French Road Trip
Discussion
Hi All
I'd just thought I'd post to share my excitement in the road trip I have planned with a couple of friends.
The cars are a Maserati 4200, Jag XKR and Porsche Cayman S and the Trip is to Uzerche, France and back. (500 odd miles each way)
I have recently bought my 4200 and a friend has just bought his XKR and as thy are proper GT cars we thought we'd do a proper GT trip. A 2nd friend is driving to Hungary that weekend for his wedding and has decided to take the biggest diversion and join us on the drive down and overnight at our French destination before heading off to Budapest the following day - quite mad!
Anyway, the plan is to get the 8am ferry from Dover on Saturday 28th and head down to Uzerche via the type of roads you don't find in the UK very often, i.e. fast and lightly trafficked, Chatreaux and the A20.
Our destination is an area I know reasonably well, there are some fantastic driving roads around and about, particularly the route to Angouleme, so a few good days out, long lunches and farmhouse restaurant dinners to be expected before stocking up with beer and cheese and heading back on Thursday 2nd.
Walkie talkies and sat navs are on charge. It should be great fun and I am getting really quite excited.
I'll post up some pics when if get back if anyone is interested.
Bon voyage!
I'd just thought I'd post to share my excitement in the road trip I have planned with a couple of friends.
The cars are a Maserati 4200, Jag XKR and Porsche Cayman S and the Trip is to Uzerche, France and back. (500 odd miles each way)
I have recently bought my 4200 and a friend has just bought his XKR and as thy are proper GT cars we thought we'd do a proper GT trip. A 2nd friend is driving to Hungary that weekend for his wedding and has decided to take the biggest diversion and join us on the drive down and overnight at our French destination before heading off to Budapest the following day - quite mad!
Anyway, the plan is to get the 8am ferry from Dover on Saturday 28th and head down to Uzerche via the type of roads you don't find in the UK very often, i.e. fast and lightly trafficked, Chatreaux and the A20.
Our destination is an area I know reasonably well, there are some fantastic driving roads around and about, particularly the route to Angouleme, so a few good days out, long lunches and farmhouse restaurant dinners to be expected before stocking up with beer and cheese and heading back on Thursday 2nd.
Walkie talkies and sat navs are on charge. It should be great fun and I am getting really quite excited.
I'll post up some pics when if get back if anyone is interested.
Bon voyage!
Edited by allgonepetetong on Thursday 19th August 11:02
Enjoy 
Some wonderful roads over here , Downside is i've completed my mission in France and returning to the UK today 
Driving through the centre of Paris at 1AM is pretty Awesome , the Effiel Tower is just amazing ,
downsides are i never got to see Reims circuit or the milau bridge as well
Some wonderful roads over here , Downside is i've completed my mission in France and returning to the UK today Driving through the centre of Paris at 1AM is pretty Awesome , the Effiel Tower is just amazing ,
downsides are i never got to see Reims circuit or the milau bridge as well
Really jealous mate, i love driving in France! I go over every year, although i couldnt make it this year. I dont get to gun it very often over there though as i have the family with me, but i do get out on my own for the odd blast! The last good excuse i had to drive hard over there was when the sat-nav took us off on a detour turning an 80 mile journey into 100 miles when we were already late. It was bloody great fun!! Quiet, wide country lanes with long sweeping corners for almost the entire journey!!
I love France and will do the road trip thing myself one day, have fun!
. I dont get to gun it very often over there though as i have the family with me, but i do get out on my own for the odd blast! The last good excuse i had to drive hard over there was when the sat-nav took us off on a detour turning an 80 mile journey into 100 miles when we were already late. It was bloody great fun!! Quiet, wide country lanes with long sweeping corners for almost the entire journey!! I love France and will do the road trip thing myself one day, have fun!
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I totally agree, and tbh, i think many people are making a mistake when they go on a tour which takes on many of the classic alpine cols, such as the Stelvi etc.I say go to Annecy and Grenoble (a comfortable drive in one hit) and you then have the roads of the driving gods right there on the doorstep, with a choice of the highest roads in europe or all the classic and modern Monte Carlo Rally routes.
In march-April time, whilst the best cols are indeed closed, there are still thousands of fabulous driving roads to choose from and they can be utterly, utterly deserted. I mean, spookily deserted at times.
Im going on a roadtrip down to the south of France too next week, then through italy, switzerland, germany and back home. However our budget was slightly different to yours by the sound of it, and so... we are going in a £700 1992 audi cabriolet 2.3, all sharing the driving, with nothing booked apart from the ferrys and a tent in the boot! Thats a real way to do a road trip 
Jelous much??
