With golden beaches, quaint fishing villages, unspoilt countryside, mediaeval vineyards, wildlife parks and prehistoric sites, France is perfect for family holidays. Just a short hop across the channel and you’re in another universe.

Many families taking a holiday in France head for Brittany or Normandy, where they can visit the aquarium at Brest or Croisic, enjoy the award-winning zoos of Pont-Scorff and Champrepus, tour the Cerisy forest and Reptilarium of Domaine de Litteau, or visit the Planète Sauvage Safari park.

If you enjoy exploring ancient history on holiday France has a genuine Roman stadium at Puy du Fou, where you can watch historical re-enactments. Older than this are the Neolithic standing stones at Carnac – Brittany is littered with similar prehistoric remains. Bayeux, of course, is famous for its tapestry – a “news reel” of the Battle of Hastings. Nearby, the beaches recount battles of a more recent era – the D-Day landings of Normandy. On a lighter note, kids love Le Parc Festyland, a Viking theme park at Caen.

No holiday in France is complete without plenty of seaside activity. The Côte d’Emeraude and Cote d’Azur boast superb golden beaches, while the Côte de Granite Rose is great for rock pools. The Mont-St-Michel is surrounded by swathes of golden sand, and well worth the climb for the view from the abbey at the top. For traditional fishing villages and Breton cuisine, try Quimper and Carnac.

Wine lovers, meanwhile, should take their family holidays in the Bordeaux or Languedoc districts. Saint Guilhem-le Désert and Carcassonne are both captivatingly beautiful, mixing spine-tingling ancient legends with a mediaeval landscape lush with vineyards.

One of Europe’s most exciting cities, Amsterdam’s perfect for a bargain city break.

Offering much more than fantastic nightlife, on a city break in Amsterdam, you’ll find museums, art galleries and colourful markets. Apart from boating along the city’s canals, renting a bike is in fact the best way to see Amsterdam, and of course one of the cheapest.

You can also save money when you fly to Amsterdam by getting free flights for your bargain city break. Anyone who successfully applies for a Lloyds TSB Airmiles Duo Credit Card Account will receive a free1,500 Airmiles voucher. That’s enough for two tickets to Amsterdam for a romantic getaway, or a trip with a friend.

With the Airmiles Duo Credit Card Account, you’ll get two Cards, so it’s easy to get miles just about everywhere you go. Probably one of the best travel rewards credit card accounts, you can get double Airmiles when you use it abroad so, by shopping in Amsterdam with your Credit Card, you’ll be collecting even more Airmiles towards your next city break. Flights aren’t the only credit card reward you can pick up when you collect Airmiles either, you can also get free activities and days out and even cheap hotels – which is perfect for your trip to Amsterdam.

You can even use the Airmiles website to search for cheap hotels for your city break, or you can phone up and have an expert look for cheap hotels for you.

Over the years, camping holidays have become a traditional British family holiday. Even the traditional British weather has failed to dampen the spirits of campers enjoying their family holidays, although most would agree that glorious sunshine does make for better camping holidays than the usual downpour of rain.

Camping holidays are great for family holidays for a variety of reasons, not least of all the cost. Camping is one of the cheapest forms of holidays in the UK, and when you’re camping you’re able to venture further afield into Europe, to France for example, for very little increase in the expense of your family holidays.

Children love camping holidays because they appeal to their love of the great outdoors and offer them the chance to sleep under the stars, play with tents, outdoor toys and make new friends.

These holidays also offer you the chance to get back to basics; a roof over your head and a fire for warmth are all that you need to be happy, away from the stresses of everyday life. That is after all, what a holiday is all about.

One of the best ways to enjoy camping is with mobile home holidays. France, being such a large expansive country has countless holiday parks catering to mobile homes and campers alike, and its weather conditions make it a more hospitable country in which to go camping than the UK.

Camping is a perfect solution for cheap family holidays, and mobile home holidays to France are a great option that thousands of Brits choose every year.

Despite the average Briton’s love affair with holidaying abroad, there are many places in the UK that are ideal for a short break, offering beauty, culture, heritage and excitement.

There are often bargain hotel breaks in the UK available too, meaning your short break need not be expensive.

