1st time touring (NW France)... I need your advice please
Discussion
Hello everyone.
I'm sure this has been covered to within an inch of it's life on every corner of the internet but nevertheless here we are!
My little tribe of bikers (5 in total) typically attend ABR festival every year. However, we're all now 40+ and would like to start making our own adventure stories rather than hear about all the wonderful times everyone else has. Therefore we've dedicated that same period of time in '25 to a tour of NW France. We'll have 3-5 days (Thurs - Mon morning). 3 of us have never toured, 2 of us have but not for a while. We'll all be on road focused bikes. So strictly on road on this occasion.
Certainly the plan is to explore NW France and then expand our tours further afield next time round.
We want a 70/30 ish split of riding/sight seeing (sight seeing including refreshment stops). 150-225 miles a day seems sensible?
With that in mind, what would you guys want to see/visit in NW France. Could you make some recommendations for:
Open to anything at the moment. Even crossing the channel info. Open to a quick or slow one. To aid that we'll be setting off from Bracknell Thursday so not a huge leap to most UK crossing points.
Anything you can help with would be greatly appreciated.
I'm sure this has been covered to within an inch of it's life on every corner of the internet but nevertheless here we are!
My little tribe of bikers (5 in total) typically attend ABR festival every year. However, we're all now 40+ and would like to start making our own adventure stories rather than hear about all the wonderful times everyone else has. Therefore we've dedicated that same period of time in '25 to a tour of NW France. We'll have 3-5 days (Thurs - Mon morning). 3 of us have never toured, 2 of us have but not for a while. We'll all be on road focused bikes. So strictly on road on this occasion.
Certainly the plan is to explore NW France and then expand our tours further afield next time round.
We want a 70/30 ish split of riding/sight seeing (sight seeing including refreshment stops). 150-225 miles a day seems sensible?
With that in mind, what would you guys want to see/visit in NW France. Could you make some recommendations for:
- Sights/landmarks (inevitably some WW2 sites)
- Hotels
- cafes / restaurants
- routes (good stretches of road)? anything to avoid?
Open to anything at the moment. Even crossing the channel info. Open to a quick or slow one. To aid that we'll be setting off from Bracknell Thursday so not a huge leap to most UK crossing points.
Anything you can help with would be greatly appreciated.
I've done this a couple of times, getting the ferry over to Le Havre, and going west into Brittany.
It always rains.
The last time I did a trip we all agreed that getting the ferry directly to St Malo (which is a lovely town) and heading south would be a much better plan.
Also, plan for French opening hour idiosyncrasies. Don't imagine for one second you can buy food on a Sunday unless you are there at 12 on the spot.
It always rains.
The last time I did a trip we all agreed that getting the ferry directly to St Malo (which is a lovely town) and heading south would be a much better plan.
Also, plan for French opening hour idiosyncrasies. Don't imagine for one second you can buy food on a Sunday unless you are there at 12 on the spot.
We did similar last year, great fun.
If you chunnel it over our first hotel was the Hotel de la Plage in Wissant as we had a late-ish crossing, quirky but delightful, great local beer (2 Caps) and a genuinely fab restaurant, follow the coast road from Sangatte all the way down, bits of it are like Cadwell Park.
Dieppe is also a suprisingly nice stop over, beautiful old marina with loads of restaurants.
Bayeux tapestry is worth a look as well the War stuff, Mont Saint Michel, Sainte Mere Eglise and the Overlord Museum too
Miss picked out return hotel in Le Touquet and ended up out near the airport, but we found it has an amazing restaurant (L'Escale) in it overlooking the airfield itself.
If you chunnel it over our first hotel was the Hotel de la Plage in Wissant as we had a late-ish crossing, quirky but delightful, great local beer (2 Caps) and a genuinely fab restaurant, follow the coast road from Sangatte all the way down, bits of it are like Cadwell Park.
Dieppe is also a suprisingly nice stop over, beautiful old marina with loads of restaurants.
Bayeux tapestry is worth a look as well the War stuff, Mont Saint Michel, Sainte Mere Eglise and the Overlord Museum too
Miss picked out return hotel in Le Touquet and ended up out near the airport, but we found it has an amazing restaurant (L'Escale) in it overlooking the airfield itself.
That's how we started - www.old-gits.orgIf riding "stunning" roads is not top of your trip priorities then there's quite a lot to see and do in Northern France. The easiest route to get there is the Tunnel and that's pretty easy to organise. It's pretty good value if you have Tesco Clubcard points that you can use to buy the ticket.
If there are going to be 5 of you, and assuming you would all like the privacy of your own roam so as not to cause upset when you snore, fart of pick your nose, then I'd recommend booking hotels in advance. We have been caught before when we didn't book in advance where the only rooms available have resulted in two having to share a double bed.
