as im not keen on planes,i am planning on a trip to france next summer for 10 days or 2 weeks. i will be going on the sea cat from dover to calais but not sure where to go from their? from experience,which areas are nice, i have heard that the verdon gorges are very nice.as well as provence and cote d'azur.
are there any nice warm areas in central france to cut down journey times or would southern france be a better option weather wise?
1; i would idally like to go to seperate places, for 5 days each but would consider more or less places as i will be in a car
2;quiet hotels,or a villa would be my options.and a pool is a must.it does not have to be coastal
thanks for any info!

[Edited on 9/9/10 by daniel mason]

Dan,

With the money from selling your lovely SR2 I'd go to FRANCE instead

indeed the Verdon is very nice.
i would avoid the Cote d'azure like the plague.
Unless you got a very big wallet.
And avoid all of France in August if you want peace and quiet.

My favourite holiday destination is the Mediterranean to the West of Montpellier, towards Perpignan.
But I do prefer beach holidays.

HTH david

If you want almost guaranteed dry and sunny then you want somewhere South of the Loire. From Calais it's a 5 hour drive down to Saumur (on the Loire) where I stayed this year and it was dry and warm all days but 2 - in a year that had the worst weather most can remember (according to the campsite owners), the previous year it was hot every day.

We are planning on the Dordogne next year to guarantee better weather and a bit of a change.

French motorways are great BTW especially the Péage (toll roads) and for a holiday well worth taking if you want to get somewhere fast, more scenic than UK motorways on the whole but not as pretty as the smaller roads. Towns and cities need more care (saw one accident and 2 near misses in the supermarket carpark!)

The great thing about France is that it has everything from mountains to seaside resorts with everything in between to suit every taste.

If you like a quiet holiday in unspoiled rural countryside you could have a look at Limousin. Limoges is a very ice city famed for its porcelain and it has strong connections with the French resistance during WW11 with plenty to see. The Dordogne has some stunning scenery and well worth a visit. However our favourite is south east France in the Corbiere region, very close to the Pyrenees amid the countless vinyards; all very nice and some lovely places to visit. Not far from the sea either at Narbonne.

We generally try to book French Chambre d'hotes which are much cheaper than you would pay for a B&B over here. Many offer an evening meal too and this is a good chance to eat the kind of food the French cook for themselves and to interact with the family.

Wherever you go don't miss out on lunches at what we would call Transport Cafes which is an injustice. These "Menu Ouvriers" are three course lunches with very often a bottle of cider for about 10 Euros. Fantastic value and really good food. You can always tell if its a good place by the number of trucks and white vans parked up at 12.30.

Wherever you decide to go, you'll find the French very hospitable and you'll have a very good holiday.

I like lots of areas in France but the midi Pyrenees, and the river Lott and Garronne (sp) valleys are superb! Many Brits don't stop there if they make it that far South then they tend to go to the coast! As a consequence its not tainted!

The other place I really like is on the Atlantic coast, La Rochelle!

[Edited on 9/9/10 by carpmart]

FFTS it does appear that i cant spell. lol
but also that you cant read! my name is not chris mason of sr2 fame but daniel mason of half built mnr fame. lol!

[Edited on 9/9/10 by daniel mason]

From experience I would recommend the Jura region and the Vendeé.

We went to Lac de Chalain this year staying at the La Pergola Eurocamp site. The lake is lovely, much nicer than the sea due to the lack of salt and yet you still have a sandy beach and loads of space. Plenty for kids to do and within easy reach of Geneva if you fancy a day trip.

Took about 6.5 hours to drive there from Zebbrugge so a bit less from Calais. The motorways are very easy to use and very fast.

Let me know if you want any further info or tips.
Cheers,
Craig.

The internet is your friend and you can download loads of information not only on hotels and accommodation in general but also on areas you might want to consider. You'll find tourist information very ready to help and supply you with brochures if you send them an email.

You can book hotels through the likes of www.booking.com/Hotels if you don't want to deal direct. Logis de France are always good value and Gites de France for self-catering. They both have excellent websites and the great thing is you can book on-line with a card rather than having the bother of paying a deposit in Euros.

We did our honeymoon in the south of france, driving the journey there and back over a few days.

We stayed at some really nice places on the way:

Ottrott

Really nice place, seemed quite new at the time and some good food

Aix le Bains

A bit more 'characterful' around the edges, but still very nice, very friendly and good food.

The journey is a bit of a detour to be honest, but it was designed to take us on a journey through the alps in the 206 GTi my father in law loaned to us

We than had a week at a nice Auberge just outside Frejus (auberge des adrets) which fit's your requirements of nice, quiet, pool, amazing food - a great experience.

Auberge des Adrets

Frejus is an hour or so from Cannes, which means you;re out of the way enough to be quiet if you want, without being too remote. Some good beaches in the area (obviously) and obviously plenty of good food.

We travelled back a faster journey but wouldn't recommend the place we stayed on that bit.

Topped it all off with 2 nights at a Disney hotel before legging it back for the ferry home.

I'd also second the Saumur region - my cousin's wife is from the area and we spent a fortnight there for his wedding (it was a good reception - roast boar and mead like in Asterix!). Really nice area, plenty of things to see (some great castles) and best of all there's a particular sparkling red wine that one of the vineyards produces that is really nice.

[Edited on 9/9/10 by StevieB]

The area around Beziers is nice on the med.

Nice cycle rides along the banks of the Canal Du Midi.

Stu

hi , you can rent my gite out if you would like?
its in the centre dept 18, big country house for peace and quit, obviously you get a locostbuilders reduction!
u2u me if your interested

mike

quote:

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Originally posted by vtecmike
hi , you can rent my gite out if you would like?
its in the centre dept 18, big country house for peace and quit, obviously you get a locostbuilders reduction!
u2u me if your interested

mike

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