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4 weeks Road Trip in France – Itinerary by Car, Budget & Addresses

That’s it, it’s decided! We leave for a road trip in France in August. It’s a real Tour de France, but by car.
We are still waiting for the information concerning the authorization to move in France (green zone, red zone etc.) here is our itinerary :

To create this itinerary, I was inspired by the best points of interest in France, which you will find here

Car Rental

We rented a car for a month at Leclerc near Rouen because they offer the best rates (more info here).
However, as the deductible is very high, it is absolutely necessary to have a credit card with a minimum of 1200€.

We did 5000km in total, almost as much as in New Zealand. We took out insurance with Serenitrip for our rental car. It was a good idea because we ended up scratching the car at some point and the insurance covered everything.

Accommodation

We alternate between Airbnb and Bed and Breakfast. We stay at the same place maximum 2 nights in a row. I know it’s not much, but it allows us to move forward and limit the round trips between the places we visit and the accommodation. Usually we visit during the day, we leave all our stuff in the safe and we arrive at the hotel or bed and breakfast only at the end of the day.

In August, the best accommodations leave very quickly, we booked the most popular hotels 1 month in advance.
For the others, we booked the day before or the same day.

Here are our favorite accommodations:

Itinerary

With this itinerary, we are supposed to cover 3300 km but in reality, we did 5000km. That’s 2h15 of driving per day on average.

  • 1st week
    • Rouen (starting point)
    • Amiens
    • Reims / Epernay
    • Verdun
    • Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle
    • The Alsace Wine Route
    • Colmar & his little Venice
    • Vichy
  • 2nd week
    • Puy de Dôme
    • Starry Night on August 7 or 8
    • Lavoûte-Chilhac
    • Gorges of the Ardèche
    • Pont du Gard
    • Pont d’Avignon & the Palace of the Popes
  • 3rd week
    • the Camargue
    • The Castle and the ramparts of Carcassonne
    • Vézère Valley
    • Black Perigord & White Perigord & Green Perigord
  • 4th week
    • Cognac
    • Marais-Poitevin
    • Some castles of the Loire Valley
    • Some beautiful villages
    • back to Rouen

Our Top Experiences

  1. Admire the marvelous sound and light show in front of the cathedral of Rheims
  2. Visit the beautiful city of Colmar and take a walk on the little Venice
  3. Make a stopover in Vichy: relax in the thermal baths and fill your bottle with Vichy Celestin water
  4. Picnic at the top of the Puy de Dôme and admire the view of the chain of volcanoes and dozens of paragliders
  5. Admire the meander of Queuille that reminds us of the Amazon
  6. Climb to the top of the Notre Dame de France statue and enjoy the splendid view of the Puy-En Velay
  7. Breakfast from our bed and breakfast at the top of the Sampzon rock and enjoy a spectacular view of the Ardeche gorges
  8. Fun to do in diving in the water at the foot of the Pont du Gard bridge
  9. Admire a hundred pink flamingos in the Camargue
  10. Visiting and sleeping in the heart of the city of Carcassonne
  11. Discover the summer truffle in a restaurant run by enthusiasts in Carcassonne
  12. Visit the impressive Padirac Abyss
  13. Feel like sleeping in a museum and enjoy an incredible breakfast (in Hermès service!) in a bed and breakfast in the Dordogne
  14. Visit the spectacular Villars Cave: its stalagmites and stalactites and its prehistoric drawings that are tens of thousands of years old
  15. Enjoy one of the best dinner of our lives in the starred restaurant La Ribaudière in Charente
  16. Visit a Hennessy winery and participate in a Cognac tasting at… Cognac !
  17. Relax in a typical Russian bania in… Tours !
  18. Sleep in a tree house in Normandy and enjoy a great dinner with a retired farmer couple..

