Driving up from Spain through France in May/June - any tips, recomendadtions as to route, hotels, ea

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Hi

We are ferrying the car to Santander at the end of May, so far have planned to drive to Pamplona and from their over the Pyrenees into France, then taking 8-9 days to drive up through France in the first week of June, Eurotunnel probably back to the UK.  We enjoy walking and intend to break up the driving with walks whenever we can, plus the odd visit to any old French towns etc. en route.  Can anyone out there suggest any driving routes, walks, interesting places to visit, tips on hotels and restaurants etc?  Any help gratefully received.

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 Hi Choirgirl and Welcome.

       Your trip should be great, especially going over the Pyrenees. Personally,I wouldn’t plan anything. Just take a map and drive. You will have no problems getting a hotel at that time of year. Just drive in the general direction you want to go each day and avoid the motorways. France is full of interesting old towns, great resturants and cafes and small hotels that it will be difficult to go wrong.

       Sounds like a super holiday and one I will now be consider taking myself!  Big Smile

 

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Thanks Sword - pretty much what we had in mind, but with such a big choice the odd suggestion is often helpful!

 

 

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 Just a thought, but have you tried posting on either of these forums?

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmiata.freeforums.org%2Fportal.php&sl=es&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mx5passion.com%2F&sl=fr&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8

 

The link takes you through Google translate -  but if you speak the lingo, you could post in the native language on the sites and perhaps get a better response.

Sounds like a great trip - I have contemplated doing the other way round, but extending further east to take in the Nurburgring, the Italian passes, French Riviera, Pyrennes and home from Santander.  Save that for when I retire I think …

Bluebottle

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Can you afford the time to go via the Alps too?

If you can then just look to any historical route the Tour de France has taken and you won’t go far wrong, any road that has ‘Col de something’ on it will mean lots of twisty stuff and amazing views.

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Suggested route into France via Andorra (Odd place tiny principality but like being in the Swiss Alps, strangely barren in the summer but there is some walking in pretty green valleys, buy tax free petrol before entering France, Expect to be pulled over by French Customs.), Then onto Carcasonne (wonderful fairytale walled city a days walking just around the walls, stay in the citidel for the full experience), Sarlat De Caneda (Dordogne) Don’t walk EAT! lots to do and see along the Dordogne I’d stay a few days here.  Then head north on the wonderful French roads and stunning countryside to visit, The Marais Poitevin region area. When you read about “La Marais” (Marsh) on the net, reclaimed marshland, it sounds awful but it is a really special tranquil place, orchards and coypu, located NE of la Rochelle, stay in Coulon one of the prettiest villages in France eat crepes and drink local cider. From here pick your route home.  

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Thanks for the posts - we are poring over the maps, the tour de france route and bits of france we have not seen - will report on the outcomes of the trip when we return.

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You must see port bou on the D114 from France to Spain is great. You leave france and drive down down and more downa road and into port bou , small roads good fun. When we went, it was 6 degrees in France and 20 somthing in spain. Great stuff

The Pyrenees

And the next day in Spain

The letter C is where the above picture taken.

 

And the road down and then back UP :slight_smile:

 

 

 

 

 

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 The pics of Port Bou bring back memories. The first was of travelling in the back of my dads Morris Oxford on the way back from the Costa Brava in the 1960’s. No motorway’s then. The second was in the 1970’s when I used to stop there for a few day’s. The bar in the photo still looks familiar.

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Planned so far - Ferry from Portsmouth to Santander, arrives approx midday, then drive on main roads to Jaca in the Spanish pyrenees.  Depending on the time a quick stop in Pamplona might be in order on the way.  Following day will drive via the A136 and D934 and D918 (if it is open) to drop into Lordes.  Walking opportunities on these routes.  Lourdes is a seriously tacky place I am told, but worth a short visit to see just how tacky! Overnight in village of Ayzac-Ost, following day over the Col de Tourmalet and Col d’Aspin heading towards Carcassone and Beziers…

 

More updates to follow…

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 Carcassone is a must see. You should be able to walk right round the walls.  Great stuff !!

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It’ll be enough to put you off religion for life!!!

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Have now posted on the MX5 France website, so will keep up to date with activity there - hope to run into a meeting as they seem to go out at weekends…

 

What is the best way to ‘load’ the rear brakes?  We both drive with a lot of anticipation and don’t stamp on them very hard, e.g. my husband’s  Avensis estate has only had 2 sets of front pads in 170K.

