Travelling to France with 3 children

[lunacrazy1111]

This is my first thread so hello :-D

We are travelling to Perigeux, Dordogne from Calais.

It's a long trip (We're starting from Cornwall, Travelling to Dover... then owards as we can't get a ferry from Plymouth.)

However, it's worked out well as we'll be seeing family in Kent before hand.

I'm concerned about the journey once we're in France though. We've never travelled by road in a foreign country. And doing it the first time with 3 children (8,6&5) I want to be as clued up about the journey as possible. Which will stop me stressing out at everyone on the way!

My partner is laid back until I start flapping and panicking, so I'd love to "Not" ;-D

I would like to Avoid Paris Completely. So I'm hoping to find someone who has made that journey and who is full of amazing handy tips about the route to take, what to avoid and places to stop off, if necessary :-)

Am hoping this isn't too much of an ask. I've tried googling it, but that confuses me even more!

Thank you.

We have driven to south west France most summers for the past ten years, with our three kids. French motorways are fantastic -very few cars compared to UK, well maintained, good service stations. You do have to pay the motorway tolls, but it's definitely worth it, much slower if you avoid the toll roads. I would recommend an overnight stop halfway as your kids are young, there are loads of budget hotels off the motorways. Do you have sat nav? We have always used google maps on our phones. Definitely choose a route that avoids Paris, the Peripherique ring road is not fun!

Meant to add: the speed limit reduces in the rain - frequent signs tell you (can't remember what it is now). Also drivers in the fast lane tend to keep their indicator lights on all the time which can be disconcerting when they're behind you! But generally driving in France is easy so no need to worry.

Go via Rouen, Chartres, Orleans, then take the A20 south. Very few tolls on the A20 so it’s cheap. Driving is much easier in France than in the UK. I would advise stopping overnight in Orleans to break up the drive. There are so many cheap hotels so it won’t cost that much.

1 take sat nav
2 be prepared to pay for toll roads, very easy to do
3 take stuff for dc to do. Mine got very board on the journey from calais to dijon so be prepared
4the service stations are a lot smaller (cafe and loo) so don't expect them to be a diversion from travelling

I would go Rouen, Le Mans, Tours, Poitiers, Angoulême and then down to the Dordogne, avoiding Paris completely, though it does depend which bit of the Dordogne you are in.
Don't pay with a card at the autoroutes péages, get a tag from Sanef in the UK and go though the automatic télépéages lanes. It saves loads of time.
Where you stop obviously depends on the time of your crossing, but don't be too ambitious on day 1. We tend to use Ibis, but I think Novotel are better for family rooms. There are an increasing number of aparthotels which have simple self-catering facilities.
Freeze small water bottles as extra ice-packs and have nice cold drinks on the journey.

Lightlover if you are in the fast lane of a French motorway and the car behind you has it's indicator on, they are asking you to pull into middle lane so they can overtake.

Also speed limit has dropped from 90 to 80 kmh on many roads but this isn't always obvious!

@Lightlover

I see that @TheLesserWeevil has got there first, I came on to day that it is not just in France that cars in the outside lane with their indicators on are telling you that they are trying to get past you. You may notice it less on motorways with several lanes because they can find another way past you. Especially on motorways with only two lanes, the traffic flows much better for everyone if you move back to the inside lane as soon as you have overtaken whatever was impeding your progress.

It may seem easier to sit in the outside lane(s) but it really isn't that much effort to pull in to avoid holding up others.

Paying by toll by card is easy - no need to get a tag beforehand.

Go via Rouen. Le Mans. Poitiers. Toll cost 57€. 8 and a half hours driving. Use the via Michelin website for a route planner.

Those motorway rules are the case in England too peeps.

We never bother with the same tag and never get caught in queues and we go every year. I always assume the queues are elsewhere, we some times do the route you are.

Take audio books maybe?

You can use data abroad so this year I just used Google maps to navigate.

David Walliams audiobook is my best suggestion- parents and children equally happy. We move countries by car regularly and do it with an audiobook and crisps!

We live in France, use the autoroute network all the time and consistently save loads of time with the tag, especially with the increasing number of 30kph drive through téléléage lanes. DD has a tag for her visits here and also would not be without one. We came back from the UK last week and sailed past loads of queues only to be held up at the Pont de Normandie where they don't have a dedicated lane and we had to sit behind people fumbling for their credit cards and then waiting for a receipt. 😀

Make sure you have all the bits and bobs that you must have in your car by law in France - hi vis vests for all occupants, breathalyser and sort out your headlamps. Otherwise it is far less stressful than driving in England!

As you come out of Calais and get on the first toll road there is a speed camera! On the bridge.

Other than that it's a great journey we have a house in perigeaux.

Brantome is worth a visit and a couple of hours canoeing on the river

What everyone else said. No reason to go anywhere near Paris — stay on the route others have mentioned as obvious. I think we stayed in the Citadines aparthotel in Le Mans on our route southwest last year, and while Le Mans doesn’t have a lot to recommend it, it was a convenient distance from Calais as, like you, we’d had a fairly long drive to get to Folkestone . Rouen is a lovely city to stay over in.

Driving on autoroutes is very straightforward — we’ve found driving in narrow city streets more complicated, as you’d expect, particularly regarding parking. So many urban French car parks are underground, and spaces are very tight if you have a large car. (Ours is big by French standards.)

The télépéage does save time, but it’s easy to pay tolls with a card too. Just bear in mind that whoever is in the passenger seat will be doing it!

There are very frequent aires de repos off the autoroute, but most are just loos (of varying cleanliness) and a few picnic tables — far fewer have cafés and shops like UK services — so stock up on food and drink for the car in a supermarket on long days.

Make sure you have all the car kit you need for France. Oh, and that you know your breakdowncover situation — if you break down on an autoroute or an aire de repos, you have to be towed off by a breakdown service appointed by the gendarmerie nationale, who will tow you somewhere where your own cover can take over. Your own service can’t come and get you on the motorway.

Remember to take a pack of stuff required tp be carried in a car in France. We bought a pack from Amazon but I know it changes (nos need a breathalyser) so check current requirements

We thought some of the items a really good idea like reflective jackets, so keep them in our car cabin still.

I grew up in France and we often go back with the kids. One top tip is that the McDonalds in France are really good and there are usually lots to stop at en route. They mostly have kids play areas and you can stop for a coffee or lunch (they do a slightly different menu and have a good selection of salads and healthier stuff too) French McDonalds have been a god send to us when the kids needed to loo and to let off steam!