Boat Travel

Linking France and the United Kingdom, a boat or ferry trip across the Channel can range from 35 minutes (via hovercraft) to 95 minutes (via ferryboat). Trip length also depends on departure point: popular routes link Boulogne and Folkestone, Le Havre, and Portsmouth, and, the most booked passage, Calais and Dover. DirectFerries.fr groups the sites for several ferry-land hovercraft crossings to make reservations more streamlined.

P&O European Ferries links Dover, England, with Calais (75 minutes). P&O has up to three sailings a day. Seafrance operates up to 15 sailings a day from Dover to Calais; the crossing takes 70 or 90 minutes, depending on the ship.

The driving distance from Calais to Paris is 290 km (180 mi). The fastest routes to Paris from each port are via N43, A26, and A1 from Calais and the Channel Tunnel; and via N1 from Boulogne.

Information

DirectFerries.fr (08-92-23-08-58 from France. www.directferries.fr.)

P&O European Ferries (0871/664-2121 in U.K.; 0825/120-156 in France. www.poferries.com.)

My Ferry Link (0844-2482-100 from U.K.; 0366740401 from France. www.myferrylinks.com.)