Driving to Marseille 2008

[SiT]

Evening

They is quite a sizeable group of us planning to drive over to France next year for a good old fashioned road trip!!!! Huge array of cars going so gonna be a cruise down through as oppose to really shifting. The port we will be arriving at is Boulogne and heading down through towards the Marseille area to set up a base camp from which to venture out.

There are a few places that i would love to take in on the way down or on day trips depending on there locations. I am not a great geography person so if someone could give me some idea of whether these places are either on route or reachable from our base -

1. Millau Bridge
2. Stelvio Pass
3. Reims Pit Lane
4. Monaco town
5. St Tropez

There are probably some others but i can't think of them right now. Anyone that has done a similar trip that could suggest the realistic chances of taking these places i would be ace. We are going for 2 weeks and will be returning back to the same port of Boulogne.

Thanks in anticipation for any help.

Si

[chateaucharly]

Apart from Reims all the places you mentioned are in the south. IS the south where you want to spend the majority of the time or are you looking to tour around France?

[Puggit]

chateaucharly said:

Apart from Reims all the places you mentioned are in the south. IS the south where you want to spend the majority of the time or are you looking to tour around France?

Ummm, Jason...

The Stelvio pass is in Italy

[chateaucharly]

quite!! hence the south!!

[F308 MAN]

this year we did boulogne > le mans (24 hrs) > millau bridge > gorges du tarn > ardeche > grenoble > alps > route de napoleon > monaco > paris > home.

stunning !

next year we're taking the ferry to santander and a similar trip via the pyrenees, but taking motorail from nice home to calais.

shout if you need any help or pics etc.

d

[SiT]

Yeah the plan is to base oursleves South so that we can have some nice beach days mixed with some good driving days. Is Reims way off the beaten track?? and as for Stelvio pass is that a long journey away?? I am sure there is plenty of good driving nearby anyway but that appealed after recently seeign some pictures of it, one of those places i would like to say i have been to you know.

Any pointers you can give would be much appreciated - its a new prospect for me and want to make sure its well planned hence starting now. Can't book the ferry yet as Jul 08 is to far ahead so that will have to just wait. Is there anything that you guys can recommend sorting out?? We have found a nice spot to stay which suits all as some want to camp, some have split screen camper vans and us sports car drivers want to live it up in a lodge!!!! So we managed to find a site that has it all.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts and any pictures of the places i have mentioned or any others that are down that way would also be welcomed.

Cheers guys

Si

[Puggit]

I would suggest that if you want to see Reims, presumeably for the Champagne, that you head to Boulogne/Calais and take the A26 Autoroute des Anglais down there, then carry on past Dijon on to the A6/A7 and South to the Med. Then when you are done, head north up the on the A75 past Millau on to the A71 - so your journey will be a loop.

Using Autoroutes will of course cost money and be less interesting then main roads, but gives you more time down South...

Also consider the N75 - Route Napolean from Grenoble to Nice

[neil-f]

If you are going South as said above go A26 you will only need 5 mins to go off and get some pics at the old pits and back on your way, each time I go over in a different car I stop and get a pic in front of the pits only in July BMW had coned off the frontage to film the new M3 and not happy with me when I took pics of their car kept shouting at me no picture. Gave them a good sound track for the film they where making of my 360 full bore in 1st,2nd&3.
The N75 is a good route South I have a house in Lus not far from the N75 it is lovely around that area, only thing is watch out for Gendarme hot on the speeders in this region.

[SimonV8ster]

I'm thinking of doing a simliar trip shortlybut am worried about accomodation. Most of the hotels/guest houses seem quite expensive, are there places to stay which are just reasonable B&B's ?? I know some of the places look great with pools, etc, but I just want a cheapish place to get my head down each night. Are there many places like this in the South of France or is it all up market ??

[Puggit]

SimonV8ster said:

I'm thinking of doing a simliar trip shortlybut am worried about accomodation. Most of the hotels/guest houses seem quite expensive, are there places to stay which are just reasonable B&B's ?? I know some of the places look great with pools, etc, but I just want a cheapish place to get my head down each night. Are there many places like this in the South of France or is it all up market ??

Look for the following chains of hotels - can often get a room for less than €50:

Camponile
Village hotels
F1 hotels

[neil-f]

SimonV8ster said:

I'm thinking of doing a simliar trip shortlybut am worried about accomodation. Most of the hotels/guest houses seem quite expensive, are there places to stay which are just reasonable B&B's ?? I know some of the places look great with pools, etc, but I just want a cheapish place to get my head down each night. Are there many places like this in the South of France or is it all up market ??

Not at all you can get a good hotel B&B for as little as €40 a night for 2. And the hotel may even have an ace restaurant to boot. If you are on roads like the N75 the hotels just off this road can ofer very good value for money.

[F308 MAN]

if you use www.viamichelin.co.uk for your route planning, there is a facility to check hotels at your destination. Costs are also published.

d

[SimonV8ster]

Thanks for all the advice. Found that there are a few hostels around too which are pretty cheap. Thanks for the tip on the michelin map, will come in useful.

[F308 MAN]

SimonV8ster said:

.... there are a few hostels around too which are pretty cheap .....

we found a cheap spot in June ... pm me if you need the details.

d

[SimonV8ster]

F308 MAN - I saw on another thread you took a route which is similar to the one I am thinking of taking - Millau, Gorge Du Tarn , Grenoble, Nice, etc. Any chance of the details of it ??

Regards,

Simon.

[F308 MAN]

SimonV8ster said:

F308 MAN - I saw on another thread you took a route which is similar to the one I am thinking of taking - Millau, Gorge Du Tarn , Grenoble, Nice, etc. Any chance of the details of it ??

Regards,

Simon.

hi simon,
if you send us a fiver, i will gladly send you a michelin road map of france (the large fold out type) with the route marked accordingly.
d

[Nobbles]

if you use www.viamichelin.co.uk for your route planning, there is a facility to check hotels at your destination. Costs are also published.

Also the michelin maps list the fixed speed camera's with the mile marker - very helpful although you still have to watch out for the police hiding in trees, bushes being bridges etc....

[SimonV8ster]

F308 MAN said:

SimonV8ster said:

F308 MAN - I saw on another thread you took a route which is similar to the one I am thinking of taking - Millau, Gorge Du Tarn , Grenoble, Nice, etc. Any chance of the details of it ??

Regards,

Simon.

hi simon,
if you send us a fiver, i will gladly send you a michelin road map of france (the large fold out type) with the route marked accordingly.
d

Where do I send my fiver too ??!! If you PM me your address i'll pop it in the post........