best route CALAIS to DORDOGNE... via CHARTRES maybe?

[noonar]

i really want to avoid circumnavigating paris if at all possible.

would it work to head southfrom calais, past amiens and beauvais, then divert SW towards chartres before reaching paris??

or maybe traffic around paris isnt that bad

Have you looked it up on Google Earth, Viamichelin etc?

use this route planner

i have but,i cant seem to get a route that doesnt take me via paris. eg i entered clais-chartres via beauvais, but still took me to paris. i need to add 2 'vias' but it wont let me.

i also wanted to ask anyone who knows the actual roads if this is sensible, as if the roads are too slow and winding, it would cancel out any benefit of avoiding paris.

i think i actually need to get a good old fashioned road atlas to examine closely!

I would avoid the Blvd Peripherique at all costs.

Have you already committed to going via Calais?

unfortunately, yes.dieppe on way back, but no dieppe crossing on the day we need to travel.

i'm now thinking south to beauvais, then sw to dreux, then chartres and then south...

the thought of paris is bringing me out in a sweat.

If you did go via Paris, what day of the week/time of day would you be there?

To put it into perspective, you only really crawl on the Peripherique and it is a very short stretch of road. It is usually OK on the roads either side.

If you head twords Reims, this will also start by being sign[posted to Paris (dont panic) just keep follwoing the road to reims, it is a payage but a good speed road and you can then take the road to Troyes and thus miss paris.

Or take the road out of calais going to paris and then take the A16 down toward Abberville, Rouen and then down towards Le Mans. This will ultimatley be a slower road and althouth possibly shorter in distance the same in time - but free roads as no payage.

Just be aware that when you leave the boat at calais you will be using the sign posts at first to head towards paris and then choose your road either the A16 or A26. Riems is well signed and a dual carriage way with pleanty of stops along the way.

We travel from Calais to just above Bordeaux each year, up until 5 years ago we'd gone via Paris - great fun!!! However the year after everyone had had enough so we went Calais - Rouen and then down.

Rouen is not loads of run but it is a damn site better than Paris, and only takes 10mins to get round.

There is also a lovely service station 30mins south of Rouen.

I was thinking Reims as well, but it is really far east. I think the extra miles would be worse than crawling through Paris.

Noonar, if you look at Google Earth, you can get a good idea of the distances involved.

Ps I have travelled both roads, my dd navigated at 11 going through the Riems route - no problem and at 13 she navigated coming back throught abberville - again no problem.

Hmm - i put in calais - chartres and it gave me a route via Rouen. That's motoway most of the way IIRC, although we always get lost around Rouen.

chippy - do you want to borrow my dd

LOL. I'm usually pretty good at navigating, can do rouen going south but not going north, although I can tell you the location of every McD [shame] in Rouen now!

reims looks too far east, tbh.

route via rouen looks longer distance wise, but is it safer bet than paris, all in all, taking traffic into account?

paris would be sunday late pm or monday am in august- depending on if we stop over before or after paris, iyswim.

i'd feel a bit gutted to go past dieppe and rouen, tbh, as it is our first choice of port, but we cant use it sodding calais.

I did navigate round paris without any problem - probably fluke though

Reims does look east but can asure you it is a blardy good road and will be quicker than getting lost in paris

Abberville road is easy, and late sunday night when all the day tripper have gone home will be emptyish

le harve or st malo?

Have you tried your final destination with 'via rouen' 'via Reims' etc to compare distances/tolls/time etc?

You can put extra vias into Michelin, I've forgotten how I did it but you can - I'll have a look in a sec.

Also, on google (I think) maps you can stick a couple of markers on & then move them about & it gives you running mileages etc.

Why can't you start from Dieppe?

Go on google maps, click get directions, click add destination several times. That will open up a new box each time & then you can put in some vias; each via gets a little marker.

Try Calais, Rouen, Le Mans, Tours, Poitiers, Limoges? We have been to the Dordogne that way, but we stopped off with friends near Poitiers, it's probably not the most logical - was a good journey though.

We drove back from Calais to Brive-la-Gaillarde two years ago. A that time, you could drive directly by autoroutes from Calais to Rouen, then had to use the ordinary roads - through Rouen until you joined to autoroute to Le Mans and Tours. Then you had to go cross country again to get to the A20 autoroute and then to Brive.

Brive is delightful, a city on a wheel and beautiful clothes shops and coffee shops!!

They opened the road from Rouen to Le Mans about 18months or so ago - brand new motorway absolutely fanstastic. Last year loads of repairs to the Rouen roads aswell. It really isn't a bad route to take south.