Pinkcat1771

We are driving down to Antibes next month and plan on stopping off a couple of times on route.

We will either go Cherbourg to Antibes or Calais to Antibes. Thinking Cherbourg as Poole is easy for us to get to.

Does anyone have any suggestions of good places to stay for either route. We will have our cat with us so ideally pet friendly places.

Thank you!

dmu

Hi, sorry I can't help with places to stay, but I'd suggest making your way to Clermont-Ferrand and going South on the A75. Not only is this Autoroute free to Montpellier (except for the Viaduc de Millau toll), but you've got the added bonus of passing through the beautiful Auvergne/Aubrac/Larzac and, normally, there's less traffic than in the Rhône Valley. You'd meet this southbound traffic at Salon....

audio

Very much depends on your route and how far you want to drive per day.
There are several routes from Cherbourg to Antibes e.g. A6, A7 or A75.
Why don’t you just drive within your comfort zone and then search for a hotel or C.d’H? I don’t think you will have a problem finding a cat friendly one.

cyrian

Cherbourg to Clermont-Ferrand is possible at about 6h30 plus stops.
Bourges is a possible alternative with a shorter drive.
The A88 and A28 to Tours are quiet and the tolls are about €25.
Just before Tours you join the A10 and then the A85 before joining the A71 as stated above.
From CF you can drive via Montpellier or Lyons to Antibes.
I would advise that you book hotels ahead because September is "coach month" and some hotels get pre-booked by the coach parties.
France is usually more pet friendly than the UK.

Pinkcat1771

Thank you all for your tips so far. Really helpful, having never done this drive before. I quite like the idea of stopping off at Montpellier or Avignon once we get south as we love both those areas. It's more on the way down we are struggling with. I will check out Tours and Lyon, maybe we could stop off somewhere close to either. I'd definitely prefer to pre book our accommodation, I know that ties us but better that than struggle to find somewhere.

Thinking we could find a nice little holiday cottage rather than a hotel. I will look in these areas on homeaway and ownersdirect to see what there is.

Really appreciate all the help with tolls too.

Are tolls there just credit card or cash?

Pinkcat1771

Looking at the map and route planner, this looks a good option:

Cherbourg to Tours 4hrs stay one night
Tours to Lyon 5hrs stay two nights
Lyon to Avignon 2.5hrs stay four nights
Avignon to Antibes 2.5hrs

We are breaking the trip up over seven nights as we want to see some other parts of France and can't get in our Antibes apartment till a certain date.

Anyone been to Tours, Lyon or Avignon? Do you think I've split the days well if you have? I know from Avignon we could do a few nice days out, Lyon looks a nice city, Tours looks small so I thought one night would do us there!

Thanks again for any thoughts.

cyrian

Tours is a major centre for tourists visiting the chateau of the Loire valley.
e.g. Chenonceau; Villandry; Amboise.
Amboise the final resting place of Leonardo da Vinci
Tours Val de Loire Tourisme - Préparer son séjour à Tours

Also plenty of restaurants in the historic old town.

Pinkcat1771

Thanks Cyrian,

That sounds good, thinking it's quite a good place for our first night as not too long a drive from Cherbourg. The ferry gets in around 2pm so we should get to Tours for early evening.

Appreciate your help.

petitefrancaise

Try airbnb for places to stay en route..

lic

Hi,
Just popped over from the Spain side of this site.
I'm thinking of driving down to Spain next year, but am concerned regarding ant potential problems with the illegal migrant disorder problems. Are there any areas that should be avoided? Is cailes safe to use, have read that GB plated vehicles are being targeted by migrants and that levels of violence are increasing. Is this just GB press or is it true?

Novocastrian

No comment. But you should watch out for illegal potential ants wherever you go.

Tweedpipe

Yes there are major problems with migrants in Calais, but imho they shouldn't prevent planning a road trip into France. I personally would be a little more concerned about possible delays at that location, so if practical choose an alternative crossing route.
If you decide on Calais, just let common sense prevail. Take on board extra refreshments (bottled water etc) just in case of road blockages and possible delays, and keep car doors locked even whilst driving - which makes sense in many countries, and is something I've always adhered to.

dmu

Hi, whereabouts do you live in the UK? and where are you heading for in Spain?
A crossing further West of Calais would avoid any potential problems (more likely on your return trip when you might find yourself with unexpected passengers), and would mean a correspondingly shorter and cheaper drive through France.

audio

These ‘hitchikers’ are apparently as far west as Cherbourg and might possibly be at St Malo.

cyrian

I didn't see any at Ouistreham in June.