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I'm looking at driving to Morzine with my son.
Its a fair old drive for me & he'll get a flat butt sat for so long.
Where's a good spot or two to break the route up? Maybe take 2 or 3 days to get there at a more leisurely pace, taking time for coffee & croissants for lazy breakfasts, bagettes for lunch, wandering around a bit, looking & smelling stufff.
Thinking along the lines of somewhere "French", nice to potter around, get a feel of being in another country, not far from our route (GMaps).
Sorry for being so vauge, its all in the making at present.
Ta
If you're going to do that, why not potter down mostly on N-roads rather than sticking to the autoroutes. Buy a guidebook, do the research as you go with your son cooperatively and make it into an adventure as you go. Maybe take in a chateau and a cathedral, a vineyard maybe. Stay in a small town or two in small hotels rather than budget chains.
The trouble with the Alps by autoroute is that you barely get a feel of being in a foreign country, use smaller roads and you're thrown into the middle of towns and villages as an intrinsic part of the journey. Maybe as compromise knock off the first few hundred km on the peage then go rogue on smaller roads?
BWD - yea, that sounds doable. From what i hear the toll roads get you there quicker but cost more / the N roads will cost more in fuel & time = should balance out for us.
Its not the most exciting bit of France. Quite flat and fairly empty, but it can be pleasant enough. Still better to eat up the miles on the fast motorways but if you really must stop then there's a few things. There's some interesting wartime stuff dotted along the way. La Coupole, and Blockhaus d'Éperlecques are good but quite near the start of your travels. Wellington tunnels are interesting. Best city is probably Riems. The old grand Prix circuit nearby is well worth a stop.<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">I</span>
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">If you are pootling then its probably worth diverting off the direct route and heading through the Jura mountains. Not that much further and much more scenic. You can cross into Switzerland and go past CERN as well, this way.</span></span>
Second Jura, and a look around CERN.
Or Beune but may not suit young person.
Two days potterrring around boring Froggy towns instead of getting to Morzine and shreeeeeddddiiiiinnnnnggggg??
Your son will surely hate that more than a few hours of boredom in the car?
Pay the toll, set cruise to 85, get it done.
8hrs on the autoroutes, and unlike UK, they're really well made and easy to drive. Just the problem that the whole stretch from coast to foot of the alps is somewhat boring.
Though if you've got the time to spend a few days and see the country, can see it could be a pleasant trip.
Pay the toll, set cruise to 85, get it done.
This. The days drive to the south of France sucks. The only thing I could think of to make it worse is to drag it out to two days.
Having said which, we're in exactly the same situation and planning on stopping in Fontainebleau for a couple of days bouldering on the way back. The problem with minor additions to your journey is that they just add time to the journey.
Whichever fool said "it's better to travel than to arrive" was clearly not doing the right sports at his destination. 😎
There's plenty of decent riding to be had in the rest of France though. And food, and wine.
Never understand the need to turn a simple drive into a 2 day epic. The autoroute is simple, easy to use and worth the tolls.
I have to agree with the “set the cruise at 85 and get it done”. France is a wonderful place to visit, but the bulk of the trip seeems to be through the Sloughs and Basistokes of France, or perhaps I’ve been unlucky when I’ve ventured off the Autoroute.
I get the hammer down, a pray I’ve got some brain left when after several million years of flat, featureless French farmland you go though a small tunnel to find THE ALPS hiding behind it, because the last hour or so is pretty hardcore driving for me.
It'll just be me doing the driving an 05 plate Berlingo with no air con or cruise control, hence I'm querying my ability to do it in one hit. I don't want to be driving whilst heavily fatigued.
going down to Verbier I tend to break the journey in Troyes, just means when I hit the alps I am awake and capable of dealing with corners.
"It’ll just be me doing the driving an 05 plate Berlingo with no air con or cruise control, hence I’m querying my ability to do it in one hit. I don’t want to be driving whilst heavily fatigued."
I did it once with no cruise control, never again. Fitted a 3rd party once for the next year. Would still do it in 1 hit though. Fuelled on redbull you will be fine im sure.
I’d agree that doing it in one hit is the best way. Done it in all sorts of cars/vans with and without cruise and it really a pretty standard one day trip.
French autoroutes are nothing like English motorways, I would rather do 1000 miles in France than 100 in the UK.
They are painless generally.
I sometimes stop in a hotel for a night depending on times but generally do it in one from Leeds.
I have cruise control by don't usually use it....
Same here, and the 285 from leeds to Eurotunnel is faaaaaaar worse than the 950 miles across the other side.
you go though a small tunnel to find THE ALPS
I always get so excited at that bit.
To be fair, I drove down on my own this week and had to break it into two. It’s a lovely journey but it’s very dull on your own. I stopped by Lac d’Orient just outside Troyes. Big campsite, not my cup of tea atmosphere wise but superb for kids and really good facilities. The lake is beautiful and I went for a really lovely run in the morning after my stay.