Where should we stop on our drive to the South of France?

[joanne_374233649]

Hi, we are taking our caravan on our first ever trip abroad and have booked the South of France L' Etoile D' Argens in Cote D Azur and was just wondering if anyone could suggest a good half way stop between there and Calais?

Thanks,

 

[rob_jax]

Hi,

That's not a difficult question, it's just that the answer is "it depends"

Do you plan to arrive in Calais around mid-day and drive for 3 hours, and then stop overnight?

Do you plan to arrive in Calais late at night, stay at one of the Calais sites, and then drive for 6 or more hours the next day?

Assuming you intend to follow the Calais - Reims - Troyes - Lyon autoroute, then:

About 300 km from Calais (3 hours) is Chalon-en-Champagne - and an OK municipal campsite

About 450 km from Calais (4.5 hours) is Troyes - nice town - Camping de Troyes

About 580 km from Calais (6 hours) is Langres - very pretty walled town - Camping de la Liez

From there I can't help as we turn off at Langres and head Easat into the Jura Mountains and Switzerland

Robert

 

[GeorgeB]

Rob_Jax

Good choice of campsite! we usually stop around the Beaune/Chalon area on the way down to, and back from L' Etoile D' Argens.

Beaune municiple is a good one, so is La grape d'or in Mersault or the castel site in Gigny sur Soane, all are around the six hour mark from Calais.

I'll dig out the directions to the site, from the N8 turn off for Frejus, & post them on the forum for you.

GeorgeB

 

[rob_jax]

Just a note about Chalon - there are two towns called Chalon on this route:

Chalon-en-Champagne is close to Reims, and only 3 hours from Calais.

Chalon-sur-Soane is close to Lyons, and about 7 or more hours from Calais

Robert

 

[BeemerMal]

Again it depends on how far you want to travel....We made a long haul down from LeHavre to Spain and made our first stop close to the motorway (J33) just before Lyon at:

Camping International

Porte De Lyon

69570 Dardilly

Tel: 0033 0478 356455

They were very helpful, spoke good English and because it was quiet (February) we did not unhitch, just hooked up the electric and settled in for the night....cost for One night was _21.00

 

[Graham_374228415]

Hi Beemermal,

That was an expensive site especially in Feb.

We are going at end of Jan planning to stop just south of Rouen then Payrac before ending up at L'Estartit. Good road with few tolls if we choose to use N roads.

Graham

 

[BeemerMal]

Hi Beemermal,

That was an expensive site especially in Feb.

We are going at end of Jan planning to stop just south of Rouen then Payrac before ending up at L'Estartit. Good road with few tolls if we choose to use N roads.

Graham

Yep I thought it was expensive but we were making fast tracks to Spain and this site is literally 1 minute from the motorway so it is easy to get to and we were back on the motorway early next morning for our run to Villanova Park, south of Barcellona.

They are open for bookings and arrivals up to 22.00 and I found it difficult to find sites open in February without a detour of some miles so I thought the extra for one night was worth it and I saved on fuel.

 

[joanne_374233898]

Hi,

Thanks to you all for replying. We will be getting to Calais at 10:55 in the morning and would like to drive for about six hours and then stop. so where thinking of the La grape d'or as George mentioned - does anyone know how far the L'Etoile D Argens would be on from there time wise ( roughly of course).

Thanks

 

[Guest]

As it is your first trip abroad with the van may I suggest you try not to do too much in the first few days.

Relax a bit and enjoy, and familarise yourself with France, rather than 6 hours of motorway slog. Stop a good bit earlier near a nice town and go see the sights and sounds, especially if you wish to get some food and wine.

Of course if you are on a fixed timetable then you may have no choice.

 

[GeorgeB]

Joanne,

it's about 7 hours from Grape D'or, just depends how hooked up you get with the traffic around Lyon, but I suspect that the Lyon by pass should be open by next summer, if its not already.

GeorgeB

 

[DavidKlyne]

Bit puzzled by George's comment as the Lyon Eastern By-pass has been open for some years! I have some pictures of La Grappe D'or here http://www.davidklyne.plus.com/camping_la_grappe_d.htm

You are more likely to find a place here than at the Municpal in Beaune which fills up by mid afternoon.

David

 

[joanne_374233898]

Hi, Thank you all for your help.I think we will try the La Grappe D'or.

Joanne

 

[manfieldp]

Bit puzzled by George's comment as the Lyon Eastern By-pass has been open for some years! I have some pictures of La Grappe D'or here http://www.davidklyne.plus.com/camping_la_grappe_d.htm

You are more likely to find a place here than at the Municpal in Beaune which fills up by mid afternoon.

David

Just outside Beaune in a village called Arnay la Duc is the most fantastic restuarant it is called Chez Camille.

It is small, like stepping back in time, a bit like the Moulin Rouge filmset. see the website at : http://www.chez-camille.fr/

The food and service was first class

 

[GeorgeB]

Joanne,

Directions as promised;

Exit A8 at junc 37, at roundabout go straight over towards Frejus on the N7, straight through first set of traffic lights,onto dual carriageway, go straight over next 3 roundabouts, straight through next set of traffic lights, stay on the right hand lane.

You will now have the railway line on your right, you will now see a sign "straight on centre ville, right to port Frejus", take the right hand lane down a short incline slip road to a T junction, turn right, go under the railway bridge to the first roundabout, take the first exit, follow the road, it will go over a wide concrete ditch, this is the flood relief, looks like something out of Los Angeles in California! follow the road untill you come to the road bridge over the river Argens, this bridge is single lane & traffic light controlled, cross this bridge, follow the road, after about 600 metres it bends round to the left, as you go round the left bend you will see that the main road bends round to the right, but there is a road that goes straight on, turn left into this road, approx 50 metres on the left is L'Etoile d'Argens, swing into the gateway, park up & go into reception to book in.

Total distance from the motorway A8, about 6 or 7 miles.

GeorgeB

 

[cris_408518]

Not ideal for many if you are on holiday but I've driven to and from this area towing in a day quite a lot of times towing Caravans and trailers. If your car and van is a good match and comfortable it is an easy run much of the time.

I'm not suggesting that every one try it first time out, just as an example of how easy it can be to travel long distances in France maintaining good average steady speeds even with stopping for fuel and toll charges.

 

[chrissie2]

Joanne, you don't say how far you will have driven to reach Dover, but that really is an important aspect in your decisions about stops. The drive really does not start at Calais, but when you leave wherever you are setting off from in the morning, so unless you live very close to the port, you really need to include the miles/hours driven this side of the channel in the total you think you can do that day. My personal recommendation would be to have two overnight stops on the way down, but if you really are in a tearing hurry, don't try to do too much on day one.

A stopover worth considering is the municipal site at Guignicourt, just north of Reims, and only a few miles from the motorway. If you then want a second stopover further south, we stayed this year at Les Portes de Beaujolais at Villefranche, just north of Lyon: a good site, close enough to the autoroute for traffic noise to be a minor irritation, but an excellent site nevertheless.

Most of the time, French roads are a joy to drive on, but remember that you are on holiday and the object is to relax, not arrive at your destination feeling stressed-out and over-tired. With a caravan, it is so easy to make the journey part of the holiday, by giving yourself time to explore the places you stop at on the way, as well as your ultimate destination.

Whatever you decide, I'm sure you will love it. Very few people seem to do this only once!