Ski resorts are not just fun in winter but can be an excellent choice for a summer holiday too, especially if you like the outdoors and are looking for an action-packed break. We took our children aged 11 and 14 on one such holiday and despite several days of inclement weather (where there are mountains there is often rain!) everyone had a great time.

If you like hiking use the cable cars to get up to some of the more interesting trails. One particularly attractive route in the Alps is to Lac Blanc. The turquoise colour of the water easily competes with the more famous Lake Louise in the Rockies. For details of this and other hikes have a look at the website. If you are less energetic or have small children in tow, try the Parc de Merlet in Les Houches which has some trails navigable with pushchairs and lots of opportunities to see the animals of the region.

In less than two weeks the Pablo Casals Festival starts in Prades, a small town in South West France.

Casals, the world famous cellist, was born in Spain in 1876 and being an ardent Republican fled from his homeland when General Franco came to power, vowing never to return to Spain until democracy was restored. He became an exile in the small French Catalan town in the Tet Valley and spent a large part of the 1940s and 1950s there. He founded the music festival in 1951 and since its inception it has attracted world famous musicians. Even after he went to live in Puerto Rico he continued to direct the Prades Festival for a further ten years.

France has the reputation of being an expensive destination but it needn't be, especially if you self-cater.

First of all do your homework on ferry crossings. Routes with the most competition such as Dover to Calais tend to be the cheapest. It pays to book as far ahead as possible, especially if you are travelling in high season. If you are flexible with your dates, have a look at the ferry websites which give you comparisons of different dates and times, in a similar way to airlines. Discount-brokers such as Ferrycheap are worth a look. Depending on where you are headed, do some calculations to see whether a longer more expensive crossing could work out cheaper in the long run if it saves in terms of petrol, toll charges and overnight accommodation.