Our Flop

  1. Eating a Saint-Nectaire cheese with a little too much protein
  2. The night of the stars, without stars
  3. Scratch the rental car
  4. 1st negative comment on our Airbnb account for “abusing” the washing machine

Travel diaries

  1. Amiens Cathedral and the Hortillonnages
  2. Visit of the Champagne Cellars: Veuve Cliquot & Moët Chandon
  3. Reims Cathedral and Sound & Light Show
  4. Verdun, in the footsteps of World War I
  5. Haut Koenigsbourg castle, passing through Nancy
  6. The Most Beautiful Villages of Alsace
  7. Colmar and its Little Venice
  8. Charroux, Vichy, Spa and Célestins springs
  9. Le Puy de Dôme : Picnic with view on the volcanoes
  10. Lavoûte-Chilhac, my return 23 years later
  11. Night of the stars, Saint-Nectaire & Le Puy-en-Velay
  12. The Gorges of the Ardeche, Canoeing under the Pont d’Arc
  13. The Chauvet Cave 2: an almost perfect replica
  14. Pont du Gard, Pont d’Avignon & the Palace of the Popes
  15. The Pink Flamingoes in the Camargue
  16. Aigues-Mortes & Miniature Garden Trains
  17. City of Carcassonne, Son et Lumière & Truffle Restaurant
  18. The Abyss of Padirac & Boat trip
  19. Rocamadour, Foie Gras & the Train of Quercy
  20. Black Perigord] Sarlat-la-Canéda, the Gabarres in La Roque-Gageac
  21. Lascaux IV, a Breathtaking Replica
  22. Périgord] Périgueux, Brantôme, Nontron & Grotte de Villars
  23. Cognac] Michelin-starred restaurant, Moulin à Blé & le Chai de Hennessy
  24. The Marais Poitevin, nicknamed “The Green Venice”
  25. Castles of the Loire Valley : Cheverny, Chissay & le Clos Lucé
  26. Mayenne] Sainte-Suzanne, Night in a caravan & Hut in the trees

Detailed Itinerary

I will put in blue what we planned to visit but couldn’t (due to lack of time or there were no more tickets available)

First week

Second week

  • Day 8: Visit of the Queuille meander. Visit and picnic at Puy de Dôme (15,5€ return by train). Night near Clermont-Ferrand
  • Day 9: Visit of a Saint-Nectaire cheese producer. Visit of Lavoûte-Chilhac. Night of the stars.
  • Day 10 : Visit of the Puy-en-Velay (lace center 4,5€, Notre-Dame de France 4€, cathedral…). Lunch at Pradelles. Road to the Gorges de l’Ardèche. Stop at Vogüé & Balazuc (two “most beautiful villages of France”). Take the tunnel“Défilé de Ruoms“. Night at Sampzon
  • Day 11: Canoeing on the Gorges of the Ardèche (19€). Rest. Night at Sampzon
  • Day 12: Visit of the chauvet cave 2 (17€). Route des Gorges and stop at the belvederes: Belvedere of the Pont d’Arc, Belvedere of the Serre de Tourre etc. (optional: visit of the antique theater of Orange). Night in Avignon
  • Day 13: Rest. Visit of the Pont du Gard (9,5€). Night in Avignon
  • Day 14: Visit the Popes’ Palace (12€) and the Avignon Bridge (5€). Drive to the Camargue. Night in the Camargue

Third week

  • Day 15: Visit of the Camargue, from the Ornithological Park of the Pont de Gau (7,5€) and the fortified city of Aigues-Mortes and its saltworks (10€). Night in Camargue
  • Day 16: Drive to Carcassonne. Visit of the castle and ramparts of Carcassonne (route C, 17€) (optional: Sound & light 14€, not recommended). Dinner in a restaurant specializing in truffles. Night in Carcassonne.
  • Day 17: Rest. Drive & Visit of the Abyss of Padirac (17€). Night at Latouille-Lentillac
  • Day 18: Visit of Rocamadour (4,2€ for the one-way elevator) and the castle (2€). Steam train ride to the Haut Quercy Tourist Railway(11€). Visit of a foie gras producer. Night at Terrasson-Lavilledieu
  • Day 19: Visit of La Roque-Gageac. Gabarre walk (10€) & Lunch at La Roque-Gageac. Night at Terrasson-Lavilledieu
  • Day 20: Visit of the Sarlat-La-Canéda Market. Visit of Lascaux IV (20€). Visit of Périgueux. Night at Nontron.
  • Day 21: Guided tour of Brantôme Abbey (8€). Visit of the Villars Cave (9,2€). Visit of the Moulin de Lapeyre. Dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant. Night near Cognac in a restored mill

