france driving hols
Discussion
We've been on several U.S. flydrive holidays but fancied a change next year.
We've been thinking about taking the wifes' MX5 and having a 2 week tour around france,the only part of mainland europe we've been to is paris so we're not sure were to go.
Can anyone suggest an itenary for a tour possibly including the south of france(monte carlo)? and the alps,do i need to pre book hotels,thinking of june/july,any other info or tips welcome.
Thanks Glen
We've been thinking about taking the wifes' MX5 and having a 2 week tour around france,the only part of mainland europe we've been to is paris so we're not sure were to go.
Can anyone suggest an itenary for a tour possibly including the south of france(monte carlo)? and the alps,do i need to pre book hotels,thinking of june/july,any other info or tips welcome.
Thanks Glen
Bruges for the first night is always a good short diversion.
Strasburg is good.
You could go via Switzerland, Geneve is very nice.
I would put Avignon on your list.
South Coast is a must and then a trip west to the Dordogne.
You need a bit more than a couple of weeks realy.
Then you should try Spain.
Tony.
Strasburg is good.
You could go via Switzerland, Geneve is very nice.
I would put Avignon on your list.
South Coast is a must and then a trip west to the Dordogne.
You need a bit more than a couple of weeks realy.
Then you should try Spain.
Tony.
My first bit of advice would be to avoid any time between mid July and August when France is on holiday. France, with a population of 60+million, had 70million visitors this year. The second thing to avoid is Autoroutes; they are a bit like motorways, but without the traffic to keep you alert. Doing 130km in your MX5 will become very tedious. Monte Carlo is a long way in an MX5 in just two weeks.
We first fell in love with France after visiting Le Mans in 1990 and touring in a convertible for a couple of weeks afterwards. Without the Internet and SatNav we relied mainly on a large scale Michelin map and a Logis de France book. My wife would navigate us down small D roads to get us to Hotels with good restaurants that she fancied. This very simple formula never failed us. Top-down motoring in beautiful scenery and good weather cannot be bettered and averaging about 90kph, with frequent stops helps to get a great feel for what French lifestyle and culture has to offer.
The key difference you will find from a holiday in the USA (unless you like fast-food) will be the incredible dishes to be had in small restaurants, or local markets. However you will need to learn some basic French to book your hotel room for the night and enjoy the menu.
Having now lived here for the last 5 years, I can honestly say that every km we drive with the top down is an absolute pleasure; even if it is only a trip to the shops, or coffee in our local town.
Bon voyage (make sure “she” does not hog the driving too much)
We first fell in love with France after visiting Le Mans in 1990 and touring in a convertible for a couple of weeks afterwards. Without the Internet and SatNav we relied mainly on a large scale Michelin map and a Logis de France book. My wife would navigate us down small D roads to get us to Hotels with good restaurants that she fancied. This very simple formula never failed us. Top-down motoring in beautiful scenery and good weather cannot be bettered and averaging about 90kph, with frequent stops helps to get a great feel for what French lifestyle and culture has to offer.
The key difference you will find from a holiday in the USA (unless you like fast-food) will be the incredible dishes to be had in small restaurants, or local markets. However you will need to learn some basic French to book your hotel room for the night and enjoy the menu.
Having now lived here for the last 5 years, I can honestly say that every km we drive with the top down is an absolute pleasure; even if it is only a trip to the shops, or coffee in our local town.
Bon voyage (make sure “she” does not hog the driving too much)
Search this forum for Route des Grandes Alpes - I have posted here occasionally about this amazing drive that takes the high cols from Thonon on Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) to Menton on the Med - a few km east of Monaco.
You can get an official map of the route produced by the IGN (French Ordnance Survey), I found a copy at Stanfords.
I drove it in my MX-5 and found it the ideal weapon of choice - it is so much more nimble than bigger cars (including its replacement - a Z4) and the gear change and handling are a joy to behold on the hairpins.
