France / République Française – Let’s explore here
France is a beautiful country, with a rich history that has influenced much of Europe and beyond. There are endless amazing sights and castles, and it has a huge variety of landscapes. It’s bordered by two massive sets of mountains – the Alps to the east and the Pyrenees to the south. It has fantastic beaches along both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, year round sun, and amazing food. It’s no wonder that it’s one of the most (if not, the most) visited places on the planet.
Its population is about the same as that of the UK, but it’s more than twice as big. It has land borders with Andorra, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain and Switzerland. The highest point is Mont Blanc in the Alps, which is also the highest point in Europe, at 15,766 ft (4,805 m) above sea level.
Current travels
It’s 2024 and we’re off again on another adventure. This time we’re travelling through France on the route to Spain. We’ve been to France many, many times. In fact we’ve worked there too, so we know it pretty well. This time we’re travelling around much of the northern and western coasts. We’re hoping also to revisit some of our favourite places, like Monflanquin, as well as delving more deeply into the likes of Pau and its famous Grand Prix. We’ll also be travelling through Corsica on this journey, which is a long time ambition for us.
This is our route from the UK to Spain. The journey goes from Calais – Rouen – Caen – Bayeux – Mont Saint-Michel – Pointe de Corsen – Brest – La Baule – Les Sables D’Olonne – Rochefort – Perigeux – Monflanquin – Pau – Biarritz – Hendaye
This is our route from Andorra, through France to Monaco and on to Italy: Andorra – Perpignan – Millau Viaduct – Tarn gorge – Aix-en-Provence – Saint Tropez – Verdun gorge – Monaco – Ponte San Ludovico
This is our route through Corsica, starting off in Bastia – Barcaggio – Saint Florent – Calvi – Evisa – Aleria – Ajaccio – Filitosa – Sartene – Solenzara – Porto-Vecchio – Plage de Rondinara – Bonifacio
Past travels
Last time we created a blog for our visit to France in 2023. You may find it helpful, and you may pick up some tips, or more likely mistakes not to make that we’ve made 😉
On our last road trip we travelled from the UK via the Shuttle into Calais … despite all the planning, there were some minor mishaps, and some calamitous errors! See our blog for more on that!
We then went through most of lovely Belgium, although this time we avoided all motorways and toll roads. In fact we were hoping to do this from now on – time permitting!
We also travelled back through the East of France from Switzerland after our epic 2023 European adventure.
This is the route we took from Switzerland through eastern France back to the UK.
Our best places in France
We’ve travelled extensively throughout the country – here are some of our favourites:
Avignon – Vaucluse
Avignon is the fastest growing area in France (2023), with almost 350,000 residents. Between 1309 and 1377, seven successive catholic popes lived in Avignon. Papal control persisted until 1791 when it became part of France after the French Revolution. The Palais des Papes or Pope’s palace is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe .
Bayeux – Calvados
Bayeux is a small town in northern France, most known for its famous Tapestry. The Bayeux Tapestry an eleventh century embroidered cloth, 230 ft (70m) long and 20 in (50cm) tall, that depicts the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy. Following the death of Edward the Confessor, William invaded England, and conquered the Anglo-Saxon armies of King Harold II of England, at the Battle of Hastings.
Carcasonne – Aude
Carcasonne is a truly lovely place. And it’s got an airport, so you can potentially fly right in or out! We’ve done this a number of times – we love it because it’s such tiny airport – no messing! The whole area around here is stunning, as essentially it’s the gateway to the Pyrenees, as well as to the lovely coast. Well worth a visit!
Colmar – Haut-Rhin
Colmar is a beautiful old town in eastern France, near the border with Germany. Although very touristy, it’s definitely worth a visit.
Dijon – Côte-d’Or
We were super surprised by Dijon! I had no great expectations, as for us it was a stop off on our way to the South of France one year. the only Thing I knew was that it’s famous for mustard! Well I can categorically tell you that if you are ever anywhere near it, you should make a special effort to visit. It’s a superb city! Incredibly picturesque, loads to do, masses of quirky shops, loads of decent restaurants … and a generally excellent vibe about the place. Awesome!
Gordes – Vaucluse
Gordes is simply one of the most stunning places you’ll ever feast your eyes upon … especially if you’re coming at it unawares … just incredible! It’s only a tiny place, but well worth the effort if you’re in the area.
Gorges de Regalon – Vaucluse
A little known gorge in the Cheval-Blanc region in the South of the country that’s well worth a visit. Not huge, but very enjoyable. Some minor scrambling and low head-height issues, but a great few hours of your time!
La Baule-Escoublac – Loire-Atlantique
La Baule is a great seaside resort in western France with a huge 5½ mile (9km) long sandy beach. Very popular amongst the French, prices are very reasonable, providing great value for money.
Les Sables-d’Olonne – Vendée
Les Sables-d’Olonne is a pretty seaside town in western France. Similar to La Baule (see above), it is very popular amongst the French, although not outside of France and thus prices are very reasonable, providing great value for money.
Lille – Hauts-de-France
For us, Lille is the perfect stop-off point when arriving in France via Calais. Similarly, when returning to the UK, it’s an ideal place to stay, as its only an hour from the Channel tunnel and the ferry terminals. We’ve stayed here loads of times and each time it’s been different, and each time it’s been great!