Choose your hotels using Tivago.Hotelscom/Booking.com etc. but make sure they get good user/customer scores and you're unlikely to go far wrong. It's easy to check they have a bar, bike parking, WiFi etc. that way.
I'd recommend MyRouteApp as the way of defining and sharing proposed routes. It's free if you don't mind the adverts but it's also very reasonably priced if you want to buy a license.
I'f you've not already invested in bike to bike intercoms, agree now if you're going to be a Cardo or a Senna group and all buy the same. Trust me, it'll save hours of arguments later.
Whatever else you do, enjoy your trip.
We've been a few times and like the 'one base' to save us constantly packing up and moving on.
Doing the whole D-Day thing is good, we parked up in Bayeux having crossed over to Cherbourg, so much to see and four days got swallowed up. Nothing like the riding miles you mention but still very pleasant.
St Malo crossing is my favourite though, an overnight arriving in first thing, gives you the whole day to get where you want to be. Last time we based ourselves in Amboise right on the Loire and did all points of the compass from there. Not hard riding but really pleasant and again loads to see. Coming back, do Caen-Portsmouth in the afternoon, Bracknell no distance to get home from there.
We tend to rent a house big enough for the group always choosing something right in the heart of a town so we can wander out for dinner on foot.
Final tip, get one of the group to join the Brittany Ferries Club Voyage if you're going to use their routes, with a few of you and cabins, the discount will pay for the membership/joining fee on the first trip.
Doing the whole D-Day thing is good, we parked up in Bayeux having crossed over to Cherbourg, so much to see and four days got swallowed up. Nothing like the riding miles you mention but still very pleasant.
St Malo crossing is my favourite though, an overnight arriving in first thing, gives you the whole day to get where you want to be. Last time we based ourselves in Amboise right on the Loire and did all points of the compass from there. Not hard riding but really pleasant and again loads to see. Coming back, do Caen-Portsmouth in the afternoon, Bracknell no distance to get home from there.
We tend to rent a house big enough for the group always choosing something right in the heart of a town so we can wander out for dinner on foot.
Final tip, get one of the group to join the Brittany Ferries Club Voyage if you're going to use their routes, with a few of you and cabins, the discount will pay for the membership/joining fee on the first trip.
Mr Dendrite said:
If you take the tunnel it is a very short ride up to Dunkirk. The museum there is well worth a visit.
The two big V2 bunkers Blockhaus and La cupole are worth visiting. Blockhaus is privately owned very rough and ready doesn’t take long to visit. La Coupole is a full museum needs more time.
As others have said if you’re in Normandy then it’s a veritable cornucopia of museums these days.
If you’re in north west France worth popping over the border to visit Ypres. Or if you go just bit further inland in France the whole Somme, Vimy ridge etc etc is just fascinating if ww1 is of intent. Almost to many things to list.
I think you're talking North-East France there, not North-West...The two big V2 bunkers Blockhaus and La cupole are worth visiting. Blockhaus is privately owned very rough and ready doesn’t take long to visit. La Coupole is a full museum needs more time.
As others have said if you’re in Normandy then it’s a veritable cornucopia of museums these days.
If you’re in north west France worth popping over the border to visit Ypres. Or if you go just bit further inland in France the whole Somme, Vimy ridge etc etc is just fascinating if ww1 is of intent. Almost to many things to list.
PM sent.
When I used to organise our 'Last of the Summer Wine' tours (as our wives used to call it, three grumpy auld men in a caravan!), we often used to stay at one of the Yelloh villages in a mobile home or chalet. Excellent value for money, well equipped, bar and restaurant on site as well as a basic shop/depot de pain. Can't fault them - we've probably been in 20+ over the years.
In fact, Mrs. Rooster & I are going back to one just South of St. Nazaire in September - Camping Le Ranch - been there before, ticks lots of boxes for a simple holiday.
If it's a hotel you want, we also had a great time being based in Bayeux - lots to see and do and the Suisse Normande is not far away with some good roads.
When I used to organise our 'Last of the Summer Wine' tours (as our wives used to call it, three grumpy auld men in a caravan!), we often used to stay at one of the Yelloh villages in a mobile home or chalet. Excellent value for money, well equipped, bar and restaurant on site as well as a basic shop/depot de pain. Can't fault them - we've probably been in 20+ over the years.
In fact, Mrs. Rooster & I are going back to one just South of St. Nazaire in September - Camping Le Ranch - been there before, ticks lots of boxes for a simple holiday.
If it's a hotel you want, we also had a great time being based in Bayeux - lots to see and do and the Suisse Normande is not far away with some good roads.
Mr Dendrite said:
littleredrooster said:
Mr Dendrite said:
If you take the tunnel it is a very short ride up to Dunkirk. The museum there is well worth a visit.