One of the most popular places to go for a short break, no matter where you’re from in the UK, is London, where you will find many hotel offers. There are well-known sights, like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, The London Eye and other historic and spectacular landmarks. But London is also the place to head for a shopping short break in the UK, with stores such as Hamleys and Harrods being two of the most famous.

There are also many short break special offers at hotels across the rest of the UK, with cities like Manchester, Cardiff, Liverpool and Edinburgh being some of the most popular for short breaks and weekend getaways.

Manchester, like London, is great for short breaks, with its nights out and shopping - with two big shopping centres (the Arndale and the Trafford Centre). Edinburgh is a popular spot for parties, stag dos, hen dos and couples looking for a romantic short break. Hotels can be found across the city of Edinburgh, which is beautiful and has welcoming locals.

Cardiff, one of the most thriving spots in Wales, is the spiritual home of its rugby and is surrounded by the green scenery and walking holiday country of Wales. All this makes it an ideal spot for a short break at the weekend.

In fact, wherever you choose to head in the UK, a short break is sure to please.

Paris has always been known as the city of romance, and anyone who has been on a Paris city break is sure to have seen why. However, with many people being very careful with their money right now, British holidaymakers are reluctant to book flights to European destinations, favouring the UK instead.

This doesn’t have to be the case however, as it is possible to book free flights to Paris as part of a credit card reward when you sign up for a Lloyds TSB Airmiles Duo Credit Card Account.

The two Credit Cards you get with the account allow you to collect Airmiles on almost all your purchases, giving you up to one mile for every £10 you spend. And Lloyds TSB and Airmiles also offer an incentive when you sign up - a 1,500 mile voucher to get you going. That’s enough Airmiles for two free flights to Paris.

You can also use Airmiels to book hotels in Paris or use a mix of Airmiles and cash to get big discounts, making cheap hotels in Paris easy to find. The Airmiles Duo Credit Card account is one of the best travel rewards credit cards accounts around - giving you an American Express and MasterCard so you can pick up Airmiles almost everywhere you shop.

Once you are in Paris, you can enjoy the beauty and romance of the capital of France. You can climb the Eiffel Tower, stroll down the Champs-Elysees, take a riverboat cruise on the Seine and dine in Paris’s legendary restaurants. And you can even use your Credit Cards to collect even more Airmiles while you’re there.

France has emerged as one of the most popular destinations for camping holidays over the last few decades. The cost of travelling to Europe has fallen drastically with the creation of the Channel Tunnel and the increase in popularity of cross-channel ferries, which has meant more holidaymakers are able to take their family holidays to France by simply driving through the tunnel or boarding a ferry.

British holidaymakers can drive to France in their cars, enjoying caravan holidays in France, or even take mobile homes across with them. There are many holiday parks in France that cater for mobile homes, meaning mobile home holidays in France are popular for UK holidaymakers.

One of the big advantages to camping in France, as opposed to the UK, is the weather. When you pitch a tent in the UK, or even stay in a caravan, you know that there is a fair chance of rain and very cold nights. Camping in France is difference because the weather is often better, particularly in the South of France during the summer months.

Mobile home holidays to France allow British holidaymakers to keep the comforts of home while exploring a different country and a different culture. Depending on where in the UK you set off from, you can travel to France in the same time that it can take to reach Cornwall, only the weather is much better.

France is a spectacular country to explore, whether on family holidays or just on your own with a tent.

Cornwall has remained one of the most popular destinations in the UK for family holidays. Cornwall has a style of life all of its own, with its glorious beaches, quaint cottages, spectacular coastlines and Cornish cream teas. Cornwall holidays offer something for everyone, whether you’re looking for action packed surfing holidays, relaxing walking holidays or fun holidays for the kids.

Some of the best places to visit on your Cornwall holidays are:

Crealy Great Adventure Park
Cornwall’s Crealy Great Adventure Park is an amusement park for children of all ages. They have waterslides, climbing frames and activities for toddlers and teenagers alike.

The National Maritime Museum
Those looking for some culture from their Cornwall holidays can try the National Maritime Museum, where some of the great shipping history of Britain’s past can be enjoyed. As well as learning about the history of Britain’s maritime, you can also witness shipwrecks first hand!

