Driving Route Ideas For Your France Holiday

• By: Editor
• On: 18/Aug/2010
• In: France Travel Tips

Tour The French Countryside

Remember that if you take a driving tour anywhere throughout the countryside of France you will always be taking the scenic option. The following route will give you access to some of the most enthralling scenery of France.

Begining in Troyes, which originally the ancient capital of the Champagne area of France. Troyes is located about 120 miles to the south east of the capital, Paris. The town has a wonderful medieval feeling to it, with plenty of art galleries, historical museums and truly astounding architecture. Troyes is also a fine shopping town, so in between admiring the wonderful timber framed houses you can bag yourself a bargain! To get to Troyes, take the A5 from Paris.

After Troyes, take the A5 and A31 to Dijon, which is the capital of the Burgundy region. Dijon is a town that is immersed in culture, arts and theatre and is known for its production of mustard. The town hosts the annual International Gastronomy Fair, which attracts thousands of visitors. This route along the A5 and taking in the A31 is littered with green fields and vineyards that produce grapes for the sparkling wines that France is note for. You can take a pleasant detour to some of the wine producing villages in the area.

After leaving Dijon the next stop that you will take the A6 and A46 to St-Etienne, a two and a half hour drive. You will be passing Lyon on the way. Lyon is a good place to stop off and have a look around, or you can bypass on through to St-Etienne, if you are in a rush. Lyon is a city of World Heritage Status and it is the third largest in France. The drive from here is a pleasure for the outstanding scenery. St-Etienne has a fantastic Cathedral and there are plenty of museums and art galleries here.

Flock to the Beaches of France

France boasts warm summers and is blessed with over 3,500 kilometres of coastline, so wherever you go, you will be not very far from a beach.

Perhaps the most famous beach region in France is the Languedoc area. Some of the most famous resorts in this region are St Cyprien, Montpellier, La Grande Motte and the ‘Med Coast’, which is known as the La Coté Vermeille. For the glitz and glamour of the south of France, then the Cote d’Azur is the place to go! Nice, St. Tropez and Cannes are the places to check out here. The A7 and A75 routes will take you to the south of France.

A route that is not as well known is a trip to the beaches of Brittany in Western France. Vannes is a good place to start off a tour of the beach resorts of Brittany. A wonderful seaside town with all the usual seaside attractions, including a terrific golf course. The next route you should take after this is by heading south to La Rochelle, and stopping off in Nantes along the way. Take the N165 route and your journey will be 115km long to Nantes, and breaking up the journey along the way. La Rochelle is around 3 hours drive in total from Vannes along the A83 and N165.

La  Rochelle boasts a coastline that is great for camping, and very safe for families. There are miles and miles of safe sandy beaches. After spending some quality family time at La Rochelle, further explore the beauty of the Brittany coastline and its Atlantic battered coves by heading to Bordeaux, a two hour drive along the A10. The scenery is just majestic.

Not only is it the capital of the Aquitane region, Bordeaux boasts some exciting resorts that are very popular with familes, in particular Arachon, which is home to safe beaches, and a mecca for those interested in water sports. If you enjoy seafood, then you will be interested to know that the Bay of Arachon is the premier Oyster catching location on the continent, so you have a great choice of restuarants to sample the delicious local fare on offer!

Take A Wine Route Tour In France

Some of the finest wines in the world are produced in France – so, if you are a wine connoisseur, what could be better than taking a wine route tour of the best wine producing regions of France. Starting from Bordeaux, going to the Dordogne Region, and then onto Perigord and Lot. After this, you will have visited the very centre of the French wine industry!

Bordeaux is home to some impressive wineries and cellars and so too are the local areas of Saint-Émilion (take the N89 from Bordeaux) and Médoc (along the A62). In these areas you can enjoy an organised wine tasting tour, where you will learn about how the wines are made, and the varied forms of wine produced here.

The Dordogne region is the next stop, this is reached by heading east from Bordeaux on the A89, and it is around an hour and half drive. The route is indeed very scenic, and you will come across plenty of medieval castles on your journey. From here you will get a good tour of the area by taking off to Perigord Noir, and the famous caves of the region from the prehistoric era. From Dordogne an impressive driving route to take is to head to the Cahors Region along the A89 and A20 routes. The scenery is absolutely amazing here in the sunshine, and you will be rendered breathless by the astounding vistas. A short detour to Lascaux along the A89 will bring you to the stunning Château de Castelnaud, a fortress that is shrouded in legend.

We hope you picked up some ideas for that exciting France road trip! To get the best out of your holiday (and saving more spending money) grab yourself a great value car hire deal by visiting our Car Hire France page. Happy Driving and Amusez-vous bien!

Have you taken a France driving holiday? Or are thinking about heading there? What were your impressions of the places that you visited? Please let us know your thoughts – looking forward to hearing from you!