Calais to Bordeaux & then the Dordogne...
Discussion
The motorway route is very simple and you don´t need to go anywhere near Paris.
Take A16 out of Calais towards Paris, then turn off on A28 towards Rouen. From Rouen continue on A28 passing Alençon, Le Mans, Tours, and then you go onto A10 (I think near Poitiers)which takes you all the way to Bordeaux.
About 500 miles if I remember correctly.
Take A16 out of Calais towards Paris, then turn off on A28 towards Rouen. From Rouen continue on A28 passing Alençon, Le Mans, Tours, and then you go onto A10 (I think near Poitiers)which takes you all the way to Bordeaux.
About 500 miles if I remember correctly.
aitch2 said:
The motorway route is very simple and you don´t need to go anywhere near Paris.
Take A16 out of Calais towards Paris, then turn off on A28 towards Rouen. From Rouen continue on A28 passing Alençon, Le Mans, Tours, and then you go onto A10 (I think near Poitiers)which takes you all the way to Bordeaux.
About 500 miles if I remember correctly.
Almost, you get on the A10 at Tours Take A16 out of Calais towards Paris, then turn off on A28 towards Rouen. From Rouen continue on A28 passing Alençon, Le Mans, Tours, and then you go onto A10 (I think near Poitiers)which takes you all the way to Bordeaux.
About 500 miles if I remember correctly.
You also need to do 7km on the A11 East towards Paris at Le Mans in order to re-connect on to the A28.
I agree with the suggested motorway route: it is very easy and very quiet, the temptation is to go really fast on the A28 down to Le Mans, but it is policed... (although that did not stop me passing three UK tourists at 160mph last time I did it).
I have yet to find a particularly scenic route to Bordeaux and the Dordogne. However, Normandy offers a number of appealing stop overs: the port of Honfleur in particular is one of my favourite places and is not so far out of the way. Le Mans is a relatively uninteresting town (although ancient in parts) but it is worth dropping off the motorway for a spin around the track (or those parts of it that are public road). You could break your journey in the Loire: some of the Chateaux are spectacular.
Bordeaux to the Dordogne is either along the motorway (A82 from memory) in about half an hour, or follow the river.
I have yet to find a particularly scenic route to Bordeaux and the Dordogne. However, Normandy offers a number of appealing stop overs: the port of Honfleur in particular is one of my favourite places and is not so far out of the way. Le Mans is a relatively uninteresting town (although ancient in parts) but it is worth dropping off the motorway for a spin around the track (or those parts of it that are public road). You could break your journey in the Loire: some of the Chateaux are spectacular.
Bordeaux to the Dordogne is either along the motorway (A82 from memory) in about half an hour, or follow the river.
Here is a nice stop over, nearish Le Mans. Highly recomended.
http://www.monhoudou.com/E-index_copie.html
http://www.monhoudou.com/E-index_copie.html
If you can drive round then M25, then Paris should not be a problem to you if you do want to blast down the Autoroute.
However, with a couple of days extra, you have plenty of time to do the journey via the Route National network and some nice D roads if you have a good navigator. It is still worth buying a detailed Michelin map as SatNavs tend to be heavily biased towards the trunk road network.
Unless you are looking for fine wines, then Bordeaux is nothing special, so if your destination is the Dordogne then perhaps follow the Autoroute to Le Mans via Rouen, takes about 4 hours with breaks, and then enjoy the scenery plus a drive down the Mulsanne straight!
Try a route via Tours, Poitiers and Angouleme. Speed cameras are not a problem to you, but the Gendarmerie and CRS will pull you over and make an immediate fine scaled by your excess speed over the limit, if you get caught.
Having chosen your routes there and back, try using http://www.logisdefrance.com to find some reasonably priced family hotels with good local food. A 2 star / 3 chimneys gives somewhere worth aiming for.
Enjoy your trip.
However, with a couple of days extra, you have plenty of time to do the journey via the Route National network and some nice D roads if you have a good navigator. It is still worth buying a detailed Michelin map as SatNavs tend to be heavily biased towards the trunk road network.
Unless you are looking for fine wines, then Bordeaux is nothing special, so if your destination is the Dordogne then perhaps follow the Autoroute to Le Mans via Rouen, takes about 4 hours with breaks, and then enjoy the scenery plus a drive down the Mulsanne straight!
Try a route via Tours, Poitiers and Angouleme. Speed cameras are not a problem to you, but the Gendarmerie and CRS will pull you over and make an immediate fine scaled by your excess speed over the limit, if you get caught.
Having chosen your routes there and back, try using http://www.logisdefrance.com to find some reasonably priced family hotels with good local food. A 2 star / 3 chimneys gives somewhere worth aiming for.
Enjoy your trip.
I agree that Bordeaux is nothing special.
Calais - Rouen - Alencon - Le Mans is a good first day. I very highly recommend an early detour (it is equidistant between Calais and Rouen) to a restaurant/hotel called Les Tourelles at Le Crotoy on the Somme basin (www.lestourelles.com). My wife and I usually stop here for lunch or supper and it makes you feel like your holiday has properly started: the view across the basin is super.
