9867 Somewhere to stay en route

Assuming you are using the A1/A14 route what about staying somewhere like Parma? From there it should just take you 3-4 hours max to get to your house in Le Marche? I recently stayed in the Hotel Arte which is on the outskirts and very handy for the A1 - literally just a few mins from the exit. It is in a quiet residential area with a car park just outside. The rooms were modern, simple and very clean with air conditionding and a mini bar. It only does B&B but there was a trattoria within walking distance and indeed the centre of Parma was only a 15 min walk. There were also a couple of large shopping centres nearby. I booked it online through e-bookers or yee.go as they gave a good discount but it was also available through many of the others or directly - but more expensive!

Depends on your route of course. We tend to do Belgium, Luxembourg (cheap petrol), Eastern France (fewer tolls), Switzerland (only once a year fee for roads/tunnels) (& cheap petrol). On that route we have stoped just outside Colmar (France) in an Ibis with a relatively secure car park. In Italy we have tended to go for privately run B&B hotels that have good parking and are not in cities (again for the security of the car's content).

Rather than staying in Kent - have you considered catching a late ferry and staying overnight near Calais?

The advantage is that you 'gain' a couple of hours on your start time from Calais, compared to starting from Kent.

As to the overnight stay - use the 'mappy website' [url=http://www.mappy.fr/]Mappy - plans, itinéraires, guide d'adresses en Europe[/url] to get the route [about 12.5 hrs driving time], and use the route map to find hotels - by zooming in a bit on where you think you can get to, and then use the hotel search facility on the left of the page. If you hit the 'tous hotels' facility it shows where plenty of hotels are in the area.

Good luck.

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[quote=alan h;92100]Rather than staying in Kent - have you considered catching a late ferry and staying overnight near Calais?

The advantage is that you 'gain' a couple of hours on your start time from Calais, compared to starting from Kent.[/quote]

Hi Alan

Thanks for the suggestion - would have been a good idea but we've booked the ferry now - will remember it for next time though!

Chris

[quote=jepsonclough;92106]Hi Alan

Thanks for the suggestion - would have been a good idea but we've booked the ferry now - will remember it for next time though!

Chris[/quote]

May not cost much to change the booking - the last time I did it [last year] it was about £25 - give the ferry company a ring

[quote=anne2;92093]Assuming you are using the A1/A14 route what about staying somewhere like Parma? From there it should just take you 3-4 hours max to get to your house in Le Marche? I recently stayed in the Hotel Arte which is on the outskirts and very handy for the A1 - literally just a few mins from the exit. It is in a quiet residential area with a car park just outside. The rooms were modern, simple and very clean with air conditionding and a mini bar. It only does B&B but there was a trattoria within walking distance and indeed the centre of Parma was only a 15 min walk. There were also a couple of large shopping centres nearby. I booked it online through e-bookers or yee.go as they gave a good discount but it was also available through many of the others or directly - but more expensive![/quote]
Thanks Anne. That looks like a good suggestions & the price on their own website €59 seems pretty good.

Chris

Parma is a hell of a long way to drive in 1 day [plus channel crossing] - I'd think you'd be pushed to get much further than Como [in any sort of comfortable drive] and would have thought Lucerne in Switzerland would be better/more realistic.

we can reach Lucerne in time for dinner, leaving Cambridgeshire very early in the morning. Parma is a bit too far because we still have the Gotthard Tunnel and queues at the border at Como ahead of us. This year we're leaving later (after school finishes) so are going to put in an extra stop at St Omer. The drive to Lucerne will be a doddle but the scenery so spectacular we love to stop. We can do Rome with one overnight stop and have done many times - with three kids and an epileptic dog, but goind down we've always felt the need to stop at Lucerne

Thanks for all the suggestions. For personal reasons we don't want to stay in Switzerland. I have looked at googlemaps and although it is a long drive with two drivers (both of us are used to driving long distances in a single day) and no children in the car (they are flying with grandparents) we can probably get as far as Parma which then means we will arrive at the house at lunchtime (we need to arrive at a reasonable time so we can start making beds etc). In the future I will be happy to arrive later at night so may do it in one go with the overnight ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge.

Chris

[quote=jepsonclough;92136]............ In the future I will be happy to arrive later at night so may do it in one go with the overnight ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge. [/quote]

My daughter has just 'done' the Hull Rotterdam service - interestingly Rotterdam is almost the same distance from places in Italy as Calais.

