Favourite route to Le Mans

[lowdrag]

Living at Le Mans I seem to have missed from where you are coming. I have plenty of routes in mind so drop me a line

[Chrisgr31]

Last year we came back by heading towards Chartres, turning off the N11 and going through La Ferte-Bernard and up to Dreux, Evreux and on to Rouen. Might go down that way as well.

[sahajesh]

Chrisgr31 said:

Last year we came back by heading towards Chartres, turning off the N11 and going through La Ferte-Bernard and up to Dreux, Evreux and on to Rouen. Might go down that way as well.

Is that via the A12, N154/N12?

[Chrisgr31]

sahajesh said:

Is that via the A12, N154/N12?

No, we came out the circuit on the the Mulsanne straight at the first chicane heading north, made to turn right on to the D323, huge queue to get off it in to the A28 so we stayed on the D323.

At La Ferte-Bernard it changes to the D923, then after Nogent-le-Rotrou there is a fork on to the D928 (we missed it and turned round to come back to it) Once at Dreux we took the N12 and N154 to Evreux.

At the time we were trying to get to Calais for the 10.30 pm or so Eurotunnel, but struggling following the French decision not to allow anyone to leave the campsites until an hour after the race.

The sat nav kept on trying to take us to the A12, so we were relying on my knowledge of France telling me I needed Dreux Evreux and Rouen so were following road signs. We only just missed our crossing and whilst we may have exceeded the speed limit a little were in a Hyundai Sante Fe so not travelling outrageously fast. Fairly sure it would have taken us longer by the autoroute.

Looking at the map there are other routes including the way you mention. French roads are so much better than ours!

[Steverrrn]

Question for the group.

As we all know Le Mans is a holiday.

And every great holiday needs great food.

So my questions are these:
From Calais to Le Mans, where's good to stop for breakfast?
Where in Le Mans is good for that meat fix?

Thanks in advance.

[lowdrag]

If you want a good meal then go to the cathedral in town and take the cobbled road that goes downhill from there. A little road dating from the 17th century and very touristy, with plenty of good restaurants with plenty of choice

Edited by lowdrag on Wednesday 17th April 14:19

[lowdrag]

There's only one stop for me and I've been using it for over 30 years. On the Falaise bypass look out for a sign to Putanges Pont-ecrepin. When you get there cross the river and immediately on the right is a hotel called "Le Lion Verd" which most people get wrong but is "the Copper Lion" in english. And from there follow this route:-

On the ring road at Falaise leave the N158 and follow the D909 towards Putange-Pont-Ecrepin. There is a lovely hotel there right by the river called Le Lion Verd. Good spot for a coffee and a croissant. They speak english.

Continue south to Rânes, over the crossroads and on towards Carrouges on the D909

Follow the D909 until you meet the N12, turn right and go through Pré-en-Pail. There is a service station there if you need fuel.
Go through the town and then follow the D20 left signposted Villaines-la-Juhel. You will travel through a forest with beautiful swinging roads.
Now follow the D13 to Courcité and from there the D16 to Sillé-le-Guillaume and from there the signs to Le Mans.

Of course, you can be extremely boring and take the motorway, missing out all that makes France such a great country to travel through. I have been using this route for nearly forty years, and it never fails to please. Great driving roads, never a BiB, and people waving as you go through the towns. On your way home the Lion Verd is a great place to dine before catching the ferry. They used to have lobsters but sadly no more.

Enjoy the route. Take the time to look around you and take in the scenery. It never ceases to please me.

[Northcote67]

lowdrag said:

There's only one stop for me and I've been using it for over 30 years. On the Falaise bypass look out for a sign to Putanges Pont-ecrepin. When you get there cross the river and immediately on the right is a hotel called "Le Lion Verd" which most people get wrong but is "the Copper Lion" in english. And from there follow this route:-

On the ring road at Falaise leave the N158 and follow the D909 towards Putange-Pont-Ecrepin. There is a lovely hotel there right by the river called Le Lion Verd. Good spot for a coffee and a croissant. They speak english.

