Driving to Spain

[Yorkshiremummyof4]

Any suggestion where in France we could stop over. We are driving from Yorkshire to near Girona. We stop 1 night going and 1 night back. Any suggestion / towns recommended.

We did that journey about 20 years ago. Clemont Ferrand was the standard place to stop. There was a Formula 1, which was a very cheap and basic Travelodge type place on an industrial estate and I think there were a couple of other hotels in the same place.

There were no staff and you had to get in using your credit card and I think the only food available was in a vending machine. Of course it could have all changed now.

I would quite like to do the journey again because I was a very inexperienced driver at the time and didn't really enjoy it, but I think I would now. It was also before they built the Millau bridge and I would quite like to see it and/or drive over it.

Trouble is, for a couple especially, I expect that it would be much more expensive than flying now so would look like a silly thing to do to take 4 days and spend more money than flying in less than a day round trip.

I suppose with a family, the economics might stack up more in favour of driving.

The first time we went, we stayed in Orleans. We found that it wasn't far enough south to get ahead of the traffic.

We once stayed at the Campanile in Riom, which is just north of Clermont Ferrand. It's a nice little town, with quite a sweet church.

We have also stayed in Orange, but that's probably too far, coming from Yorshire.

Last time we drove, we stayed in a village near Issoire. We picked it for restaurants close by, but they were closed for a public holiday. However, there was lots going on in Issoire, itself.

We don't stop on the way home, as it doesn't matter how late we get there on the way back, but we are a lot closer to France than you are.

We have driven to Spain for the past 8 years, we go a bit further on than you though down to Tarragona/Valencia.

If I was doing that journey with only 1 stop I would stop at the Montlucon/Riom area.

We always do 2 stops though as we are up in Staffordshire and it can be a nightmare just getting down to Dover.

We have just come back from almost the same trip towing our caravan so had 2 nights stops. We go Dover Rouen evreux chartres Toulouse into Spain as this avoids Paris and the hills round Millau it's also cheaper on the tolls.
We usually work forward from the crossing time add in the driving time and work out where we will be to look for a camp site and assume you can do the same for hotel accommodation.
If you are driving solo and following the auto routes there are chain hotels down most of the autoroutes.