Where to ride in France - advice please

[Gogsyboy]

Hello everyone.
Having done Germany a few times on our annual lads motorcycle trip, we are looking at possibly doing France next year, beginning of June. Usual conditions are that we have a week to do as much as we can and as none of us have ever done a French trip before, I was hoping that some members who are in the know can maybe point us in the right direction. We are probably looking at getting ferry to Cherbourg so if anyone can advise routes and roadss and places to stay / see for the next 5 nights prior to us returning to Zeebrugge for ferry back home, then please let me know as all advice and recommendations shall be , as always, greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Gordon

[Walkabout]

You could blat down to the south, but that does take up too much of your available time IMO.
Try not to underestimate the distances; it is quite a long way to the south coast, even bashing the autoroutes. Allow two days each way if you do go that way, or it won't feel like a vacation.

Against your clock I would tend to head for the massif central - it has loads of twisties based on a fair amount of altitude and not a lot of traffic.

Use France in the search box and it will bring up lots more.

[backofbeyond]

What sort of places did you head for on your Germany trips? Scenic stuff/ culture / back road riding / bars / wimin ()? Not too many "ride and flop" beach destinations in Germany (unless a week in Prora is your idea of fun) but loads in France.

Paris is worth a visit but like London may not be the best destination for a bike holiday, especially if you've only got a limited amount of time. The other two "biggies", the Alps and the Cote d'Azur are reachable in a week but you'll be doing an awful lot of "cover the distance" rather than "enjoy the trip" riding to get there.

[duibhceK]

As mentioned above, it really depends on what you like. If you want to make the most of your week I'd just stick to Brittany and Normandy. Find a nice place to stay on the Brittany north coast and do day trips from there.
There's some nice riding to be had inland, some really nice views on the coast and some interesting places to visit. From there you could even do a day trip to the Normandy beaches and do a ride-out to "La Suisse Normande" ("Little Switzerland" in Normandy).

If you're ok with doing a day of motorway to get somewhere, I'd either aim for the Vosges region or the Auvergne region. Both offer some great riding.

If you prefer to do a real tour, there are other options. But then all will depend on how many miles per day you'd like to do.

[Tourider]

The Alsace Wine Route from Strasbourg down to Colmar and then into Les Voges et Des Ballons nature parks would be a good run for a week. A costal run around Brittany is good as are the Normandy beaches. The Western Front WW1 sites are good for a long weekend.

[leevtr]

South East for me, Vercors, Alps. Stayed here a few times, great for a base to ride out in different directions each day without carrying all your crap all the time. Have a looksy....

http://en.hotellemarronnier.com/Accueil.htm

[Tinoo]

Try going on here and asking the lads , it's an expats site over here , well known to the HU
BikeClubFrance • Portal
If they don't know nobody knows

[ex-xt]

Wiil say the massif central, around LImoges and Le Puy de Dome : not far from Germany, plenty of curves, good roads, not too many cars, plenty of possible plans, cheap restaurants and accomodations . Might see the old voxan place too

[Tinoo]

Sorry it's just bike club France

[Walkabout]

Originally Posted by Gogsyboy

Hello everyone.
done ,,,,,,,, doing ,,,,,,,,,,,,, to do ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, done

I wouldn't argue with any of the suggestions so far in the posts above.
There are numerous national parks throughout France and far more riding therein than can be accommodated in a short visit.

As others have commented it rather depends on what you want to achieve.
I gave a pretty abbreviated reply because of "the verb" which appears very frequently in all manner of questions and, for that matter, ride reports.

In this post I have deliberately avoided use of the verb.

[Pongo]

Hello from an expat French resident who travels extensively in this wonderful country. Distances are huge, and in June you are hitting just the beginning of the holiday season, so there will be some traffic about. If your landing in Cherbourg then the obvious direction is down the Centre West. My advice for a 5 day trip is not to go too far, but to chose an area and explore it well, that way you get to know France much better than zipping up and down the ( expensive) autoroutes and seeing nothing. If you want to see a major landmark and also see some of old France, then head down via Limoges towards the LOT region ( dept 46), and call in at Rocamadour on the way through, ( 2 days) then head west for the Millau Bridge and cross it South to North and explore a bit of the Dordogne on the way back up country.( 2-3 days). There are lots of interesting villages and many chateaux to visit. If you are camping, France is geared up for it as it's very popular here, prices are reasonable and the official sites are well cared for, at the beginning of the season you will have a huge choice.

One thing to remember is that France is very keen on road security, so there are no un restricted autoroutes as there are in Germany, and speed limits are strictly enforced, so factor in a 90kph( 55mph) normal road speed limit with lots of 50kph(30mph) and 70 kph limits thrown in, and a max of 130kph ( 80mph) on the autoroutes.

As Martin ( Tinoo) says, explore Bike Club France website ( google). All expat bikers living in France.

[Tinoo]

Morning Mr P

[Tinoo]

PM Sent Pongo

[chris gale]

Would second the vosges region, some cracking roads there and it isn't far from the ports either.
You could also try the meuse region, my friends run a guesthouse there called two wheel moorings near verdun, you can dip into the ardennes from there and the regions roads are empty of traffic....... You could combine this with the vosges, as I often do. Beware of overtaking on solid white lines and dont take the rise speed wise and all will be well