10 day road trip starting at Boulogne-sur-Mer.

[Mudflaps]

Apologies because this is my second or third post trying to organise this trip. Due to my husbands contracts changing we have ended up with our holiday being a last minute situation, we're free from today for two weeks and have booked to travel to France after looking at various options, excess heat and wild fires influenced our decision but we know very little about holidaying in France, Disney and Paris having been our previous experience. Tomorrow evening we are getting the ferry from Cork to Boulogne-sur-Mer which takes 20 hours, we are taking dh's car which is actually lhd so that's ideal. The crux is we have no idea what to do, where to go after that. We will stay locally for the first night as we arrive in tbe evening but need a general idea of where to go, what to see, where to stay, what is worth driving to etc. I think we'll head south so we get some sun, generally we like nature, old cities/towns and not to crowded. We drove from Prague to Calais a month ago and stopped in Bruges for a few days and Rothenburg for one night/day, Bruges was lovely but Rothenburg was even nicer. Dh's interest is motorsport and if there's a way to indulge him over there I'm open to suggestions as he's been working so hard recently. All in all if we're together, can take walks holding hands in nice surroundings with the sun shining we'll be happy but would love some recommendations from anyone more informed than us. We're planning on staying around 10 days and booked a flexible return. We're in our 50's, like walking, eating, sunshine, being amongst locals, small villages and quiet roads. Also any recommendations on what to bring home considering we have a car with us, neither of us drink so no point on stocking up on wine.

Lots of lovely places to visit. I’d go south along the coast to Le Touquet which is a nice little town. Then head inland to Abbeville, have a mosey around the countryside of the Somme which has some beautiful scenery. Then back to the coast for Dieppe which is a buzzy little town with a harbour and then inland to Rouen, a very interesting city steeped in history. Finally back to the coast for not to be missed Honfleur, a gorgeous medieval town with a very pretty harbour. Northern France is beautiful - I love it.

If you like pretty places and being amongst locals, skip Honfleur and stop at Deauville. It’s one of my favourite French coastal towns.
After Deauville, it’s an easy drive down to Le Mans, to indulge your DH’s love of motorsports. There are a lots of other lovely things to do in that area too, like Cité Plantagenêt, and you’re also not far from some of the best Loire towns like Amboise and Blois.

Boulogne-sur-mer, itself, is quite nice. Head up to the old fortified town and take a walk around the ramparts. There is a nice museum in the castle with a sizeable collection of Egyptian artefacts. The cathedral is worth a look around too, they have a spectacular altar in there. The town also has the largest public aquarium in Europe, Nausicaa. Local food specialities include the cheese Écume de Wimereux, as well as a breakfast pastry that I’ve only seen there, it’s a type of soft, sweet pretzel, although I think they might spell it with a b. Find the bakery called l’Amirauté, on rue Faidherbe, they have wonderful pastries and cakes - if you like chocolate, their gateau aux trois chocolats is unforgettable. The market takes place in Place Dalton on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.

We love the coast of Northern France- Baie du Somme, Hornfleur, Deauville, St Malo. I'd love to do the wilder western parts of Brittany. You could then go down to the Vendee and end up on Il de Re. Or you could drive down through Normandy and hit Rouen before you head south to Le Mans and then the Loire.

The coastal drive is lovely across to honfleur, Danville, Le Touquet, Etretat and Fecamp and over to St Malo.
I’d just try to book a few nights ahead because France is so busy in August with most of the country on holiday.
Accor always has a good variety of simple and better hotels (ibis/mercure/novotel) and they have a good app. Although some of the most charming places are small independents. Call ahead.as the French love a reservation in high season even if it’s only made a day or so before.

I agree, stay North. I'm in France at the moment and the weather is incredibly hot everywhere. The forecast for the north coast still looks hot, but at least bearable. Normandy is one of the loveliest places in France. Definitely stop at Le Touquet, then other nice places to visit along the coast are Etretat, Honfleur and Deauville. Onto Bayeux if you have time which is lovely and there is so much history from the second world war. If you drove back inland you could go to Rouen and maybe Giverny.

Look up Les plus beaux villages de France for some ideas https://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/fr/

There’s also a beautiful pine forest next to a huge sandy beach with dunes, I think it might be Ecault or Equihen, not sure, it’s a long time since I’ve been there. Might be nice to take a picnic with you.

Or if your DH is a motor sport fan, the obvious place is Le Mans. You could drive along the coast to Bayeux, then it's a couple of hours inland to Le Mans and you could go back to Calais via Rouen.