Jelous much??Blimey we're all doing it!
I've got the 1.22am tunnel booked on the 23rd...
Camping in Chamonix, then between Nice and Monaco, then near Modena, then hotel in Rome then back..
Might not get your heart racing too fast but I was REALLY excited as I was getting my 'new' 91 CRX vtec totally restored ready for the trip (body/paint/suspension/brakes/wheels/ICE)...all going well until the mechanic hit snags with the brakes and told me he wouldn't drive it that far...
So we're in the Kuga now... comfy, more room, MP3, sat nav, relaibility, panoramic roof and air con, derv economy....
I've got the 1.22am tunnel booked on the 23rd...
Camping in Chamonix, then between Nice and Monaco, then near Modena, then hotel in Rome then back..
Might not get your heart racing too fast but I was REALLY excited as I was getting my 'new' 91 CRX vtec totally restored ready for the trip (body/paint/suspension/brakes/wheels/ICE)...all going well until the mechanic hit snags with the brakes and told me he wouldn't drive it that far...
So we're in the Kuga now... comfy, more room, MP3, sat nav, relaibility, panoramic roof and air con, derv economy....
You are driving part of the trip I did 3 weeks ago. I continued past Uzerche down the A20 to near Cahore were we stayed with friends who have a converted barn in Nadillac. Past Souillac the A20 becomes a toll road so we turn off before there and use the N20 instead (a sweeping road through the hills and passes through a few villages). We then went on to Carcassonne and took a return route that included the Millau bridge. However, we took 12 days to complete the 2025 miles (including 350 in the UK to/from the Channel Tunnel).
Following the trip I wrote this for my local IAM group:
_________
Driving in France
PROS
Road surfaces are in general much better then in the UK. The average French equivalent of a UK ‘B’ road has a much better surface than a UK ‘A’ road. Because the roads are kept in such a good state there was very little damage (potholes) caused by the severe winter weather.
The amount of traffic on the roads (motorways, main roads and side roads) is a fraction of the level that is normal in the UK. I did not suffer a single hold-up the whole of the time I was in France but was delayed by 1½ hours due to heavy traffic on the M25 (the Farnborough airshow was on) when we returned to England!
There are very few cars/vans that break the speed limit on any road, although the 50kph (31mph) limit in towns/villages seems to be the most abused.
Pedestrian crossings have advance warning signs up to 300 metres ahead. Towns and villages have more pedestrian crossings than in the UK – I saw 8 in less than 1km in one small town.
CONS
Roundabouts are generally of smaller overall diameter than in the UK.. Although the road surface is often of sufficient width for two lanes there are rarely any lane markings. Most French drivers treat all roundabouts as if there was only one lane and rarely give any indicator signals.
French drivers are even worse ‘tailgaters’ than the British. On a number of occasions when travelling at the 130kmh (81mph) limit on a motorway I could not see the front of the bonnet of the car behind.
French drivers overtake very slowly; I suspect because they keep close to the speed limit when doing so. This leads to them cutting back in very soon after completing the overtake; often close enough to force the overtaken driver (me!) to brake in order to open up a reasonable following distance.
A small minority of French drivers seem to consider it an insult to France’s national pride if they have to follow a UK registered car and will overtake in the most ridiculous situations; and then continue at the same speed as the UK car they have just overtaken.
Trucks over 12 tonnes seem to generally ignore the 60kph limit that applies to them on 90kph (for cars) roads and almost all ignore the 90kmh limit that applies to them on motorways. On one occasion I was overtaken on a motorway by a large truck/trailer when I was travelling at 130kph on the flat, although I re-passed it on the next uphill section and never saw it again.
___________________
Enjoy your trip - it seems to be more about the actual driving then mine was.
Following the trip I wrote this for my local IAM group:
_________
Driving in France
PROS
Road surfaces are in general much better then in the UK. The average French equivalent of a UK ‘B’ road has a much better surface than a UK ‘A’ road. Because the roads are kept in such a good state there was very little damage (potholes) caused by the severe winter weather.
The amount of traffic on the roads (motorways, main roads and side roads) is a fraction of the level that is normal in the UK. I did not suffer a single hold-up the whole of the time I was in France but was delayed by 1½ hours due to heavy traffic on the M25 (the Farnborough airshow was on) when we returned to England!
There are very few cars/vans that break the speed limit on any road, although the 50kph (31mph) limit in towns/villages seems to be the most abused.
Pedestrian crossings have advance warning signs up to 300 metres ahead. Towns and villages have more pedestrian crossings than in the UK – I saw 8 in less than 1km in one small town.
