[CD]

i am planning a road trip to spain for the middle of October. I am planning on sailing P&O Hull to Zeebrugge, then driving down through France and to the final destination close to the bottom of Spain, near Alicante.

I have done this route 3 times before, but every time i have taken the boring direct toll roads/motorways etc. I have a little more time this occasion, so i am planning on going on some more quieter, smaller roads, see a bit more of the scenery and take my time.

I know a few of you have been over driving in europe so does anyone have any suggestions or recomendations for routes/roads to take or places to stay or visit on the way down ?

Thanks for your help, this is gonna be one excellent trip

Chris

[CD]

i realise this isnt a topic everyone can reply to .... but anyone got any suggestions

[Hotcoupe]

Originally Posted by CD

i realise this isnt a topic everyone can reply to .... but anyone got any suggestions

Yep:

If you have'nt done the Millau Bridge it's a must do in my book.

Annecy is a good stop on the way down.

If you get the chance whilst in Spain, try the road trip from Perpignan to Andorra,it's a WOW drive.

[dxb335d]

Who you going with Chris? Have great time bud.

[booforty]

Chris - having researched the topic myself, here are the best driving roads I've heard of. Haven't done any of them though:

France
"Route des Vins" from Molsheim-Colmar-Freiburg-Offenburg-Strasbourg
"Cote d'Azur" coastal road between Nice and Monaco
"Route Napoleon" from Grasse to Dignes Les Bains
"Mont Ventoux" from Bédoin, Sainte Colombe, Le Chalet Reynard, Mont Ventoux, Malaucène, Bédoin
"La Gineste" between Marseilles & Cassis

Andorra
"Pas de la Casa" - Port d'Envalira, Soldeu, Encamp, and Andorra La Veilla

Spain
"Cap de Creus" in Catalonia
"Sierra Nevada" mountain road from Granada to Pico Veleta

Hope this is of some help

[dxb335d]

When ive been in spain before most of the roads a ''crap de colon-ia''...


I would be careful with ya stiff suspension and rims bud.

[CD]

Originally Posted by booforty

Chris - having researched the topic myself, here are the best driving roads I've heard of. Haven't done any of them though:

France
"Route des Vins" from Molsheim-Colmar-Freiburg-Offenburg-Strasbourg
"Cote d'Azur" coastal road between Nice and Monaco
"Route Napoleon" from Grasse to Dignes Les Bains
"Mont Ventoux" from Bédoin, Sainte Colombe, Le Chalet Reynard, Mont Ventoux, Malaucène, Bédoin
"La Gineste" between Marseilles & Cassis

Andorra
"Pas de la Casa" - Port d'Envalira, Soldeu, Encamp, and Andorra La Veilla

Spain
"Cap de Creus" in Catalonia
"Sierra Nevada" mountain road from Granada to Pico Veleta

Hope this is of some help

certainly is ...

thanks Paul

[CD]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

When ive been in spain before most of the roads a ''crap de colon-ia''...


I would be careful with ya stiff suspension and rims bud.

thanks for the advice carlos, i certainly will

oh and im going with a mate.

[CD]

Originally Posted by Hotcoupe

Yep:

If you have'nt done the Millau Bridge it's a must do in my book.

Annecy is a good stop on the way down.

If you get the chance whilst in Spain, try the road trip from Perpignan to Andorra,it's a WOW drive.

all noted thanks Ian

[CD]

Originally Posted by booforty

"Route Napoleon" from Grasse to Dignes Les Bains

checked this one out on google earth, it looks great ... gonna incorporate this into the route.

thanks Paul

[CD]

Originally Posted by Hotcoupe

try the road trip from Perpignan to Andorra,it's a WOW drive.

also looked this one up on Google earth, also gonna try and do this

[GanjamanUSS]

Originally Posted by Hotcoupe

Yep:

If you have'nt done the Millau Bridge it's a must do in my book.

Annecy is a good stop on the way down.

If you get the chance whilst in Spain, try the road trip from Perpignan to Andorra,it's a WOW drive.

2nd'ed 3rd'ed and 4th'ed all in one go. I grew up in Alicante, I'm half Spanish, and I used to go skiing in Andorra all the time, they've just re-tarmac'd the whole spanish side down into Zaragoza/Barcelona, so the whole route from france to andorra and down into spain is amazing, beautiful scenery and depending on the time of year you go Andorra is a very beautiful little country also.

Then again when you get to Alicante, there's some tasty roads around Altea Hills area, past Alfaz del Pi and just past El Campello towards Busot, basically anything that heads towards the slight ridge that runs behind most of the seafront places there are some really good roads to go for.

France is pretty dreary to go through from Calais to Perpignan, I'd just say bite the bullet and do the motorways there, no good non-motorway roads that I know of, most of the A roads that run parallel to the main motorway from Barcelona to Alicante are really nice, I can never get bored of a few twisties, spanish towns and the sea staring at me all the time, then again, I am part Spanish

[CD]

well im back in rainy england ...

thanks to all who suggested roads to go on ...
especially big thanks to Paul , some of those you suggested were breathtaking

anyway here are 'a few' ( i took loads ) photos from my trip ...
( no photos have been edited in anyway, it really was that beautiful )
















what more could you want ....

oh well of course there was this ( and yes that price is in Euros ! )





what can i say ... im going again next year

[Hotcoupe]

Great pics Chris,it looks like you had a good trip.
The last picture looks like Andorra?

[CD]

Originally Posted by Hotcoupe

Great pics Chris,it looks like you had a good trip.
The last picture looks like Andorra?

yes it was andorra, everything was really cheap there !

oh and thanks for your recomendation Ian, i did do that Perpignan to Andorra road as you can tell

[Hotcoupe]

Originally Posted by CD

yes it was andorra, everything was really cheap there !

oh and thanks for your recomendation Ian, i did do that Perpignan to Andorra road as you can tell

I thought it looked familiar

You must be glad to be back up North, it's the only place I know where a phone mugger actually pays!

[Carrera RSR]

Lived in Soldeu for 9 months. Great roads, scenery and life. There is only one thing better than cycling from Andorra town up to Pas de la Casa...... the ride back down again

[beemerbird]

Hey Chris, glad you're back safe and sound. Looks like you had a great holiday.

Yeah, it may be shite weather at the mo, but there's n'owt better than living in civilisation eh ..............up North where the NICE people are.

Lot of post deletion going on around here..........strange, something to hide perhaps.

[booforty]

Wow, great pictures Chris! Glad you had a great time. I love road trips and driving in Europe. Can't wait to do another

[Oil Burner]

love the pics, gotta love cheap prices in Andorra

[E902717]

that looks amazing, think i need to do that trip myself!

[dxb335d]

Great pics mate. Did you meet any spanish honeys?

I still trying to locate an old one i know... No not really. Im happily married now. But would be nice to bump into her.

How many miles did you do in all mate? I did about 1100 going to ring and back.