Help me plan my route!

[LittleEsme]

I'm planning on The Chunnel and avoiding Paris on my drive down to Angouleme.

We are staying with friends so accommodation there is sorted but I'd love an overnight on the way down in a pretty town.

Plus, if anyone has any suggestions in and around that area where to go - I'd be most grateful!

Have a look at the via Michelin website. To avoid Paris you'd be looking at A16/A28 to Rouen, then Alencon, Le Mans, Tours and Poitiers before heading to Angouleme. Can't advise on stopovers but there will be somewhere nice on that route, depending how far you want to travel on the first day. The website will also calculate mileage distance/costs, travel time and toll fees.

We
Do that route a lot, the same way as @stringbean has suggested. Be warned Rouen is an unavoidable fu long nightmare to drive through. What are you driving we had an unfortunate incident with a roof box in the tunnel once...

We do it in one go, my mum has stopped in Bayeux before and liked it but I think it's quite a diversion.

FWIW we are heading to Carcassonne in August and will take the N104 'Francilienne' round the east and south side of Paris before joining the A10. We've avoided this in recent years because our memories of having driven it many years ago were of a load of disjointed bits of dual carriageway in really poor condition and loads of roadworks everywhere. However, it turned out to be surprisingly easy and trouble-free - and this was towing a caravan - such that we'll do it again this summer. Coming back took us around an hour from the point we left the A10 until we joined the A1, which was a lot less than we'd anticipated.

One of my most favourite French towns in Saumur which wouldn’t be too much of a detour, but might be too far south. Honfleur is another gorgeous town.

Thank you!
Does anyone have any suggestions of nice little hotels - not chains where we can grab an overnight stay from and to the way Calais?

Do you have a budget and do you need family rooms?

Budget is good and yes, will need a family room,

As mentioned, we love Honfleur. Last time, we stayed at Hotel Eden Spa which was well-located, friendly and clean, but lacked character. Auberge de la Source and Hotel le Bellevue are outside the town but they’re both gorgeous.
In the
Saumur area, I’d recommend Domaine de Roiffe and Hotel du Parc.

Watching with interest. I love little towns like Aubetterre (nearer Bordeaux if that's any use to you), so I'm always on the lookout for similar places. Any tips?

Vendome is a pretty town, small but pretty
Chartres has a beautiful cathedral and is rather pleasant