Driving to Southern France

[BigSilverEstate]

Hello

We're going to be driving down to the South of France (near Perpignan and the Spanish border on the Mediterranean side) from Calais later this summer. As we will have two small children with us we will probably not be too ambitious about the mileage we can cover each day and take 2-3 days over it. Does anyone who has done this drive have any tips for pleasant places to stop or stay overnight, routes to take or avoid?

Looking forward to putting the car to the kind of work it was born to do!

 

[Harrythedog]

I've done the drive a few times and always used the Autoroutes to get to Spain as quick as possible. Young children aren't really wild about sight-seeing so my thoughts were to get them on the beach ASAP. The Autoroutes are brilliant in comparison to this country with open air parks with toilet facilities every 20km or so. I used to have an overnight stop around Lyon in a motorway hotel (per booked) and on the road about 6am and the kids usually went back to sleep and I was at the Spanish border for about lunchtime.

 

[scottishman2]

What crossing are you taking?? and what time?? I drive over every six weeks or so ... not all the way to Perpignan, but know some lovely little stopping places on route...

 

[robpow]

If you make it to the Loire region near Tour I can recommended a look in at this castle:
Bienvenue

A very nice B&B we stayed in nearby:
Chambre d'hote de charme et gites en Touraine proche de Chenonceau et d'Amboise

Enjoy the drive!

Matt

 

[SavMan]

I have a place north east of Marseille and have been taken our kids 3 to 4 times a year since they were 3 years old. Cant really recommend places to stay as we typically went down through Dijon and Lyon which is way to far east a route for you.
What I would say though is my experience was get it over with as quick as possible our kids would become really grumpy on the 2nd day onwards if all they experienced was the inside of a car.

 

[BigSilverEstate]

Not sure what time of day we would be crossing - either an afternoon with an overnight stop in Calais before setting off, or as early as we can to get the miles in. I think we will do Dover-Calais rather than Brittany Ferries which are much more expensive and get booked up.

Still weighing up the quick dash to the beach (though it is very useful to know that is the consensus from people who have actually done it!) versus slower progress with a couple of overnight stops, so suggestions for lovely stopping places gratefully received.

 

[Aerialmark]

We are doing the same but taking our time as we have 3 weeks,we are going to go through Switzerland (Mont blanc tunnel) to Italy then onto South of France and then down to bay of Roses in Spain just over the boarder where we have a beach front apartment.If you are looking for something cheap and cheerful to stop at on the way down try Premier Classe hotels they are cheap and there is a good choice of them.You can book with your credit card and if you cancel before 18-00 on day of arrival you will not be charged.They range in price from £29 to about £69 the closer you are to a large city. Good luck !

 

[Harrythedog]

As stated previously do it in 2 days with the second days travel as short as possible.

 

[SavMan]

I would head a little further than Calais for your first overnight, you can easily cover 150 kms in 2 hours and you’re likely to find some far better and cheaper places to stay. Remember the next morning you are also 2 hours ahead of all the others getting off the morning ferries which means a far more relaxing mornings drive before lunch somewhere.

Just to clarify my earlier comment not sure I would do a dash of my kids were younger than 3 though they tend to get bored so quickly equally my neighbour has a totalling different view to me. His view is that his holiday starts the moment he starts his journey so he will take 3 days+ to get there whereas for me it’s when I have arrived at my house in France.

 

[stevieb15]

Not sure what time of day we would be crossing - either an afternoon with an overnight stop in Calais before setting off, or as early as we can to get the miles in. I think we will do Dover-Calais rather than Brittany Ferries which are much more expensive and get booked up.

Still weighing up the quick dash to the beach (though it is very useful to know that is the consensus from people who have actually done it!) versus slower progress with a couple of overnight stops, so suggestions for lovely stopping places gratefully received.

You could always try Newhaven-Dieppe, even with a cabin by far the cheapest crossing, travel overnight and start the morning early and fresh.

 

[scottishman2]

We tend to take our time these days, but when we went with the kids - heading to SW - we literally always went Dover - Calais (tunnel is so easy now but boat gives the kids a break..) leaving reasonably early to get crossing at around 10... then drove to Orleans... about 4 or 5 hour drive from Calais. Booked into the Novotel (La Source) cos it was comfortable but more important - it has a nice outdoor pool for the kids to chill out after the drive, and food is reasonable....

Next day you have about 6 -7 hour drive to Perpignan ... and if you go via Montpellier you can drive over the Millau viaduct .... an awesome experience unless you're scared of heights.....

 

[st4]

I've done this route but avoiding motorways. Aim to stop an Nantes/La Rochelle, and Bordeux. Thats what I did and I liked it.