On the second day, Poitiers - Angouleme - Perigeux - Bergerac is a nice and easy drive with plenty of places to stop off en route. Perigeux is particularly nice (I recommend Restaurant Clos de St Front) and Angouleme isn't at all bad, if a little dull (there is a particularly good modern reatuarant opposite the station called the Terminus). Between Angouleme and Perigeux is a town called Brantome, which is delightful (and has a very nice hotel restaurant called the Moulin d'Abbeye as well as plenty of more modest establishments). Perigeux to Les Eyzies de Tayac (as an alternative to Bergerac) is a really nice drive (D47). At the end of it, the Hotel de Chateau at nearby Campagne has a good solid restaurant or, if you're made of money, the Centennaire at Les Eyzies is one of the best in the Dordogne (personally I prefer the Vieux Logis at Tremolat).
If you're into race tracks, then as well as Le Mans, there is Rouen - Les Essarts (although you'd be hard pushed to tell it was ever a famous circuit if you didn't know it), Tours (road circuit to the north of town), the original Le Mans (where the first ever grand prix was staged over two days, a 75km lap to the east of town) and Angouleme - Circuit des Ramparts (where there is now a classic race meeting every September).
The roads - motorways, trunk roads and quieter routes departmentals - are all fairly sparsely trafficked across this area, largely because they do not go anywhere.
The best advice is to get a Michelin road atlas and Guide Rouge and figure it all out for yourself. Towns underlined in red on the map appear in the Guide (and those underlined or marked round in green appear in the Guides Vertes tourist guides).
Calais - Rouen - Alencon - Le Mans is a good first day. I very highly recommend an early detour (it is equidistant between Calais and Rouen) to a restaurant/hotel called Les Tourelles at Le Crotoy on the Somme basin (www.lestourelles.com). My wife and I usually stop here for lunch or supper and it makes you feel like your holiday has properly started: the view across the basin is super.
On the second day, Poitiers - Angouleme - Perigeux - Bergerac is a nice and easy drive with plenty of places to stop off en route. Perigeux is particularly nice (I recommend Restaurant Clos de St Front) and Angouleme isn't at all bad, if a little dull (there is a particularly good modern reatuarant opposite the station called the Terminus). Between Angouleme and Perigeux is a town called Brantome, which is delightful (and has a very nice hotel restaurant called the Moulin d'Abbeye as well as plenty of more modest establishments). Perigeux to Les Eyzies de Tayac (as an alternative to Bergerac) is a really nice drive (D47). At the end of it, the Hotel de Chateau at nearby Campagne has a good solid restaurant or, if you're made of money, the Centennaire at Les Eyzies is one of the best in the Dordogne (personally I prefer the Vieux Logis at Tremolat).
If you're into race tracks, then as well as Le Mans, there is Rouen - Les Essarts (although you'd be hard pushed to tell it was ever a famous circuit if you didn't know it), Tours (road circuit to the north of town), the original Le Mans (where the first ever grand prix was staged over two days, a 75km lap to the east of town) and Angouleme - Circuit des Ramparts (where there is now a classic race meeting every September).
The roads - motorways, trunk roads and quieter routes departmentals - are all fairly sparsely trafficked across this area, largely because they do not go anywhere.
The best advice is to get a Michelin road atlas and Guide Rouge and figure it all out for yourself. Towns underlined in red on the map appear in the Guide (and those underlined or marked round in green appear in the Guides Vertes tourist guides).
Edited by r129sl on Monday 17th March 10:18
Edited by r129sl on Monday 17th March 10:19
We're travelling with Kids down to a Villa near Bordeaux, from Surrey via the Chunnel. and are looking for a place to stay on our way there and back.
Originally we were thinking of somewhere near Alencon, but are now thinking about the Angers/Tours area or maybe a sea port in the North. Angers maybe a bit too far for our kids on the first day, but does anyone have any recommendations?
Originally we were thinking of somewhere near Alencon, but are now thinking about the Angers/Tours area or maybe a sea port in the North. Angers maybe a bit too far for our kids on the first day, but does anyone have any recommendations?
Borghetto said:
Spend a night in Saintes, then pop over to see the mouth of the Gironde at Royan.
I think Saintes is too far for us on our first day and it's not too much further onto Bordeaux from there which is our final stop.Has anyone got any suggestions around the Alencon, Le Mans, Angers, Tours areas? Ideally with family rooms too...
Holy thread resurrection!
Doing this very trip in late May. Will be arriving in Calais at 0900 with two days to reach Bordeaux.
Can anyone recommend Tours or have any other suggestions for stopovers/places to visit?
We are collecting others from Bordeaux airport and then driving on, therefore do not have to actually visit the city as part of the two days.
Travelling with just my bro so don't want a romantic night at a Chateau!
TIA
Doing this very trip in late May. Will be arriving in Calais at 0900 with two days to reach Bordeaux.
Can anyone recommend Tours or have any other suggestions for stopovers/places to visit?
We are collecting others from Bordeaux airport and then driving on, therefore do not have to actually visit the city as part of the two days.
Travelling with just my bro so don't want a romantic night at a Chateau!
TIA
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