Going driving round some parts of Europe

[st4]

AND let your Bank know you are going away so they don't decline your transactions!

V. Good advice.

Going to take a couple of credit cards as well on my trip for worst case, proper holiday insurance as well.

I have booked my Ferries:

Dover/Dunkurke return for £60.00

Any suggested route?

I want to see Riems and avoid Paris but go down the Route Napoleon. Other routes worthwhile to get to Monaco?

 

[marty359]

Everythings been mentioned but if I was doing it again Id take a satnav with speed cameras on it.The police dont seem to bother you abroad unless your driving like a complete numpty.

I did get stopped in Italy early one morning though at a routine checkpoint coming off the autostrada.The wife had drunk too much pino and was slummped in the passenger seat,the policeman went straight to the left side of the car looked in and his jaw nearly hit the floor then he saw the steering wheel on the other side laughed and waved us on our way.

Have a great trip.

 

[NewMB]

V. Good advice.

Going to take a couple of credit cards as well on my trip for worst case, proper holiday insurance as well.

I have booked my Ferries:

Dover/Dunkurke return for £60.00

Any suggested route?

I want to see Riems and avoid Paris but go down the Route Napoleon. Other routes worthwhile to get to Monaco?

Geneva?!

Beautiful place.

 

[Charles Morgan]

V. Good advice.

Going to take a couple of credit cards as well on my trip for worst case, proper holiday insurance as well.

I have booked my Ferries:

Dover/Dunkurke return for £60.00

Any suggested route?

I want to see Riems and avoid Paris but go down the Route Napoleon. Other routes worthwhile to get to Monaco?

When are you going, and what sort of time do you plan to spend on the road?

The reason I ask is that the routes south can be nightmarish in summer (Les Grands Vacances) and such are the distances involved it would be sensible to mix scenic with rapid.

Certainly Reims is worth a visit, the Cathedral in particular, the rest of Champagne (unless you wish to taste) is pretty dull. Burgundy and Beaujolais on the way down are wonderful countryside. Lyons is worth a stop too, as the gastronomic capital of France, and the Rhone Valley is pretty stunning. All the above are wine regions, so I like them a lot.

 

[kole301]

In France:
Absolute priority to cars coming from the right... They will not even look to the left side and drive like fool... On round-abouts in the absence of a signe priority to the car entering the round-about... If you can enter and get out of the round-about of "Arc de Triophe" in Paris you car survive anywhere in France... Becareful of tramways, bycycles and motorcycles... Motorcycle drivers might be very agressive... On highways they are driving between the last two lanes to the left... And of course the traffic is on the right side... Have a nice journey...

 

[st4]

When are you going, and what sort of time do you plan to spend on the road?

The reason I ask is that the routes south can be nightmarish in summer (Les Grands Vacances) and such are the distances involved it would be sensible to mix scenic with rapid.

Certainly Reims is worth a visit, the Cathedral in particular, the rest of Champagne (unless you wish to taste) is pretty dull. Burgundy and Beaujolais on the way down are wonderful countryside. Lyons is worth a stop too, as the gastronomic capital of France, and the Rhone Valley is pretty stunning. All the above are wine regions, so I like them a lot.

I got 2 weeks. Just me and my mate now as the rest have dropped out. Can stop off randomly as will have tents etc packed, want to avoid motorways for as much as possible, I am thinking Riems with a run to Grenoble, possibly stop there, then down the route napoleon to Cannes and have a nosey round the cote de zur before heading over to Barcelona.

 

[A210AMG]

Couple of points to add.

In France as mentioned above YOU can be on a main ish road and cars entering the main ish road from your right have priority?? its a very odd law....but beware.

Petrol stations can be a long way apart, I've been running on fumes in a few cars that have small tanks / don't do much mpg..keep an eye on the dial.

I'm biased as go there a few times a year but Annecy in France is lovely, about 40mins from Geneva and very very pretty. (I'm there in August)

Toll boths very hard to pay if your on your own in a RHD car...however look out as some now have the pay machines in both sides.

Have a great trip

 

[Druk]

Agree about Annecy. Been there a lot. Lakeside town and lovely little canals and nice places to eat at night. Not far from there to Chamonix and views of Mont Blanc. Extraordinary motorway worth a visit in itself. If you get to Grenoble go to Briancon via D1091 Alpe-d'Huez then rejoin Route de Napoleon at Gap.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Steve,

I normally drive on the autoroute if I am going long distances, and at Reims normally head off to Alsace rather than go South.

However, in the north down to Reims there is a lot to see and do, and the driving off the autoroute is good. I can heartily recommend the Michelin Green Guide.

