calais to provence, need a stop half way
Discussion
Guys & gals, arrive in france on a sat am at about 8am, need to get to provence the next day around lunchtime, so.. on the sat I need somewhere to stay about half way, can anyone suggest anywhere? If I arrive 8 am, prob aim to be somewhere about 1 or 2. Country House hotel.chateau type thing.
Thx
Thx
CraigW said:
Guys & gals, arrive in france on a sat am at about 8am, need to get to provence the next day around lunchtime, so.. on the sat I need somewhere to stay about half way, can anyone suggest anywhere? If I arrive 8 am, prob aim to be somewhere about 1 or 2. Country House hotel.chateau type thing.
Thx
Burgundy is a nice place to stop that`s half way-ish. Can recommend Hotel Le Cep in Beaune - good grub and a nice town to stroll around (and buy good wine). Dijon is also OK for an overnight.Thx
I stayed in Beaune and would stay there again. I can recommend taking the short cut across Champagne country (SW of Reims) rather than staying on the autoroute. Roads are really clear, straight and well sighted
Bear in mind that if you are going to do the Route Napolean you'll probably need a change of drivers or a stop. Dignes les Bains worked for me.
Bear in mind that if you are going to do the Route Napolean you'll probably need a change of drivers or a stop. Dignes les Bains worked for me.
Edited by sassthathoopie on Monday 16th June 18:37
http://www.georgesblanc.com/
I stayed here on the way down last time. Pricey, but excellent food and (of course) wine. Not much else in the village, apart from other things owned by Georges!!
Don't rely on sat-nav to find it!! Vonnas was floating in space on the ol' TomTom!!
Jack
I stayed here on the way down last time. Pricey, but excellent food and (of course) wine. Not much else in the village, apart from other things owned by Georges!!
Don't rely on sat-nav to find it!! Vonnas was floating in space on the ol' TomTom!!
Jack
A bit north of Lyon but really worth the trip, try Château de Bagnols.
Pricey but you'll be in heaven !
http://www.bagnols.com/
Otherwise, south of Lyon, go to Valence.
Pic is a 3 star restaurant and a nice place along the famous Nationale 7.
They have a more casual restaurant called N7... great food at great price
http://www.pic-valence.fr/index-fr.php
Near Grenoble, go to Uriage.
Grand Hotel is a nice place to stay in, the pool is just amazing (allowing you to swim both inside & outside...) and the food is superb... A nice place before the Route Napoleon or after it if you come from Grasse...
Did the route in a vintage car which was nice but tiring and ending up in Uriage was just great.
http://www.grand-hotel-uriage.com/
If those places are not OK, just try this :
http://www.chateauxhotels.com/index.php?langue=EN
Pricey but you'll be in heaven !
http://www.bagnols.com/
Otherwise, south of Lyon, go to Valence.
Pic is a 3 star restaurant and a nice place along the famous Nationale 7.
They have a more casual restaurant called N7... great food at great price
http://www.pic-valence.fr/index-fr.php
Near Grenoble, go to Uriage.
Grand Hotel is a nice place to stay in, the pool is just amazing (allowing you to swim both inside & outside...) and the food is superb... A nice place before the Route Napoleon or after it if you come from Grasse...
Did the route in a vintage car which was nice but tiring and ending up in Uriage was just great.
http://www.grand-hotel-uriage.com/
If those places are not OK, just try this :
http://www.chateauxhotels.com/index.php?langue=EN
excellent, thanks all, much appreciated.
On a slightly different topic, I'm taking the old porker not the RS6 so hardy going to be hammering it but when heading from calais I've heard le plod are out in force so will stick to speed limit, will be heading south as I said above, for how long on the autoroutes does one have to have eyes glued to speedo and is there any acceptable grey area over limit, ie here i never really panic at 80-85ish on motorway?
On a slightly different topic, I'm taking the old porker not the RS6 so hardy going to be hammering it but when heading from calais I've heard le plod are out in force so will stick to speed limit, will be heading south as I said above, for how long on the autoroutes does one have to have eyes glued to speedo and is there any acceptable grey area over limit, ie here i never really panic at 80-85ish on motorway?
