I am trying to get a realistic idea of driving times from Calais to Lourdes or Pau in the southern part of France to see the Pyrenees stage of the Tour de France. I've checked maps & 8 hours seems to be the consensus but I'm not sure how true that is with traffic etc. Any ideas on routes would be appreciated 7 also places to stay or camp in the Pyrenees towns.

By the fastest route your estimate is about right, but I would plan on 10 hours if I were you. It's still only a day's drive, albeit somewhat long.

As for a place to stay in the area around Pau or Lourdes, I would suggest Cauterets or Luz-St. Saveur. The Hotel Paris was a good bargain when I was in Cauterets, or you could go for a small boutique Hotel Bordeaux. Don't know of any campsites, but I assume there are lots of them. Otherwise, Cauterets has lots of hotels. Good luck.

French motorways are very good and fairly quiet (compared to the UK). Beware that they are toll roads and it's not particularly cheap. The best route is to pass Paris and turn at Orleans towards Bordeaux, and then carry on to Pau.

Check out www.viamichelin.com, which provides driving times, a suggested route, and a map of the route. It's invaluable. Estimated time for a trip from Calais to Lourdes is 10.5 hours

For info on seeing the TOur de France, check out Lance Armstrong's website today (6-25) lancearmstrong.com

If the link is off the front page, go to lancearmstrong.com/2003-tdf-guide.pdf

Hi

the key thing here is ......... what dates will you be travelling.

Weekends are busier, and the first weekend of the French summer holidays could extend the time to 16 hrs.

I once took 8 hrs to cover 180 kms leaving Paris on a busy Friday night.

Peter
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