Touring Down to the South of France & on to Monaco?

5-6 hours day 1, 4-5 hours day 2 but about 9-10 on the way back.

Dijon leaves a longer trip for the 2nd day. Nothing wrong with that but personally I like to get the bigger miles done on the first day.

You should make the Macon area by about 6 pm.
The storm will give you about 200 miles per tank so fuel stops will be around 160-170 miles. 2-2.5 hours if you keep a reasonably steady 80.

Check out Logis hotels.

 

Just something for you to consider, there is a motorcycle-only campsite near Crêst, which is an ideal jumping off point for touring all around that general area. The roads are excellent for bikes and the scenery is MASSIVE. Been there many times and had LOADS of fun.

The campsite has all the normal stuff, plus bar, restaurant and if you prefer, wooden chalets rather than taking your own tent. It is called "Camping Moto" and here's a link: http://www.lecampingmoto.net/

It really is an awe-inspiring area.

Dave

 

It's only 80 fast mls south of Lyons. I used to stay there for 4 or 5 days and venture out in a different direction each, then return jump in the pool, drink beer and chill - EXCELLENT!

 

I've just tried it 3 times, going through a number of their pages, without any incident?

 

About 40 years ago (yes ... really!) we (wifey mk1 and a mate from work) found our way to Camping Moto near Bonlieu, I think, in the Jura. Big communal log cabin/clubhouse with drying space, which we needed, a log fire and good food available.

Jeez I'm old!!

 

Not the same place mate, this one is in the Drôme Valley south of Valence.

 

I guess they've moved! Better weather down there though! We had to take refuge in a McDonalds in Valence 'cos it was bloody hot, we needed coffee and the air conditioning was guaranteed. On the edge of a Z.I. if memory serves! Took a while to cool down!

 

The gorge du Verdon and the col are great places, Monaco isn't (imo anyway!)

The gorge needs a day to do it justice. As you probably know it's called the French Grand Canyon and is very impressive. The Storm may be a bit of a handful on the col It will be interesting to see how you get on.

I wouldn't get too excited about Monaco but it's worth a visit if only to jaw drop the yachts and ride the corniche. I've been there a few times and it's been stupidly hot and the traffic oppressive. You never really get a sense that some roads are part of a racing circuit (unlike the IoM of course!)

Lots of routes to the area but Lyon, Grenoble and the N85 takes you to the gorges. The N85 can be a spectacular ride in itself but as with all these places it's so dependant on the traffic (mostly bloody bikers )

Are you a hotel or tent bloke? As nice as the gorges are if you're thinking of being based in one place are I'd stay outside of them as the roads can get very crowded, aren't fast anyway and it can take an age to get anywhere.

It's a lot of riding you've got planned!

Pics and write-up please

 

Yep, the N85 is the Route Napoleon. Famed for long sweepers and idiot bikers I'm meeting up with my wife in Nice this year and then have a gite near Dole booked with some old biking mates and I'll be taking the N85 to go from Nice. I used it going south one year after staying with my daughter in Switzerland and I chose the wrong weekend (Annunciation I think) as it was really heavy traffic, bikers being prats and very slow progress.

Keeping it flexible is a good idea. There have been many times when I've booked somewhere then find a much more interesting hotel on the route! Castellane (in the gorges) is somewhere I've always fancied staying but have always been based elsewhere when I visited.

 

RN normally stands for Route National, however co-incidentally N85 is the Route Napolean.

Dave

 

By "west" do you mean west of Marseille (the Languedoc coast) or the Atlantic coast (La Rochelle perhaps)? If it's the Atlantic coast I can't help you as it's one area of France I've never stayed in but I know the coast west of Marseille fairly well.

Yes, it is less commercialised and slightly cheaper for accommodation in my experience. There are good beaches but plenty of large modern developments and every time I go back there seems to be more of them. I imagine that in a few years it'll be just as over-developed as the coast east of Marseille.

Depending on where you are there are long stretches of marshland which can mean mozzies become a problem. Over towards the Spanish border Collioure is a very pleasant little town. Plenty of bars and restaurants but I don't remember any specific biker bars (then again I don't remember seeing many specific biker bars anywhere in France and I would have avoided them anyway!).

I really liked some of the towns near to that coast. Montpellier is a great place and Beziers and Perpignan are worth a visit.

The A75 is one of the best motorways I've ever used. Long sweeping bends and splendid scenery.

Good luck!

 

Hi Tom, just remember that ALL motorways are crap and boring for bikers, the A75 being less so - but it's still a motorway. The best bit is between Millau and the Med.

Speaking of Millau it has that fabulous bridge there, a very nice typically French centre of town with fountains, pavement Cafés etc - good place for a stop-over and nice meal.

After that down to the Med to dip your toes,follow the coast as there's lots of nice little places as well as larger places like Béziers, Narbonne then inland to Carcassonne - very ancient walled city - and onto Bayeux and the Atlantic coast.

Try to use N (Nationale) and D (Départementale) they are MUCH more interesting and you'll see loads more of France and French people.

Have fun,

Dave

PS Bikers are welcome in pretty-much any bar in France, unlike England.

 

I'd second Dave's comment about Millau. The viaduct is simply incredible. We stayed near there last year. There is a rest area on the north side that gives a fairly decent view but there is also a visitors' centre almost under the bridge that is worth a visit if you can find it!

There is a also an impressive set of gorges nearby that we spent a day riding. As Dave said, a good place for a stop-over.

The castle at Carcasonne is impressive to see from a distance but less impressive to visit imo. Unless they've changed it in the last few years it's like visiting a medieval theme park. Full of tat shops, tourists and indifferent restaurants and bars.