Driving to France

[JP_]

I think our summer holiday will be driving to France. Flying us to Italy for a week (son 2 and wife's choice) will cost over £4k. I haven't got that!
So thinking of driving (Chunnel is £350 with open ticket) and booking a few hotels scattered around, not too far.
Ideally, spend 1 hour a day driving.

So looking for suggestions for nice places to visit. Something that might interest 2 teenage boys (not a lot does!).

Was thinking of keeping it simple and sticking to the coast, and maybe visiting some war locations that they've studied in school, Dunkirk, etc.

But, Paris is not far away - assuming they have a park and ride, we could do a day trip to Paris (I wouldn't want to drive in). But it will probably be hell, as summer hols ...

Is getting close to the Alps doable in 4-5 days, without spending too much time in the car?

 

[JohnD]

Do you like trains?

 

[thomp1983]

Do your boys like cars and racing? You could visit the remains of the reims Gueux circuit which is publicly accessible, le man's also isn't too far south.

The Millau Viaduct is well worth a visit but probably too far south.

We're going to Beziers this year, we went to Perpignan last year, my wife hates long car journeys and our 3 year old isn't keen so I drive over a couple of days before with all the baggage and enjoy myself meandering down France and the wife flys out after and I pick them up from the airport and then we do the same in reverse for the journey home.

You could do your Italian trip depending on where you were planning to go, you can be in Italy within a day, just time your channel crossing so you'll drive through the majority of the night and you'd get to Turin by early morning whilst the rest of your passengers sleep.

 

[Odds]

Clarkson made it to the Alps in about ten hours, driving a Mustang.
Taking your time it should be doable with a stopover.

 

[JP_]

Do you like trains?

Not especially. They are handy to get from A to B. But I am not a trainspotter!

 

[JohnD]

As you say, they are handy for travelling.

IME European train services are a billion times better than British ones. You will not be crammed in a rush-hour commuter cattle truck.

 

[JP_]

Ooh, Chantilly might work. Has a "park and ride" for Paris, about 45 minutes and to the North.
We could aim to get there for dinner & hotel, then do Paris in a day, then back to hotel, then head off the next day ...

Paris park and ride guide – Eurotunnel Le Shuttle

Eurotunnel Le Shuttle's guide to the best park and ride spots around Paris.

www.eurotunnel.com

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Is getting close to the Alps doable in 4-5 days, without spending too much time in the car?

Quite easily. Take a look at the French, Swiss, Italian Alps and the Italian lake district.

 

[JohnD]

You don't need a car at all.

 

[JP_]

You don't need a car at all.

Without a car, it would take half the holiday to get to Dover.

I want to be able to visit smaller places, beaches etc, and not be restricted by public transport. And the family won't appreciate dragging luggage around for days either!

 

[Mr Chibs]

How far are you wanting to go in France?

Guedelon Castle rebuild

French War Ship tour

Amiens, unusual boat tour

If you know what direction you are likely to take, I'll see if I can remember other noticables.

Jacque Chirac museum, This one... is good, but haven't been to the Paris one.
Pin manufacturing museum also good.
Struthof, Nazi concentration camp
Chateau's galore.
Oradour sur glane

 

[foxhole]

You could save a lot using ferry and get a break from driving. Booking late night crossings is cheaper , then just turn up a couple of hours early and they will usually just put you on the next crossing they have so much over capacity.I drove back from Marval in France to home in Kent in one day (550miles) so doubt anywhere in France is beyond a week or so drive.
You need to take into account the many toll roads in France and plan your routes.

 

[Brigadier]

We went to France in 2018 by car, and it was great

I'd never driven abroad before, so took ferry from Portsmouth to Caen (to shorten the drive in France - we went to the Dordogne), but also to give me a longer rest between driving in England, and then again in France. The crossing was about 5 hrs.

Brittany Ferries, 0800 departure iirc, £500 return. Estate car, two adults, two kids. Absolute bargain, I thought.

Caen - Le Mans - Tours - Poitiers - Angouleme - Perigueux. Easy as.
Almost all toll routes, but cheap. Between 50 and 100 miles between pay stations. I think I spent less than £75 return on tolls.
Roads were almost empty too, a dream to drive on. I got out of the car after 4.5 hrs straight, feeling like I'd done 20 minutes. Joyous compared to UK.
Without blatting it, 6 hrs from Caen to Sarlat (stunning, medieval town).
I reckon you could do the Alps from Caen without any stress inside of two days, including two or three stops per day, and an overnighter.


If you only went as far as Tours this route, you could go west and south, as far as Nantes. Plenty of coast thataway

Car is good, because you don't have to faff with luggage.
If you have room too, you can also stock up in France, to bring stuff home.

Personally, I'd highly recommend it.

 

[jeds]

When my kids were about that age, we ferried across to Caen and drove down the coast to somewhere South of la Rochelle. There are loads of campsites/lodges around there. The one we went to had a swimming pool but the coast was brilliant for body boarding. Cheap holiday but the kids still talk about it now.

 

[fixitflav]

I think our summer holiday will be driving to France. Flying us to Italy for a week (son 2 and wife's choice) will cost over £4k. I haven't got that!
So thinking of driving (Chunnel is £350 with open ticket) and booking a few hotels scattered around, not too far.
Ideally, spend 1 hour a day driving.

So looking for suggestions for nice places to visit. Something that might interest 2 teenage boys (not a lot does!).

Was thinking of keeping it simple and sticking to the coast, and maybe visiting some war locations that they've studied in school, Dunkirk, etc.

But, Paris is not far away - assuming they have a park and ride, we could do a day trip to Paris (I wouldn't want to drive in). But it will probably be hell, as summer hols ...

Is getting close to the Alps doable in 4-5 days, without spending too much time in the car?

You could use Chambres d'hotes for accommodation. I have the Gites de France book, but I'm sure you can find them on the internet these days.

There are a couple of WW2 sites near St. Omer worth a visit, a blockhouse where V1s and V2s were launched, and la Coupole. And various WW1 sites eg Albert.