Where to break the long journey in france

[Star21]

We are going to Royan, west coast france next August which is at least a 7hr journey from Calais, does anyone know of a good place to stop overnight and break the journey. Would consider stopping for 2 nights if there is something to do or see in the area. Don't want to do Eurodisney as we have done that to death. Thanks

It's a journey that you can easily do in a day. We've done it several times. It takes around six hours with toilet stops!

Somewhere in the Loire for castles/vineyards/gardens? Rouen? Chartres?

We tend to drive as late as possible the first day and just stay somewhere functional and cheap overnight (usually B&B Hotels chain, which have 4-person family rooms and great breakfasts), then drive again the second day and stop off for a supermarket stop-off / lunch before arriving early afternoon.

we have broken our drive in various towns/ cities before.

Blois is an attractive town to spend an afternoon, evening. Limoges and Rouen also.

How long will you have to travel to get to Calais in the UK? What time of day is your crossing?

You can do it all in one. We did this summer - just a little north of where you are going.

But a break is good and adds interest to your trip.

We are only an hour or so away from eurotunnel so I know in theory we could do the journey in a day and we will probably do the whole journey in 1 day on the way back but was hoping to make it a bit more enjoyable if there is somewhere worth stopping on the way.

How about Le Mans? I have often fancied having a look around there. It's fairly large so there will be all the usual options for an inexpensive stay - a BB or ibis Budget etc.

My DM and DF stopped off in Saumur this summer - they said it was beautiful.

We've stayed at the Novotel in Rouen a few times. Not bad value and secure car park. It's a big English stopover.

Thanks I will look at all of these suggestions