CraigW said:
excellent, thanks all, much appreciated.
On a slightly different topic, I'm taking the old porker not the RS6 so hardy going to be hammering it but when heading from calais I've heard le plod are out in force so will stick to speed limit, will be heading south as I said above, for how long on the autoroutes does one have to have eyes glued to speedo and is there any acceptable grey area over limit, ie here i never really panic at 80-85ish on motorway?
The danger zone is centred on the first 50K from Calais. I have been done twice near Cambrai. There are other "hot" areas including Poitiers (twice there as well!) so it pays to be generally vigilant.On a slightly different topic, I'm taking the old porker not the RS6 so hardy going to be hammering it but when heading from calais I've heard le plod are out in force so will stick to speed limit, will be heading south as I said above, for how long on the autoroutes does one have to have eyes glued to speedo and is there any acceptable grey area over limit, ie here i never really panic at 80-85ish on motorway?
A normal cruise of 85-90 doesn`t seem to get you in trouble anywhere and there are still plenty of opportunities for a "stretch".
Summer on Franch highways... Beware !
You have fixed speedtraps for which there are signs... and non fixed ones along with brand new Subarus used to catch fast cars...
If you have time, buying Coyote system could be useful.
Most fast cars drivers in France use it, it's a GPS system in which users will notice a speedtrap as soon as they see it, so that every other user know about it.
http://www.moncoyote.com/
You have fixed speedtraps for which there are signs... and non fixed ones along with brand new Subarus used to catch fast cars...
If you have time, buying Coyote system could be useful.
Most fast cars drivers in France use it, it's a GPS system in which users will notice a speedtrap as soon as they see it, so that every other user know about it.
http://www.moncoyote.com/
ERA said:
Near Grenoble, go to Uriage.
Grand Hotel is a nice place to stay in, the pool is just amazing (allowing you to swim both inside & outside...) and the food is superb... A nice place before the Route Napoleon or after it if you come from Grasse...
Did the route in a vintage car which was nice but tiring and ending up in Uriage was just great.
http://www.grand-hotel-uriage.com/
There's a fantastic road in and out of uriage too, the Chamrousee loop. Blinding road, but a bit of a diversion 'cos it doesn't actually go anywhere other than back to Uriage.Grand Hotel is a nice place to stay in, the pool is just amazing (allowing you to swim both inside & outside...) and the food is superb... A nice place before the Route Napoleon or after it if you come from Grasse...
Did the route in a vintage car which was nice but tiring and ending up in Uriage was just great.
http://www.grand-hotel-uriage.com/
If you're heading to Avignon you could come off the route napolean just above Sisteron and head over Mont Ventoux, another great drive. These are all popular places though, and might be busy. If i was going from Beaune to Avignon i'd consider finding a route that stays west of the main autoroutes, if i was looking for an entertaining drive.
Edited by heebeegeetee on Tuesday 22 July 13:12
To be frank, going through Beaune is nice but is by far the busiest way to do so...
In may this year I went through a different "route", longer probably but much much nicer : Moulins, Vichy, Ambert, Yssingeaux and then Le Cheylard, Antraigues, Gorges de l'Ardeche and then Avignon.
All these small cities are famous for being Monte Carlo special stages...
Haute Loire and Forez areas have the most amazing roads I've ever seen, semi mountainous with splendid landscape, emptiness (no one lives there) with days driving without any car met on somptuous roads. Check on a Michelin map, all roads are green which stand for beautiful scenery !
Ardeche is spectacular but might be busy.
As a stopover, Vichy is nice with a very nice Sofitel (nice pool) and you will find some chateaux nearby. You could also push to St Bonnet Le Froid or Roanne, both famous for their 3 star restaurant.
A great way to start your holidays...
In may this year I went through a different "route", longer probably but much much nicer : Moulins, Vichy, Ambert, Yssingeaux and then Le Cheylard, Antraigues, Gorges de l'Ardeche and then Avignon.
All these small cities are famous for being Monte Carlo special stages...
Haute Loire and Forez areas have the most amazing roads I've ever seen, semi mountainous with splendid landscape, emptiness (no one lives there) with days driving without any car met on somptuous roads. Check on a Michelin map, all roads are green which stand for beautiful scenery !
