What's worth seeing in the middle of France? (1 Viewer)

[BryanM]

Leaving Sete on the south coast on Monday morning but don't need to be in Calais until Friday night. Have done the autoroute countless times but, with time to spare, where would you suggest visiting on the way keeping off the motorway?

Came down through Paris, Le Mans and Puy Du Fou and instead of what I thought would be a pain with the new 50mph speed limit, actually turned out to be very relaxing! Have done Burgandy wine route but would be keen for any other ones we have missed.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[irnbru]

Ive not actually saw this yet but its on must do list soon.
Oradour-sur-Glane

 

[hilldweller]

Chamonix

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[FIDGET]

2nd for oradour,very moving !!
Brantome very nice town
Sully sur Loire nice free aire ,lovely town

 

[Clarky]

Where on earth does one start?
The centre of France has too many nice places to list on here. Lakes, rivers, canals, ancient villages. You could spend months exploring and only scratch the surface.

Richard.

 

[Roseandpeter]

Gorge de tarn is fabulous, as is the Lot valley

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[Emmenay]

Ive not actually saw this yet but its on must do list soon.
Oradour-sur-Glane

100%

 

[Emmenay]

Ive not actually saw this yet but its on must do list soon.
Oradour-sur-Glane

100%

Chamonix

Again, 100%

 

[Steve N Tracy]

Rocamador

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[Baileysbus]

Rocamador

And near there ....... Domme. Spectacular views from the top across the River Dordogne

 

[Lenny HB]

Massiff Central, fabulous fairly easy ridge walks.

 

[MillieMoocher]

Just come back from Massif Central area, albeit not with MH. Absolutely stunning area, our time being spend on the Haute Loire and Ardeche border .

Will be returning next year with MH.

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[suavecarve]

Go over the cevennes and mt aigoual is a stunning drive and you wont get over 50 mph. Oradour is a gimme, Fontainebleu is a bit of a corker, all the volcanoes in the auvergne, Juras if you come back that way and all the lakes, there are numerous places to see but as a rough guide look for the most beautiful villages and head from one to another

 

[Chockswahay]

Puy de Dome

 

[Lenny HB]

Puy de Dome

View attachment 244509

Thats one bit of the Massiff Central I find too commercialised.

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[Chockswahay]

Maybe, we went there in November when no one else around...... doh!

 

[MR. FUSION]

Traverse the less touristed French Maritime Alps and go on the little yellow train

 

[Madcaravanner]

Ive not actually saw this yet but its on must do list soon.
Oradour-sur-Glane

We went this year and .....................WOW!!!!!

Got loads of photographs most of which are far too large to upload here though this is one famous petrol pump seen all over the world almost a symbol of the Martyred Village as much as the local doctors car

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[BreweryDave]

Errrrrr, Nowhere.....France is closed

 

[Bognor Saint]

Ive not actually saw this yet but its on must do list soon.
Oradour-sur-Glane

Went there last year. Its a bit overwhelming but needs to be seen.

 

[Tigertom]

Oradour-sur- Glane, we were there a few weeks ago on a hot day in June just as it might have been when the massacre took place. We spent hours wandering through the village barely saying a word. Unforgettable.

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[pelican]

We went this year and .....................WOW!!!!!

Got loads of photographs most of which are far too large to upload here though this is one famous petrol pump seen all over the world almost a symbol of the Martyred Village as much as the local doctors car
View attachment 244515

I remember Filling up at one like that in Spain 60 years ago
The fuel was manually pumped up into a glass measure and then dispensed took a long time to fill the tank

 

[WillH]

Most of it. We've been going for well over thirty years and even this year discovered a lovely corner we had not happened on before.

 

[Devon Sue]

We stopped on the aire at Premilhat, just SW of Montlucon last year. Good facilities, free, lakeside and a supermarket in walking distance. Nice for a stopover, or even a couple of days

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[SpeedyDux]

On the subject of Oradour, which we visited in 2015 and found very moving, for background I would recommend Max Hastings' book "Das Reich" the historical account of the march of the 2nd SS Panzer Division from Montauban (where they were refitting after having been withdrawn from the Eastern Front) towards Normandy, in June 1944.

Hastings explains in great detail how the French Partisans and British SOE agents sabotaged road and rail communications and fuel dumps, delaying by several crucial days the progress of this SS Division towards the Allied landings in Normandy, and prevented a counter-attack that might have cost many lives of Allied soldiers. The price was paid by reprisals, and summary executions of civilians, carried out by the German (including Alsatian) troops during June 1944 of which the massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane was the worst but not the only example. A fascinating if somewhat harrowing read. The involvement of Alsace and the desire for reconciliation and making this region part of France again helps explain the leniency shown towards those guilty of such heinous war crimes, which at first I found hard to understand after seeing Oradour.

 

[Teuchter]

Amboise near Tours/Vouvray

Fabulous town - campsite in town but rural as it is on an island in the Loire river,historic buildings, Leanardo De Vinci museum deffo worth a visit

 

[Teuchter]

Errrrrr, Nowhere.....France is closed

Closed cos it is full!!

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[BryanM]

Thanks for all your helpful advice. We were at Oradour a couple of years ago and is indeed something harrowing but not to be missed.
Will get the map out tonight and pick a route using some of your suggestions.

 

[mitzimad]

Gorge du yarn if your active enough get a kayak hire and the will drop you upstream and you canoe back to your site

 

[FIDGET]

Gorge du yarn if your active enough get a kayak hire and the will drop you upstream and you canoe back to your site

That's the Tarn not Yarn,
They do similar on the Ardeche river

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