Great Roads in France - Help me plan for next week!

[vette78]

Hi all,

I'm taking the Vette round France next week and looking to fit in some fabulous driving roads along the way. No real route planned as yet, except we're going to drop in to Monaco, and spend the last night in Paris.

Roads I've heard enough about to get me excited are:

Route Napolean - have heard it's a good route south??
Gorge Du Verdon - nr Monaco?

I also want to go over that big bridge they went over in Top Gear a while back. Someone told me it was the D907 near Le Rosier?

Any idea where any of these places are and how i would fit them into a trip?

Maybe head south from Calais, veer west, then back round the south coast to Monaco and finally up to Paris....? I want to get off the motorways as much as possible and spend my time enjoying the roads.

I'm taking a tent so the plan is to camp where possible and stay in a chateaux if the weather's crap or we're after some luxury. Any recommendations on great camp sites and places to stay (very wide ranging budget) would also be massively appreciated.

Cheers,

Chris

[puggit]

First of all - D roads are Departmental Roads, ie each county sets its own D roads. The bridge you mention is here. Not quite on the route to Monaco.

Not done the Route Napolean, but by all accounts it is the route to drive.

The D2204/N204 from the coast up to Tende (Italian Border) is the road I think you're think of - this is indeed a breathtaking drive. I think it's called the Verdun Gorge (Verdon is in Dordogne...).

Apart from that any RN route will be a special drive - they are long distance A roads that we could only dream of in the UK. Stick to the Massif Central and the mountains around Gap/Grenoble and you'll have a great time

Don't speed in villages - the Gendarmes will get you.

[cptsideways]

D100 southbound starts somewhere 100km south of Calais ends up somewhere near the middle. Absolutley stonking if you can find it!

[vette78]

Thanks for the replies!

So, looks like a good bet so far would be to head south from Calais, pick up the D100 and keep heading down. At some point, veer through the Massif Central a bit, back across that amazing bridge, past Provence and onto Monaco. Then up from there up to the italian border, Tende, the route Napolean, and up to a final night in Paris.

Fantastic, starting to put a plan together - now, I wonder how much driving per day that will require.... i'm betting quite a lot

I've just got a Tom Tom 700 - I wonder if I can put in specific roads...

Chris

[RacingTeatray]

Can't believe no one mentioned the Col de Turini behind Menton and Sospel - a must if you're going to be on the Corniche anyway.

Guess he's gone now though.