The two big V2 bunkers Blockhaus and La cupole are worth visiting. Blockhaus is privately owned very rough and ready doesn’t take long to visit. La Coupole is a full museum needs more time.
As others have said if you’re in Normandy then it’s a veritable cornucopia of museums these days.
If you’re in north west France worth popping over the border to visit Ypres. Or if you go just bit further inland in France the whole Somme, Vimy ridge etc etc is just fascinating if ww1 is of intent. Almost to many things to list.
I think you're talking North-East France there, not North-West...The two big V2 bunkers Blockhaus and La cupole are worth visiting. Blockhaus is privately owned very rough and ready doesn’t take long to visit. La Coupole is a full museum needs more time.
As others have said if you’re in Normandy then it’s a veritable cornucopia of museums these days.
If you’re in north west France worth popping over the border to visit Ypres. Or if you go just bit further inland in France the whole Somme, Vimy ridge etc etc is just fascinating if ww1 is of intent. Almost to many things to list.
Edited by Mr Dendrite on Tuesday 23 July 20:32
West is the likes of Brest, St. Nazaire, Rennes, St. Malo etc., etc.
Mr Dendrite said:
littleredrooster said:
Mr Dendrite said:
littleredrooster said:
Mr Dendrite said:
If you take the tunnel it is a very short ride up to Dunkirk. The museum there is well worth a visit.
The two big V2 bunkers Blockhaus and La cupole are worth visiting. Blockhaus is privately owned very rough and ready doesn’t take long to visit. La Coupole is a full museum needs more time.
As others have said if you’re in Normandy then it’s a veritable cornucopia of museums these days.
If you’re in north west France worth popping over the border to visit Ypres. Or if you go just bit further inland in France the whole Somme, Vimy ridge etc etc is just fascinating if ww1 is of intent. Almost to many things to list.
I think you're talking North-East France there, not North-West...The two big V2 bunkers Blockhaus and La cupole are worth visiting. Blockhaus is privately owned very rough and ready doesn’t take long to visit. La Coupole is a full museum needs more time.
As others have said if you’re in Normandy then it’s a veritable cornucopia of museums these days.
If you’re in north west France worth popping over the border to visit Ypres. Or if you go just bit further inland in France the whole Somme, Vimy ridge etc etc is just fascinating if ww1 is of intent. Almost to many things to list.
Edited by Mr Dendrite on Tuesday 23 July 20:32
West is the likes of Brest, St. Nazaire, Rennes, St. Malo etc., etc.
. And the other areas are within reach of that. Yes the Somme is further East but it’s very close to the tunnel. I’m not suggesting Roubaix or Lille. I am only offering options for travel and giving suggestions and included Normandy etc. relax
Aam oot, in the words of the dragon.
littleredrooster said:
Mr Dendrite said:
littleredrooster said:
Mr Dendrite said:
littleredrooster said:
Mr Dendrite said:
If you take the tunnel it is a very short ride up to Dunkirk. The museum there is well worth a visit.
The two big V2 bunkers Blockhaus and La cupole are worth visiting. Blockhaus is privately owned very rough and ready doesn’t take long to visit. La Coupole is a full museum needs more time.
As others have said if you’re in Normandy then it’s a veritable cornucopia of museums these days.
If you’re in north west France worth popping over the border to visit Ypres. Or if you go just bit further inland in France the whole Somme, Vimy ridge etc etc is just fascinating if ww1 is of intent. Almost to many things to list.
I think you're talking North-East France there, not North-West...The two big V2 bunkers Blockhaus and La cupole are worth visiting. Blockhaus is privately owned very rough and ready doesn’t take long to visit. La Coupole is a full museum needs more time.
As others have said if you’re in Normandy then it’s a veritable cornucopia of museums these days.
If you’re in north west France worth popping over the border to visit Ypres. Or if you go just bit further inland in France the whole Somme, Vimy ridge etc etc is just fascinating if ww1 is of intent. Almost to many things to list.
Edited by Mr Dendrite on Tuesday 23 July 20:32
West is the likes of Brest, St. Nazaire, Rennes, St. Malo etc., etc.
. And the other areas are within reach of that. Yes the Somme is further East but it’s very close to the tunnel. I’m not suggesting Roubaix or Lille. I am only offering options for travel and giving suggestions and included Normandy etc. relax
Aam oot, in the words of the dragon.
OP Brittany is lovely when the weather is good, there's loads of sightseeing to be done. Further afield think about the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer, Museum of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Château de Saumur & Musée des Blindés (also Saumur), La Rochelle (nice harbour). I'm not sure the area you are looking at has some "great" roads, but there's plenty of good riding to be done (checkout bestbikingroads.com).
https://www.ride.co.uk/routes
An old but useful resource. I quite like using Logis de France for independent accommodation. I'd also recommend the Normandy Beach in Arromanches, which is also a good jumping off point for the D Day beaches.