Blue Reef Aquarium
The Blue Reef Aquarium will appeal to both children and adults alike. Here you can witness some of the most beautiful creatures found in the ocean, and some of the most deadly! You can even see and interact with dolphins as they swim up to you, just as curious about you as you are about them.

The Eden Project
Cornwall holidays aren’t complete without a trip to see the largest greenhouse in the world; the Eden Project. The Eden Project is a contained tropical environment covered by giant glass domes, covering the size of 30 premiership football pitches. The Eden Project offers both beauty and science under one, giant, roof.

Airmiles turned 21 this year and has been providing its members with points on their everyday shopping to use for free flights for the last two decades. We can all receive credit card rewards when we shop in order to enjoy free flights anywhere in the world.

Airmiles can be collected by people who sign up to the Lloyds TSB Airmiles Duo Credit Card. This credit card rewards cardholders using two actual credit cards tied to the one account. The first credit card is a Mastercard, which rewards the holder with one Airmile for every £50 that they spend on shopping, bills or even fuel for their car. The second card is an American Express, which rewards the holder with a better credit card reward; it gives one Airmile for every £10 that they spend.

Holders of these credit cards are advised to use the American Express credit card whenever they can because it earns five times as many credit card rewards per purchase, although not every shop takes American Express, which is why you are also given the Mastercard credit card.

On top of credit card rewards, you can also collect Airmiles for free flights by shopping at the Airmiles eStore, with hundreds of high street and online retailers, such as eBay.co.uk and johnlewis.com. In addition, you can exchange your Shell Drivers’ Club points for Airmiles when you fill up your car at a Shell service station or collect Airmiles on your shopping at Tesco. You can even get extra credit card rewards by using your Airmiles Duo Credit Card at these places.

Once you have collected enough Airmiles, you are able to exchange those Airmiles for free flights to destinations around the world. You can exchange them for free flights anywhere, from a short trip to Paris to a three week holiday to Australia. The distance you travel all depends on how many Airmiles you have collected through your credit card rewards.

When you have a family, it can be expensive treating them to days out such as activities, theme parks and the cinema or theatre. One way you can cut the cost is to earn free days out by collecting Airmiles.

You can collect Airmiles for free days out in many different ways, such as using a Lloyds TSB Airmiles Duo Credit Card to buy your shopping, or collecting Tesco Clubcard vouchers and exchanging them for Airmiles. You can even collect Airmiles by shopping online at the Airmiles eStore website, at names like eBay.co.uk and play.com.

Once you’ve started collecting Airmiles, you can choose from many different free activities on the Airmiles website. You could opt for free theatre tickets and see a popular West End show in London, such as Queen’s We Will Rock You, or you could try free activities such as experience days like driving a fast car or becoming a spy for a day.

The free days you can get on the website are almost limitless, with even free days out at theme parks such as Alton Towers and Legoland® Windsor.

When you’re collecting Airmiles and turning them into free activities, you can take your family out for the day for less.

The recession is affecting everyone’s holiday plans in the UK, causing more people to stay at home rather than take their usual holidays abroad, or city breaks in Europe. This doesn’t have to be the case though, as you can earn free flights and free stays in hotels across the UK, Europe and worldwide by collecting Airmiles.

When you spend money using a Lloyds TSB Airmiles Duo Credit Card account, you’ll be collecting Airmiles and, when you collect Airmiles, you can save up for free flights to many city break destinations. So, Airmiles are a great way to save money on a city break.

For a short trip to Europe, for example to Paris, Rome or Madrid, it wouldn’t take long for you to collect enough Airmiles to exchange for the free flights.

If you’re not an Airmiles Duo account holder, you can still collect Airmiles when you shop at Tesco, by swapping your Tesco Clubcard points for Airmiles, which can be used for free flights. Spending your Clubcard points on free flights is much more enjoyable than getting money off your weekly shopping. Other ways to collect Airmiles include shopping at hundreds of online stores, such as eBay.co.uk and johnlewis.com, via the Airmiles eStore. You can even collect Airmiles while filling up with fuel. If you sign up for a Shell Drivers’ Club card, you can convert your Shell Drivers’ Club points into Airmiles.