Areas to visit on way to the south of France?

ToBoldlyGo

ToBoldlyGo

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We've only done one trip abroad so far, to Normandy. It was great!

I'm now thinking of about a 4-6 week trip from Calais to somewhere around the south of France. I have the Vosges and Alsace Lorraine on my 'must visit' list but could I have more suggestions please? Also, I'm not sure where to go more or less due south from Calais working our way down to the med on the E side or where to go down (or back up) diagonally.
 
if youre happy to meander then Orouet sur Glane is a very moving place to visit.
 
So many lovely places to see I don’t know where to start. It much depends on the sort of thing you like to do, laze in the sun by the sea or lake, walk, cycle or tour towns and cities. We’re all different.
We will be off within the next couple of weeks, also heading to the south of France.
Depending on weather we will either trundle, spending a couple of days here and there on the way down, or dash if the weather is poor.
We will probably stop at La Mailleray-sur-Seine for a day or two, then across to the Loire, down towards Clermont Ferrand then down the A75 to Gruissan, near Narbonne.
There are some lovely old villages off the A75, all with aires. Smashing scenery as you drive over the hills but cold this time of year, it’s very high.
Wherever you go, don’t over plan, just enjoy.

Richard.
 
ToBoldlyGo said:
We've only done one trip abroad so far, to Normandy. It was great!

I'm now thinking of about a 4-6 week trip from Calais to somewhere around the south of France. I have the Vosges and Alsace Lorraine on my 'must visit' list but could I have more suggestions please? Also, I'm not sure where to go more or less due south from Calais working our way down to the med on the E side or where to go down (or back up) diagonally.
Click to expand...
 
Nantua
Roussillion, Verdon Gorge, Pont du Gard.

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The city of Aix en Provence is well worth a visit and has a campsite within walking distance of the city
 
If you are going to visit the Vosges and Alsace why not travel down the Switzerland side of France across the med to Carcassonne across the Pyrenees to the Basque country then back up to the UK. We did a similar route. Alsace is great and I would say a definite yes!. The route I suggested could cover quite a few wine areas!!!
 
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Long article in the Daily Telegraph about the Correze departement. It maybe a Premium article but I read it without a sub. Strangely didn't mention our beautiful village but perhaps that's a benefit.

Correze
 
The Wino said:
If you are going to visit the Vosges and Alsace why not travel down the Switzerland side of France across the med to Carcassonne across the Pyrenees to the Basque country then back up to the UK. We did a similar route. Alsace is great and I would say a definite yes!. The route I suggested could cover quite a few wine areas!!!
Click to expand...
How much time did this take you ?
 
Bandol, Port Grimaud and saint Maxime are lovely places to visit. You can catch a small foot ferry from Port Grimaud to Saint Tropez, which is well worth a visit to ?
 
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone, I'm not going to over plan but I'm enjoying searching on the places you've all mentioned to get a rough route idea.

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Here's a first cut of my route incorporating most of your ideas.

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I'm really looking forward to walking there. We were originally going to go in Feb but I think it would still have been too cold then. Do you have any favorite walks?

Lenny HB said:
Massif Central beautiful area with lovely fairly easy ridge walks.
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>Puy du Fou

Thanks for this, something quite different!
 
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Wine areas are a bit lost on us as we don't drink, Thanks for the Carcassonne idea. I think I have about 2-3 trips here, I've only rough plotted it and using just straight lines it's up to 1500 miles before any meandering!

The Wino said:
If you are going to visit the Vosges and Alsace why not travel down the Switzerland side of France across the med to Carcassonne across the Pyrenees to the Basque country then back up to the UK. We did a similar route. Alsace is great and I would say a definite yes!. The route I suggested could cover quite a few wine areas!!!
Click to expand...

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ToBoldlyGo said:
Wine areas are a bit lost on us as we don't drink, Thanks for the Carcassonne idea. I think I have about 2-3 trips here, I've only rough plotted it and using just straight lines it's up to 1500 miles before any meandering!
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Yes we did loads of miles in just short of 3 weeks I seem to remember 2500
 
ToBoldlyGo said:
I'm really looking forward to walking there. We were originally going to go in Feb but I think it would still have been too cold then. Do you have any favorite walks?
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Le Lioran to Puy Mary about 10/12 mile round trip (I think) mostly on ridges.
Nice parking area here 45.088256,2.739061, you can start the walk from here.
There is a water pump by the bridge over the stream if you need to dump there is a borne by the station in Murat.
 
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ToBoldlyGo said:
>Puy du Fou

Thanks for this, something quite different!
Click to expand...

I agree, it is a kind of intelligent Disneyland without the rides and incessant music. Set piece displays including a Viking raid with longboat on a river by a village, Roman arena with four horse chariots racing around, amazing how far the horses have to lean to make the turns, huge display of birds of prey in a mock grecco ruin. Plenty of parking although perhaps a bit close. I suggest park a distance from the van next to you then sit on chairs to the other side until the next van has parked up. I liked the eay you had to hunt out food outlets rather than having everywhere.
Also suggest the Dune du Pilat to the SW of Bordeaux, Europe's largest sand dune.
Google them both.
 
Strasbourg, Cluny, Lake Settons, Annecy, so many to pick from.

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Clarky said:
So many lovely places to see I don’t know where to start. It much depends on the sort of thing you like to do, laze in the sun by the sea or lake, walk, cycle or tour towns and cities. We’re all different.
We will be off within the next couple of weeks, also heading to the south of France.
Depending on weather we will either trundle, spending a couple of days here and there on the way down, or dash if the weather is poor.
We will probably stop at La Mailleray-sur-Seine for a day or two, then across to the Loire, down towards Clermont Ferrand then down the A75 to Gruissan, near Narbonne.
There are some lovely old villages off the A75, all with aires. Smashing scenery as you drive over the hills but cold this time of year, it’s very high.
Wherever you go, don’t over plan, just enjoy.

Richard.
Click to expand...
We are probably off to France in a couple of weeks or so and we usually stop at La Mailleraye. May be going Via the A75 if the weather forecast looks good, and end up in Aire de Quatre Vents in Gruissan. If it is too cold we may hop over the border and into Spain a bit. So may bump into you sometime.
 
peterc10 said:
We are probably off to France in a couple of weeks or so and we usually stop at La Mailleraye. May be going Via the A75 if the weather forecast looks good, and end up in Aire de Quatre Vents in Gruissan. If it is too cold we may hop over the border and into Spain a bit. So may bump into you sometime.
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See you there peterc10. (y)
I see another mini meet coming on.
We have decided we will leave next Thursday so will probably be at de Quatre Vents before you. We usually stay there for quite a while.
Really looking forward to some sun and warmth and getting out and about on the bike. :cool:
There are rumours that Robert Clark may also be heading that way too.

Richard.
 
John Barrett said:
We have crossed that bridge at least a dozen times: a thrilling experience!
John
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More impressive looking up at it from below..BUSBY.

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