DRIVING CALAIS TO MONTLUCON (3) AUVERGNE

[scotslassie]

It will be our first time driving on the wrong side of the road in May!  We need to get to my foolhardy purchase (barn renovation) near Montlucon.  I DO NOT WANT TO GO NEAR PARIS - I remember as a child going through at 4 am to avoid the rush with panicking parents as it was still very busy!  Any route recommendations to avoid huge arguements and accidents?

[plod]

Paris is not scary. If you avoid the rush hours the périphérique is simple - just follow the signs. Am I right in thinking that Montlucon is near Vierzon? If so come down from Calais and follow the signs for Nantes and Bordeaux. Just have a navigator keeping an eye out for the signs. They are numerous and clear. Honestly!

[Anton Redman]

Have a look at

http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/fra/tpl/hme/MaHomePage.htm

It quotes 6 hours 25 minutes and 627 kilometres via Paris and 8 hours 2 minutes and 737 via Troyes to the East of Paris. You can modiy your route to add stop overs which is how you feed in Troyes. The printouts tell you which signs to follow. All the Peripherique is dual carriage way, there are only a few tricks to using it :

1. For a number of junctions the main route goes straight on but the exit is the left so follow the signposts not your sense of direction.

2. The signposting happens latter than on UK Motorways. ( becasue the route is much closer to the centre)

3. Check that you know the town which will be sign posted. Going South for Montlucon I am pretty sure it is Bordeaux until you are at least 20 kilometres South of Paris.(via Micjelin gives you a route with the signpots on it)

4. Always fill up well before Paris or check you have enough fuel to be the other side of Paris. ( ditto comfort breaks)

For what it is worth after driving round the M25 I think the Peripherique a doodle

[abbo2]

Anton is right about the m25 and the peripherique

we live by sancerre so take the a6 from paris and then the a77, we often go to montlucon which is about an hour further down from us, if this is the shortest route for you take paris,

 We take the a1 until it runs out and then the peripherique round to the juntion for the a6, always following signs to lyon, keep the big picture in mind and its a doddle.  If you are going through at rush hours stop for a break before you get to near.

good luck

[La Guerriere]

I agree the Peripherique is not as bad as it looks. Compared with M25 or the evil North or South Circular it works and the signing is totally consistent. You do need to have it sorted out a bit in advance and know which Porte you're going to come off at and get yourself into the correct lane. I find that oddly enough the French are more tolerant about people trying to change lanes than on UK motorways.. even white van man. And the overhead signs give quite a lot of information about the "circulation" , times, and whether anywhere is bunged up.

However never try to drive to anywhere in La Defense that is a completely different kettle of poisson but also a totally different story so I'll shut up.

[scotslassie]

You have all been very helpful, thanks,  Yes Montlucon is near both Sancere and Vierzon and where I'm headed is actually just a few miles past St Amand Montrond so its really not even as far as that.  Nice to know we have neighbours......even if its almost an hour away!  We are heading from rural Scotland so the M25 will be equally traumatic so if we survive that we should really head for Paris to save more time and take all your advice.  You probably all are used to south of England traffic and a bit braver than me though - I will let you know how I get on! Oh - some of this will be toll roads?  Cost approx?

Lesley

[Albert the InfoGipsy]

You could avoid both Paris AND the M25 if you take one of the mid-channel routes. Something like Portsmouth - Caen should do the trick. Multimap shows that as 503 km, against 616 km from Calais. You save a bit on UK mileage too -- Glasgow - Dover is 488 miles (785 km) and Glasgow - Portsmouth is 445 miles (716 km).

The westerly routes are probably dearer than Dover-calais, but with your journey I'd seriously consider taking a night boat and getting a bit of kip.

[Anton Redman]

some of this will be toll roads?  Cost approx?

Via Michelin (see link above) calculates the fees for the route you select.

[abbo2]

 Cost approx?

we pay 19.6 euros on the a1 to paris, 7.9 euros on the a6 down to the a77 then 2.6 euro as a through post at around junction 24 on the a77 not sure if i have the cents right but its near enough

and we fill the van with desiel at calais as we come of the tunnel and this gets us here,

st amand is about 30 mins from us

abbo

[scotslassie]

Excellent ideas.  I like the thought of sleeping on the longer crossing.  We were going to do a night one anyway as its cheap and we would have quiet roads to set off on!  We are bringing a small diesel van so it is pretty economical and hopefully will get similar consumption to yours abbo.  I have printed out the michelin directions too for various routes - very handy info there too guys (presuming you are guys anyway - apologies if its gals too).  Abbo, if you're around at the end of May we will maybe get in touch to pick your brains about EVERYTHING as this is all new to us and you seem to be our nearest neighbour!

