Lovely places in France that are about 3-4hrs from eurotunnel

[Francey8]

We’re thinking of driving to France with kids. We’re looking for somewhere that’s about a 3-4 hr drive from the eurotunnel (maybe could stretch to 5! But that feels a bit far!). Where would you recommend? I like ultra pretty. Also coastal is good but doesn’t have to be.

I’m veggie, so somewhere with access to that lovely chain of French organic supermarkets (which tend to stock the whole foods I like!).

Any tips?

Bump!

Loire Valley is gorgeous although depends a bit if your kids like visiting chateaux - but can also go biking, river swimming etc.

Or Mont St-Michel and the surrounding coast is about that distance

That covers a vast area!

Look at the Ardennes, Baie de Somme....my kids loved Normandy, great beaches, but the weather can be a bit hit and miss.

Loire valley - lots of lovely gites and campsites. The Eastern side is easier to reach from Calais. If you want the seaside, Normandy is a great place for a holiday. We have done the Bayeux area from Calais quite easily. It has beautiful sandy beaches and all the D-Day history. Weather can be a bit like south east England but we've had a few holidays there and the weather was nice each time.

All the cote d'Opale (from Boulogne down to the Baie de la Somme) is lovely, northern Belgian coast is generally pretty horrible esp round Ostend but the inland towns are nice - Bruges, Ghent etc.

Champagne region is good - Reims etc and down to Verdun pretty and generally quieter.

Normandy is nice but coastal towns v busy in summer and pushing your driving time.

Motorways generally less stressful than in UK so you might want to go further except for the A1 which is almost always horrible!

Honfleur
Dinan
Metz

Zeeland in the Netherlands has some gorgeous little towns and huge sandy beaches. Goes, Veere, Zieriksee, Middleburg etc. And the Deltapark Neeltje Jans.

I would recommend Loire Valley too, here at the moment. Lots of pretty towns and villages along the Loire river to choose from. Blois if you want a slightly bigger town, would be a good pick, or Amboise. Tonnes of rural options too. There is also a Center parcs that I’ve heard really good things about and lots of campsites too.

Just out of interest which vegan supermarkets have you found in France? Been travelling in and around Normandy for several years and not found a vegan chain. Have been amazed to stumble on a veggie resturant very occasionally and never near us locally.

I’d turn left and head to the Netherlands -
great hols there last summer. Good for vegans.

by far my favourite parts of France are the west coast, a long drive from Calais but very doable via the Portsmouth/saint Malo ferry

Beaune
Troyes

Both absolutely stunning!

I have never seen a vegan chain of supermakrets in France. But most (Auchan, Mammouth, LeClerc) will have plenty of vegetarian options.
But if you stick to greengrocers for your main fresh food purchases and plain baguettes in the bakeries (but some croissants are made with vegetable oil and are usually labelled as such -- look for huile de tournesol, for example) you should be ok.
Lentils and beans are readily available in grocers' shops and supermarkets, of course .

In Normandy and Brittany there are loads of crêperies which may have vegan options, eg spinach, mushrooms but beware if butter and/or cream added.
The sweet crêpes that should be ok include jam, syrup, plain chocolate, sweet chestnut purée or just sugar.

I think the chain you’re talking about is biocoop - like a whole foods supermarket. There are loads around now so work out where you want to go then suss out the nearest branch. There definitely one near Troyes!

The Biocoop chain is organic, fair trade and non ultra processed products but not vegan, or even vegetarian — they certainly sell meat.
i thibk it’s easier to be vegetarian ln France than it used to be but it’s probably still quite difficult to be vegan.

There's also Bio C bon ( or bio c cher as we call it) and La Vie Claire which are both organic supermarkets with some veggie and vegan stuff. Le Grand Frais (fruit, veg, meat and fish) has very nice stuff, like a kind of French Waitrose but is priced accordingly.

TBH for fruit and veg if you go to an ordinary street market you'll get nicer stuff from the market gardeners though right now though it's all root veg and leeks!

Most medium sized cities have at least one veggie or vegan resto and most ordinary restos will have veggie or vegan options. The days of finding ham in your vegetarian salad are long gone in our experience.

Luxembourg! It's the most beautiful country about 4.5 hours from Calais.
What type of things do you like doing on your holiday?

w