Driving To Morillon – places to stop

Posted: Sunday 10^th May 2015

Its 860km from Calais to Setanta Chalet so it can be done in a day but sometimes it’s good to break up the journey with either an overnight stop or more leisurely journey. At peak season (Easter, public holidays and Fridays & Saturdays in July/August) it is advisable to book, at other times you can enjoy the freedom of stopping where the mood takes you.

Its all motorway from Calais – great for driving but so easy to miss the many wonderful towns and villages, some of our recommendations include:

Reims

About half-way, Reims is an obvious stopover. The motorway comes close to the city centre and there is a great choice of good value hotels. In the evening stroll along Place Drouet d’Erlon and discover one of the many superb restaurants. If you have time for sight-seeing spend a day in Reims and the surrounding Champagne region.

Troyes

A little further along the motorway, about 400km from Calais, you’ll find pretty Troyes. The city was lucky and escaped the worst of the last wars so the medieval town centre still features many half-timbered buildings. Driving through the town is slow so I’d suggest leaving the car in the hotel carpark and exploring on foot.

Dijon

Dijon was also spared the worst of wars and many historic buildings and half-timbered houses survive. It’s home to many museums and palaces of the once powerful dukes, perfect for a days sightseeing.

With such favourable Sterling to Euro exchange rates adding an extra day in France may work out considerably cheaper (and a lot more fun) than a stopover near Dover.