Continue south to Rânes, over the crossroads and on towards Carrouges on the D909

Follow the D909 until you meet the N12, turn right and go through Pré-en-Pail. There is a service station there if you need fuel.
Go through the town and then follow the D20 left signposted Villaines-la-Juhel. You will travel through a forest with beautiful swinging roads.
Now follow the D13 to Courcité and from there the D16 to Sillé-le-Guillaume and from there the signs to Le Mans.

Of course, you can be extremely boring and take the motorway, missing out all that makes France such a great country to travel through. I have been using this route for nearly forty years, and it never fails to please. Great driving roads, never a BiB, and people waving as you go through the towns. On your way home the Lion Verd is a great place to dine before catching the ferry. They used to have lobsters but sadly no more.

Enjoy the route. Take the time to look around you and take in the scenery. It never ceases to please me.

Thanks Lowdrag, my ferry arrives in Caen at 3pm on Wednesday 12th June and will try this route out

[Aysedasi2]

lowdrag said:

Now follow the D13 to Courcité and from there the D16 to Sillé-le-Guillaume and from there the signs to Le Mans.

Back in the day we used to eat regularly in Sillé-le-Guillaume. I well remember the look on some of the guys' faces the day we were lunching there on steak frites. Beautiful but very thin steak. Then the horsemeat wagon pulled up outside. There were several faces that turned green when they realised what they'd been eating. No-one had thought to tell them. The steak was delicious though.

[LB14]

We did this route the last time I went to Le Mans in 2018, thanks to the kind recommend of Lowdrag.

It was a brilliant drive, so much so that even though we are sailing to Dieppe this time we will head south west to Falaise, pick up this route and stop outside the town hall in Putange-Pont-Ecrepin by Le Lion Verd for lunch.

The route is a brilliant combination of great roads, through some sleepy villages, and a tremendous forest section …. highly recommended (and no sign of police last time).

Thanks again, Lowdrag!

lowdrag said:

There's only one stop for me and I've been using it for over 30 years. On the Falaise bypass look out for a sign to Putanges Pont-ecrepin. When you get there cross the river and immediately on the right is a hotel called "Le Lion Verd" which most people get wrong but is "the Copper Lion" in english. And from there follow this route:-

On the ring road at Falaise leave the N158 and follow the D909 towards Putange-Pont-Ecrepin. There is a lovely hotel there right by the river called Le Lion Verd. Good spot for a coffee and a croissant. They speak english.

Continue south to Rânes, over the crossroads and on towards Carrouges on the D909

Follow the D909 until you meet the N12, turn right and go through Pré-en-Pail. There is a service station there if you need fuel.
Go through the town and then follow the D20 left signposted Villaines-la-Juhel. You will travel through a forest with beautiful swinging roads.
Now follow the D13 to Courcité and from there the D16 to Sillé-le-Guillaume and from there the signs to Le Mans.

Of course, you can be extremely boring and take the motorway, missing out all that makes France such a great country to travel through. I have been using this route for nearly forty years, and it never fails to please. Great driving roads, never a BiB, and people waving as you go through the towns. On your way home the Lion Verd is a great place to dine before catching the ferry. They used to have lobsters but sadly no more.

Enjoy the route. Take the time to look around you and take in the scenery. It never ceases to please me.

[FARP]

Beautiful drive down from Caen to Le Mans 2022

[lowdrag]

LB14 said:

We did this route the last time I went to Le Mans in 2018, thanks to the kind recommend of Lowdrag.

It was a brilliant drive, so much so that even though we are sailing to Dieppe this time we will head south west to Falaise, pick up this route and stop outside the town hall in Putange-Pont-Ecrepin by Le Lion Verd for lunch.

The route is a brilliant combination of great roads, through some sleepy villages, and a tremendous forest section …. highly recommended (and no sign of police last time).

