From Normandy to Porvence
 

My husband and I are traveling to France for the first time for our tenth wedding anniversary. We will be departing for Paris on March 27. We plan to spend four days in Paris, 2 days in Normandy, 4 days in Provence then 2 days in Nice.<BR><BR>My question: We will be traveling from Normandy (St. Lo) to Provence (St. Remy) in one day via car. Should we consider breaking up that drive? If so, where should we stop? What town? Hotel? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you.

Oooops. Obviously I meant Provence and not Porvence.

Hi, Kimi. This is a long drive and I would recommend that you take two days. We drove from Lisieux to the Luberon in the fall of 2000, spending the night at Saint-Amand-Montrond, just south of Bourges. Just north of Clermond-Ferrand, we cut over toward Lyon (did a little side-trip to Roanne), hit the autoroute south somewhere around Vienne and got in pretty late on the second day. It really depends on whether you want to do it as quickly as possible, using mostly autoroutes or to take a more scenic and leisurely route but more time. Check out the possibilities on www.viamichelin.com They will give you various directions, taking anywhere from 9 hrs. to 17 hrs.

Dear Betty:<BR><BR>Thank you so much for your reply. Did you enjoy going through the Massif Central? Do you recall any points of interest? Recommend a hotel? My husband and I enjoy taking our time and exploring. Thank you for affirming that I misjudged the distance a bit. Regards, Kim

By taking the eastern turn at C-F, we avoided most of the Massif Central. That, besides the fact that some of the group wanted to take the side trip to Roanne, was the main reason for doing so. Don't get me wrong - I have traveled before in the M-C and it is surprisingly beautiful, but those winding roads can eat up a lot of time.<BR>The hotel we stayed at in Saint-Amand was called Les Tilleuls - pleasant little place, across the street from a river, inexpensive, good food (orange-flavored creme brulee was divine).<BR>If you should decide to take the autoroute south of Paris and then pick up the A6, Beaune would make a good stopping place for the evening. It's been years since I spent a night there so I can't recommend a hotel, but if you type in Beaune in the text search box, I'm sure you'll find lots of posts from others who have stayed there recently. Also, if you get the itinerary on Viamichelin, you can click on the icons next to the name of a town to get info on hotels, restaurants, and sights. <BR>I hope you enjoy your trip.

Again, thank you for your assistance. Please forgive one more question. If you wanted to plan the perfect trip, would you take the A6 to Beaune on the way to Provence, or the other way through St. Amand? I will also take your advice and seek out viamichelin.com.<BR><BR>Regards, Kim

If I had it to do over again, I think I would take the autoroute. The other routes take so much longer and I'm not sure there's enough difference in scenery to make it worthwhile. If you take two days you could still get off the autoroute and do a little exploring. Beaune is a nice town well worth seeing, so if you could manage to get there by the afternoon, it could be a pleasant break from driving. <BR>The only thing I don't like about that option is that it takes you very close to Paris and its traffic. If you are accustomed to big city driving that might not be a problem. You could do a sort of compromise by taking N roads to Evreux, Dreux, Chartres, Orleans and then cutting over to the A6 through Montargis. It all depends on how much time you have and your tolerance for busy autoroutes. I don't think it is really all that critical. Either way you will get where you want to be and see some beautiful parts of France. Just relax and enjoy!