Well-known Francophiles tell Andréa Childs what's so special about their favourite holiday spots across the Channel.

by Andréa Childs, Source Magazine, June 2008

Helen McCrory, actress
Biarritz

"When I was a teenager, I lived in Paris for six years, and every holiday the family would go to Biarritz (right). It's a wonderfully 'French' resort, stylish and interesting -- the tearooms are full of women you know change their clothes three times a day to match the collar they've put on their dog. It's also one of the safest places in France, as all the gendarmes go there on holiday. The Petit Plage is great for children, and on the Grand Plage there are fantastic fireworks displays. You can catch rugby at the Biarritz Olympique stadium, or watch pelotte, a cross between lacrosse and tennis. It's very exciting and you'll often see ambulances carting off members of the crowd who have been hit by an errant ball. Nearby there's great surfing, or you can catch an old train that rumbles through the foothills of the Pyrenees."

Helen stars in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, out in November.