Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Circular France road trip advice pls

Having toured Brittany and the Loire regions of France a fair bit we have decided to broaden our horizons and head further South in France. We are starting to put together an itinerary for a 3-4 week circular tour of France in the Plus Six, with the intent to stay at stop over points for 2-3 days as we work around a circular route. The start point is Roscoff in Brittany, then nip South to our first stop off just North of Nantes, from Nantes the plan is then to head South down to the Pyrenees and then Easterly to cross the Millau bridge and then zig zag back to Roscoff. Once over the Millau bridge we have not yet thought of any areas to visit.
I need some advice and suggestions please regarding any good driving roads enroute and nice stop overs/places to see South of Nantes, also same through the Pyrenees etc. Also any roads to avoid may help.. We will try and stay clear of motorways if possible, unless we need to use them to quickly get from A to B. We have found that Route Nationale roads are mostly fine for covering distances.
Any trip advice would be appreciated..
Dave

Dave I don’t know France but Neilda of this parish takes his Aero Plus 8 there every Summer touring so probably has wealth of knowledge.

He is not a frequent visitor on here of late so a PM would be best I suggest as he is such a helpful nice guy.

Good luck for the trip you have a perfect mount

On leaving Millau, you could head North East to the Forest of Morvan before tracking West to Roscoff. The Morvan Forest is rather lovely and has a brilliant museum of the Resistance. During the earlier stages of the occupation, many resistance fighters hid in the Forest of Morvan before becoming active. We found a nice hotel near a lake for a 2 night stop and spent the middle day walking round the lake.

Then your route to Roscoff could take you through Orleans and Le Mans.


We stayed:

Creissels Chateau de Creissels - has super viewed of the Millau bridge. If they still do it, try the lamb tasting menu.
Blesle Hotel Restaurant La Bougnate - OK - wouldn't rush back
Les Settons Les Grillons du Morvan - tourist hotel - excellent value for money

and once over the bridge, try to visit La Couvertoirade . We go there often.

I am Quebecois and accordingly more comfortable in a franco/anglo-speaking environment than any other. My favorite spot in the world, still unchanged in many places,
is Southern France, so much so I bought and restored another Morgan, (kept in the UK) merely to visit it 4 months each year (2 months in Spring and Fall).

Millau conjures up the best of the best. We have combed that area many times. From Millau take the Gorge du Tarn road . I believe the route is D998. but check it
out. It is on the same road as the https://www.chateaudelacaze.com/ down the road by the Tarn river. I have been staying there since I was 17 and could only traveling by
outstretched thumb.

Another place is further east. It is a spot frequented by tourists from France and very few others. It is further east and called Grignan, a early medieval village built around
a mesa. A favorite mistress of Louis XIV built a massive Chateau on the top. She was a rose fanatic and planted 1600 bushes (!) , which became rose "trees". Never seen
anything like it. It is known as the rose capital of the planet. Some of the most wonderful occasions of my life occurred in Grignan! Great walk about venue with great
boutique shopping and food.

https://www.leblogdici.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/grignan_lavande.png

There are many other places, but I won't take up space. BTW if you want to see France as it was in the 1950s, take a drive through the Camargue, south of the Roman
town of Arles. It is a national park, a salt marsh and home to extraordinary all-white wild horses roaming free among the flocks of all white wild storks and flamingos.

gmg (wistfully)

The one time I have felt nervous driving in France was while towing a caravan south along the A4 - A7 through Lyon. Very Heavy traffic for many miles and sometimes debris on the road. Avoid if you can.

Thank you everyone thats contributed so far, very very appreciated.. We are starting to flesh out the route.. the Pyrenees are a bit of an unknown so far, but the internet is showing some good biking routes, so I am making the assumption whats good on a motorcycle will be good in the Morgan.. I did come across biking comments that fuel is an issue in the higher country of the Pyranees and to make sure to top up where you can..

We toured the Pyrenees & Picos in 2019. We didn't really struggle to get fuel although al the cars in our group could manage 300+ miles between top-ups.

One thing we were advised was that if you stop in Andorra, only book one night. That advice proved to be good. There is very little there in the summer - apart from cheaper petrol.

Our route was Bilbao, Donostia (worth 2 nights - lovely city to walk round), Lescar, Andorra, Arties, Sos del Rey Catolico, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Cervera de Pisuerga, Cangas de Onis, Santillana del Mar, Bilbao

Where practicable we stayed in Paradors - they were all excellent although dinner service isn't usually available until 8pm or 8:30pm which can be an issue for those used to dining earlier.

Do make sure you understand the road symbols on a Spanish map - we spent a half day on something resembling a gravel track taking a scenic route.

I am secretary for a Car Club (CAAR GB) and help plan our annual trips all over Europe and beyond. I have just finished planning a route from Chartres to Cahors including Millau, hotels and routes and back to the French Coast I will PM you with a copy of our suggested routes. We have also toured extensively Spain, Portugal in the last couple of years.

The N-145/N-260/C13 from Andorra to the Port de la Bonaigua is a super drive (best driven south to north). This then links to the D918 Route de Pyrenees which takes you over the Col du Portillon, Col de Peyresourde, Col d'Aspin, Col du Tourmalet, Col du Soulor, Col d'Aubisque and Col du Pourtalet.

Of the Alpine and Pyrenean passes, the Port de la Bonaigua. is the the most memorable.