best routes through france

[Guest dave]

we are traveling on the channel tunnel on the first of feb 06 to france.what is the best free route to paris then on to clermont-ferrand where we belive there is a free moterway leading nearly to the spanish boarder.we are thinking of stopping overnight on the french services is this advisable.our destination is to spend 6months in spain so we will not be spending a lot of time in france on the way down will we have a lot of bad weather or will it be a mixed bag

[Guest PeteC]

WHY GO TO PARIS?????????????????????????????? We sail to Zebrugge and drive down past Calais to Caen area the across towards Pottiers - Limoges - Tolluse - Perpignon Or from Caen keep to the Eastern coast & head for San Sebastian You may pay a bit here & there - but it aint that much Try www.autoroute.fr it will polt a route that avoids Paris work out the fuel required & cost and time taken

[Guest dave]

thanks for your info have you stayed long term in southern spain and if so do you get beter rates on sites if you book say a month at a time

[Guest Don Madge]

The more experienced winter travellers usually take the route down the west coast of France and the across central Spain. A winter route we have used many times over the years is Channel Port, Rouen, Tours, Bordeaux,San Sebastian,Vitoria,Burgos, Madrid, Albacet and Benidorm. Using this route avoids the the high ground in France and also the bandit country between the French border,Barcelona and Valencia. In Spain the route is dual carriage way all of the way. You go over the Puetro do Somosierra at 1440 metres. There's no bends on the climb it's a very well engineered road. The Spanish are on the ball with the snow clearing, we have seen snowploughs positioned along the road before the snow has started to fall. If you are unfortunate to get caught up in a heavy snow fall you will not be alone just stay with the trucks and the road will be cleared ASAP. Don't use the side/minor roads on high ground because they are the last to be cleared after heavy snow falls. If your van is not winterised make sure you have some water in containers inside the van with you. We have been travelling in winter time for a good many years and have never been stuck in a snow drift,come close a few times, lucky, I'd put it down to forward planning and experience. Don't take too much notice of the dramatic stories you hear from some winter travellers, the UK motorhome fraternity thrives on rumour and speculation. Enjoy your trip, I remember our first winter away, it was a very rewarding experience. If I can be of further help get back to me. Safe travelling Don

[Guest Mel B]

Dave I don't think anyone has answered your question about staying on French services overnight - DON'T!!! By all means use them during the day for a rest stop but make sure you only use the 'aires' located in small towns etc for overnighting. It isn't advisavle to stay on the French motorway/main road 'aires' as it is too easy for villains to break in and drive off in to the distance. We've used quite a few of the small town aires this year and haven't had any problems at all.

[Guest dave]

thanks mel b we are arriving at calais at approx 1 30 am could you recomend a safe aire to stop at? we are then going onto paris nevers and clermont-ferrand then down to perpignan do you know of any where safe to stay on route ie aires or campsites that are open in winter

[Guest Mike E]

If you plan to go towards Nevers and eventually get on to the A75 via Millau my advice is don't. You will almost certainly encounter very heavy snow. Why do you need to go via Paris? It does'nt make sense unless you have to visit there for a specific reason. By far the best route in winter is as previously described

[Guest Brian Kirby]

You mention tolls. You are right about the autoroute from Clermont Ferrand being free, apart from the new Millau viaduct which carries a toll. However, you won't get there for free on the autoroutes! I'd say don't go via Paris, whichever route you take. The road from Clermont runs very high and you're almost bound to encounter snow and the attendant salt. As you dont seem in too much of a rush and both France and Spain are Euro countries, if you really want to avoid the tolls (and you'll probably be charged as a class 2, which means you pay more than a car) I'd avoid the autoroutes and, if the weather is reasonably fair, I'd also avoid the major N roads. I'd just wander across France on the less busy Ns and the Ds. You see more, you miss most of the hold ups, you can actually (and legally) cruise at 100 kph (just under 60 mph) for miles, you hardly see any other traffic and you avoid most of the areas where the thieves and vagabonds do dwell! Pass Paris to the West and head on down for Bordeaux on the nearest straight line. Use the Michelin 1:1,000,000 scale grands routes map for route planning and the 1:200,000 atlas for navigating. Research your stopping sites well beforehand, though as most campsites will be closed but also many of the aires close in winter. Bon voyage Brian

[Guest bb]

