Driving to Bordeaux, where to stopover, Le Mans or Orleans?

[shabadab]

We are due to drive from calais to bordeaux campsite in august with 2 kids, 8 and 11.
Planning to break up the journey by stopping in either Le Mans or Orleans for 1 or 2 nights and staying in a hotel as kids quite enjoy the whole hotel breakfast thing and seeing the sites as it will be different to the rural campsite.

Both towns seem about half-way in terms of driving time to bordeaux but have different routes according to google maps.

Does anyone have views on which town is nicer or has more to see?
We will also have to stop off on the way back for a night so could do both towns in theory.

The Orleans route seems to drive almost through Paris - would it be possible to stop off and also show them some Paris sites?
I am thinking in the heat that may be too much with a fully loaded car. Not sure where we would leave it, and worried about it being broken into/vandalised.

(We have a Crit'air sticker.)

Any ideas welcome, even alternative stop offs

I'd be thinking that this week is an unusual weather occurrence - not that it doesn't reflect the general change of global warming, but that we are most likely to return to more normal temperatures fairly soon. Maybe check out what long range forecasts are saying - although they are not totally reliable, they tend to offer some guidance on the possibilities. The fires have been awful, and hopefully an impetus to increased political action, but this very intense heat is unlikely to last throughout the summer.

We have done this journey quite often and we like stopping in Rouen. It's pretty and we have had some really nice meals there sitting outside in the evening.

I'm three or four hours north of Bergerac and we've had the smoke and the smell all day

Depending on where the campsite is near Bordeaux, it is a journey that can be made from London (via Paris) by train. You could stop off in Paris, or do the journey in one.

If not, then I second the suggestions of Rouen or Tours.

Thank you