touring across franceFirst remember that France is a much bigger country than the United Kingdom. Fortunately touring across France is easy as there is a very good network of autoroutes. Of course, you could fly to a French destination and pickup a hire car. France is renowned for its fast TGV (rail) service. The TGV network is being constantly improved. You can take your car to the south of France on the rail network.

Travel during July and August by road can be problematic especially at the peak periods: beginning of July and end of August when most of the country goes on holiday and migrates to the south!

One of my favourite holidays was driving holiday around France – arriving at Calais we drove along the north coast of the country through Normandy stopping at Honfleur – a very quaint harbour. Then south into the Loire valley visiting Vouvray (yes, plenty of degustation) onto Tours and Angers. There are plenty of chateaux to admire on the way. Then cutting across to sandy beaches on the Poitou-Charentes coast.

Incidentally, we stopped at many motels on the way. There are a huge range of these motels situated on the outskirts of towns – we never found any difficulty in availability – typically pitching up at about 5 or 6 pm. Formule1 is cheap and cheerful but for a few euros more you can stay at comfortable motels. Breakfasts are great but evening meals are not always available at the motel. Usually you can find a good restaurant close by and enjoy a lovely french food washed down by one of the many fruity french wines.

Generally, we found most motels and restaurants understand English but try out a few french phrases. The French will be delighted if you try to speak the language!

Our journey continued down the Atlantic coast taking in the spectacular Pyla sand dune nr Arcachon. Then heading east through the Midi Pyrenees taking in some of the delightful rivers in the Lot. So many old villages to admire and potter around. As you travel down the autoroute you spy the World Heritage site at Carcassone – the Old City fortress – it is certainly worth a detour. At last we reached the Mediterranean coast at Collioure (very close to the Spanish border). This is a must visit beach. Make sure you check out Perpignan, Beziers and Montpellier as you drive East.

The Camargue is wild and quite desolate but it is worth a visit to see the white horses, bulls and flamingoes. Onwards towards Provence and Cote d’Azur: the beaches are superb but do go inland to visit Aix-en-Provence, the Luberon, Gorges du Verdon – to many mention a few highlights.

All too soon it was time to drive up the east borders of France across the Rhone-Alpes into the lovely vineyards of Burgundy (stopping over in Beaune to admire the tiled roofs). Eventually arriving back in Calais. Just 2 weeks to sample some of the delights of France. Touring France can be fun; you can enjoy the french culture, admire many tourist attractions, and have plenty of memories to reflect upon.

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