We did exactly the trip you were proposing last winter, and leave again on Feb 8, via Eurotunnel. Our route was via Abbeville, west of Paris overnight at Rambouillet camping cheque site, Orleans, Clermont Ferrand, overnight at Lodeve- site open all year just off the motorway, Beziers, Perpignan and over the border Spain. We could have done it faster than we did, but like to stop at 4ish to get a decent walk, and have a decent breakfast in the morning too! Before leaving, we checked the 5 day forecast on the viaMichelin website for snow, and our contingency plan was to go via Bordeaux, Toulouse, Narbonne which keeps to lower ground, and seems less disrupted by snow but it is longer. We used the motorway to get through France, and hopefully to better, warmer weather ASAP. We also wanted to go over the bridge at Millau. Our campervan qualifies as class 1, same as a car, luckily. Many Campsites in Spain are geared up for long stays, and many offer deals where the longer you stay, the cheaper it is. We used the C&CC rally at La Manga, and met many independant travellers there. Cabo de Gata has another popular, cheap long stay site, I believe, but I don't know the name. Do you have a motorhome or caravan? Presumably, if you have a motorhome, you will want to be able to park it up and have facilities such as shops and restaurants reasonably nearby. I'm sure others will have more ideas of sites. Good luck

[Guest Clive]

Paris?? Why?? If you are going for 6 months what is the rush. We go for 3 or 4 weeks at a time and NEVER use any autoroutes (apart from that required to drive over the Millau viaduct and we were camped nearly underneath it at Aguessac Municipal site, circular tour!). Get the Michelin map and do your own navigating taking in all the small villages en route. See REAL french people who are very nice. Try and speak some of thew language, if you try badly they will help you. But if you don,t bother don,t expect them to either. Its a loverly and diverse country so go and enjoy it all. But for me a town is a town almost antwhere! London, Paris, Vancouver. Mostly the same! BUILDINGS Good luck

[Guest martin]

My first drives through France (as a young lad) were in the late 50s taking the classic route on RN roads (all there was then)- Rouen, Evreux, Dreux, Chartres, Orleans, Chateauroux, Limoges, Toulouse and south. It took my father two days driving in an old Hillman - and as you have time enjoy the delights en-route, plenty of Aires and rural sites (if you don't like wild camping). MelB is such a pessimist! The only area to be canny of is way south of Toulouse where you might find the odd 'Gitanes' I'd plan to take four days and enjoy the trip no need to rush and enjoy the trip!

[Guest alanmac]

I know you are travelling by tunnel but I would head for the ferry port and spend the remainder of the night in the parking area there. There are usually many other 'vans and the area is fenced(apart from the entrance and exit) and also patrolled by guards with dogs. Not too noisy and certainly quieter than the paying "aire" at Bleriot Plage. Easy access to the Autoroute to Rouen. To Boulogne is free,next section to Abbeville is toll ( and costly) but we use the Route national ( N1 I think) and it's reasonably trouble free. Rejoin Autoroute after Abbeville and it's free again to Rouen and beyond except for about 2 euros for a short stretch at Rouen. We then head South via Dreux,Chartres Vierzon Limoges etc. Pay tolls to get past Orleans and the rest is free. Have a good time!

[Guest Brian Ramsden]

I have just returned from the Perpignan area. If you want a route using aires, for the most part free with electricity, take the A16 to Boulogne, N1 to Abbeville, A28 to Jct10 then D915 to Gourney. The aire is in the town centre - free but no electrics. From there go south to Chartres and to just outside Vierzon - Mery sur Cher. Aire alongside N76 5kms west - free with electricity. Then join A20 direction Limoges, to Jct 47 for aire in centre of Donzenac - free with 3amps electricity. Continue on A20 south of Brive then off at j53 onto N20 Cahors to Caussade then off to Gaillac, Revel , Castelnaudry and Fanjeaux - aire in centre of village, free with electricity. Then south to Limoux, Quillan, Perpignan and Port Vendres - aire next to port, €4.50 a night but no electricity - but by now you are next to the Med and don't need it. From there you can go over the border to spain, either directly or by going back to Le Boulou and picking up the N9 Brian Ramsden

[Guest Brian Ramsden]

I should have said that the stretches of motorway I suggest are toll free Brian Ramsden

