Hi all, My girlfriend and I are off for a quick 7 day trip to France. We are getting the boat into Cherbourg and intend to return via the chunnel from Paris. Apart from that we are open to suggestions for routes and destinations but intend to "play it by ear" as much as possible from place to place. Any good suggestions on where we should try to visit etc en route? It will be my first time in western France so I'm a bit stuck for ideas? Thanks
Dont know if you are interested in WW2 history but you are ideally placed to visit the Normandy beaches .Loads to do and see around there. Bayeux , again the historic interest Been to St Malo really nice. Further south La Rochelle is worth a visit . I used the N 10 and avoided toll roads .Lots of places to stay over night , good food and people generally friendly. Hope it goes well:wink:
If you only ever go once you owe it to yourselves to go to the American Cemetery near Omaha Beach. A truly humbling experience. There's a half-decent WWII museum in Bayeux as well if you're heading that way, but after that you'll probably be all out of emotional reserves and want to go on to something a little cheerier. American Battle Monuments Commission The Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum, Bayeux, Normandy Normandy is full of War Memorials/Museums so be prepared to be bombarded with all manner of images. Going back in time a little, William the Conqueror's castle is in Falaise which isn't far from Bayeux and is also interesting historically. Falaise - William the Conqueror Castle, Birthplace, Dukes of Normandy, Hastings, Battle - Caen, Suisse Normande - Normandy Tourism, France Enjoy Forgot about this place down in Poitier - cutting edge stuff - fantastic place http://en.futuroscope.com/map-of-the-park
Well, in 7 days you can see a fair bit of France. I've never seen the Châteaux de la Loire, but I'd like to. And I'm a big fan of Burgundy where you can have fine wines (Belgian chocolates) and a Charolais steak. You must visit Vézelay which is a small mediaeval village with a monster fuck-off abbey on top of a hill. It has very cool vibes and a great hotel that you must stay in: Poste et Lion d'Or (Vezelay, France) - Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor Book this now. And you could go and find more wine in Bordeaux.
I'd highly recommend heading to the South East. Route Napoleon, stunning gorges and mountains and with the bonus of the hotter and drier weather. But you really can't go far wrong. Been to France a few times and love it!
Personally I would head east towards southern Belgium, Luxembourg and the Eifel region of Germany; it's closer and a hell of a lot cheaper than southern France at the moment, with great roads and scenery, nice people, and no shortage of hotels and B&Bs.
From Cherbourg you could do the beaches from one end to the other taking in what has already been suggested. You can then head inland to bayeux if you leave that area towards Paris stop off at Monets garden well worth a visit
France is about twenty times bigger than the UK, you can't do justice to any single region in 7 days. Yes you can drive/ride across some of it but seeing it/having a holiday is something else. Go to a decent book shop and buy a Michelin guide for just one region.....................you'll soon get the idea.
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I like the sound of heading south as the weather is looking a bit dodgy and it might be warmer / drier. That said I would like to get a flavor of the areas as we pass through. Heading East is an option I hadn't really considered before, I've been there a few time snowboarding and it's pretty spectacular, might be an option too? I know 7 days will only give us a tiny bit of everything France has to offer but I'm hoping to get enough of an experience to encourage the Mrs to go for 14 days next time. It will be her first tour on a bike and I'm keen to make it as interesting and "adventurous" as I can. As for me, wine, cheese, quiet roads and some time in the saddle and I'm happy!
East at this time of year: water water and more water! Going to bookmark this thread, its exactly what I'm looking for this year
If you are heading home via the Channel Tunnel, La Coupole near St Omer is worth a visit IMHO: Tourisme Nord pas de Calais : Musée de Saint-Omer - Musée bunker,Présentation, La Coupole La Coupole (World War II V2 rocket base) It's a former V2 rocket launch site, although nothing was ever launched from it. The original dome is still in place over 60 years afterit was bombed by Mosquitos. St Omer has a decent market, not sure which days of the week it is held. There are also some good cheese shops & decent sea food restaurants in the town.
If your wife is not a regular long distance passenger and you want her to enjoy it I would think long and hard about heading down South with only 7 days. Its a good 800 miles to the South so you would both be in the saddle for at least 2 full days to get down and the same back so three days only in the south. Stick to Normandy Its a beautiful place and renowned for its food cheeses.Cider and Perry and my favourite Calvados. Visit the tourist info centre they have loads of leafets in English, Besides the war museums and beaches there are loads of other things the "route of the marshes" the "Cider route" not that I would recomend that one on the bike. Its not much more than a four hour ride up the coast back to Calais. You will at least get an idea of how she copes with a good distance under your belts unless you already know that
Yes, totally agree with that. Stay off the motorways and keep the riding stints to maybe 80 miles or less between breaks, cos it can get pretty boring/uncomfortable out back. I still say southern Belgium would be a better area to visit; better riding roads, more varied scenery (northern France is just flat field after flat field, and lorry after lorry), and generally cheaper prices. How about simply following the Mosel river from France into Germany? Plenty of pretty towns and castles, hotels, riverside restaurants, etc.
There is a great hilly bit of Belgium (a country the French call, for reasons best known to themselves, "le plat pays"). There are also top beers and moules frites and it's near Paris. Not a bad call, but it's going to depend on the weather at this time of year. The French are under snow at the moment... True to say that Provence is often super pleasant when it's freezing elsewhere. I say - be guided by the weather forecast: you're going in March, for God's sake.
If you can stay flexble I'd keep an eye on the weather and go wherever that may lead, if its dry up north then Figs idea makes a lot of sense, I went to the Ardennes last year for a lng weekend, fab roads great scenery and twisties once you get ast Charlevilles M and a bit of WW1 and WW2 history on the way if interested. Not too far back to Calais. But if its looking wet that way then bumble down south a bit and stay dry, plenty of cheap hotels and BBs around and that time of year you won't need to book. Whatever you decide you'll love it