[abbo2]

we will be here end of may - we live here all the time

email me if you want

abbo

[Ian]

Scotslassie, I've driven a similar route often - I used to live in Edinburgh and now live near Chateauroux.

If you really want to avoid Paris, and don't mind a few extra kilometres, swing west of Paris : Calais - Rouen - LeMans - Tours - Vierzon.

Now the A85 is open east of Tours, it's motorway almost all the way (and delightfully empty motorway at that). Easy driving - boredom is the main enemy. Rouen is supposed to be tricky, but I've not found it to be a problem. As others have said, as long as you know which towns/cities lie along your route, and as long as you keep your eyes open, it's not difficult.

Good luck

[scotslassie]

Thanks Ian.  I'm going to print various options out and then we can change our minds depending on tine, conditions etc......  Boring is good, the less traffic the better although if we can get through a few small towns before hitting major roads I am sure motorways wont be the problem.  I havent driven abroad for 18 years (went to California for a year aged 21) but I didnt drive the day I arrived!  Your route would be similar - I live in the land of scottish raspberries about an hour and a bit north of Edinburgh. 

Abbo - once everythings booked, we may be in touch.   Thanks for all posts

[Ian]

Regarding the land of Scottish raspberries, are you talking about the Carse of Gowrie? If so, I know it well - I was raised in Dundee.

If you're driving from there to Montlucon, have a look at the ferries to Zeebrugge. Going from Rosyth saves a long drive down to the Channel ports, while going via Hull will save you the bit through southern England (the worst bit, no disrespect meant!). They may seem expensive on the surface, but last trip back from Edinburgh, I paid around £180 for the Rosyth-Zeebrugge crossing (car, cabin, two people) - by the time you add the extra petrol/diesel costs, plus even a cheap hotel around Dover or Calais, there's not a lot in it.

Good luck anyway, however you travel.

[Hoddy]

There are quite a few people on this board who don't like driving in or near Paris.

An often recommended route south is Rouen, Chartres, Orleans.

See this thread for a more detailed account

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1081674/ShowPost.aspx

Hoddy

[Megan le Fey]

We will be doing a similar trip to yours Scotslassie sometime during the last two weeks of April.  We will be travelling from near Blairgowrie to near Chateauroux.  I drove from Dordogne up here to Blairgowrie six months ago in a RHD car (after 6 years in France but with a LHD car) and it wasn't too bad but we kept getting lost.  I kept telling my OH who doesn't drive any more, "don't worry, so we're lost, we're retired and an extra night in a hotel won't quite bankrupt us".  He was never convinced and went quiet every time we ended up 50kms from our destination. [:D]  This time, I have invested in a sat nav with European maps and have been practising using it everywhere we go. I shall be trying to do exactly as "she" tells me but I have the feeling that I shall be hearing "her" telling me that "she" is recalculating several dozen times during the trip.  I shall print out an itinerary from Mappy (or similar) and have it with me as a backup.  I am not one of those super-confident, long distance driving types but do seem to manage in the end.

Good luck and try to enjoy the trip,  I am determined that we are going to enjoy ours.[:D]

[scotslassie]

Back again.  Thanks Ian for the tip about the Rosyth ferry - we are seriously considering it if we can get a good deal!  We are from Blairgowrie although I wasnt  born and bred here.  Anne, good luck with your trip in April - let us know how you get on.  Ours isnt until late May when I sign my final contract.  We will set off with a few days to spare and a tent for emergencies!  I hate being pressurised by deadlines when on holiday so it wont matter if we get lost a bit - unless its in Paris[:D]

[Ron Avery]

[quote user="Ian"]
If you really want to avoid Paris, and don't mind a few extra kilometres, swing west of Paris : Calais - Rouen - LeMans - Tours - Vierzon.

[/quote]

I know you like to go through Rouen Ian, but why would anybody going to Montlucon which is just off the A71 en route to Clermont-Ferrand want to go through Tours and Le Mans?  There are pretty routes and pretty expensive routes, what with the price of fuel these days and that route is the best part of 100 kms more than the "normal route" to Vierzon,  so not just a "few kilometres".