If you go through the tunnel, take the D941 south to Le Touquet. Le Touquet has a fabulous beach with an exceptional ice cream van, and next to the bike parking are lockers so you can safely leave all your kit. Utter genius.
Bayuex Tapestry is absolutely a must, and a very pretty small town anyway. Le Havre has a number of bike shops and a Decathlon if you find you forget anything - once found my waterproofs had holed and the ride back from Portsmouth to south London was in a Met Office yellow for rain...
If you strike a bit west, Nantes is a fine city to visit, deliberately designed to be a mini Paris. Even getting tear gassed there by riot cops didn't put me off the place.
An old but useful resource. I quite like using Logis de France for independent accommodation. I'd also recommend the Normandy Beach in Arromanches, which is also a good jumping off point for the D Day beaches.
If you go through the tunnel, take the D941 south to Le Touquet. Le Touquet has a fabulous beach with an exceptional ice cream van, and next to the bike parking are lockers so you can safely leave all your kit. Utter genius.
Bayuex Tapestry is absolutely a must, and a very pretty small town anyway. Le Havre has a number of bike shops and a Decathlon if you find you forget anything - once found my waterproofs had holed and the ride back from Portsmouth to south London was in a Met Office yellow for rain...
If you strike a bit west, Nantes is a fine city to visit, deliberately designed to be a mini Paris. Even getting tear gassed there by riot cops didn't put me off the place.
I've done a couple of trips to this part of France and offer the following as ideas/locations depending on your appetite for riding versus eating, drinking and other stuff. I used to arrange a trip every year with my mates and it ranged from two of us to twenty of us one year. Your number is ideal for finding space in restaurants, bars and hotels. Most I would go with now would be six. We used to go by Eurotunnel (the ferry is generally hateful) and follow our noses. We always found accommodation and often had owners provide garaging or as in one case, we were invited to ride our bikes into the hotel.
If you are heading west, I would follow the coast and pick up a lot of D Day stuff. There is Le Touquet of course if you want an early stop, although we stayed at Le Tréport (don't know where as it was a long time ago). There was a good seafood restaurant there I think. We then carried on to Fecamp past Dieppe and then through Honfleur where we picked up the Seine and travelled inland a bit. There are lots of nice villages along the river and you should also look for Jumieges which is a monastery and village. We crossed the river near there on a chain ferry which was a nice touch. I think we then headed to Rouen, where we found the hotelier who loved bikes and let us park up the steps and in the hotel. That is a short trip, but on other occasions we have headed out to La Rochelle and the Ile de Re' both of which are lovely and if you like fish and seafood it's where you want to go. I am sure La Rochelle is probably a bit far from what you've said, but it can be fun getting there.
Other places to check out if you come off the train and don't feel like going far are Amiens, Arras (I think the underground tunnels from WW1 are there) which we ended up doing one year when the weather wasn't great. You can base yourself in Arras and nip over to Belgium for breakfast too.
Hope that helps a little. The run up the Seine is nice and I would do that again.
If you are heading west, I would follow the coast and pick up a lot of D Day stuff. There is Le Touquet of course if you want an early stop, although we stayed at Le Tréport (don't know where as it was a long time ago). There was a good seafood restaurant there I think. We then carried on to Fecamp past Dieppe and then through Honfleur where we picked up the Seine and travelled inland a bit. There are lots of nice villages along the river and you should also look for Jumieges which is a monastery and village. We crossed the river near there on a chain ferry which was a nice touch. I think we then headed to Rouen, where we found the hotelier who loved bikes and let us park up the steps and in the hotel. That is a short trip, but on other occasions we have headed out to La Rochelle and the Ile de Re' both of which are lovely and if you like fish and seafood it's where you want to go. I am sure La Rochelle is probably a bit far from what you've said, but it can be fun getting there.
Other places to check out if you come off the train and don't feel like going far are Amiens, Arras (I think the underground tunnels from WW1 are there) which we ended up doing one year when the weather wasn't great. You can base yourself in Arras and nip over to Belgium for breakfast too.
Hope that helps a little. The run up the Seine is nice and I would do that again.
Done NW France lots and you can find some really nice roads with the help of the Best Biking Roads atlas and Michelin maps highlight scenic or nice roads.
As somewhere worth stopping: Manoir de l’Automobile is just south of Rennes and a massive place full of interesting old cars and bikes. Not busy either.
As somewhere worth stopping: Manoir de l’Automobile is just south of Rennes and a massive place full of interesting old cars and bikes. Not busy either.
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