2 week drive in France in late September
 

Although a seasoned traveler, I am traveling to France for the first time in September for three weeks. After the first week in Paris, I am renting a car to explore France for two weeks then returning the car to Paris. I speak French fairly well and understand it even better. I will have a travel partner, and I know how to drive a manual shift. I have reserved a Citroen C1 for the drive.

I am wondering about a perimeter driving tour of France. What would you change about this route? These cities are not destinations in themselves (except maybe Avignon) but are the main centers around which we'd like to explore on foot.

Starting from Paris
West to Brest
East to Tours (Loire Valley)
South to Bordeaux
East to Avignon
North to Dijon
End in Paris

The purpose is to go an explorer's pace as well as to park the car and walk around as much as possible. We would like to spend 2-3 nights in one place

What would you recommend or change about this itinerary?

Thanks.

The Citroen C1 is pretty small for highway driving, but a decent city car. I'd opt for something a little larger like a C4 or even a C5, something with at least a 1.6 liter engine. You'll find that the fuel economy is about the same. You'll find the larger car better for longer distance driving (much more comfortable) and keeping up with the traffic, especially when you encounter heavy truck traffic on any highway.

For doing a perimeter route, I would start with Normandy, Rouen & Caen, and then out to Brest. From Brest you can then head south to La Rochelle and Biarrtiz. From Biarrtiz, you head east to Avignon, north to Lyon and Dijon, then up to Nancy and over to Reims before driving back to Paris. The distance is a little over 3000 kms. You'll have to cover at least an average of 225 kms/day in order to do this route within your two week period, but you'll only have time to overnight at each stop unless you plan on covering nearly 600 kms/day.

Plot out your routes on viamichelin. Keep in mind that time estimates for autoroutes are more accurate than those for secondary roads, and that autoroute driving can be very boring and not particularly scenic.

We have booked our cars from Europcar, going through Autoeurope, using the toll free number.

Decide on how many hour of driving you can tolerate per day.

Sometimes over long distances it is appropriate to drop the car, after that visit take a train to the next city and pick up another car when leaving there.

You may wish to take a train back to Paris from your last stop.

Dijon has an early train direct to CDG.

Thank you Robert and Ronz. I booked the car with Avis and I will upgrade to a larger car.

Will check out viamichelin of course.

Europcar eh?

Elizabeth - it's quite a long way to go in a fortnight.

there is a book by a couple who did this, but as I recall in a motorhome. I think that it would be easier in a normal car, just finding places to stay as you go.

you might think of it as a 2 part adventure, so if you only got half-way round, that would be an excuse to come back.

Good idea, Ann.

I'm thinking I should do a Paris-Brest-Tours-Paris for two weeks.

Then next time, do a more southern trip.

Elizabeth - if you've got time, do head to southern Brittany [I personally think it's the nicest part, though it doesn't have the drama of the granite rose coast of the north].

both Quimper and Vannes are lovely and historic places to stay. Dinan in the north is beautiful too. Brest is a very BIG place - not sure how long I'd want to stay there.

if you get that far, La Rochelle is also very pleasant.

I also think that's a big hunk of territory to cover in two weeks. I don't think it's even really possible without all-autoroute or almost all-autoroute driving, and personally I despise driving that way. Give me the N and D roads any day.

I think cutting out the south is a good idea. Maybe go as far as La Rochelle and the Ile de Ré, but head back from there and skip Bordeaux and the rest.

I'm with St Cirq. Ile de Ré to Bordeaux is one of the most boring drives in the world.

Driving from Tours to Paris, head up the N10. Stop in Vendome, Chateaudun and Chartres on the way.

I agree: skip Bordeaux.

<i>Sometimes over long distances it is appropriate to drop the car, after that visit take a train to the next city and pick up another car when leaving there.
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Go to the Autoeurope site and start comparing a single rate for the time you will travel and the rate for rental between cities. In provincial cities you probably will be able to find relatively low cost parking, but add 15€ per day the car is not driven to the rental that covers the entire period.

<i>2 week drive in France in late September
Posted by: ElizabethHill on Jul 28, 13 at 2:43pm
Although a seasoned traveler, I am traveling to France for the first time in September for three weeks. After the first week in Paris, I am renting a car to explore France for two weeks</i>

I would go the other way from Paris &mdash; east then south. Go Champagne, Lorraine, Alsace, Savoy, Lyonnais, Burgundy, Loire Valley, and back to Paris. Get Michelin Green and Red books, Michelin regional maps (bookstores on Blvd. Saint Michel in Paris), and haul around the DK Eyewitness Travel book for France since you will be traveling by car and can tolerate the weight. There are some really good wine and food festivals at that time in Paris and in the country side. I prefer Dijon and Burgundy for the festivals. You'll find motels along the national highways and hotels in the smaller cities. Roadside auberges are great for lunch and dinner. Plan on a couple hours for each meal. For an introduction to driving in France and Europe in general see http://tinyurl.com/3bc2ax. Always carry a few hundred euros because you never know when a credit card will be accepted.

Merci, mes amis de Fordors!

I see that my original itinerary is way too ambitious for a vacation that is intended for more walking than driving! So on this trip I will explore a little West and a little East of Paris making sure I get some wine festivals along the way! So, combining your kind suggestions I have two possible options.

Option 1, average 1 hour driving each day
*Starting in Paris
East to Lorraine
South to Dijon
West to Tours
*Back to Paris

If time and circumstances allow us to see the coast,
Option 2 average 1.5 hours driving each day
*Starting in Paris
East to Lorraine
South to Dijon
West to Tours
Further west to Quimper
*Back to Paris

I like Quimper, but the amount of driving you would have to do to fit it into your itinerary is more trouble than it is worth.

You need to consult viamichelin. Dijon to Tours is over four hours. Quimper to Paris by the time you return the car is more like seven. The train takes under five.

Last we went to the Lorraine area we drove out of CDG, spending the first night at the Chateau de Fere. Paris last.

You could take a train from Paris to Strasbourg--a marvelous city. Arrival at about 9:30 AM taking the early one. Pick up a car the next day.

Hi again, Elizabeth,

to be frank, I think that you're going to waste a lot of time and energy criss-crossing the country. I liked your original concept but I would pick east or west and stick to it.

personally I think that the Brittany idea was a good one [the coastline in places is wonderful and pretty good for walking] or start at Strasbourg and work your way south via Dijon and/or Annecy and Grenoble for mountains finishing in Provence.

Thanks all.

I checked viamichelin. Yay!