Driving to Cannes - suggestions?

[Pierscoe1]

right.. starting to plan for our hols in september..
we will be having 2 weeks, with the second week based in one place somewhere between Toulon and MontCarlo (yet to be decided), and will be spending the first week getting there.. leisurely

want to take in some Alps driving, and maybe an autobahn on the way..

so, suggestions on a postcard please, for the best stop-overs and towns to visit en-route from Calais to Cannes.. and any other tips/suggestions/info etc..

bear in mind this is on a TIGHT budget.. so sadly no eurohoon 5-Star extravagances please

[egoboss]

Pierscoe1 said:

right.. starting to plan for our hols in september.. we will be having 2 weeks, with the second week based in one place somewhere between Toulon and MontCarlo (yet to be decided), and will be spending the first week getting there.. leisurely want to take in some Alps driving, and maybe an autobahn on the way.. so, suggestions on a postcard please, for the best stop-overs and towns to visit en-route from Calais to Cannes.. and any other tips/suggestions/info etc.. bear in mind this is on a TIGHT budget.. so sadly no eurohoon 5-Star extravagances please

will you be there for the monaco gp? can't recall when it's scheduled for this season. worth attending if you are. we drove there (camping) a few years ago when i had a bmw 325 coupe - was a lovely journey. did calais to monaco in 12hrs. camped with keycamp, dotted all over france - very good value.

[Pierscoe1]

have actually just got a keycamp brochure... there are indeed a few of them just near St Tropez... do you know which one you went to? recommendations?

12hrs is a pretty good hack! presume you didn't do much stopping along the way then

which route down did you take?

[egoboss]

Pierscoe1 said:

have actually just got a keycamp brochure... there are indeed a few of them just near St Tropez... do you know which one you went to? recommendations? 12hrs is a pretty good hack! presume you didn't do much stopping along the way then which route down did you take?

it was indeed near st tropez but i can't recall the exact name i'm afraid - i do recall it was a bugger to find!

the route was the main n toll roads the whole way. added up to quite a bit of money (about £100 back then as far as i can remember) but well worth it. i remember the comment my wife made when we got there - "do you realize, not one car has overtaken you on the whole trip!?"

oops, lol. mind you that 325 coupe (auto) was a storming car. chap who had it after me wrote it off within weeks - i was gutted.

[Pierscoe1]

thanks for that..

mind if I ask what shape 325 it was? last of the nice looking ones before bungle got his hands on them?

we did the whole trip (to carcasonne area) last year on the N's... want to take a bit more of a scenic route down this year, and save the N's for the blast back up so as to not waste holiday time just getting back to the ferry...

[egoboss]

Pierscoe1 said:

thanks for that.. mind if I ask what shape 325 it was? last of the nice looking ones before bungle got his hands on them? we did the whole trip (to carcasonne area) last year on the N's... want to take a bit more of a scenic route down this year, and save the N's for the blast back up so as to not waste holiday time just getting back to the ferry...

sounds a plan re: route - we didn't get to see much scenery!

yes, was pre bungle (hard to imagine he designed the fiat coupe i once had; i still think they're rather cool, but his bmw era has been a disaster in my opinion) - it was beautiful in dark grey/pewter finish (it was known locally as the "batmobile"), a 1995 model. am not normally an auto box fan but it suited that car to a tee - had winter/sports modes settings. a cpl yrs later i had a 323 coupe (manual) and that was nowhere near as nice, somehow.

i should have kept the 325, it would still be a near perfect car.

[egoboss]

Pierscoe1 said:

thanks for that.. mind if I ask what shape 325 it was? last of the nice looking ones before bungle got his hands on them? we did the whole trip (to carcasonne area) last year on the N's... want to take a bit more of a scenic route down this year, and save the N's for the blast back up so as to not waste holiday time just getting back to the ferry...

nice looking mx5 by the way. will you be going in that?

surprisingly good long distance tool, the mx5. record so far is 400 miles in one day. not one ache or pain!

[Pierscoe1]

yep.. going in the '5

did last years trip as mentioned in it too.. pretty good, but aircon would be nice! hood up or down was still no good when it's 40*C !!!

hence we're going later this year, hoping the worst of the heat will have died down a bit by mid september, and the sea should be at it's best!

[Pierscoe1]

blatent bump!

come on, there must be loads of you who have driven down to that area... what are the best places to visit en-route ?

[phatgixer]

Driving to Cannes..

Has been done in an XKR at night 7hrs 20mins from Calais...

Places to stop and visit....Petrol stations and peages.

[Pierscoe1]

ya..... thanks.

[glenn mcmenamin]

Pierscoe1 said:

blatent bump! come on, there must be loads of you who have driven down to that area... what are the best places to visit en-route ?

If you fancy an extreme alpine pass, try the Col de la Bonnette, it's the highest mountain road in europe, and is simply awesome to drive, it's located about 50 miles or so north of Nice (ish), but once you've reached the top, it's down hill all the way to the coast.

G.

[blondemoment]

And when you get to the top, make sure you take a photo!

[Gruffy]

Whatever you do, make sure you take the Route Napoleon from Grenoble to Cannes www.route-napoleon.com/gb/map/index.html

Gruffy

[Kitcarnewbie]

If your on a budget then www.hotelformule1.com/formule1/index.html.

Can't go wrong.

[fly boy]

Piers
I did something similar 3 years ago(is it that long since) in my '5, went down to Spain.
We used the Michelin Red book for overnight accomodation, never found a bad one in 3 weeks.
Have a good trip.

[Pierscoe1]

thanks all.. much appreciated.

great pic blondemoment!!!

we used a few F1's last year.. they do do exactly what they say on the (literally) tin!

also have the red book.. so will make good use of that..

I was more looking for suggestions as to which are the best towns etc to visit on the way down...

[Pierscoe1]

also...

is Route Napolean do-able in one day? or is it best to leave a couple of days to enjoy it??

and it that Col de la bonette on it?

[blondemoment]

The Route Napoleon - yes, can be done in a day, but really not recommended! If it is the height of summer, you will get stuck in traffic unless it is early morning or late evening. There are some lovely lunch/coffee/cold beer stops en route. It really is a 'must' though!

There are some awesome sights, and some parts need to be done both ways for sheer enjoyment!

As for the Col de la Bonette - it's quite a way east from the Route Napoleon, but worth a diversion - allow 4.5 hours to get there from Gap, and then remember you're climbing up to 2715m! Petrol is also scarce - if you see a petrol station, use it!!

Whatever you decide, have a great time!

Jo

[Pierscoe1]

ah.. thanks for that.

was just looking at the map for col de la bonnette.. and thinking that we might to grenoble to gap, then east to bonnette, and just head south from there.. and then do the other bit of the napolean northwards from cannes to gap on the way back....

will definately be fitting them both in though, one way or the other...