CONS
Roundabouts are generally of smaller overall diameter than in the UK.. Although the road surface is often of sufficient width for two lanes there are rarely any lane markings. Most French drivers treat all roundabouts as if there was only one lane and rarely give any indicator signals.
French drivers are even worse ‘tailgaters’ than the British. On a number of occasions when travelling at the 130kmh (81mph) limit on a motorway I could not see the front of the bonnet of the car behind.
French drivers overtake very slowly; I suspect because they keep close to the speed limit when doing so. This leads to them cutting back in very soon after completing the overtake; often close enough to force the overtaken driver (me!) to brake in order to open up a reasonable following distance.
A small minority of French drivers seem to consider it an insult to France’s national pride if they have to follow a UK registered car and will overtake in the most ridiculous situations; and then continue at the same speed as the UK car they have just overtaken.
Trucks over 12 tonnes seem to generally ignore the 60kph limit that applies to them on 90kph (for cars) roads and almost all ignore the 90kmh limit that applies to them on motorways. On one occasion I was overtaken on a motorway by a large truck/trailer when I was travelling at 130kph on the flat, although I re-passed it on the next uphill section and never saw it again.
___________________
Enjoy your trip - it seems to be more about the actual driving then mine was.
Have fun!
Got back from my own French road trip a couple of weeks ago, Calais to the Med and back via Reims and Millau. Car was a slightly more modest GTi-6 pug, but had the best hols ever! The roads through the Cevennes region were particularly entertaining but all round just so much more pleasant that driving here in Blighty.
Got back from my own French road trip a couple of weeks ago, Calais to the Med and back via Reims and Millau. Car was a slightly more modest GTi-6 pug, but had the best hols ever! The roads through the Cevennes region were particularly entertaining but all round just so much more pleasant that driving here in Blighty.
I'm leaving for a French road trip romorrow morning, bit dofferent to the OP...
I'm taking the... wait for it.... Renault Scenic!! It's going be amazimg as it's the vintage 2005 model with the infamous 1.9dci engine! I've got a new roof box, a bike rack, there'll be young children in the back and they're bringing their CDs..
Family holidays, eh
I'm taking the... wait for it.... Renault Scenic!! It's going be amazimg as it's the vintage 2005 model with the infamous 1.9dci engine! I've got a new roof box, a bike rack, there'll be young children in the back and they're bringing their CDs..
Family holidays, eh
Mansell90 said:
Im going on a roadtrip down to the south of France too next week, then through italy, switzerland, germany and back home. However our budget was slightly different to yours by the sound of it, and so... we are going in a £700 1992 audi cabriolet 2.3, all sharing the driving, with nothing booked apart from the ferrys and a tent in the boot! Thats a real way to do a road trip Jelous much??
If you're on a tight budget, Spain is much much cheaper than Switzerland and Italy. Jelous much??All
Well, back from the trip now and it was absolutely fantastic! The weather was beautiful, the asphalt was smooth and we hardly saw another car on our days out!
The blast down was a real hoot. To remind you we were made up of my Maserati Coupe, a Jag XKR and a Cayman S. We left Calais and headed towards Rouen and Le Mans on route for Limoges and finally Uzerche which lies just of the A20 (the free autoroute running north - south)
We flew down averaging around 90 leptons with occasional bursts up to 160 leptons and above. Of course we caught up a lot of cars and quite a few wanted to play too. A couple that spring to mind were a 997 C2s (until his blonde female passenger obviously started to bend his ear
) and a Peugeot 309 I think it was that was seriously quick, must have been a chipped deisel.
Interestingly, what I gained from the trip most was that i have completely fallen in love with the Maserati. I bought my '04 4200 back in May and although I really liked the car, I wasn't overly impressed. It felt very, very heavy, like a 2000 kilo barge really, understeered when pushed, felt wallowy and sluggish. I knew it wasn't a sports car, but was distinctly unimpressed with the handling. I thought this was just how the cars were and tried to drive around it and make allowances.
Before we set off for France, I checked the oil, washer fluid, coolant and tyre pressures - as you do. Well f
k me if the car hadn't come from it's main dealer service prior to sale with 22psi in each corner! No wonder it felt ste.
I upped the pressures to 32psi all round and it has totally transformed the car. It feels alive, up on its toes, willing to hustle and no longer understeers but turns in sharply and with real bite.
I have totally fallen in love with it. It's every car I need it to be (apart from the wallet shrivelling 17.5 mpg trip average). I can't believe it would leave a main dealer like that, I bet they didn't even check the tyres - and I paid them £350 for a ppi, what the fk did they actually check for that?
