Best route to Le Mans - from Bolougne

[matt21]

anyone got a good route down. i have a bit of time of the friday (arriving in bolougne at 9am) and plan to avoid motorways and take the french country roads. is there a nice route anyone is aware of, that wont be lurking full of cops. i was thinking of rueon??? (sp)

had a riot a couple of years ago going to south of france without touching a motorway

[jfalesi]

Hello Matt,

Everything depends how much time you want to spend on the journey to Le Mans... But I can help out: I live in St Cloud, next to Boulogne.

Edited by jfalesi on Saturday 26th May 00:02

[111KAB]

Somebody will be on in a while with much better advise than me however you haven't got much time to spare at all....if you wanted an easier /quieter trip down LEAVE NOW!! The Friday (I presume you mean 15th) will be hell as will Rouen....hardly any routes from the North allow you to miss conjested Rouen and any route you take will have been thought of by others. Sorry to put a downer on your aspirations ...I'd just get down there and settle in/enjoy a beer as quickly as possible.
111KAB

[obes]

I'd second that mate
Just get down there ASAP! friday is a great day around the circuit

[corozin]

Hi,
I'm assuming you haven't really checked the map, but Boulogne -> Le Mans is around 250 miles via the most direct/fast (peage) route. With at least one stop en-route it will take you maybe 5½ hours to reach the circuit.

I would suggest that if you intend to go "off piste" you plan your route very carefully in advance and try and use a tool like AutoRoute to estimate the journey. I have personal experience where a group of us all trusted a friend's Sat-Nav and we ended up going via Paris. Result? A 9½ hour drive...

HTH,
John

[jfalesi]

OOps!!!

I just realiezd you are talking about Boulogne sur Mer, whereas I live near Boulogne Billancourt...

Sorry... I would recommend to follow the previous advises....

[matt21]

hi everyone, thanks for your advice.

thanks anyway but yes it is bolougne sur mer

reason why i suggest this is from previous experience travelling of frances N roads prove to be almost as quick as the motorways and much quieter and more fun! - probably not the case this particular w/e tho.

unfortunately we cant leave until friday due to work commitments so will be in france 9am, and would like to be in le mans by 4ish (after a stop to get some beer and a BBQ ).

You all saying that the route through Rueon will be heaving. I dont mind travelling straight down just faniced something more fun! And final question, how much would I expect to pay in tolls on the way down??

thanks

[blondemoment]

Tolls - around €22.80 - do you have a passenger?!

[JulesV]

Have a look at this thread.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I can recommend going via the Pont de Brotonne. There are nice roads either side of it which makes a change from the autoroute. Misses out Rouen altogether, very nice bridge as well!

J

[The Leaper]

Matt, You're travelling Friday? I've been doing the same since 1996 and am doing the same this year. Rouen will be busy with local traffic but the majority of Brits will have passed through Thursday or before so in my past experience you need not be too bothered by Rouen traffic. Far more important for Friday trippers is the fact that the centre of Le Mans will be closed off from around 15:00 for the parade, and also this year there's a real mess for the south of Le Mans with the tramway being built. So, this year we're getting the Friday 07:20 Le Shuttle and then after Rouen we're using the autoroute not the N128 (shame really!) to buy some time, so we hope to be getting to Le Mans before 15:00 and avoiding gridlock. R