# Best route to Salou advice please



## SteveB123 (Jan 28, 2013)

I leave for Salou on Saturday and looking at the map the A75 over Millau, then AP7 looks more direct route than the West Coast, however the more experienced travellers on this forum seem to prefer the west coast route then across Spain. Why is this?
I would like to see Millau Bridge but not if its going to cost a lot of time or hassle. Any advice would be appreciated.
Steve


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## HarleyDave (Jul 1, 2007)

We have just come back from 5 weeks in Camping Barcelona which is "just up the AP 7" from Salou

We stopped at mainly Acsi sites from Dunkerque as follows...

Note - many road numbers have changed quite recently due to routes becoming Departmental rather than National responsibility

Using the 300 towards St Omer then cross country to Licques

Licques (Camping Pommiers Trois Pays)

Head towards Boulogne and pick up the A16 Peage (Bolougne to Albertville)

Then A28 free towards Rouen then via Boos to Les Andelys (weren't sure if Pont Mathilde was open or not on the way south so avoided it entirely - and liked the route so much we came back the same way)

Follow 6014 through Boos (love that name...) to Ecouis and then on D2/D1 to Les Andelys 
(Camping Trois Roi - on the Seine)

From Les Andelys to Evreux and follow the 154 to Dreux - Chartres - Orleans to Gien (Look out for the Nuclear Power Station on the way)

Gien (Main Touring Site - on the Loire)

From Gien cross country to Vierzon and on to the A20 free to Limoges

South of Limoges exit to Saint Germain les Belles (Camping Montreal)

Run by Hans, a friendly Dutchman - lovely site (ex-municipal but done right)

Back on the A20 and head for Brive.

After Brive, come off the A20 and on to the 920/820 down through Dordogne - could be busy in the week - we timed it for Saturday and Sunday - lovely road and quiet

Cahors can be a bit of a fiddle as we had to go out and back in because of weight (5 tonne van)

Around Toulouse on the outer ring and off on the 826/126 to Castres 

Camping de Gourjade
(ex municipal site - looks a bit scruffy but cheap and actually OK - it's adjacent to a large municipal park which is nice for a leg stretch.
There's a big Leclerc on the way down the hill to the site - best to call in as there was no shop on site)

There is another site in Revel (on the way to/from Castres) which was recommended to us but the Acsi book said they didn't take vans >8 Metres or >4 tonnes hence Castres - we will investigate Revel next time though (if only for the choccy sweeties...)

Head south to pick up the A61 towards Narbonne and then keep south past Perpignan and into Spain and on to the AP7

We were pleasantly surprised by the cost of tolls for our (class 4) van & trailer in Spain compared with France so used the AP7 all the way from then on

We plan to use this route again when we come back from La Manga in April next year (Ferry to Santander on the way there)

That's our route - a mix of peage, free autoroute, fast single/dual carriageway and cross country roads - Just how we like it.

We have used the Millau viaduct on a previous trip - from Gien via Clermont F on free autoroute and down to Sete/Marsaillan Plage but the viaduct is a bit pricey and the climb up onto the Massif Central was a bit of a strain for the van (and me) so we opted for a lower level route this time.

Probably get a better impression of the viaduct by going through the valley and looking up...

In any case - enjoy your trip!!


Cheers

Dave


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## Bigusdickus (Nov 6, 2012)

Try this site, I use it for basic route planning.
http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/
Bd..


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