Don't hesitate, go for it - I have driven extensively throughout France on some wonderful roads, but this has got the lot - challenging driving, awesome scenery, pretty villages, good food, mountain hotels and you have the ideal car (good balance between handling & power); unfortunately as other posters have said it also attracts a lot of shed-draggers and snails so you need to time your trip well (early-ish starts are important to beat the migration).
PM me if you would like more advice - including a fun route to Lake Geneva.
You can get an official map of the route produced by the IGN (French Ordnance Survey), I found a copy at Stanfords.
I drove it in my MX-5 and found it the ideal weapon of choice - it is so much more nimble than bigger cars (including its replacement - a Z4) and the gear change and handling are a joy to behold on the hairpins.
Don't hesitate, go for it - I have driven extensively throughout France on some wonderful roads, but this has got the lot - challenging driving, awesome scenery, pretty villages, good food, mountain hotels and you have the ideal car (good balance between handling & power); unfortunately as other posters have said it also attracts a lot of shed-draggers and snails so you need to time your trip well (early-ish starts are important to beat the migration).
PM me if you would like more advice - including a fun route to Lake Geneva.
Glen320 said:
We've been on several U.S. flydrive holidays but fancied a change next year.
We've been thinking about taking the wifes' MX5 and having a 2 week tour around france,the only part of mainland europe we've been to is paris so we're not sure were to go.
Can anyone suggest an itenary for a tour possibly including the south of france(monte carlo)? and the alps,do i need to pre book hotels,thinking of june/july,any other info or tips welcome.
Thanks Glen
Am doing much the same next summer but taking the boat to Bilbao & starting there. Drive across the Pyrenees across the south of France (via Millau to look at the bridge). Maybe Monaco, up part of the Route Napolean & into northern Italy, Italian lakes, maybe Bormio & the Stelvio, Maybe the Sustenpass, across Switzerland & up the Autobahn for a bit, Luxembourg, maybe stop in Bruges & then home. Will be 2.5-3K miles. We've been thinking about taking the wifes' MX5 and having a 2 week tour around france,the only part of mainland europe we've been to is paris so we're not sure were to go.
Can anyone suggest an itenary for a tour possibly including the south of france(monte carlo)? and the alps,do i need to pre book hotels,thinking of june/july,any other info or tips welcome.
Thanks Glen
The northern half of France is pretty dull & if you just drive Calais to Monaco & back it will be 1550 (mostly not very interesting) miles.
Not a cheap holiday & will be spending more than 2 weeks to do it but can't wait!
Edited by Iain328 on Tuesday 26th October 23:24
Another vote for going via Switzerland, and avoiding end of July. The problem with booking too many hotels in advance is that it ties you to distances/times without the flexibility to stay longer in one area if you want to,or moving on sooner than you had anticipated.
Will you have wi-fi access, can allow you to book a couple of days in advance as you travel?
At that time of year, go over the Alps, not through the tunnels.
Some superb routes, generally the windy ones on the maps!
Will you have wi-fi access, can allow you to book a couple of days in advance as you travel?
At that time of year, go over the Alps, not through the tunnels.
Some superb routes, generally the windy ones on the maps!
tonys said:
Another vote for going via Switzerland, and avoiding end of July. The problem with booking too many hotels in advance is that it ties you to distances/times without the flexibility to stay longer in one area if you want to,or moving on sooner than you had anticipated.
Will you have wi-fi access, can allow you to book a couple of days in advance as you travel?
At that time of year, go over the Alps, not through the tunnels.
Some superb routes, generally the windy ones on the maps!
True that you can end up spending longer than expected in one place if you don't have a hotel booking to meet. On the other hand there's a balance to be struck with seeing lots of different places. There will inevitably be places that you wish you'd spent longer in but you can't see it all - at least not in one trip!Will you have wi-fi access, can allow you to book a couple of days in advance as you travel?
At that time of year, go over the Alps, not through the tunnels.
Some superb routes, generally the windy ones on the maps!