Anyway, alls well and I love the car. It didn't miss a beat all week and on occasion was pushed very hard, braking late and deep into fantastic bends on beautifully smooth open French asphalt. It really was a dream car for such a trip - love it!
If anyone can help advising how to post pics I'll be happy to put some up.
Well, back from the trip now and it was absolutely fantastic! The weather was beautiful, the asphalt was smooth and we hardly saw another car on our days out!
The blast down was a real hoot. To remind you we were made up of my Maserati Coupe, a Jag XKR and a Cayman S. We left Calais and headed towards Rouen and Le Mans on route for Limoges and finally Uzerche which lies just of the A20 (the free autoroute running north - south)
We flew down averaging around 90 leptons with occasional bursts up to 160 leptons and above. Of course we caught up a lot of cars and quite a few wanted to play too. A couple that spring to mind were a 997 C2s (until his blonde female passenger obviously started to bend his ear
) and a Peugeot 309 I think it was that was seriously quick, must have been a chipped deisel.Interestingly, what I gained from the trip most was that i have completely fallen in love with the Maserati. I bought my '04 4200 back in May and although I really liked the car, I wasn't overly impressed. It felt very, very heavy, like a 2000 kilo barge really, understeered when pushed, felt wallowy and sluggish. I knew it wasn't a sports car, but was distinctly unimpressed with the handling. I thought this was just how the cars were and tried to drive around it and make allowances.
Before we set off for France, I checked the oil, washer fluid, coolant and tyre pressures - as you do. Well f
k me if the car hadn't come from it's main dealer service prior to sale with 22psi in each corner! No wonder it felt ste. I upped the pressures to 32psi all round and it has totally transformed the car. It feels alive, up on its toes, willing to hustle and no longer understeers but turns in sharply and with real bite.
I have totally fallen in love with it. It's every car I need it to be (apart from the wallet shrivelling 17.5 mpg trip average). I can't believe it would leave a main dealer like that, I bet they didn't even check the tyres - and I paid them £350 for a ppi, what the f
k did they actually check for that? Anyway, alls well and I love the car. It didn't miss a beat all week and on occasion was pushed very hard, braking late and deep into fantastic bends on beautifully smooth open French asphalt. It really was a dream car for such a trip - love it!
If anyone can help advising how to post pics I'll be happy to put some up.
I've just got back too.... Kuga diesel performed beautifully and was in the even t necessary with campsites in Chamonix and Tuscany requiring the ground clearance and 4WD (the CRX would have been killed...)
As has been said roads are glass like all over France, with anything and everything south opf Lyon being senically spectacular and if you're not on a motorway technically enjoyable.
Cops were rare, very rare.
Supermarket fuel prices were around 1.1 Euro a litre for diesel (85p!!!!!!!!!!) with unleaded a bit more.
Got pulled at by Italian cops at 5am when leaving Tuscany for Rome, he was fine though once he saw all our papers were in order and we had the warning triangle and hi-vis stuff... (I was bricking it as I was making cough-good time-cough through sleepy villages at that point)
Italian Autostradas are also glass like, but sweep and bend like a B road! - locals are fine but tend to drift across lanes like the whole thing is theirs... you soon get into the swing of it and take part
Did about 3500 miles.... sadly mostly motorway due to time restraints although from Chamonix to Monaco via abit of Italy and Mont Blanc tunnel wa a day I won't forget in a hurry....just stunning.
Getting off the oh-so-efficient tunnel straight ont M20 was the msot depressing point...bumpy, clogged and dull...
As has been said roads are glass like all over France, with anything and everything south opf Lyon being senically spectacular and if you're not on a motorway technically enjoyable.
Cops were rare, very rare.
Supermarket fuel prices were around 1.1 Euro a litre for diesel (85p!!!!!!!!!!) with unleaded a bit more.
Got pulled at by Italian cops at 5am when leaving Tuscany for Rome, he was fine though once he saw all our papers were in order and we had the warning triangle and hi-vis stuff... (I was bricking it as I was making cough-good time-cough through sleepy villages at that point)
Italian Autostradas are also glass like, but sweep and bend like a B road! - locals are fine but tend to drift across lanes like the whole thing is theirs... you soon get into the swing of it and take part
Did about 3500 miles.... sadly mostly motorway due to time restraints although from Chamonix to Monaco via abit of Italy and Mont Blanc tunnel wa a day I won't forget in a hurry....just stunning.
Getting off the oh-so-efficient tunnel straight ont M20 was the msot depressing point...bumpy, clogged and dull...
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