The centre of Lille is very cosmopolitan, laid back, and has everything you’d need. There’s lots of café’s, bars and restaurants, the people are really friendly, there’s lots to do and see, and it’s really picturesque. Similarly, in the suburbs its quiet, easy to get around and some of the local supermarkets are like giant delicatessens – really superb quality. Highly recommended.
L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue – Vaucluse
L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is famous for its many antique shops and it hosts antique markets on Sundays. There are loads of cafés and restaurants on the waterfront. They also conduct re-enactments and plays on the river. It’s twinned with Penicuik in Scotland, UK.
Maisnil-lès-Ruitz – Pas-de-Calais
A great place to stop off when entering or just prior to leaving France via the UK is the Parc d’Olhain near Maisnil-lès-Ruitz, near Béthune. Excellent size rooms providing great value for money.
Monflanquin – Lot-et-Garonne
Monflanquin is a stunning medieval village in south west France, once voted one of the most beautiful.
Mont-Saint-Michel – Normandy
Mont-Saint-Michel is a stunning island town that sits approximately a half mile (1 km) off the north west coast of France near the ferry port of Saint-Malo. It’s joined to the mainland via a causeway, and has over three million visitors every year. Although the official population is 25 (2021), it can be so packed with tourists that it can be difficult to move.
As a world heritage site, there are vast parking bays that sit in the surrounding fields – prices are here. The walk to the town from the parking bays takes approximately half an hour. Once at the town the roads are pretty steep, especially up to the famous abbey.
Nîmes – Gard
Nîmes is known as the most Roman city outside Italy! The Arena is a Roman amphitheatre built in 100AD, and is one of the best preserved in the world. In its day it could hold 24,000 spectators. Nowadays it’s used for concerts and bullfights.
Pau – Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pau is a small, but busy, city in south west France near to the border with Spain. The Pyrenees mountains dominate the surrounding countryside, providing beautiful vistas. A fantatsic Grand Prix has been held in Pau since 1933, and has been named as one of ‘The 10 best street circuits in the world’.
Map of the Pau Grand Prix
Pointe de Corsen – Finistère
Pointe de Corsen is the most western point on mainland France. It’s near to the city of Brest.
Rochefort – Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a pretty town and port in western France near to La Rochelle.
Rouen – Normandy
In a similar vein to Lille, Rouen is an absolutely ideal place to stop off, if you’re travelling to, or from, Dieppe or Le Havre by Ferry. We’ve stayed many times, and we particularly like its old-style quirkiness. As a medieval city, it’s got a lot to offer and lots to see and do. If you get the chance, you should defiantly try to see the son et lumière (sound and light show) at the Cathedral – well worth the effort and it’s free!
Roussillon – Provence
Roussillon is famous for its ochre rock. Throughout the 18th century, ochre was used as a pigment in the textile industry and, in its heyday, hundreds of people worked in Roussillon’s quarries.
Saint-Omer – Pas-de-Calais
Saint-Omer is an ams, but interesting, old market town near to Calais that’s a great stop off point when entering or leaving France via the UK.
Troyes – Aube
Similarly to Dijon, for us Troyes was just a stop off point for us … but wow! It’s like being in Chester or York – proper old school buildings. Just amazing! You could spend a whole day just wandering looking at it all – we did! Highly recommended!
What’s it like to drive in France?
For the most part driving in France is a fairly laid-back affair due to the amount of traffic between most town and cities being quite low compared with life in the UK. Presumably this is due to France being twice the size of the UK but with a comparable population.
French drivers do like to drive pretty close behind you prior to overtaking, which can be off-putting. Plus there are many drivers that are quite content to drive 20 ft behind you for many, many miles, despite there being several lanes to overtake?!
That said, like all major cities, traffic in the larger cities can be a hassle with lots of traffic jams … particularly in Paris, Lyon and Bordeaux. Despite drivers actually being no more aggressive than the UK, they do tend to love using the car horn a lot! If you’re sensitive to this, try to ignore it – mostly they are just trying to let off steam!
French motorways are mostly privately owned, and thus don’t tend to have speed cameras 🙂 If you break down, call 112 and you’ll be taken off the motorway where you can arrange your own help from then on.
We’ve also created a dedicated page to driving abroad, which you might find helpful 🙂
What currency do they use in France?
In France they use the Euro. The use of credit / debit cards is now widespread. ApplePay is accepted in some petrol stations and some stores in major towns, although it is not as widespread as in the UK or Spain for example. Traveller’s cheques are accepted. There are lots of ATMs.
You should make yourself aware of the amount that your bank charges you for using credit and debit cards abroad. Often credit cards are cheaper for purchasing items directly, and for withdrawing cash from ATMs.
What language do they speak in France?
They speak French in France. We’ve found that they also speak English in most cities, particularly if you attempt to speak French but you’re not fluent!
What time zone is France in?
Remember, when you’re planning your next trip to take a look at what time zone it’s in.
Do I need a visa to visit France?
We’ve created a dedicated, more comprehensive page on visas, which you should find helpful. Check it out!
Is wild camping legal in France?
No, wild camping is illegal in France, although it’s widely tolerated.
Is it safe to drink water in France?
Yes, it is safe to drink tap water in France. Bottled water is also readily available across the country.
If you’ve got some awesome pictures, or some useful info that you’d like to share, let us know!
And don’t forget to check out all the other pictures!