Fourth week

  • Day 22: Visit of the Hennessy winery in Cognac (30€). Drive to the Marais Poitevin. Boat trip (1h30, 19€). Night near Niort
  • Day 23: Drive to the Pays de la Loire. Visit of Cheverny castle (17€). Rest. Night at the castle of Chissay
  • Day 24: Visit of the Clos Lucé (17€). Rest. Night in Tours
  • Days 25 to 27: work. Nights in Tours
  • Day 28: Late departure. Visit of Sainte-Suzanne. Night in a caravan near Sainte-Suzanne.
  • Day 29: Visit of Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei and another village. Night in a tree house in Mayenne.
  • Day 30: Return the car to Rouen, departure for Paris and then for Rome

Overall budget

Fee TypeTotal (2 persons, 26 days of visit)
Car Rental645€
Visits853,5€ for two
Housing1859,5€ for two
Gasoline400€
Toll & Parking70€
Food (Restaurants & Shopping)1600€ for two
TOTAL5 310€
The cost is the reason why we don’t travel much in France

Detailed budget

  • Visits: 426,8€ per person
    • Reims: Visit the Veuve Clicquot cellars + tasting: €30 ( not recommended) or free if you are part of the Shareholders’ Club (more info)
    • Epernay : Visit of the Moët & Chandon cellars + tasting : 25€ or free if you are part of the Shareholders’ Club (more info)
    • Verdun
      • Slices of Chattancourt: 4€ (credit card from 10 euros)
      • L’ouvrage de la Falouse : 5,5€ (cash only)
      • Verdun Memorial : 12€
      • Ossuary of Douaumont (only if you visit inside: 6,5€)
      • Citadelle Souterraine de Verdun : 9€ (not recommended), it’s often full, to be booked in advance
      • There is a pass that covers 5 places in Verdun for 28 euros (Battlefield Pass) including: the Verdun Memorial, the Fort of Douaumont, the Ossuary of Douaumont, the Underground Citadel of Verdun and the Fort of Vaux. You can buy it directly on the 5 sites in question.
    • Château du Haut Koenigsbourg : 9€ – to be booked in advance (Covid obliges, no ticket office on site)
    • Colmar :
      • Toy Museum : 5,9€
      • Boat trip : 6€
    • Mulhouse : Museum of printing on fabrics : 11€
    • Vichy : the little train : 7€
    • Le Puy de Dôme : 15,5€ with the train (return)
    • Le Puy-en-Velay :
      • Center d’enseignement de la Dentelle : 4,5€
      • Notre-Dame de France : 4€
    • The Gorges of the Ardeche :
      • Canoe (8km) : 19€ per person
      • Chauvet Cave 2: 17€ Attention there is a bundled offer: Aven d’Orgnac / Pont du Gard / Chauvet Cave 2 Ardèche. If you have a ticket for one of the three sites, you also benefit from a reduced rate on the 2 remaining sites. Offer valid 7 days from the visit and not available on online ticketing.
    • Avignon
      • Palace of the Popes: 12€
      • Pont d’Avignon : 5€
    • Pont du Gard : 9,5€ (parking included)
    • Camargue
      • Ornithological Park of the Pont de Gau : 7,5€
      • Small Train to visit the salt marshes at Aigues-Mortes : 11€
      • The Colorado Trains at Aigues-Mortes : 5€
    • Carcassonne
      • castle and ramparts of Carcassonne (route C): 17€
      • Sound & Light Show: 14€ (not recommended)
    • Abyss of Padirac: 17€
    • Rocamadour : 4,2€ for the elevator up to the top (one way)
    • Steam train at the Chemin de Fer Touristique du Haut Quercy: 11€
    • Gabarre walk in La Roque-Gageac : 10€
    • Lascaux IV: 20€
    • Abbey of Brantôme : 8€
    • Villars Cave : 9,2€
    • Cognac: Visit the Hennessy Winery: €30 or free if you are a member of the Shareholders’ Club (more info)
    • Marais Poitevin : boat trip with a guide (1h30) 19€
    • Château de Cheverny : Visit of the Castle and the gardens + The Secrets of Moulinsart 17€
    • Le Clos Lucé : visit of the castle & gardens : 17€

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