truman Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 'Til we hit the mother of all traffic jams south of Lyon... ... That seems to be the norm. the last 3 times we've driven to the South of France there's been a huge jam just after Lyon..we varied the time we travelled to avoid it but it seems to always be there.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obelix Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 The Millau viaduc has gone a long way to easing some of the problems but anytime you are going south in August you are going to hit massive jams.... Stay off the autoroute, take the D routes and make it a pleasing drive and take a couple of days.... the OP may like to have a look at http://www.logishotels.com/en/ for conveneint cheap motel/travelodge style places as well.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flanker7 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 (edited) We have done it 8 times. Our best route is below but its good to wander about on the way down. New parkrun just north of Bordeaux. Day 1 = Depart 3pm Sheffield > 21:00 Newhaven (sleeping on DFDS ferry) Day 2 = 4am Dieppe > Pont De L'Arche, sleep 4 hours > Marboue (Chartres) Day 3 = Marboue > Nursac* Day 4 = Nursac* > Biarritz Day 5 = Biarritz > Spain by noon. *First 4 in get free electricity. Main towns route is Rouen - Chartres - Tours - Angouleme - Bordeaux - Biarritz. All free Aires, No tolls**, No Thames crossing, 6 hours or less every day. **Bordeaux to Biarritz has recently been designated as peage(toll) but can be avoided. We went via the coast, Cote D'Argent, the alternative can be Mont de Marsan Crossing into Spain at the Atlantic side by cutting due south just after Biarritz, before the horrendous border area. The mountains are lower there, join the Pilgrims route through Pied-de-Port. The roads are better in France and like a snooker table in Spain. Good Luck Edited June 18, 2015 by Flanker7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixboy Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 This is an amazing thread. Such knowledge for a noob! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukdobby Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 We have done it 8 times. Our best route is below but its good to wander about on the way down. New parkrun just north of Bordeaux. Day 1 = Depart 3pm Sheffield > 21:00 Newhaven (sleeping on DFDS ferry) Day 2 = 4am Dieppe > Pont De L'Arche, sleep 4 hours > Marboue (Chartres) Day 3 = Marboue > Nursac* Day 4 = Nursac* > Biarritz Day 5 = Biarritz > Spain by noon. *First 4 in get free electricity. Main towns route is Rouen - Chartres - Tours - Angouleme - Bordeaux - Biarritz. All free Aires, No tolls**, No Thames crossing, 6 hours or less every day. **Bordeaux to Biarritz has recently been designated as peage(toll) but can be avoided. We went via the coast, Cote D'Argent, the alternative can be Mont de Marsan Crossing into Spain at the Atlantic side by cutting due south just after Biarritz, before the horrendous border area. The mountains are lower there, join the Pilgrims route through Pied-de-Port. The roads are better in France and like a snooker table in Spain. Good Luck Yes it is now 7 euro,worth it if you haven.t got the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sibon Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 The Millau viaduc has gone a long way to easing some of the problems but anytime you are going south in August you are going to hit massive jams.... Stay off the autoroute, take the D routes and make it a pleasing drive and take a couple of days.... the OP may like to have a look at http://www.logishotels.com/en/ for conveneint cheap motel/travelodge style places as well.. Have you driven the Millau Bridge? Tell us about it. It looks rather daunting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flanker7 Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 (edited) The Millau Bridge - Build by the Foster partnership. With 13? narrow piers that have a minimal effect on the view from afar. Its a long way to the bottom but I was a little underwhelmed by the experience. We approached from the non-toll booth side so whilst driving between low hills we were suddenly on to the 2nd or 3rd pier before we were aware of it. The bridge is flat linking two parts of the plateau which has been deeply incised by the (small) river. Once on t'other side we paid the toll, expensive at about 10+euro, and proceeded to the view point. The view from there is stunning. Been there done that and have taken a different route since then. Maybe cos I'm a tightwad. Somewhere else in the south there is a motorway tunnel which emerges from the hillside down a steep twisting hill that is very fast. That had me gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter whilst our campervan achieved its top ever speed. That was more thrilling (as the driver). If the location of it comes to me I'll edit this, sorry.. Edited June 19, 2015 by Flanker7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukdobby Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Have you driven the Millau Bridge? Tell us about it. It looks rather daunting. Found it a tad disappointing,we came on from the toll side and though high the view once on the bridge was kind of hidden by the glass sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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