Yet this summer, anticipation is giving way to trepidation. The most popular nation on earth for tourism is France, and its President has declared that his nation is at war. I wish, in this month of all months, politicians such as François Hollande would be careful about the language of conflict.
A century ago, a generation of young men was being slaughtered on an industrial scale in northern France. During the Battle of the Somme, which began on 1 July 1916, British soldiers were dying at a rate of nearly 3,000 per day. For both the French and the German armies, the death toll was around 1,700 per day.
In the past two weeks, since Bastille Day, dozens of families across Europe have been enduring a living nightmare while they grieve for their murdered loved ones. Eighty-four people died in Nice when a truck mowed through a crowd; nine were shot by an 18-year-old in Munich, one of three attacks in a week in Bavaria; and at a church in Normandy the throat of an 85-year-old priest was cut.
Every one of these needless deaths is a profound tragedy. Yet the victims are not casualties of war. Indeed, to ascribe military status to attacks by pathetic, deluded individuals is a big mistake. The perpetrators are thugs who profess allegiance to a vile organisation in an attempt to justify their murderous acts.
But we are not at war. Compared with the darker days of the 20th century, from the Somme to the brutal civil war that tore apart Yugoslavia, Europe is basking in the warm glow of peace. Rather than cowering at home and inadvertently chalking up a victory for hate, we should celebrate the freedom to travel. Thankfully, at the same time as President Hollande was being warlike, Eurostar was doing something much more positive: unveiling an unprecedented offer for day trips to Paris and Brussels.
The train operator, which runs from London to the French and Belgian capitals, was expecting business on peak-hour services to dip in August, when the normal hostilities of commercial and political life are suspended. After the tragic events in both Belgium and France, and the post-referendum plunge in the pound, I imagine forward bookings to London and Paris looked even worse than anticipated. So Eurostar has come up with a £58 day return for midweek travel in August.
The £58 tickets are only available from St Pancras, departing on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays, and you can only book from Monday of the week you want to travel. The trains you must use are also restricted. You must travel to Paris at 7.01am or 7.55am, and return on the 8.13pm or 9.13pm. To Brussels, the only trains are 6.50am outbound, 6.56pm return. So you can get nearly 10 hours in Paris, and close to seven in Brussels.
In return for jumping these hurdles, you get a hitherto unknown opportunity. You can check the weather forecast for either city the day before, and – if it appeals – book a bargain. I have just made a test booking to Paris for Tuesday and a day trip on the specified days costs £214 – much better, then, to hold off booking until Monday.
You need not have the forensic skills of Inspector Clouseau to work out that this deal offers another opportunity: a longer stay in either city for £116 return, much less than you would usually pay for a short-notice booking.
Just buy a day return for Tuesday and Thursday, and use only the outward half of the first and the return portion of the second (I’ve checked with Eurostar – the company doesn’t mind). Then you can help a hotel in either city offload its distressed inventory. The lovely Hotel Crayon in Paris will sell you a double for €93 a night, while the equally colourful Hotel Pantone in Brussels is a steal at just €58.
Actually, there is a war going on. But it’s only a price war, and the victor is the traveller. Bon voyage.
