biggest Swedish cities take as little as three hours and two minutes. But I strongly recommend that you pause at least once along the journey from the capital to the coast of western Sweden. Take the more northerly route, with an overall journey time of just under five hours, and you can enjoy a couple of rewarding stops.

The first is Vasteras, an hour west of Stockholm. From the handsome station, you are a few minutes’ walk from the Svartan river (whose name translates as “black stream”) and a picturesque old town populated with wooden cottages. Some of them are now cafes where you can take a morning coffee beside the water. The cathedral is also worth visiting before you return to Vasteras station.

Fifty minutes further by rail towards Gothenburg takes you to the handsome city of Orebro – one of Sweden’s oldest settlements. It is located where the Svartan river flows out of Lake Hjalmaren. The old town straddles the river banks. Again, wooden buildings are much in evidence, but the city’s signature structure is the mushroom-shaped water tower (completed in 1960 and known as Svampen). Have lunch in the Skybar restaurant here, nearly 200ft above the city streets.

The final part of the rail journey to Gothenburg takes two hours 15 minutes and drops you right next to the excellent Hotel Eggers, which opened in 1859 to welcome dignitaries and (it claims) spies. For a place to stay dripping with style and history, rates are remarkably good: starting at below 1,600kr (£117) for a double room with breakfast.

Just in case you decide to save those two en-route Swedish cities for a future trip, note that Vasteras has its own airport – described as “Stockholm” by Ryanair – with low-cost flights from London Stansted.

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