Head over via Le Mans and La Sarthe, see the race circuit, its great

 

[BigSilverEstate]

We are doing the same but taking our time as we have 3 weeks,we are going to go through Switzerland (Mont blanc tunnel) to Italy then onto South of France and then down to bay of Roses in Spain just over the boarder where we have a beach front apartment.If you are looking for something cheap and cheerful to stop at on the way down try Premier Classe hotels they are cheap and there is a good choice of them.You can book with your credit card and if you cancel before 18-00 on day of arrival you will not be charged.They range in price from £29 to about £69 the closer you are to a large city. Good luck !

Loving the idea of cruising down the South coast from Italy but that'll be one for when the kids are at university circa 2030 Maybe by then I'll be able to afford the appropriate grand tourer car for the occasion as well. Thank you for the tip on the hotel chain.

 

[rigel]

If possible, don’t plan to travel on a French public holiday weekend. The queues for the toll booths around the large citys tend to be horrendous, or at least they were when we did it last year.

 

[Piff]

Have done south of france several times including perpignan
We used to take a mid morning ferry which by the time it crosses and you add an hour, limits driving distance the other side. Used to stop around Paris overnight.
The return journey can easily be done in one day. We set off from perpignan at about 8.30am, tried to chose the auto routes with no charges and aimed to stop overnight near paris.
Got to paris late afternoon and though we would continue driving to the other side of paris before looking for a hotel. Got to the other side, then couldn't find a cheap hotel, continued driving then realised we were only 2 - 3 hours from calais.
Continued to calais and got a midnight ferry, kip on the ferry & home by about 2.30am.

 

[A210AMG]

We have a 5yr old and 18month old and have done Chester to Annecy a few times now.

We have done it in one day (both kids are ace in the car) but its a long way for me... 850miles door to door..

Now we split the journey up, we do Chester to Canterbury and then get an early ferry or train. The train (tunnel) is quicker and don't forget going over you add the hr..

The french Toll roads are great you can dial up 80mph (in the dry) and cruise litteraly for hrs...no trucks etc. Costs from calais to Annecy around 80 euros.

We generally stop for toilet breaks / nappy changes.... and lunch and these tend to be staggered so it works out well for me to get out of the car for a bit.

We play all sorts of daft games on the way to keep the children entertained, there are 'tardis' like things at the side of the toll roads we spot and wizzard looking things that are ar the side quite often (I think these are solar powerd to do something?) Then there are generally big signs for areas to look at on the toll roads. All in all with a box of toys in the back and snacks its not a bad journey. I guess 850miles is about the same as your trip?

Word of warning if you have not been before, I remember marseile / nice, monaco being very very very hot in August....walking on the sand was burning...so be prepared. Especially with little ones.

Have a good and safe trip, don't forget all the bits you need... bulbs, hi - viz jackets, etc etc etc

 

[DITTRICH]

The French go on holiday too and at certain times the traffic is reputedly hell.
If ll you want to do is get to the south of France then I would suggest travelling overnight and dividing the driving with your partner. Everything is much easier at night on the continent and this means fast progress. I easily managed to get to the Dordogne overnight in time for breakfast (0945) earlier this month after taking the tunnel to arrive in France at midnight French time. And I was driving the s124 e300d estate - hardly a performance vehicle. The autoroute charges were around EUR40 each way from Calais to Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne just below Brive-le-gaillarde to give you an idea. I think with a little planning one overnight trip of 12 hours or so would be fine - save on the hotel too.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Don't forget your breathalyser too.

From London you should be able to get down to around Troyes without really pushing it, and then you would have a much easier drive the following day. I can't offer much advice on child friendly things (my idea of a good stop involves a place with a mediaeval cathedral and a Michelin starred restaurant - of the old school - with a damned good cellar).

If you go by ferry, you can get priority boarding for a modest supplement - it means you will be first off. This can easily save half an hour.

 

[Igurisu]

Having done most areas of France over the last 3 decades I would suggest the following (from London).

Take the chunnel, big time saving over the dover - calais crossing. Leave around 8, chunnel 10 (ish) out of port 12 local time then get somewhere between Orleans - Limoges. At the very least get to the other side of Paris then you have a clean run for the second day. Nothing worse than staying north of paris then getting caught in a bad day on the peripherique. Its 2,5 to 3 hours to paris, if the traffic is OK you should be between Orleans/Limoges by 5 or 6 pm.

 

[A210AMG]

The tunnel I agree is much quicker.

I prefer the boat as I can get a full fry up to start the journey and the kids like it...its more of an adventure.

You could tunnel out and boat back...


Reminds me I need to book ours for summer !