Recommendations for stop over in France to break up the drive

[NewYearNewNickname]

We are going to Ile de Re in May half term. We have been several times before but this year we are going to have a 1 night stop over somewhere between Calais and La Rochelle and need some inspiration!

We arrive in Calais fairly early so thinking first stop could be the Commonwealth war cemetery at Etaples, but would love recommenations for any other top historical sites to pick up along the way. DC are 11 and 12 if that makes any difference.
TIA

Oooooo perfect spot. Azay let Rideau!
We always stop there at this great campsite on our way down south. But I'm sure other accommodation is available. It has a beautiful chateau and a gorgeous river.

Anywhere nearby would be good too. There are some gorgeous chateaus around there which are well worth a visit.

We have driven this route a few times.

Blois was a nice place to stop off. The town centre was quite lively

We also once picked Vendome. Nice enough town, not a right lot going on. We just chose it as a place to overnight with the DSs.

Le Mans is always popular on this drive - but we haven't stayed there.

Rouen was one of our first stopovers - but it's not as far south, so depends how you want to break the journey.

All very easy to find some good value places to stay - I like the Campanile and Ibis Budget (cheap). Generally have car parking and are clean and just enough outside the town centre to make it easy to get to.

We stopped off in Honfleur on the way down. It's not quite half way but a lovely town for a walk around and we had a fantastic early breakfast on the quayside. We stayed in an Ibis on the main road into town and then walked into centre for the afternoon/evening/morning.

Honfleur is indeed a lovely town to visit. We stayed one night once on our return trip from Le Havre.

If you want a hotel nearer to town try this one. We used this one- it's up a scarily narrow street from the town centre, but nice to park up and then walk into town (5 mins) hotel monet

Thanks everyone. I am now thinking maybe we will not book in advance and see how we are feeling on the day as to how far we want to go before stopping but lots of suggestions here for me to investigate