Hi All,
I know this subject has been done to death but here goes. We are off to Le Brasilia near Perpignan middle of August and have been looking at routes. We normally go Calais, Reims ,Troyes, Dijon etc mainly as all AutoRoute. I have been looking at the Rouen, Orleans, Clermont-Ferrand route. Just wondering has anyone done both of these routes and if so what are there preferences or opinions. I understand that obviously the Rouen route is cheaper as some is free motorway but have also read that there are very steep climbs although our outfit is well matched and shouldn’t be a problem. Any help or advice greatly appreciated.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
We've done both - frequently. In the past we used to always use (outer) Paris/Dijon/Lyon/south of France. Now we use Rouen/Chartes/etc.
If you're in a hurry then I think the Lyon route would be quicker, but it will also be busier with much heavier traffic. The tolls are certainly less the other way but there are some long climbs (but not steep - just very very long) and similarly long descents. They are no problem at all to our Mondeo Turbo Diesel Estate (1.9L) and caravan with MTPLM 1350 - but you need a car with good torque to cope with the long hills. We've done that route many times over the past ten years or more and actually used to go that way long before much of the autoroute was finished.
These days were prefer the Rouen route and haven't done what I call the Rhone Valley route for several years.
If you just want to get there as quickly as possible and don't mind the tolls the you need to compare timings/costs on a site like viamichelin, and weigh up which will be best for you.
Hi, we went to le Brasilia last year at the same time with kids(girl 9, boy 7) had a gret time, site really big,but very clean, toilets & showers were excellent. Went with our caravan, caught 6am eurotunnel and drove via Rouen, charts and had a stop over just past clermont-ferrrand. Then completed journey on the Saturday morning. I would advise if pos not to travel Saturday am as Bezier to Perpignan took an awful long time, as Saturday is holiday moving day.
We are going to serignan plage next week and have planned to do it in one go, so catching 530pm eurotunnel on Thursday and hope to be there by 10 in the morning on Friday. We may be brave and go via Paris this time. Should be fun
Good luck, any further advice. Just ask.
We stayed at Brasilia in June and would endorse the positive comment above. The only advice I would give you is to consider wearing earplugs while you sleep as there are lots of birds (especially pigeons) and they tend to make a hell of a row as they go about their normal business from sunrise onwards. There are also squirrels which have a habit of partying on caravan and MH roofs at the same time of day! Otherwise its an excellent site.
We were unlucky enough to have a tyre destroyed by a piece of metal during the holiday and had to buy a replacement. Didn't quite know where to go but a very helpful security guy (one on duty at all times at the entrance as the site does not have barriers) pointed us in the direction of a business called Feu Verte which is located right next to the Carrefour hypermarket about 10 mins from Canet. It is like a Halfords store with a tyre depot attached and we were very impressed - they had some English speaking staff and whilst they were very busy they were well organised and has us sorted with a replacement matching tyre within 90 minutes, which we filled with a shopping expedition and a couple of grand cremes. And there was a bonus as the total cost was slightly less than I had paid for the original tyre in the UK back in February.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
I agree with others that the Rouen, Chatres, Clermont route is great. However their may be a hold up at Rouen because of repairs to the bridge! It is well worth stopping at the Aire du Garabit,on the A75, approx' one hour past Clermont Ferrand to admire the river and the bridge designed by Mr Eiffel.
regards Bob.
Thanks for the replies so far really appreciate it. Regarding the A71/5 route is it mountainous as in shear drops on either side of road as OH gets rather nervous where as I love the scenery, also just asking if anyone has done the A20 route and their opinions?
On the A75 there are no shear drops etc, more a climb onto a plateau (1000 metres), the only drop is off the bridge. The scenery is better than the A20, but the A20 isn't flat and uninteresting.
The A20 is undulating but doesn't climb as high as the A75 up to maybe 500 metres.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
There was no problem in Rouen when we were there four times this year, even though the bridge is out of action, the route we use (alongside the Seine on the D6015 towards Pont de l'Arche) was free-flowing, with perhaps just a little more traffic than normal - but certainly no hold-ups.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Route South of France