[Guest dave]

thanks to you all for your response to my questions we will most likely follow the route west to san-sebastion madrid and on to benidorm thus avoiding paris now we just need to find a couple of sites or safe places to sleep on route

[Guest Dave]

Sites hmm we live "upnorth" so tend to take our time over it. 1.Black Horse Farm Dover Cross the Channel 2.Manoir De Seneqlues : Boulougne Sur Mer 3.Municipal Alencon: ( you may have to use the Aire here but it is safe) 4. Futuroscope : Poitiers 5.St Jean de Luz :Biarritz 6. Camping Tamarit :Park Barcelona ( we like thr restaurant here and you can get in to Barca) After that you can take your pick This route is about 95% toll free, I think we spent about £14 on tolls last year. Use the route National down from Alencon to Poiters Some prefer the Madrid route, if you do go that way stop NORTH of Madrid, you might fancy taking a day or so round Madrid and breaking off at Aranjuez good for a donder round. Many sites are getting booked up these days in Spain, if you are planning a long stay iit is certyainly worth going for the long stay discount.

[Guest peteC]

Dave we live "up North" We travel Hull Zebrugge (Zebruge is only 60 miles NOrth of Calais) you have a good nights sleep then arrive refreshed with the full day to travel Then you are on the above route and sites

[Guest Don Madge]

Pete, What you have to remember people don't want to pay £371 for a crossing when they can cross from dover to Dunkirk for £38. Actually calais is 75 miles from Zeebrugge. Don

[Guest Mike B]

Beware if taking the RN route described above-the French have gone roundabout crazy on this road and it takes hours to get anywhere. We went this route this summer and averaged 30mph from Alencon to Poitiers. Re aire near Calais, as you come off the train head for the Elf station on the Channel Tunnel complex-free overnight parking and perfectly safe. Alternatively if you want to do some shopping you can park up in the Cite Europe Coach park overnight-we stayed here in August with about 6 other vans and a couple of tuggers have a good trip-Mike

[Guest Brian Kirby]

Here's another little thought. I've done a bit of rough and ready research with Mappy.com, an internet place / route finding site that gives approximate autoroute toll charges, and Autoroute, just to see how long and how moch it takes to cross from Calais to the Spanish border at Hendaye (N Pyrenees). Using autoroutes wherever possible (irrespective of whether or not they charge tolls), starting 10:30 am and finishing 18:00 pm, including a one hour lunch break, two days. Alternative route using no toll roads, but otherwise all as above, three days. So, the quickest route requires one overnight stop, the no toll route two overnight stops. Approximate toll charges on the first option: 70 Euros for a Class 1 (under 3.5 tonnes and under 2 metres high) or 105 Euros for a Class 2 (under 3.5 tonnes and over 2 metres high but under 3 metres high). Classes 3 and 4 correspondingly greater. Cost of overnight stop in campsite, say, 20 Euros. Unless you are pushed for time, therefore, why use the autoroute? It costs 30 Euros more at best, 60 Euros if, as I'd suggest most motorhomes will be, you're over 2 metres high. (Incidentally, you get to class 3 for being 3 metres or over in height or over 3.5 tonnes and if you're 3 metres or over high and have 3 axles or weigh more than 3.5 tonnes - ouch! Quite a few luton bodied motorhomes will therefore make class 3, and some of the taller, heavier, tag axle jobs will make class 4. The toll charge for the whole route rises to nearly 200 Euros for Class 4!) All that expense to save a day and 20, maybe 25 Euros in site fees! Take it easy, say I and, if you can afford the extra day, spend your savings on a decent meal en-route. Much nicer than droning on and on down the autoroutes. They're so boring! Regards to all Brian

[Guest Bob]

Driving through towns and villages with traffic lights and roundabouts will also cost you extra fuel and a bad back. Motorways and dual carrigeways are always the preffered option through France for me but obviously many tolls can be avoided with good stretches of nearby roads. Mind you, your Tom-Tom needs to be gagged whilst you look at the trusty Michelin map.

[Guest dave]

thank you everone for your helpful tips now does any one know of any long term insurance companys who will insure with a prexisting medical condition cheapest quote so far is over £600 thanks

[Guest Derek Uzzell]

Dave: Best to ask about insurance via a brand new posting, as I doubt if many people (only sad b*****s like me) keep an eye on older postings and notice when an additional reply suddenly pops up. If you put in a new posting you'll get much more feedback.