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In a couple of weeks my wife and I will be driving through France on our way down to Montauban just north of Toulouse.
We're planning doing the journey over a couple of days so was wondering whether anyone on here had any recommendations on which route to take (preferably avoid Paris) and also on somewhere nice to stay that is also conveniently located for motorways to continue our journey the next day. Ideally we don't want to be holed up next to the main roads as we will want to head out for dinner etc but also don't want to drive an hour out of the way to do so.
Also, any particular tips for the area or driving in France in general greatly appreciated
I have done that route and driven to the south on a number of occasions but it was quite some time ago so I wont give any specific advice on route/accomodation although we just followed the main routes with tolls occasionally and also avoiding Paris and the main cities on the way down.
The roads are generally very good and off the motorways the standard of French driving IMO is good and no worse than in the UK however given the size of the country and the population density its usually a nicer experience getting from A to B.
Motorways are different and during normal manoeuvreres you will have no problem but get into the outside lane and they mostly act like total no****ds getting up dangerously close etc. Just try to ignore them and avoid the temptation to test your brakelights it just causes a major issue and with family in the car its not nice!
From London I would set off late evening for the tunnel go through Reims or Paris via toll roads, at that time you will avoid all the traffic and arrive in the morning at Limoge. Get some sleep and then go enjoy the town, have a nice meal, early night and get up late the next day. Breakfast, stop for a picnic at services at Canal du Midi and you'll arrive at Toulouse late afternoon and totally relaxed.
Camping, hotels - what sort of thing you after?
You can avoid Paris by going Calais, Rouen, Evreux, Dreux, Chartres and then to Orleans to pick up the motorway again. All dual carriageway or motorway to there and then a straight run to Tolouse. You could do it in a day with an early crossing if needed.
Ah yes, missed out some crucial information. Will be looking for hotels or B&B (or the French equivalent) to stay in.
I've done a fair bit of driving "on the wrong side of the road" including in Greece, Croatia and Italy so not too phased by that but the above pointers will no doubt come in handy. At the end of the day it's a long drive and we want to take it easy so will resist "making progress" and will opt for the more relaxing drive.
I'd do Calais -> Rouen -> Le Mans -> Tours -> Poitiers -> Bordeaux -> Toulouse
If you can make it as far as the Le Mans/Tours areas for the night there will be loads of smaller hotels and guest houses to break the journey and explore a bit.
If you don't mind a slightly longer drive, go via Perigeux on the way down. It's a beautiful town and area.
This website / guide is excellent, lots of great places inc old Chateau - have used them a lot in Burgandy for chamber d'hote (dinner+ B&B) and never been disappointed
[url= http://www.sawdays.co.uk/ ]Sawdays[/url]
I would recommend a stop off in the Loire if the timings suit, stay in a old Chateau and have a look round, lots of castles etc
Aside from that I've only really visited the Lot/Dordogne and the coast. You might squeeze in a stop at Rocamadour ?
I can recommend stopping here and getting Stratobiker to show you some of the lovely trails around Blond.
http://www.laflambee.info/index.html
Very traditional and friendly, great food (selection of home made jams at breakfast) and not expensive.
Last time left of an evening and stopped at Chartres for the TdF Time Trial. Stayed in a hotel complex with four teams. Then drove down overnight arriving about 2AM. Chateauroux is another good stopping point close to the motorway.
Paris has never been as bad as I have expected, to be honest. But it is a long way, whichever way you go (we've also travelled via Rouen). On the way back we stop at Orleans and head to Versailles or Vimy for an afternoon.
We've been for a week and two weeks. Two was necessary to forget how long it takes to head home. We have also driven all the way from Perigeaux to Calais in a day. That was a "Three Star Wars" journey.
Campaniles are fine,as are other budget chains. Booking and collecting keys can sometimes be "challenging", particularly if you are arriving late in the evening - as we always seem to!
Cool, all good info. Yeah it a long way but my wife who is 6 months pregnant wasn't keen on flying so what we thought we would do was try and make the travel part of the trip. This also means that checking out some of the local trails probably isn't on the cards this time around...
The place we have booked once we get there was from Sawdays so it's a good shout to check that out too.
Going to book channel crossing transport tonight and hopefully have a scout out for some halfway stops.
Avoid the roads on Saturday totally and Friday afternoons.
Sunday is good best day to travel less lorries
We did the return in a day driving our camper van from well below Toulouse to the train in 11 hours including lunch. We took the route outlined above
Evreux, Dreux, Chartres and then to Orleans
it was really nice driving tolls are easier with someone on the right side of the car (left) and we certainly avoided Paris.