You can choose a bit of a WWI itinerary down to Reims. Coming into Dunkirk you are very close to the Ypres salient, where there are innumerable WWI monuments, visits and cemeteries. Among other things on the way down, you have the monument at Vimy Ridge, which is worth a detour, the Somme Battlefields including the Highland Division memorial at Beaumont Hamel, the Chemin des Dames near Soissons, and Compiegne, site of the Armistice signing.

Other historical sites worth a visit include St Omer, Laon and Beauvais (the latter if you like mediaeval cathedral architectural folly - not worth it otherwise).

In Reims you have the Cathedral and the Basilica of St Remy, plus the numerous Champagne houses, although Epernay is better for tours of the large ones. If you want to visit any I am happy to consult with my champagne loving friends as to the best one. The drive over the Montagne de Reims to Epernay is ok, and Champagne is not that interesting scenically, but Troyes to the south is worth a visit. Below that, my knowledge is limited until you get to Burgundy, where a tour along the vineyards of the Cote d'Or down to Beaune (a mediaeval town at the heart of the wine trade) is worth it.

Beyond that, I have no real experience to impart as I have never explored that part of France.

2 weeks is not long!

 

[C43AMG]

Adam just think what you could and should be driving in Europe Not the Beemer surely . Have a great trip and be safe,

 

[st13phil]

Steve - if you want to look at any of the WWI sites then if you have a sat-nav that allows you to import POI's then I can send you a file containing locations of pretty much every significant WWI memorial, cemetary, monument and museum in Belgium and northern France. I would counsel however, that you could easily spend all two weeks looking around those sites and never get down south! As Charles has said, Vimy Ridge is well worth a detour (take the guided tour of the underground tunnels, too), and if you do decide to take a look around the Ypres Salient then Tyne Cot cemetary (the largest CWGC memorial anywhere) and the German cemetary at Langemarck should be at the top of your list of places to see imo.

However, if you want to see the south then you are best off ignoring most of northern France and getting on with the journey. I would suggest:

• Autoroute to Reims
• Autoroute Reims -> Troyes
• N71 / D971 Troyes -> Dijon (a beautiful flowing road)
• Autoroute Dijon -> Grenoble
• N75 / D1075 Dijon -> Sisteron (the citadel is worth a look)
• N85 (Route Napoleon) Sisteron -> Grasse

My other tip is to buy the relevant Michelin maps and follow roads with a green edge as these are the scenic routes.

Unless you are in a hurry, think in terms of 3 days to get to the south coast, and longer if you want to explore. While you're down there a drive along both sides of the Canyon du Verdon is worthwhile, as is the coast road heading west, but avoid St-Tropez / Port Grimaud unless you have a masochistic streak and/or like sitting in traffic jams.

Personally, I wouldn't bother trying to get to Barcelona unless you have a specific need as you will miss out on some fantastic places in France. On the way back I'd suggest stopping off in the Ardeche (look around Aubenas, Privas, Le Puy) as there are some fantastic and quite quiet roads around there, then head north-west (Figeac / Cahors / Brive) and continue your journey homewards, keeping west of Paris. Just north-west of Limoges, stop off at Oradour-sur-Glane and visit the deserted village that has been preserved as a monument to the villagers who were massacred in a truly pointless Nazi atrocity towards the end of WWII. A very sobering experience.

Have a great time

 

[Adam230K]

Adam just think what you could and should be driving in Europe Not the Beemer surely . Have a great trip and be safe,

Haha, you are right, the amg would be great, the BM is surprisingly relaxing to drive though, have to post screen shots of 33.6mpg over 200 miles

I am in brugge at the moment. nice scenery but moving to switzerland tomorrow any suggestions on things to see in switz?

 

[A210AMG]

Brugge....mmmm lovely chocolates

Switerland (remember you may need road tax), Theres a huge fountain at Geneva and if you like your watches its nice to look in some of the shops. Evian is also a nice place to walk round. Like I say your very near Annecy now (about 40 mins) and thats lovely !!

 

[st4]

Gentlemen,

I have had a look at my old Garmin Street pilot and fancy upgrading it to one of those Tom Toms with IQ routes and Europe mapping. Anyone have any experience of the said device (want XXL screen). Whats this mapshare thingee, can I get free map updates on it.

At the same time I will sell the road Angel 2 as the Tom Tom has a decent database of cop sites.

Any takers for the two of them?

Ta

 

[Charles Morgan]

Steve - I have the Tom Tom with Europe and IQ. Great, better than the SatNav in my 05 Porsche Boxster.

 

[st4]

Steve - I have the Tom Tom with Europe and IQ. Great, better than the SatNav in my 05 Porsche Boxster.

I am gonna go and buy it I think,

 

[A210AMG]

^ worth a look here?

TomTom XL IQ Routes Europe Refurbished - TomTom GPS sat nav