I am really pressed for time as we are very busy with work right now. My husband prefers to drive ( I would rather fly to Paris and rent a car) . If I cannot convince him to FLY and rent a car, can someone just give me three nice stopovers along the way up from Spain to the Normandy area, and three others on a different route back? It doesn't have to be too detailed. I hardly know where to begin as we hope to leave in a few days, IF WE GO.

I am totally unfamiliar with most of this area and am overwhelmed with the idea of crossing the entire country and just stopping when we get tired and missing out on an organized, attractive slower paced route that will justify the driving part..

-I had hoped to go to Switzerland, but we will be visiting our son now working in Lorient..

- I do not need to go to Paris or Versailles.
-have been to Biarritz area several times

-I have never seen any castle of the Loire and would not mind seeing one or two along the way

-I hope there are some FREE autoroutes instead of just doing tollway the whole way as I do not like car travel unless I can justify seeing something nice out the window or use the car for off track places to stay and visit.

Thanks in advance. I will get out a map and be ready to mark your suggestions!

If you husband wants to spend three days driving instead of 90 minutes in the air, then he has to do the heavy lifting on this one.

Say this:

"If you want to drive from Spain to Normandy, you're going to have to sell me on why this will make for a better vacation for me. Come up with an interesting three day itinerary for us to follow.

"But also find out whether you can pick up a car in Spain and return it in France ... and how much extra it would cost."

We live here.. that is why all this. No car drop off issue or rental expense.

I don't mind three/four days driving if it is pleasant sightseeing along the way. I am just hoping someone will help me out here and give me a few cool places to stop as they may have already done the homework and can share it as I do with many Spain questions.

PS.. also do not need ANY stops in Spain!!

Go to Viamichelin.com and plot your route. It's 13 and 1/2 hours from Valencia to Lorient. If you broke that up into 3 roughly equal days of travel (4 and 1/2 hours per day) you'd wind up stopping in Zaragoza and Bordeaux as nearly as I can tell. If you are set on seeing something in the Loire and route through Tours for instance to be in the center of that area, you'll need to add 2 hours to your total drive time. You could also route through Barcelona and stay along the coast rather than going inland in Spain, then go through Carcassonne and Toulouse before moving on to Bordeaux, but that adds one more hour to the total drive time and probably another day on the road by then unless you really want to spend some marathon days in the car.

Anyway, you get the idea. Grab a paper map of europe so you have some idea of alternatives, start in Viamichelin with the basic route Valencia to Lorient and then vary the in between stops to see how various alternatives would work out. It's kind of fun--but probably more fun on the computer than on the road. Good luck.

BTW have you at least considered trains if he doesn't want to fly? There might be some options that would save time, money, and your nerves.

I know how to map the route.. I am unfamiliar with the more interesting places on those routes or if there is an alternative route someone can suggest.

Ok, so without stops in Spain, consider 15 hours total, stopping in Toulouse after 7 and 1/2 on the first day, then 4 on the second stopping in La Rochelle, beautiful seaside, harbor town with great dining, then on the last day 3 and 1/2 to Lorient. Options abound.

And, I think Lorient is in Brittany rather than Normandy.

But we are going to Normandy also to see the area since we are doing Lorient to visit our son.

So is Toulouse a MUST see along the way? Any quaint villages or secondary route to consider? I had heard of La Rochelle.. will keep that one in mind also.

Will go check out most convenient castle.. you say Tours.. as a stopover, and any favorite additional monuments outside of Tours?

Thanks.

No, Toulouse would not be a must see, but it has some interesting sights--a couple of cathedrals, including one with palm vaulting, and a nice old town. It would be a stop with a few hours in the afternoon and evening before moving on the next day, probably not an afternoon and another day, etc.

Tours is the main town in the middle of the Loire valley but has no chateaux of its own. Rather it makes a nice spot to think of in planning a route like you're talking about. Actually Angers is further west (thus closer to the area you eventually want to wind up in) and would be the more "convenient castle" but as someone mentions on another thread here about driving from Tours to Vannes, it is not representative of the best/most typical in the Loire.

Maybe I don't understand what you really intend to do here. You are definitely leaving from Valencia, would prefer not to stop until you're out of Spain and will be headed for--where? I assumed Lorient since that's the only town you mentioned, but are you intending to go to Normandy before visiting your son in Lorient? If so, do you have a definite Normandy destination in mind?

Are you looking for interesting overnight stops enroute from Valencia to somewhere in Normandy (or Lorient) and intending to make the journey in 3 days or so or are you thinking to take a somewhat longer time, to stop in a couple of places for a day or two enroute to relax and explore the local area?

To get any real enjoyment out of the Loire valley area enough to make the relative detour from a direct route worthwhile, I think you'd want to stay at least two nights and maybe three. You could also easily use two nights in La Rochelle thereby giving you a day to explore nearby Ile de Re with its Cape Cod-like small towns.

If your first destination in Normandy/Brittany is for instance Rouen rather than Lorient, then a route through the Dordogne with a stop in Sarlat, rather than to the coast and La Rochelle might make more sense, especially if you can devote a day or two to exploring that area. Then move on to the heart of Loire valley, staying in Amboise to explore some of the big draws like Chenonceau, Chambord, Azay le Rideau,and/or Cheverny.

Thank you julie.. you have mentioned places I know I have read people visiting. just have never paid much attention to where they were nor scanned and taken note on many reports as we were never going that way.

I do have notes on Normandy area from reports here and museums/tours to make sure to do there.

I am only looking for some interesting exceptional stops over the period of several days between here and Lorient or Normandy. I am not sure where we will go first.. but some key towns to visit, and a favorite castle or two.

I see I do not know the names and exact location of the geographical regions well enough to visualize all of this yet. Must work on filling in those gaps before I bother anyone anymore!
Thanks for your help so far. You have given me some ideas I appreciate.

Go via Barcelona toward Toulouse, but from Carcassonne veer off to Albi. The church is worth a visit, as is the Toulouse-Lautrec museum in the bishop's palace. From Albi go to the A20 to take to Vierzon. Cahors has an interesting fortified bridge over the river. From Vierzon go toward Tours and visit Chenonceau. From there go straight to Lorient.

On the way back you might want to stop in Angers, whose castle has the incredible set of tapestries on the Apocalypse. Or simply go down the coast and make a stop in La Rochelle, by-pass Bordeaux (or stop there if you want) and then veer off to cross the Pyrenees between Pau and Jaca.

I think that I geo-mapped most of the pictures in this collection:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7622845845243/

Just wanted to say thank you again for trying to point me to "A" direction!

I finally was able to put together a very nice plan and we had a wonderful time, falling in love with Brittany, and returned very impressed with the French countryside, the meals and the lodgings.

My report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ng-the-way.cfm