The other advantage to pre-booking hotels is of course that you don't have to spend time trying to find hotels whilst en-route. If you add it up the time you spend trying to sort out hotels "on the hoof" will not be insignificant. Whilst there's an amount of "adventure" in doing so there is also the potential for stress too!
OTOH If you just want to go to a couple of places its probably not worth driving yourself down there -better to fly & hire a car.
The temptation is also to try & do too much & that would make for a bad tour if after a week all you want to do is "stop & get off" so its really important to plan in some "no driving" days I think.
As to trip planning here's some advice I got from a friend who has done many "Euro tours":
"Set some (the least you can manage) days as ‘A-to-B’ days, where you just drive and cover the miles (especially in the north), but even then try not to exceed 6 hours driving in a day. A good days ‘A-to-B’ is made up of 2 hours drive in the morning, lunch and then 2-3 hours in the afternoon.
Following ‘A-to-B’ days allow at least one ‘no driving’ day, or if time doesn’t permit, make it a small-distance day.
In August in the south , it is too hot to drive an open top car all day/very far.
Plan ‘in from the edges’ i.e. plan the first few days from your departure (‘cos you have to ‘get there’) and plan the last few days on your way home (‘cos you have to get back!) then see what’s left – it won’t be a lot if you have just two weeks.
Edited by Iain328 on Sunday 31st October 23:18
I have done plenty of touring holidays all over western Europe.
I would suggest try to focus on a smaller area rather doing silly miles. (I once did 3500 miles in two weeks, but you miss so much it isnt worth it). Lots of short drives are more fun than trying to do hundreds of miles in a day. The alps, absolutely.
A good alternative area would be the Loire Valley as there is a lot to see and do in relatively small area, and you can go via Le Mans if there is an event on. Dordogne very nice also as stated.
If you go for the Alps and go via Bruges you could also go via the 'ring or via Luxembourg which is much under rated. Forget Luxembourg city, head for the area around Esche sure Esche in the hills. Lots of beautiful towns and villages up there.
PS: as well as hotels you may want to consider camping / static mobile homes from operators like Canvas holidays. Standards are much higher than in UK and less 'RV dominated' than the US so generally a much better experience. They do multi-location bookings and you can use hotels in between as well. If you can avoid school holidays they are much cheaper.
I would suggest try to focus on a smaller area rather doing silly miles. (I once did 3500 miles in two weeks, but you miss so much it isnt worth it). Lots of short drives are more fun than trying to do hundreds of miles in a day. The alps, absolutely.
A good alternative area would be the Loire Valley as there is a lot to see and do in relatively small area, and you can go via Le Mans if there is an event on. Dordogne very nice also as stated.
If you go for the Alps and go via Bruges you could also go via the 'ring or via Luxembourg which is much under rated. Forget Luxembourg city, head for the area around Esche sure Esche in the hills. Lots of beautiful towns and villages up there.
PS: as well as hotels you may want to consider camping / static mobile homes from operators like Canvas holidays. Standards are much higher than in UK and less 'RV dominated' than the US so generally a much better experience. They do multi-location bookings and you can use hotels in between as well. If you can avoid school holidays they are much cheaper.
Edited by mogv8 on Monday 1st November 17:23
You don't seem to have said what it is you are expecting to see/do. Is it a scenic tour or a proper test of your driving you are after? There is so much to see in France but if it is mid summer then avoid any coastal regions which is where half of France will be in July/August, especially the Mediterranean. Hotel prices rocket in this period - even a caravan is 750€ a week in the south. June or early September would be my preferred dates, when traffic is light and prices so much lower. Switzerland is wonderful for driving, espaecially all the mountain passes, and the climb up the Jura as you approach from France is entertaining. Remember in Switzerland that if you use the motorway - even just once - you'll be caught for the vignette for the year. I forget the price, but about £25 if memory serves. Whatever and wherever you go though, both in France and Switzerland, you'll get a great welcome and have a good time. If you are looking for cheapish but good hotels look no further than the Logis de France chain, all family owned and a book of them is available in english on the internet for free. Enjoy.
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