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Having made this drive this winter I can recommend the A132 which runs south of the mountains from Victoria-Gasteiz due south of  Bilbao but is  a beautiful road and has clearly been upgraded and runs all the way to Huesca which is good town as a first stop. There was virtually no traffic. A good few of the national routes are used heavily, particularly by large lorries along with the fact they can be in need of repair and compared with the A132 narrow. As to going through the mountains I took the N230 through Vielha which includes a 5km tunnel but this because of the vast amount of snow at the time although I was surprised how little traffic there was but maybe busy in the summer.  

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Thanks Graham - just checked that out on the map and it works for us (as long as the NA132 is the same road in parts) - Jaca is our first stop, so the last few km will be on the N240.  We are planning on the adventurous route over the mountains via the Col du Portalet and the Col d’Aubisque, so that will be the N260 - A136 - D934 - D918, with, hopefully a walk at some point to one of the peaks.

 

Did post on the French site and have had a few replies - someones mum runs a restaurant and will look after us if we go there!

 

Updates to follow as and when…

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We did this self same trip two years ago - almost 3 weeks in total - fantastic fun, although we went from Santander to Bilbao (guggenheim museum etc) and then on to Biarritz for 3 days (saved spain completely for next time!)

Beziers - try staying at ‘Le Porte Ouverte’ at Leuriens (just outside Beziers - very good, abt 60E a night for twin. When you leave Beziers, head up over the Millau Bridge (Tarn Valley) - stunning (designed by our very own Sir Norman Foster)!

If you head west from there (towards Rodez) you will drive thru some amazing scenery- Rodez itself is worth a night - attractive cathedral and old quarter. North west from Rodez (check your map carefully to find this place) you can visit Belcastel (look it up online!) - an old renovated castle which houses original collections of art etc by Dr Seuss (The Cat in the Hat), Osamu Tesuka (Astro Boy) and other fantastic animation artists. The village and the chateau are unforgettable, and are high on the ‘most beautiful village in France’ lists.

We stayed overnight at Brive (convenient, not recommended otherwise) on the way thru to Angouleme (stay in the old town centre at the Mercure, it has secure underground parking and is a beautiful building in a great location).

On your way across to Angouleme from Limoges, take half a day out and visit Oradour-sur-Glane (this is the French village, preserved as a memorial, which was wiped out by the Nazis in June 1944 - over 600 people massacred and all the buildings torched - all women and children locked in the church and firebombed…). Its a sobering experience how humans can behave towards each other.

 From Angouleme its a short run to Jarnac and Cognac (between them they house most of the main cognac and brandy producers - Hennessy, Hine, Courvoisier etc). The Courvoisier headquarters on the river Charente is an ‘interesting’ afternoons viewing (make sure you aren’t driving anywhere afterwards!!).

From there you can head up to the Loire (stay on the ‘island’ at Saumur- several lovely hotels there) OR (better still) head for La Rochelle on the Atlantic coast (the harbour area and the park all the way down the side of the city to the sea / beach are both excellent). 

I know you will enjoy the trip - during the daytime whilst driving, in 3 weeks (Aug / Sept 2008) we had the top up for a total of 2 hours (on the way to Toulouse from Biarritz / Tarbes)! Totally totally brilliant.

Oh, and don’t bother with Lourdes - it is tacky beyond belief and is not what France is about.

Merlin The Hammer

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Yes, this is the same road. On my map it was marked as just A132 and it does basically follow the direction of the N240 and in fact merges in a few places. You will not be disappointed and although there may be more traffic than I experienced in November it will still be good drive with plenty of overtaking opportunities unobstructed views of the great scenery. 

Looks as good route north through the mountains. Look forward to hearing your experience.  Enjoy,Thumbs up 

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The Tarn Gorge is pretty spectacular, and has some fantastic twisty roads, also there is the Millua Bridge if you like heights.

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 We plan a similar trip although spending the majority of our time in Spain departing late June.  This is the first time in our 5 having previously toured on a motorcycle.  We can’t believe the extra luggage capacity we now have.  Breifly planning ferry to Santander then Pyrennes, Segovia, Merida, Ronda, Nerja, Almeria, Requena, Figueres, Figeac, Grezes and finally the Loire valley before returning via Cherbourg.  Can’t wait

If you can I REALLY recommend a nights stop here in the Spanish Pyrennes.  You wont be disappointed.

http://www.canboix.cat/01_principal.php?lang=EN

We’re planning at least two nights there and it will be our 6th stay with the delightful staff at Can Boix.

Enjoy your trip.