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Autoroutes, National, or Departmental roads during travel?

My husband and I will be traveling from Touraine to Burgundy, possibly with a dip down into Auvergne to visit a town where I used to teach. Having mostly done ride sharing when traveling the roads in the past, neither of us is familiar as drivers with the normal routes across the country. We would like to make the most of our trip (about 10 days after the wedding we're attending) by seeing some lovely, quant villages and small towns on our drive. Would anyone recommend a particular atlas or driving handbook for some of those out of the way and 'off the beaten path' villages and towns? We will have a rental car for our entire trip and we do not feel pressed for time as far as visiting as much as possible during the limited time we have in country.

Posted by
118 posts

I would recommend Michelin atlases. There are several of them on Amazon

Posted by
2087 posts

If you like to use maps I can recommend the Michelin Departemental (yellow cover) maps. Well detailed and with touristic info like a star system for hot spots and itinerary suggestions. But each maps covers a limited area, so you need more of them and makes actually only sense driving through the country side. The orange (regional) and red (national) covered maps of Michelin cover larger area’s. Combining maps with GPS is ideal, but remains a matter of preference like using maps or atlasses.

Posted by
2987 posts

You might also want to take a look at "Back Roads France" by DK publishing. As the name implies it features off the beaten path excursions along scenic roads less traveled. Contains detailed driving directions too. Might be just what you're looking for.
Can usually find used copies on Amazon for just a few dollars.