[MrCanary]

I'm with Albert the Infogypsy...

Take a longer crossing and follow his suggested route via Tours. The cross channel rest will be good for you as tiredness is a bigger killer on the roads than anything else!   

 

Good luck...

 

[Ian]

Ron, I take your point, but it all depends how much you want to avoid Paris (and the busy roads round Paris).

For myself and others from Scotland, landing at Calais means we've already driven c. 800km, usually involving the M1 and the M25 - following that, the direct but busy route via Paris is not much fun. Conversely, the west route is quiet, with few risks of hold-ups or delays, so timing is fairly predictable. And driving is less stressful.

As far as the cost is concerned, 100km is around 6l of gasoil, maybe 7.5 Euro. In the context of a two day, 1000km journey involving ferry plus hotel, I don't see that as significant.

Landing at Zeebrugge, on the other hand, you can't really avoid Paris. And on our last trip, we sailed though Paris, making Chateauroux in under six hours. Mind, I now have a SatNav, which guided me through Paris very successfully. Maybe the time has come to reconsider.....

Cheers

[Simon]

Hi Scotslassie,

I've been travelling about fours times a year from Loch Ness to Bannegon (15 miles west of St Amand) for the last 15 years and always travel Dover-Calais. The reason being is that if you miss your boat there's always another one within an hour or two and you generally don't have to pay any extra. On the longer crossings, if you miss your boat you've had it. Cost for return crossing with Seafrance last month was £52.

I have used the ferry from Rosyth to Zeebrugge on three occasions when travelling by motorbike, it's great to get off at Rosyth and be home in two and a half hours. However it was over £400 for two plus bike and cabin.

Travelling south from Calais, I always keep to the east of Paris, using either A104, A86 or le Peripherique depending on the time of day. As most people have said Paris isn't that bad, but remember that motorbikes have their own lane,it is between the middle and outside lanes!

[scotslassie]

Hi simon

Nice to know how many people manage to get from Scotland to France.  I presume you have a property in Bannegon to make you visit so often?  Such a small world...  Met some very nice people from Arbroath in Bulgaria 2 years ago and went back out there with one of them last year to sort out some paperwork for me and help them fit window panes in their property.  Since seen sense and chosen france to waste my savings on but it would seem the scots get everywhere nowadays......!

I have decided to drive to Dover and hope I dont live to regret it.  The one hour home from Rosyth would be fabulous, but we have just now decided the cost was too high at this time of year (our trip is delayed to mid june now) and even with fuel and £52 for the van and passengers (same price as your recent crossing) the cost is much less Dover to Calais.  The visibility from the van is my only concern on french turf - bikes are much better from that point of view, as well as creating extra lanes!  I have now printed out 2 different routes calais to st amand......

No doubt we will try different methods of getting there over the next few years whilst renovating..  Once its finished there wont be the need for tools and materials etc so flight to paris and car hire or train will be cheap and quick.  I have rented a large caravan a few miles from the barn to have a base close by.  Once there is water connected I can just rough it while work is in progress! 

cheers, lesley

[Simon]

Hi Lesley,

Yes, I do have a house in Le Rhimbe, Bannegon. Even after 15 years my holidays still involve tools and building materials and journeys to builders merchants, etc. My French neighbours always laugh when I use the word holidays. Since buying the house, we haven't holidayed anywhere else, despite each year vowing to go somewhere else. The draw is just too great. The idea of a package holiday lying on a beach just doesn't hold much appeal.

Just got planning permission to build two dormer windows, so that's this years holidays sorted!

Simon

 

[AnOther]

When it comes to traversing Paris timing is absolutely everything.

Normally we have avoided it like the plague favouring the Rouen route however we've just returned from a trip to Blighty and went via Paris both ways without hesitation, deviation, or repetition [:)]

On the way up we'd made excellent time and hit Orleans at around 22:30 on a Saturday night. We had bags of time for our ferry so decided to live on the edge and in all honesty it was an absolute doddle. We ignored the SatNav and just followed the signs for Lille and never dropped below whatever the speed limit was for the stretch of road we were on, minimum was 90kph if memory serves, and all dual carriageway.

Returning we hit Dunkerque at 01:00. With reckless abandon and emboldened by the earlier experience we went for Paris again following the signs for Bordeaux, once again a doddle. There was one brief worrying moment when we encountered a road closure at a critical point and diversion but it was well signposted and actually caused no difficulty and minimal delay.