I am planning the travel for a 3-family camping trip to Western France this summer.
On an August Sunday (late morning) we are going to emerge from the Eurotunnel at Calais and drive to Le Mans (where we are over-nighting).
I plan for us to stick to the main roads (A16/A28?) and can see that Rouen would be around mid-way.
Does anyone know of a good picnic spot close to Rouen? This could be a nice Aire or a short detour off the main road.
Any trip suggestions would be gratefully received, but the following were thoughts I have already had:
- I want to break the trip in half as far as possible so I'm looking for places not too far before or after Rouen
- I'm open to going into Rouen if that doesn't take too long. But, I'm mainly looking for a nice picnic stop - not town sightseeing.
- 2 of the families will be towing trailers - so we're looking for reasonable parking opportunities.
- All said and done we would be happy with a nice Aire if there was one in the area. We have stopped at Aire de la Baie de Somme and something like that would be fine - but it's way too early.
Thanks in advance for any replies/suggestions.
Kind wishes
Clive
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when you depart rouen, just before you take the toll road to Le Mans, there is a castle ruin, its a tourist attraction so parking might be ok. might be worth considering? Alternatively there are plenty of aires along the route, so I wouldn't worry, just plan to stop at the first one after rouen, its not far after the castle ruins.
Personally I would try for somewhere just after Rouen as it can be a bit tedious travelling through there and if in convoy, i wouldn't be surprised if you get split up, traffic lights, traffic etc. but once youre through rouen its toll road/dual carriageway all the way and if you all agree to stop after the first aire after the ruin it means your progress wont be halted by waiting for the others to overtake to catch up etc.
PS, where in Western France? it might be worth considering going through Caen/Rennes and dropping down, its all motorway/dual carriageway and its a lot cheaper on the toll fees, just two tolls of around 10e in total, we take that route all the time to the Vendee. we always stop at the Mont St Michel aires, which is a brilliant picnic area, BUT at least 2 hours past rouen
ps you can do it for free on the scenic route, all dual carriageway up to Caen, then motorway etc for the rest, but that will add an hour to your journey and takes you through several lovely villages
Thanks for the tips. I appreciate you taking the time.
I have looked at them on Google/Street View and all are good suggestions.
Thanks for the ideas about driving to the Vendee as well. As we are going with first timers and quite a few children so I think we will go for the quickest (& most expensive) route option this time. But - they are great tips for next time.
At the moment I am erring towards the castle. Looks like it's not too bad to get off and back on the motorway - and it seems as though its free!
where on the Vendee Clive? I know it quite well, as does Baguette (and plenty of others)! its a great area, lots of brilliant beaches and not overly developed (depending on where you go and your interpretation of developed LOL)
We are taking the kids (inc. some big ones) on a bit of a theme park tour. First stop is Puy du Fou - from La Breteche campsite (just outside Less Espesses). We are there for a week. So enjoying the countryside as well as the park. We have stopped here before - I would recommend.
We then up sticks and stay at a hotel just outside Futuroscope for a couple of nights (with maybe a trip to Poitier inc.).
Finally we are camping again at a site north of Paris for 5 days (Camping Campix). From there we will be doing - a day trip into Paris, a day at Park Asterix and some local site seeing.
So maybe not seeing the best the Vendee has to offer and not everybody's cup of tea but we'll have good fun I hope.
We have been to the Vendee before (a couple of times now) and, yes, it is a great place isn't it. Maybe in a year or two's time we'll be back, nearer to the coast and enjoying it properly (at leisure).
Clive
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Topic: Picnic stop near Rouen
