spain

Hi, can anyone recommend the best route through France to Spain, heading to Valencia in the Summer

I've been told we should avoid Paris ??

Thanks

cyrian

Check the recent thread Calais to Languedoc http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=757663

Ka Ora!

Personally I see no need to avoid Paris and would use THIS ROUTE as avoiding Paris adds at least an hour to the TRIP whatever way you try and adjust it.

Scots in Treignac

and also the thread Pais to Bellac. sorry I can't do the fancy link.

Scots in Treignac

There are some people who prefer not to pay Motorway tolls.

Personally, I would reccommend going over the Millau viaduct.

dmu

So would I, the motorway is free from Clermont Ferrand to Béziers and the trip through the Auvergne/Cévennes/Languedoc is more than picturesque.
(not to mention the Millau viaduct which you have to pay for, but it's more than worth it...)

Ka Ora!

That counts out the Millau viaduct then

Off you GO but my first link did allow for this.

Scots in Treignac

Which other bridges are worth crossing?

There's a good one near Ussel on the A89 built by Preisdent Chirac. We wonder what M. Hollande will do for the Correze. Perhapps an accordian shaped bridge.

I would also reccommend the 3 bridges near Le Havre especially the third one along which is not on an auto route.

NB the Milau viaduct looks goo from underneath.

dmu

It certainly looks better from underneath but passing through the town of Millau will add to the total travel time...
You can see another of Eiffel's constructions (Pont du Garabit over the river Truyère) from a rest area on the A75.

MikeJ

If you must go via Paris then it really depends on what time you get there. If you are well outside the rush hours (and keep your nerve) then the quickest way is right into the peripherique and round the peripherique to the A6 exit towards Orleans on the Autoroute De Soleil (becomes the A10 - Autoroute L'Aquitaine). If it's busy round Paris and especially if you arrived from the Amiens direction then I would take the A86 (Superperipherique) round to the west of Paris. This only opened last year and a lot of it is in a tunnel (toll but quick). Not too many people have found this route yet and it's difficult to persude Googlemaps to take you along it but its still not too busy.
The A10 Autoroute de Soliel/L'Aquitaine used to have a terrible reputation for accidents as mad Parisiens hurtle off to the burbs or holiday homes.

Domino

if you drive over the Millau, probably more sedately in heavier traffic than the Top Gear team in their supercars, just smile to yourself as you think about it being designed by Norman Foster and his team. Probably one of the best pieces of British design ever.

.

MikeJ

But you'll find very little mention of Norman Foster in the exhibition at the service area. A lot about the 'heroic' French builders of course

Still you can buy some really nice tat there.

Domino

and probably nothing about the Waloon company I read about in Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millau_Viaduct

if it was in the UK then it would be impossible to find a UK company involved, so I suppose we should be thankful for the small crumbs passed to us by our friends.

Scots in Treignac

Don't know about British design. The first cable stay bridge of about 1km in the UK was accross the Moray firth in 1982; the Kessock Bridge.
Instead of employing a design team, the canny scots toured the world looking for bridges able to cope with seismic movement and different heights on either side. They found what they were looking for over the Rhine. After 1982, many UK bridges have used the cable stay system.

Vanya

I would certainly avoid Paris and take the national roads, avoiding toll roads; you can save a fortune at the cost of adding just a few hours to your journey. Set your sat nav to avoid toll roads, but be prepared to hide it from the gendarmes, as they are illegal in france now!