IT SEEMS so far away from home - Art Deco swimming pools, French Renaissance architecture and huge square plazas, but the eclectic French city of Lille needn't be.

The theory is that York residents can now travel to European destinations much more easily using the city's a new bus connection to Leeds Bradford Airport.

If that theory held true - and I decided to test it out - then it was good news twice over, firstly for those business travellers and tourists in York and North Yorkshire who can take advantage of a new first-ever direct link between the UK and Lille launched last week by airline bmi.

And secondly for York Tourism Bureau whose bid to increase its tourist count of French visitors to the city would get a substantial boost.

But it all depended on the speed and ease of the link between York and Leeds Bradford International Airport.

I did it - and guess what? The whole process was a doddle, using the two new services - First Group's Yorkaircoach airport transfer (which departs hourly from York between 4.45 and 21.00 and 7.40 to midnight from Leeds) and bmi's new flight from Leeds Bradford to Lille Airport.

The bus was waiting when I arrived at 7am, my bags were taken care of, I belted up and off we went. The 55 minute route - designed to save travel time by cutting out busy roads - was stunningly peaceful and idyllic, from the rolling hills of Otley to the deer grazing in the woodland in the Harewood Estate. Not merely a means to an end - the journey to the airport was an end in itself.

What is more, the drivers, both outward and return, were friendly. How many bus drivers do you know who go out of their way to point out the flight of rare breeds of herons?

The fact that the journey is under an hour is crucial to its success and to the expansion of business links between York and Europe, for instance making the transfer from Leeds Bradford airport practicable for international business conferences in York for the first time.

Peter Edwards, commercial director of First York transport operators, said: "The object of the Leeds Bradford bus transfer is to get the journey down to under an hour. By any other means, it's going to take you that long."

Once at Leeds Airport it was a case of drinking tea, buying a magazine and then before I knew it I was ensconsed in a blue leather seat on a bmi airplane with a free newspaper. Just 55 minutes later I was in Lille.

This fact was difficult to comprehend - within the time it would take me to get to London I was standing in front of the magnificent Palais Des Beaux Arts - France's most important museum after the Louvre. The museum's collection includes paintings by Rubens, Delacroix, Goya and an exquisitely carved marble plaque by Donatello.

Bmi's incredibly fast baggage reclaims system and free ten-minute bus transfer from Lille airport to the city centre (only five miles away) contributes to the phenomenon of being transported - metaphorically and physically within a total of three hours.

The easiness of the journey not only opens up Lille and Yorkshire for business links, but puts Lille on our tourist map as either a weekend retreat or an ideal base from which to visit Paris, the Champagne region or Belgium.

The Leeds Bradford and Lille connection goes beyond a flight path - Leeds and Lille are twinned, sharing similar industries such as mail order and textiles.

Peter Kenworthy, commercial director for bmi regional, said: "We are Yorkshire's Channel Tunnel. Lille is in a convenient part of Europe.

The Leeds Bradford to Lille flight is a real gem of a region-to-region connection where you can avoid the hassle of a large airport. .

"We really see this as an important link for people whether travelling for business or for pleasure.

We have fares from £49 each way, bookable by your local travel agent or at flybmi. com, " he said.

Pleasure indeed - sipping chuch mourette and eating speculoos ice cream in a French cafe, Lille couldn't be farther - and nearer, from York.