A fine routeplan, the only other recommendation would be between Zurich and Strasbourg to travel through the Black Forest (try Titisee to Freudenstadt?). There you'll find the land of Cuckoo clocks (and their museums) which should enthrall the kidiwinks, in addition to the fantastic cakes...hmmm cakes! Other than the Chamonix cablecar-ride and Futuroscope 10km north of Poitiers i'm unsure of other kid-stuff. Other Hubbers may have more specific info...

Thank you for the tips.
Google map says "Titisee" is in Germany, right?

Indeed, it's in the bottom Left Hand corner.

Thanks but I think we'll miss Germany this time.
Thanks for the tiips.

Hi,
Thanks to you all, I have come up with a list of places to visit for our tour de france in July 2009.
As we will have a 5 and a 7 year old with us, we will try to book places such as keycamp, eurocamp and hotels before we start our journey for two weeks.
I used google map to show me the directions through my route. We will avoid highway and use smaller roads so have hopefully a scenic route.

Questions:
1)
Do you know if in France there are plenty of service stations(petrol stations, restaurants) on my route?
2)
Someone suggested to get the michelin france map as well as the sat nav.
Does the michelin map show the scenic routes for my destinations?
3)
If possible, please give more recommendations on places to stay on my mentioned route.

Many thanks

Hi,
1)
What kind of things does the michelin map show please?
2)
Does it show which routes are scenic, places to rest on the route, places for kids activities, camps, etc. ?
I am considering buying the France michelin map as well as a Sat Nav.
3)
Do these maps get updated every year?
Thanks

Hi,
It seems likely that we book several of these camps for our two weeks drive round France. They say the minimum stay is three nights.
As I am not familiar with France, I am having difficulties deciding how long we need to book which camps in order to see the places we have in mind.
Any suggestions on how long is required and where (Based on the route I have mentioned in this forum)?
Thanks

.........................

Michelin maps: Yes, they're updated each year, the scenic routes are marked with a green border down the side of the road, and major rest areas on the auto-routes/dual carriageways are marked. Watch out though as an "Aire de repos" just means a place to stop, with a loo and maybe a little tourist info area, there's no restaurant, but there are picnic areas. That said autoroutes do also have British style motorways services, but to be honest unless you must, there's no reason to eat there, they'll be more expensive and the food won't be as good.

Good cheap food: the thing to do is come off the motorway and look for the place surrounded by trucks. ALL French truckers think of themselves as gastronauts, and so actively seek out the good cheap places to eat, and of course they all have CBs so they let each other know very quickly if standards have slipped.

Petrol stations: yes there's loads, just like the UK, and just like the UK supermarket prices are usually cheaper. BUT, aside from petrol stations on the autoroutes most of the others will be shut outside normal trading hours (so nothing after 6 pm and nothing on Sundays). The pumps take a credit card, and most chip and pin cards will work, but NOT ALL. One way to check is to go to a big supermarket petrol station, and choose the 24/24 pump. Try your card to see if it works, if not then just drive round again and go to the normal pumps.

Have a look at Viamichelin it's a route planning website, but so much more. It uses the Michelin maps so you can see what they look like, it gives you a choice of different types of route (quickest, most economical, recommended by Michelin, scenic), it'll give you places of interest, places to stay, and places to eat AND you can import all that into some satnavs (they even sell satnavs). For a European trip like yours I'd say it's the best thing to look at.

__________________

Very useful info here. many thanks
What is autoroute please?
p.s., yesterday, I ordered the Michelin map of France 2008, thanks

Hi,
The ViaMichelin website seems to calculate and show only one Destination. Is there a way for it to show from A to destination B and then C and then D, etc...?
Thanks

Hello all,
I have now re-planned our two weeks Drive holiday in a bit more details as follows:
London
Calais
Pierrefitte campsite (one night stop)
Port Grimaud campsite in the south (4 nights)
Aiguebelette campsite (one night stop)
Susten campsite in Switzerland (Two nights)
Rougemont campsite back in france (one night stop)
Paris (3 nights)
Calais
Unless anyone has any better suggestions, I will now start planning the nearby places to visit while staying at each campsite subject to timing.
Thank you all

Hi,
Not sure if I thanked you before. Thank you.
I have booked the following campsites through keycamp and eurocamp.

1)
Calais
To
Lac de Chalain (Domaine de Chalain) -> 2 nights
2)
Lac de Chalain (Domaine de Chalain)
to
Port Grimaud --> 5 nights
3)
Port Grimaud
to
Aiguebelette (Saint-Alban-de-Montbel, centre) --> 1 night
4)
Aiguebelette (Saint-Alban-de-Montbel, centre)
to
Interlaken (Manor farm) with Eurocamp --> 4 nights
5)
Interlaken (Manor farm) with Eurocamp
to
Paris --> 4 nights
6) Back to London