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-   -   driving Normandy-Loire-help!!! (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/driving-normandy-loire-help-173285/)

bobbie Mar 16th, 2002 06:06 PM

driving Normandy-Loire-help!!!
 
We are planning on taking the scenic route through the Suisse Normandy area . We plan on going through the town of Thury-Harcourt,& Clecy on our way to our 1st stopover in the Spa town Bagnoles-de -l'Orne.<BR>Question----how are the roads? Anything hazardous? It sounds beautiful in the tour books but we are afraid we may be getting into more then we bargain for.<BR>Appreciate hearing from anyone who has done this route going to the Loire.<BR>Thanks in advance for any help.<BR>Bobbie

StCirq Mar 16th, 2002 07:07 PM

&lt;&lt;we are afraid we may be getting into more then we bargain for&gt;&gt;<BR><BR>Like what? Nothing hazardous about it - should be a piece of cake. We've traveled all over this part of France without a problem. Roads are good, signs are good, drivers are French....meaning fast but predictable...what can I say? Go for it.

Betty Mar 17th, 2002 04:30 AM

Hi, Bobbie. You have nothing to worry about for the route you describe. In the fall of 2000 we stayed near a tiny village (house rental) a bit east of Thury-Harcourt, called Montpincon. To get there from the house where some friends were staying in Ste. Marguerite-de-Viette, we had to use a tiny, unpaved road through the forest. The first time we drove it was at night and that was a little scary, but fine during the daytime, after we had got used to the route. I love driving all those tiny country roads in France. You just have to allow yourself a little extra time.<BR>Get yourself a good, detailed map. I have the big yellow Michelin Touring Atlas, which was very useful as we drove from Alsace to Normandy to Provence. As long as you stick to red or yellow D roads, you should have no problem, and even the little white roads are usually fine. Your route from T-H to Clecy to Bagnoles and on to the Loire Valley can all be done on nice, big red roads. Some even look like 4-lanes. If you want to plot your route, you can go to www.viamichelin.com and get detailed driving directions.<BR>I'm sure you will love that part of France. It is so green and beautiful. Have a great trip!

bobbie Mar 28th, 2002 04:46 AM

Sorry it took so long to thank you for the answers ---I couldn't find my way back to the question.<BR><BR>(Now you know why I was worried about the route I'm always getting lost.)<BR><BR>winding roads are no problem--I was cancerned that the roads might be narrow with many cliffs.<BR><BR>Once again--many thanks for easing my mind<BR><BR>Bobbie <BR>

Meander Mar 28th, 2002 05:03 AM

Bobbie, maybe you can answer my question! Are you driving directly from CDG and, if so, where are you staying your first night?

curt Mar 28th, 2002 06:05 AM

Bobbie<BR>I agree the roads are fine. I would suggest that you consider renting a cell phone for the trip duration simply because some of the areas are prettu rural and car trouble could strand you. I speak from experience as we were doing this same basic trip, and one evening in heavy rain we struck some debris in the roadway and two (yes two) tires were flattened. We were in the middle of a rural area,no villages in sight, pouring rain, and we ended up waiting 2 hours until a policman on patrol stopped to see what was wrong. He then notified Hertz who sent out a two truck (another hour wait), and then with the tow, wait for a taxi at garage that Hertz sent over to take us to a hotel, etc, etc, we spent about 4-5 hours with this. A cell phone in hand I could have called the Hertz number from the car and saved us a lot of headache and time wasted. Think about it

bobbie Mar 28th, 2002 07:22 AM

1st in answer to Meanders question<BR><BR>We are arriving Calais via ferry from<BR>Dover however, I think our first stop might be a good one for you as well.<BR>We are planning on staying in La Bouille which is near Rouen. It is suppose to be a very charming town and it will save us time going back to Rouen once we are in Deauville which is our 2nd stopping point. There seems to be only 2star hotels in La Bouille but I have found that in small towns they often turn out better then the ratings given . Anyway it's only one nights and the area seems lovily.They also have regular bus service into Rouen (20 minutes)Although we have a car This might save us the bother of city driving and the hassle of parking.<BR>If you come up with another great place for a first stop please E-mail me. Have a great trip.<BR>Now a big thank you to Curt--<BR><BR>Renting a cell phone sounds like a great idea--we also had a big problem last year while driving in Lyon--boy could we have used a phone--only one problem --what do you do if you don't speak French. Our problem had nothing to do with car trouble so we couldn't have called a car co. that speaks English. We were very lost at 3am and if not for the kindness of some night road workers who led us home we would never have gotten to our hotel .I Guess you have to try to cover all bases and cut down as many problems as possible so we will rent a phone . Many thanks <BR><BR>


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