Thanks again, Lowdrag!

Glad you enjoyed it. Every five year anniversary of the launch of the E-type we did this, although we are now all old and doddery and in many cases have sold their cars but I loved France so much I moved here. What annoys me most though is that so few people use that thing call an atlas. They just get off the ferry, turn on the GPS, hit the motorway, and miss all that makes France such a great place for driving, and that is what touring should be about. An hour or two studying the routes available will change your journey from a boring three lane black top to an idyllic memory. So you GPS bores, just click here and your lives will be truly enriched:-

https://dash4it.co.uk/catalog/product/view/_ignore...

Edited by lowdrag on Monday 29th April 09:47

[//j17]

Or, while in your GPS settings changing from Imperial to Metric to get KM/KPH rather than Miles/MPH also check the "Avoid Toll Roads" boxes.

[lowdrag]

//j17 said:

Or, while in your GPS settings changing from Imperial to Metric to get KM/KPH rather than Miles/MPH also check the "Avoid Toll Roads" boxes.

But that would still bring you straight down the Route Nationale from Ouistreham to le Mans so no real advantage really. You could programme the GPS to go via small villages but you have to know which back roads you want to use so you can programmme the GPS. I've used many different routes from Calais including the RN and back road routes I have chosen from the atlas. Each to his own I guess.

Edited by lowdrag on Monday 29th April 16:19

[sahajesh]

What do people think of Rouen to LM via Evreux/Dreux/Chartres?

More interesting than the usual route, even though it looks like it’s a fast road, like the A28 (I presume)?

[lowdrag]

It is still route nationale so no difference really than the A28 or route nationale. Well, the RN138 was downgraded to the D338 once the A28 was opened, but it is still the same road. Look a little to the left of your route on Google Earth and you'll see Neuberg, Conches,Breteuil,Verneuil, Mortagne, Belleme, Bonnetable and Le Mans. I'd prefer that for a route. Still good roads but no big cities like Chartres etc.

[//j17]

Come in via Bonnetable and you come in on the D20BIS and you won't see any traffic until you hit the D323, 6km from the circuit.

And if you're camping off circuit/arriving on a track action day (as the Who's on What Crossing page suggests you are) you can skirt most of the circuit traffic by skipping the D323 and looping East and South of the circuit, heading for Teloche and Laigne-en-Belin.

[Mark_S1000RR_2010]

lowdrag said:

There's only one stop for me and I've been using it for over 30 years. On the Falaise bypass look out for a sign to Putanges Pont-ecrepin. When you get there cross the river and immediately on the right is a hotel called "Le Lion Verd" which most people get wrong but is "the Copper Lion" in english. And from there follow this route:-

On the ring road at Falaise leave the N158 and follow the D909 towards Putange-Pont-Ecrepin. There is a lovely hotel there right by the river called Le Lion Verd. Good spot for a coffee and a croissant. They speak english.

Continue south to Rânes, over the crossroads and on towards Carrouges on the D909

Follow the D909 until you meet the N12, turn right and go through Pré-en-Pail. There is a service station there if you need fuel.
Go through the town and then follow the D20 left signposted Villaines-la-Juhel. You will travel through a forest with beautiful swinging roads.
Now follow the D13 to Courcité and from there the D16 to Sillé-le-Guillaume and from there the signs to Le Mans.

Of course, you can be extremely boring and take the motorway, missing out all that makes France such a great country to travel through. I have been using this route for nearly forty years, and it never fails to please. Great driving roads, never a BiB, and people waving as you go through the towns. On your way home the Lion Verd is a great place to dine before catching the ferry. They used to have lobsters but sadly no more.

Enjoy the route. Take the time to look around you and take in the scenery. It never ceases to please me.

Thanks Lowdrag. I’m punched this route into the GPS and will be using it on Thursday afternoon. We are on the motorcycle, so will meander down and take our time rather than gun it down the autoroute.

[sahajesh]

Thanks @lowdrag and @//j17