They took the overnight crossing to Rotterdam, and thus saved best part of a day getting down to Dover. - but book early, it really fills up very early [they booked in November and could only get an (expensive) Family Room, all 'normal' cabins had gone]. Costs seem high, but you do [in theory] save one night each way in an hotel

The early start from Rotterdam meant that they easily made Mulhouse [Swiss/French border] in one day's fairly easy drive.

Getting on the ferry in Hull is easy - they got there about 3hrs - 4hrs before sailing time and it was already half loaded, with the Dutch and Germans queueing for the cafeterias to open.

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Hi - we drive down each year and usually do the long haul through France and round the bottom (It's actually quicker than the winding motorway over the tops even though it adds about a hundred miles) ...We have travelled back in a day from near Savona, so going south, if you are sharing the driving and you don't mind a long haul on the first day, you can stop near Montelimar which is pretty much half way.

Having said that, for the first time this year, we are going to try the Mulhouse Basle Route - anyone any comments as to whether this is a good idea?

also ...If stopping in Calais try the Hotel Meurice it looks a bit shabby from the outside and is faded glory stuff but great beds and wonderful antique furniture!

Fiona

I have just driven to Bagni di Lucca via Mulhouse/Basel using Via Michelins economical route. I found the route very good with a nice mix of toll roads and a-roads ( I didn't want to thrash my 10 year old Ford transit and I fall asleep too easily on motorways). The only flaw in the directions were the use of street name directions in large cities like Milan which was a nightmare when driving solo! Also found the directions entering Emilia, after leaving the autostrada, completely incorrect. Mulhouse was as far as i could manage before stopping for a kip. I managed to avoid paying the Swiss road tax as only artics were being stopped - sure they will get me on the way back

I personnally do not think the 740 odd miles from calais to near parma is a problem,although with out even adding for stops and fuel,that is still 11 odd hours of driving.

No mention of crossing times,so i will assume a crossing of say 8.am? Which would mean arriving in france by 10am,and arriving in parma by 10pm? to book into a hotel?
And if you are held up in the slightest, it could be even later!

Why put such strains on yourselves by setting such a target?It would be better and safer if you just drove till tired and slept in the car at a service station.
That way if anything holds you up, you will not end up getting whined up,and should make your journey safer and more pleasent....

Alternatively look into lodgings a couple of hours further north.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

As I have previously said for personal reasons we will not stay in Switzerland ; we also need to arrive at our house early afternoon so that we can start to make up beds etc. and so we need to get into Italy - any suggestions anyone has slightly further north would be welcome but I think we can probably get to Parma without too much problem (even if we have delays). In the future we will probably just drive on to the house and arrive late at night. We aren't looking for an enjoyable journey on this trip - we have a car full of stuff to transport down so are looking to just keep driving. On the way back we are traveling with our children and are breaking the journey for a few days in France.

We are both well used to driving long distances so will probably do 300 miles or so each & then change over when we refuel (with LPG)

Chris

My advice take - it easy. Express by Holiday Inn and sometimes Holiday Inn usually reliable and clean. Suggested stops on viamichelin route - Reims, Luzern and Parma.
Reims holiday inn parking v tricky but secure, Express by HI parking opposite public but free.
Luzern Express by HI at motorway service station, very nice and quiet, spotless.
Express by HI at Parma close to m-way but can be tricky to find - very pleasant.
So there you are enjoy the trip!

Thanks for the suggestions - think we are going to go as far as we can (we dock in France at 9.30am) & then stop in Northern Italy. I think I'll take won't book anywhere but will take all the suggestions & then we see where we get to & phone them. We want to minimise the stopping though as the car will be full to bursting (no room for the children) with things for the house so will do one night in Kent and then one in Northern Italy.

Chris

We've just done London to Le Marche via Reims Strasbourg Gottard Tunnel Milan. Journey was fine. French motorways have tolls yes but they also have loads of good stopping places. Road directions we found very good. If you want Gottard Pass you have to watch out for the sign very carefully. We took it fairly leisurely and took a look at Strasbourg and Milan both well worth seeing if you have time.
First night (as we left late) Laon -great town but average hotel. Second night Hotel des Tetes at Colmar-great town and hotel. Third night outside Milan on ring road at the T-Hotel almost brand new.Some teething problems but good room and great restaurant at Lops almost opposite-best to avoid hotel restaurant probably.Lops was recommended by the hotel receptionist!