HELP.WHERE CAN I GO WITH NOT ENOUGH TIME

  • Thread starter Thread starter stumac
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Thanks Richard

Some great advice there. Going down that way in September. We are gonna get the ferry to Bilbao though and will take in the World Enduro Round too.
 
You could try the Massif Central, loads of truly stunning roads and scenery and a bit more accessible. L:)ook at Le Puy de dome in the Vulcano region, Millau viaduct and the nearby Gorge du Tarn. Its the area around Clermont-Ferrand if you look at a map of France.

+1 for Massif Central. As well as the volcanoes there's the Cheese Route! The area 15 miles north east of Aurillac is superb.

Tim
 
+1 for Massif Central. As well as the volcanoes there's the Cheese Route! The area 15 miles north east of Aurillac is superb.

Tim

That's right :thumb2

Near enough anything inside,
A broad square: Angouleme, Clermont-Ferand, Millau, Auch (a huge area) is stuffed with great roads, campsites and 'stuff' (as my daughter would call it). You could spend a week just going, Bererac, Sarlat, Figeac and all the places in between.
 
French National Motor Museum
Milau Bridge
Stelvio Pass (or similar)
Maranello
Monte Carlo
Andorra
Pamplona
Bilbao

Wouldn't bother with Andorra if you ask me, one major road in and out, so consequently full of lorries and tourists. I do however recommend the Route Napoleon, which has the odd touristy bit (Castellane etc) brings you near the Gorge du Verdon, and that's pretty spectacular.

Mup.
 
Wouldn't bother with Andorra if you ask me, one major road in and out, so consequently full of lorries and tourists. I do however recommend the Route Napoleon, which has the odd touristy bit (Castellane etc) brings you near the Gorge du Verdon, and that's pretty spectacular.

Mup.

+1 for the Route Napoleon (N85) :bow

Fabulous set of bends on the approach to Castellane :thumb

Gorge du Verdon is like a mini Grand Canyon :thumb

Hope this helps........
 
Hi Wapping, sorry to but in, its just I am trying to plan a route as well and you sound like you know what your doing, any advice on the following.

Tunnel Friday night, etap Calais overnight and then want to do the following before getting on a boat at Bilbao Friday night.

French National Motor Museum
Milau Bridge
Stelvio Pass (or similar)
Maranello
Monte Carlo
Andorra
Pamplona
Bilbao

Taking tents, but would prefer etap/formula one, thinking of motorway 1st day to get South and the mostly avoid toll roads, planning to go Firday 5th June.

What do you reckon.

Thanks in advance

Danny

Oh Danny Boy.....

As to whether I know what I am doing is open to braod debate but here goes:

(a) You start your journey, in Calais, on the morning of Saturday 6 June.

(b) You finish your journey on a Friday (you do not say which one) it time to catch a ferry at Bilbao 'at night' - whatever time that is.

I guess you are away for seven days? If not, how long?

(c) You plan to camp but would prefer to stay in Etap / Formula 1 hotels. That's fine, you decide. It's easier to stay in a hotel, I guess, as you do not have to spend time building it up or taking it down.

(d) I had no idea where the French National Motor museum hides itself, so I Googled it. I see it is what I call the Schlumpf museum in Mulhouse. That at least is on the way south from Calais. It will take you at least a morning to look at the exhibits.

(e) You seem to have made a list of all the usual 'Must do' sites but not looked at a map.The Stelvio is in the Dolomites, in Italy, at least a day's ride from Mulhouse. It will take you a morning to ride up it, have a coffee and ride down.

You are then off to Marnello, I guess to look at Ferrari? Another morning or afternoon gone.

You are then off to Monte Carlo, not sure why. I guess to see the Formula 1 track or to gamble or to spend lots of money on an ice cream.

Then to the famous bridge, which is nowhere near Monte Carlo or Maranello or the Stelvio but it's on a motorway. I guess you will have to decide which direction you plan to cross coming from Monte Carlo.

Then it's off to Andorra, a dusty nothing town, to buy duty free I assume?

Pamplona, back on the way to Bilbao, in time to catch a ferry home.

You want to avoid toll roads, you say.

Seriously, look at a map.

Work out:

(A) How long you have got, the two certainties being your start in Calais and your departure in Bilbao.

(B) Where the places are

(C) How long you want to spend at each

(D) How you want to get to and between them

(E) Where you want to say each night

Could you do it all in a week? Yes.

Should you do it all in a week? Probably no.
 
The haute pyrenees are still a big ask in a relatively short time. You could try the Massif Central, loads of truly stunning roads and scenery and a bit more accessible. L:)ook at Le Puy de dome in the Vulcano region, Millau viaduct and the nearby Gorge du Tarn. Its the area around Clermont-Ferrand if you look at a map of France.

What he said :augie
 
moto-rail

you could save yourself one leg of the journey, and get the motorail from either calais or paris...drops you off in Biarritz or Nice... I paid €300 euro one way for the bike, me and the missus...arrive rested and refreshed

saves you a load of miles, and its easier when you only have to come back from somewhere allows you a bit more play time

here is a link showing the routes

http://www.seat61.com/Motorail.htm
 
Hey Stumac...
I`m from Newtownards originally!!!
When my moto buddies come to visit me they usually allow 2 days to get this far(south of Pau)when they disembark from Cherbourg. If you can work out your ferry timings and you want to do the Pyrenees then an option would be Plymouth to Santander. This route kind of parallels the road route thru France meaning you arrive refreshed and ready to head towards the mountains.
That time of year usually expect good warm weather with the odd shower thrown in. I live on one of the AA recommended routes(and where the TdeFrance usually passes past or close to) and can vouch for the enjoyment factor.
All this to say,if you are planning any sort of a European trip I`d try and wangle a few days extra if possible....it can only do good. If you want to know more about the area I live in or anything else just ask.As you`re aware already,we`re all here to help.

In the meantime try www.viamichelin.com and on the homepage click on Driving Directions....this site is usually pretty accurate with drive times especially taking into account the mountain twisties where your average speed drops significantly...
:)
 
When my moto buddies come to visit me they usually allow 2 days to get this far(south of Pau)when they disembark from Cherbourg. If you can work out your ferry timings and you want to do the Pyrenees then an option would be Plymouth to Santander. This route kind of parallels the road route thru France meaning you arrive refreshed and ready to head towards the mountains.

Hehe, takes me back to my first big foray into France back in 2001. There was roughly 14 of us all meeting up for 3 weeks in a villa near Aups, and while the rest opted for the ususal route down, one guy and I took the ferry down to Bilbao and went up across the Pyrenees.

The boat trip went much quicker than expexted. We turned out on deck fairly early and started talking about the trip, and then a hatch opened from what looked like a garden shed next to us - we'd sat down next to the bar! One thing led to another, and by the time the bar closed at night we were still slumped there, each behind a tall stack of empty beer glasses, punctuated at regular intervals with screwed-up crisp packets.

And thus the beer clock was born. To say we arrived refreshed would be overstating the situation somewhat though. :aidan

Mup.
 
Good option for you:

Low cost flight to Barcelona.
Then you take a self guided tour through the pyrenees with a 1200GS from us.
Hard facts:
Start/Finish: Barcelona
Duration: 8 days, 6 days riding
Total distance: + - 1500km

Cheers,
Volker
 


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