Ardeche is spectacular but might be busy.
As a stopover, Vichy is nice with a very nice Sofitel (nice pool) and you will find some chateaux nearby. You could also push to St Bonnet Le Froid or Roanne, both famous for their 3 star restaurant.
A great way to start your holidays...
heebeegeetee said:
Near Grenoble, go to Uriage.
Grand Hotel is a nice place to stay in, the pool is just amazing (allowing you to swim both inside & outside...) and the food is superb... A nice place before the Route Napoleon or after it if you come from Grasse...
Did the route in a vintage car which was nice but tiring and ending up in Uriage was just great.
http://www.grand-hotel-uriage.com/
Have you just cut & pasted ERA's post above as they are exactly the same?Grand Hotel is a nice place to stay in, the pool is just amazing (allowing you to swim both inside & outside...) and the food is superb... A nice place before the Route Napoleon or after it if you come from Grasse...
Did the route in a vintage car which was nice but tiring and ending up in Uriage was just great.
http://www.grand-hotel-uriage.com/
Davey S2 said:
heebeegeetee said:
Near Grenoble, go to Uriage.
Grand Hotel is a nice place to stay in, the pool is just amazing (allowing you to swim both inside & outside...) and the food is superb... A nice place before the Route Napoleon or after it if you come from Grasse...
Did the route in a vintage car which was nice but tiring and ending up in Uriage was just great.
http://www.grand-hotel-uriage.com/
Have you just cut & pasted ERA's post above as they are exactly the same?Grand Hotel is a nice place to stay in, the pool is just amazing (allowing you to swim both inside & outside...) and the food is superb... A nice place before the Route Napoleon or after it if you come from Grasse...
Did the route in a vintage car which was nice but tiring and ending up in Uriage was just great.
http://www.grand-hotel-uriage.com/
There, that's better. Gawd knows what happened there.
Edited by heebeegeetee on Tuesday 22 July 13:13
I just came back from Nice at the weekend and there wasn't too many police around. Think I only saw 3 sets all the way down and all the way back. (autoroute mostly)
Mind the speed cameras though, they have signs but the actual cameras themselves are a lot less visible than the UK versions they are much shorter not so brightly painted and I saw a couple behind bridges where you wouldn't see them until too late.
Traffic was hellish both on the way down and the way back...
Edited to add they seemed to be having cars tucked away waiting for speeders just before the toll boths (couple of KM), then when the offender got to the toll booth there was a van and several officers waiting for a nice chat...
Mind the speed cameras though, they have signs but the actual cameras themselves are a lot less visible than the UK versions they are much shorter not so brightly painted and I saw a couple behind bridges where you wouldn't see them until too late.
Traffic was hellish both on the way down and the way back...
Edited to add they seemed to be having cars tucked away waiting for speeders just before the toll boths (couple of KM), then when the offender got to the toll booth there was a van and several officers waiting for a nice chat...
Edited by drgoatboy on Wednesday 23 July 12:56
Autoroutes from Calais to Dijon were very quiet, after that it got busier, after Lyon it was mental. A lot of stop start and long waits at the toll booths. But I travelled on Saturdays which is apparently the worst day. 6 hour journey took 9.5 hours on the way home on the autoroute.
Its worth listening to 107.7 fm which is the autoroute traffic news station, some areas have english updates (couldn't work out the pattern as to where and when) but if you can speak a bit of French you can normally can pick out which areas and roads are busy.
As for the speed traps they were parked at the side of the road with radar guns, pressumably they clocked you and then radioed through to their mates to pick you up at the next toll booth. Hope that makes sense.
Its worth listening to 107.7 fm which is the autoroute traffic news station, some areas have english updates (couldn't work out the pattern as to where and when) but if you can speak a bit of French you can normally can pick out which areas and roads are busy.
As for the speed traps they were parked at the side of the road with radar guns, pressumably they clocked you and then radioed through to their mates to pick you up at the next toll booth. Hope that makes sense.
Edited by drgoatboy on Wednesday 23 July 14:11
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