Jim Mitchell

We'll be driving from Brittany (Redon) to the French Alps (St-Juvat)
in July this coming summer. I'd appreciate any suggestions of good
routes and stops along the way.

Data:
When: Early July
From: Redon in Eastern Brittany
To: St-Juvat - Between Grenoble and Geneva in French Alps
Time: 4 days to make the drive
Interests: Gothic cathedrals, day-hikes, classical music
Driving Preference: Quieter, slower roads

viaMichelin says to drive via Paris, but I assume that's to take
advantage of autoroutes for minimum time. We'd rather be on smaller,
more interesting roads so long as it isn't all at snail's pace.

Jonathan Morton

"Jim Mitchell" <> wrote in message
news:...
    > We'll be driving from Brittany (Redon) to the French Alps (St-Juvat)
    > in July this coming summer. I'd appreciate any suggestions of good
    > routes and stops along the way.
    > Data:
    > When: Early July
    > From: Redon in Eastern Brittany
    > To: St-Juvat - Between Grenoble and Geneva in French Alps
    > Time: 4 days to make the drive
    > Interests: Gothic cathedrals, day-hikes, classical music
    > Driving Preference: Quieter, slower roads
    > viaMichelin says to drive via Paris, but I assume that's to take
    > advantage of autoroutes for minimum time. We'd rather be on smaller,
    > more interesting roads so long as it isn't all at snail's pace.

Hmm... Even if you were in a hurry, you could probably get there quicker on
the direct route, which now has quite a lot of Autoroute.

Four days sounds like enough time to take it gently and still get some good
scenery in. The best gothic cathedral on your route is probably Bourges, one
of the finest in France, so I would suggest a core route of something like
Redon-Angers-[somewhere in the Loire valley for chateaux if you're
interested]-Bourges. After that, the direct route via Moulins and Macon
isn't perhaps the most exciting (though it's not unpleasant) and you might
consider a slighltly northern detour into the Burgundy countryside near
Beaune or Dijon. If you do take the Macon route then Cluny is worth
visiting, I believe. Also Lyon is a fine city, though perhaps it's a bit big
and hot for July.

With a decent map and some imagination, you can't go wrong. If you're doing
the trip before 14 July you probably won't need to book overnight stops in
advance, so you really are free agents. Enjoy.

Jonathan

Gerrit 'T Hart

"Jonathan Morton" <> wrote in message
news:c0odr1$sua$...
    > Hmm... Even if you were in a hurry, you could probably get there quicker
on
    > the direct route, which now has quite a lot of Autoroute.
    > Four days sounds like enough time to take it gently and still get some
good
    > scenery in. The best gothic cathedral on your route is probably Bourges,
one
    > of the finest in France, so I would suggest a core route of something like
    > Redon-Angers-[somewhere in the Loire valley for chateaux if you're
    > interested]-Bourges. After that, the direct route via Moulins and Macon
    > isn't perhaps the most exciting (though it's not unpleasant) and you might
    > consider a slighltly northern detour into the Burgundy countryside near
    > Beaune or Dijon. If you do take the Macon route then Cluny is worth
    > visiting, I believe. Also Lyon is a fine city, though perhaps it's a bit
big
    > and hot for July.
    > With a decent map and some imagination, you can't go wrong. If you're
doing
    > the trip before 14 July you probably won't need to book overnight stops in
    > advance, so you really are free agents. Enjoy.
    > Jonathan

Jonathon is right in four days you can do and see a lot.
Have you ever been to Cgartres? This would not be too far out of your way if
you took Jonathon's suggestion.
You could also in that time take a longer swing right round the north of
Paris and visit Rouen, Beauvais, Amiens, Laon, and Reims. There are other
cathedrals in the area, but don't try to do too many.

Gerrit - Oz

Gerrit 'T Hart

"Gerrit 't Hart" <> wrote in message
news:40301080$0$1755$...
    > "Jonathan Morton" <> wrote in
message
    > news:c0odr1$sua$...
    > >
    > > Hmm... Even if you were in a hurry, you could probably get there quicker
    > on
    > > the direct route, which now has quite a lot of Autoroute.
    > >
    > > Four days sounds like enough time to take it gently and still get some
    > good
    > > scenery in. The best gothic cathedral on your route is probably Bourges,
    > one
    > > of the finest in France, so I would suggest a core route of something
like
    > > Redon-Angers-[somewhere in the Loire valley for chateaux if you're
    > > interested]-Bourges. After that, the direct route via Moulins and Macon
    > > isn't perhaps the most exciting (though it's not unpleasant) and you
might
    > > consider a slighltly northern detour into the Burgundy countryside near
    > > Beaune or Dijon. If you do take the Macon route then Cluny is worth
    > > visiting, I believe. Also Lyon is a fine city, though perhaps it's a bit
    > big
    > > and hot for July.
    > >
    > > With a decent map and some imagination, you can't go wrong. If you're
    > doing
    > > the trip before 14 July you probably won't need to book overnight stops
in
    > > advance, so you really are free agents. Enjoy.
    > >
    > > Jonathan
    > >
    > >
    > Jonathon is right in four days you can do and see a lot.
    > Have you ever been to Cgartres? This would not be too far out of your way
if
    > you took Jonathon's suggestion.
    > You could also in that time take a longer swing right round the north of
    > Paris and visit Rouen, Beauvais, Amiens, Laon, and Reims. There are other
    > cathedrals in the area, but don't try to do too many.
    > Gerrit - Oz

Sorry that should read Chartres.
Slip of the finger!

Gerrit - Oz

Jonathan Morton

"Gerrit 't Hart" <> wrote in message
news:40301080$0$1755$...

    > Jonathon is right in four days you can do and see a lot.
    > Have you ever been to Cgartres?

No, but I've been to Chartres :-)

Jonathan