Things To Know Before You Go on a Summer Sports Spree in England and France

Getting There
No worries at all—just remember your passport.

Where To Stay
There are a trillion options, although with the current exchange rate, you would be wise to hug a Brit. In Paris, we stayed at the Hotel Alhambra, walking distance from the Marais district in the 11^th Arrondissement.

Books and Movies
Horses
Ascot: The History, by Sean Magee and Sally Aird, is a good overview of the track and its history. National Velvet features Elizabeth Taylor and the Grand National, which takes place at Aintree, a different racecourse, but the film has some scenes that capture English-style racing very nicely.

Tennis
A friend lend me the small gem On Being John McEnroe while I was in England, and I highly recommend it. Written by Tim Adams, it is more of an extended essay than a full volume, but it's packed with insights into the man and Wimbledon and the stormy relationship between the two.

Track and Field
The signature moment in English athletics, Roger Bannister's shattering of the four-minute-mile mark, receives grand treatment both in Sir Roger's own words (The Four-Minute Mile), and in others' (for example, Neal Bascomb's fine new book The Perfect Mile).

Cricket
Each year Wisden publishes the Cricketers Almanack, the annual bible of the sport. For the neophyte hoping to penetrate the lingo and point of the game, Simon Hughes' Jargonbusting is a worthwhile find from the John Madden of English cricket coverage.

Cycling
It pretty much boils down to Lance Armstrong's biography (written with Sally Jenkins), It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life and the movie Breaking Away. If those don't fire you up for a ride, nothing will.

Formula One
Simon Arron's Complete Book of Formula One is an indispensable fact guide and technical overview. Sylvester Stallone's Driven is not.

Tips
Most guides say the best way to get to Wimbledon is by tube to Southfields station, but it is equally accessible by BritRail to Wimbledon station. The walk to the club is about 15 minutes from both stations. If you are looking to scalp tickets to the grounds, however, Southfields is the place to be.

With Royal Ascot moving to York, the journey becomes more of a schlep out of London, but the area is well worth a visit. York is a lovely old walled city, complete with a famous minster (cathedral). The area attracts many tourists in the summer, so reserve your hotel room well in advance. York is two and a half hours by BritRail from London.

If you rent a car at Paris' Gare du Nord train station, you can pick your car up under the station, unless you rent from Budget, in which case you will have to walk to the Gare de l'Est. It is about a 10-minute walk, no small consideration if you have bags with you. A Budget rep shows you the way, so if you aren't alone, have one person stay with the luggage while you retrieve the car.

You will almost certainly be given a manual transmission automobile, so brush up on your stick-shift skills or be prepared to be cursed out by angry drivers.

Don't count on being able to find a roadside hotel outside Paris. They appear in clusters, and outside the metro area they're few and far between. If you're on a budget, the Formula One chain offers a small box of a room without an in-room toilet, but is only 23 euros and does the job if you're just sleeping and pushing on. Otherwise, the Kyriad chain is decent, but you don't get much for your 54 euros.

Don't expect to take mass transit to the Formula One course at Magny-Cours. The nearest train station is Nevers, about 13 miles away. If you don't have a car, your best bet is to hitch a ride down the main road. Lorie and I hauled a British couple back to the town after the race—from there you can get most places.