S2ki’s “European Union” to tour France…
May 25th, a truly international contingent of S2ki enthusiasts from throughout Europe will join together for a five day tour over some thrilling roads and the most beautiful countryside France has to offer. Their five day, 1495 mile, itinerary starts and ends in the port city of Calais.
The event was inspired by an episode of the TV show: Top Gear. (one of our favorites here at S2ki) In the episode, the hosts take a particularly spirited drive across France in supercars ending up at the incredible Millau Viaduct . (pictured at right)
Some adventurous S2ki folks, led on by their UK instigator Lee (LTB) planned their own French tour (at more reasonable and legal speeds of course) making sure to pay a visit to this architectural marvel. Lee promises “lots of good driving, the chance to see some great landmarks eg Millau Viaduct, le pont du Gard, le Pont d’Avignon and no doubt one or two sherrys in the evenings. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet up with fellow enthusiasts as the driving promises to be great, but most of all it’ll be a damn good laugh.”
There are spaces still available for those who would like to join the tour. Below is their complete itinerary and a link to a thread with more information.
Thursday 25 May, Calais – Troyes (Day 1)
Evening ferry (18.05) from Dover – Calais followed by 3 1/2 hour drive from Calais to Troyes via Reims (Avoiding Paris)
Over night stop in Troyes.
Total driving: 240 Miles, 3 1/2 hrs.
Friday 26 May, Troyes – Ales (Day 2)
This is the only real long drive on the trip, but it is necessary if we want to visit the Millau Viaduct. The drive will be mostly on motorways.
9 am start from Troyes, 3 hours of driving then we stop off for a 30 min lunch stop(Moulins area)
Hit the road again and continue drive down to Millau Viaduct (3 hours) arriving at 4pm approx.
I’ve allowed 1 1/2 hours for the stop at the bridge. This should give us plenty of time for exploring, taking photos etc.
On the road again at around 5.30pm for the 1 hour 20 minute twisty drive across to Ales.
Total driving: 470 miles, 8 hrs.
Saturday 27 May, Ales – St Etienne (Day 3)
Hopefully a reasonably early start again (9 am). A quick 30 min drive up to Nimes where we will pick up Orpheo from the French forum, followed by a 40 minute drive to the Pont du Gard Click me where we can take a brief stop for photos, quick coffee etc.
From Pont du Gard a quick drive (25 mins) up to Avignon arriving just after 11 am. 1 1/2 hours for a lunch stop and a trip down to the Pont d’Avignon images here.
Hit the road again at around 1 pm for our drive up through the Ardeche passing by the Pont d’Arc Click for images. Allowing for 1 hour of stop offs along the way we should arrive at St Etienne at around 6.30 pm.
We have a couple of option for this day. There is the possibility of an alternative plan where we would spend more time at the Pont du Gard, miss Avignon enitrely, but take a 1 hr lunch stop somewhere in the Ardeche Gorges.
This would allow us to arrive at St Etienne a little earlier, but it would mean missing Avignon. Let me know how you feel please.
Total driving: 245 miles, 6 hrs.
Sunday 28 May, St Etienne – Auxerre (Day 4)
Set off From St Etienne around 10 am. 3 hrs driving will take us to ‘La Route des Grands Vins’ where we can stop for lunch and spend time driving through the vinyards and visiting a few wine cellars information on wine route.
Hopefully with stop offs and lunch we’ll be able to leave the wine route at around 3 pm for the 2 1/2 hout drive up to Auxerre, giving us plenty of time to explore Auxerre.
The route follows the N6 for most of the day, but this takes us right through the Medoc and Bugundy wine regions. The driving should be very scenic, but I’ve also been told that the roads are good and fairly empty.
We will be joining up with the French guys for the whole day (Hopefully around 15 French cars joining us) and will no doubt be having a bit of an end of trip Anglo-French knees up in the evening.
Total driving: 240 miles, 5 1/2 hrs.
Monday 29 May, Auxerre – Calais (Day 5)
I haven’t planned anything specific yet for this day as it mainly consists of the drive back up to Calais to catch the ferry.
The drive to Calais is 300 miles (about a 5 hr drive). Take the 17.35 ferry back to the UK arriving at 17.50. Let me know if there is anything specific you would like to do on this day and I will try and plan that in. Also let me know how you feel about the ferry time.
Total driving: 300 miles, 5 hrs.
Link to more info:
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=340507&st=0