France by car, 2004

Tour France 2004, Loire - South Brittany - Camargue by (bianucci@micronet.it)

FRANCE TOUR 2004 Participants: Rossana and Fabrizio BIANUCCI Period: 31 July - 28 August, 2004 (duration 29 days) Km covered: about 4500 Car: Citroen Berlingo 2.0 HDI, Multispace Chrono, with a Medion Pocket PC Microsoft 2003 GPS navigator

Main destinations: CHATEAUX and LOIRE VALLEY, SOUTH BRITTANY, CAMARGUE It's a classic French tour, which we repeated after many, many years, this time with plenty of days available and without the children, who are now in their twenties and rightly go on holiday on their own. We revisited places of historical and archaeological memory, such as the Loire châteaux area and South Brittany (from Lorient, Carnac and Quiberon down to the south of the Gulf of Morbihan) and alluring natural and more leisurely spots like the Camargue and part of southwest Provence, Languedoc and Aquitaine, not forgetting Carcassonne, a medieval city and UNESCO World Heritage Site. A common denominator of all these areas: French roads are exceptional (a well-known fact), both in the most famous urban centres and in the remote corners of Brittany.

Roads, dual carriageways and autoroutes of the finest quality, with very precise and clear signage. It's extremely hard to get lost in France. Numerous well-equipped rest areas and service stations, often with hotel accommodation to suit every pocket (Hotel Ibis, Formule 1, Campanile, Etap etc.) and excellent chambres d'hotes (B&Bs), always plentiful near the motorway junctions. It's best to refuel at the pumps attached to shopping centres (like Auchan, Intermarché, Super U, Carrefour), which are everywhere, with a very high density even in little towns of 5,000 inhabitants! There fuel costs on average (I'm referring to August 2004 figures) at least 10 euro cents less; otherwise the costs are equal to or higher than the already very expensive, heavily taxed Italian prices.

Hotels: we stayed in three hotels, as a base for the three main areas visited, located more or less in the centre of the area to explore.

Loire Valley, in Amboise, at the Hotel "Domaine de l'Arbreille", an excellent and delightful Logis de France, rated "3 casette" but also a "Hotel de charme", set in a fairy-tale wood, 1 km outside the town centre, on the road to the famous Chenonceau château, with a pleasant pool, vast grounds and a gourmet restaurant. Price for the double room, petit déjeuner included, 84.00 euros. A pittance for a hotel of this class, compared with the value for money of our Italian hotels! Excellent restaurant inside, with various menus, averaging 22.00 euros, over three/four classic French courses (entrée, main course, fromages and dessert). You can easily find all the information on the hotel's website via Google. And from Amboise you can visit all 38/45 châteaux (if you want to, have patience, don't get "bored" and set aside considerable funds for the entrance fees) within a radius of 80/100 km.

For us the absolute most beautiful are (even though they all have particular and unique features): Chenonceau, Azay-le-Rideau and Amboise.

South Brittany, in Ploemel, near Carnac (an area of megalithic monuments, dolmens and menhirs), we stayed at the Hotel Blue Marine, at Golf de St. Laurent. A very decent three-star, I'd even say luxurious but not excessive, with a pool and the usual facilities, affiliated with the Golf Club. This hotel too is set in an ancient wood, on the road leading down from Erdeven to Carnac. The restaurant, though, didn't enthuse us, quite the opposite..., perhaps because we're not great lovers of seafood coquillages and crudités! Cost: 86.00 euros for the double room.

Camargue, in Aigues-Mortes, Petit Camargue, 6 km from the sea at Le Grau-du-Roi, Port Camargue. Here we rediscovered the delights and comforts of a motel, HOTEL DES 4 VENTS, American style, with pool, private on-site parking, small bungalows, very rational, comfortable and superbly organised, just 1 km outside the mighty walls of that inimitable medieval cité that is the fantastic Aigues-Mortes, along the Rhône-Sète canal. An almost ridiculous, unbeatable price (also thanks to the discreet and exquisite kindness of the owner, Monsieur Patrick): only 49.00 euros for the double room, air-conditioned (though this year we hardly used the air conditioning), various facilities and "petit déjeuner" (optional) at 6.00 euros per person.

And from Aigues-Mortes the choice of itineraries within a radius of 30/70 km is endless: Montpellier, Avignon, Nîmes, Pont du Gard, the whole Camargue, Les Baux-de-Provence, St-Rémy, Martigues, Arles, Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, etc.... and the sea just 6 km away! Canals and lagoons galore, unspoilt nature, bulls and horses, nature trails, horse rides, pink flamingos everywhere. In short, for us it's a Paradise!

We love French cuisine and we also acknowledge the limits of certain prices: you just need to know how to choose — never à la carte, apart from exceptional cases of famous gourmet pilgrimage restaurants — only and exclusively from the many set-menu offers, and you'll rarely get unpleasant financial surprises. On average, with 16/25 euros, within this range, you get an excellent wine-and-food experience. Far less than in Italy, always with the same standard/rating of the establishment. One above all: "La Gastounnade", the restaurant at La Tour Carbonnière, just outside Aigues-Mortes: only 22.00 euros for grand-gourmet delicacies in an exceptional setting. But let's not overlook "La Centurie" nearby either, a typical truckers' trattoria, with very complete and excellent menus even at 13 euros!!! Strange but true.

For every detail on the hotels and restaurants mentioned you can easily browse the internet, because they all have their own websites... unless you'd like to contact me directly, also for tourist insights about the trip (I have a detailed travel diary) which I'll be glad to share.