Towing to Nice, S. France

Time to spread out a big road map and look at the autoroutes.You can go via Paris if you wish, though an alternative is via Le Mans, Tours, Bourges, and Clermont Ferrand. If you are in a hurry you need autoroutes regardless of their cost.

Whether or not you will do it on two days I really don’t know. Just set off and pull into a campsite when you are tired . Don’t book overnights in advance. Play it by ear. It’s not an admission of failure to take an extra day. 

Take care.

Your expectations are realistic, but you will be very tired. As this is the first time you will have towed such distances I'd tend to do it over three days, so you can at least have a decent break in the evening and refresh yourself.

I'd also consider a several day stop over on the way down. This would help avoid some of the toll roads as the Euro 170+ tolls would not be to my liking. We have found with careful use of the viamichelin website it is possible to adjust our journeys slightly without to great a knock on effect regarding the travel times, yet save a lot in tolls. 

https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Routes?departure=Ouistreham%20&arrival=06000%20Nice%2C%20Provence-Alpes-C%C3%B4te%20D%27Azur%2C%20France&arrivalTid=city-1294528&index=0&vehicle=0&type=0&distance=km&currency=EUR&noRestrictions=true&highway=false&toll=false&vignette=false&orc=false&crossing=false&caravan=true&shouldUseTraffic=false&car=hatchback&fuel=petrol&fuelCost=1.694&allowance=0.000&corridor=&fuelConsumption=6.8:5.6:5.6

Colin

Part of your planning process will be to decide on your best arrival time at your destination so that you are not too knackered to set up.

Even is September, the A6/A7 from Macon down to Orange can be exceedingly busy, with many HGVs, so towing is not very relaxing on that stretch.

I would have thought 3 days would be the minimum journey time and if it were me, I would be using the N7 & D1075, rather than the A6 & A7.  OK, it adds time to your journey but it saves about £150 in tolls and you will see a little bit more of the countryside.

The municipal site at Mâcon is worth considering for a night halt.

Happy travels 

Edit : I final thought, if you do avoid the toll roads, the route from Orleans on the D2060 is motorway standard and you can make good progress on the D952 to Briare.  From there its motorway/dual carriageway via Nevers almost until Moulins.

If you are serious about doing the trip in just 2 days and don't mind the cost of tolls then  the way I would go, and most of us answering this question will be thinking "If it was me", is straight down through Le Mans and motorway to around Clermont Ferrand, maybe as far as Issoire where there is a campsite just next to the motorway and then the following day continue straight down to Montpellier area and turn left to Nice. 

Clermont Ferrand is roughly half way. Apart from an initial 50 miles or so to Alencon the rest is on Motorways.

Nowadays I wouldn't attempt it but have done something similar down the west coast from Ouistream through Spain in my younger days.

Thankyou for the replies so far - your suggestions are really helpful and have given me a great place to start planning - I don't underestimate the challenge and 3 days seems a more sensible approach to be honest.

Your ideas are very much appreciated - thankyou!

“3 days seems a more sensible approach to be honest”

I think that’s a sensible approach. Many years ago we took the caravan from Cherbourg to Royan, a distance of around 350 miles, which we did in one day. I was shattered.

We tended to base our towing journeys on how far we could go on a tank of fuel. We would find a campsite and then go off to a local supermarket to fill up. Having said that, in the early days we would fill up on the motorway, probably before we realised how much cheaper fuel was off motorway! We have done Port Grimaud to Calais with one overnight stop en route, not sure its to be recommended as its a lot of driving. As you have four weeks why not make the journey part of the holiday, perhaps getting halfway down and staying for a few nights before moving on. You mention exploring Eastern France after a visit to Nice so is your intention to travel north from Nice? I ask as you mentioned Avignon which might be best visited before you reach Nice? If you are looking for campsites near Nice, perhaps look around Biot as there is a station there which would allow you to explore Nice, Cannes, Antibes and Monaco. As for getting to the South I have a web page showing the two main routes with nearby campsites here http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/the_route_south_2.html if its of any use.

David

When we were last in Nice, flew and hired an apartment for a week in winter, the local bus services had their fares fixed by the municipal council at €1 for a single trip. This enabled us to travel to Cannes, Antibes, Monte Carlo, Menton etc.

I mention this as a possible addition to DKs post about stopping outside Nice and travelling in. You could do some investigating and see what's on offer at the moment and have a plan B. Of course it depends on whether you want to base yourself in Nice.

Have done what the op is planning a number of times; the latest being last Sep when we stayed  inland near Frejus.  It is a long drive but quite doable; we drive for about 6 hours a day - 2 hrs then coffee, 2 hours then lunch, last 2 hours then o'night stop.  Using the autoroutes you can expect to arrive in the Nice area on the afternoon of  your third day.  If you want to use the autoroutes we too would go the Le Mans, Clermont Ferrand, Montpellier route.  The A75 Autoroute Clermont to Montpellier is a spectacular drive through the Central Massif, some long hills but no problems, also it is toll free except for the Millau bridge crossing.   After Caylor (about 30 - 40 mins south of Millau) you descend rapidly through a tunnel (watch there are speed cameras in the tunnel!)  and then you are in the Mediterranean climate  (we used to live near Bezier, not too far from this area).  If you are not going to use the autoroutes add another day to get there and get used to driving over speed bumps and around roundabouts! No need to book sites for o'night stops, at lunch time  just see where you will be in a couple of hours and look for sites (ACSI is your friend).  There are plenty of sites on this route; some nice ones in Millau which may be your second night stop. Coming back through the eastern side of France I would head to the western Alps but you will need to do some research to check if sites are open.  The Annecy area is very pretty and the Jura offers some lovely walking areas.  To put the cat among the pigeons, have you thought of going down via the eastern side of France and then back through the centre i.e. the opposite of what you are thinking?  There is a better chance of good weather in the hills in early rather than late Sep and the Med area should still be very pleasant mid to late Sep.  Have a lovely trip.

Join ACSI, get an Autoroute tag and stick to the motorways. Unfortunately, Caen is about the worst place to start if you want to go to Nice. Best route to the Med (or return) is Calais, Reims, Lyon, Marseille. September is dead in the Med, most sites close end August/early September so traffic shouldn’t be a problem.