Kathy

Countdown -- 9 days to go-- and still up in the air! We are spending 8 days in Paris and then will have 13 days out in the countryside in a rental car. We'd like to see as much as possible, still not spend all our time in the car. We want to head to Normandy, then the Loire Valley, Dordogne, Provence (to see an exchange student who lived with us some years ago)and then back up toward Paris and see whatever possible before heading to CDG for the flight home. I've checked the Michelin site for driving times. Can anyone tell me -- are they accurate or conservative (or liberal) -- I understand that everyone exceeds the speed limit! I don't know if we're being too ambitious -- any advice would be appreciated. Thanks to all in advance!

a regular

When you say you want to head to Normandy....where in Normandy? or .... where in the Loire Valley?....or where in Provence? This is why good planning is always a good idea so you don't have to ask such critical questions the weeek before leaving. Get a good map, a guidebook, and figure it as you go.

Kathy

Trust me -- I've been trying to do my homework -- please don't be condescending. We have specific places we want to visit within each of these regions -- however, I don't think that is relevant to the question driving distancs between these area.

Lori

I've found www.mappy.fr very reliable when planning driving distances/times in Europe. Your itinerary is doable in 13 days.

kathy

Thank you, Lori, for a helpful, rather than snide reply!

Thyra

You asked a very relevant question.. distances on maps can be extremely misleading!!!! What may look like a two hour drive can go 6, if the road has heavy traffic or something.. Boy Voyage.

wes fowler

Kathy, <BR>The Michelin website's mileage figures are extremely accurate if you follow the routing exactly as recommended. The drive times are inclined to be off the mark since they don't consider traffic tieups, accidents, road repair or the increased traffic you'll find in August when a good part of France is on vacation. As a rule of thumb, for any drive of two hours or more, I add 10 to 15 minutes for each hour or fraction that Michelin suggests. Recognize, too, that Michelin is usually recommending the most direct route from point to point, which may by no means be the most scenic or interesting.

John

Kathy, I think the Michelin driving guide is very good for times & distances if you follow their route. If you deviate - take a more scenic route using local highways rather than autoroutes - then the times can be much longer. <BR> <BR>I have driven to the Normandy D-Day beaches from Paris and returned the same day. Of course it was a long day. I have also driven from Paris to the South - Pont-du-Gard, Avignon, Montpellier in one day. <BR> <BR>The only caveat is that you are going in August when traffic can be horrendous on any route and especially to the beach areas. The autoroutes such as A6 which you would take south out of Paris can be a large parking lot and extremely slow which I don't recall that the Michelin guide takes into account. I would guess somewhere there is such a warning for certain times of the year such as August. August is prime time for European vacations and they all head for the sea. Good luck.

greg

I think that what you are planning for 13 days is too ambitious. I know the feeling about wanting to see as much as possible but I think you should consider dropping Provence, and probably Dordogne from you itinerary. In my opinion, a trip that went (say) north to Rouen, across to Honfleur, Cen, Bayeux and WW2 beaches, then on to Mont St Michel, maybe down to Vannes, then on into the Loire - Angers, Saumur, Tours, etc and back via Chartres would easily fill your time. While you could fit the driving in with your plan, I think thats all you would feel that your were doing - driving. Best of luck either way.