Itinerary

I would not hire a car in London and drive it into France. Quite apart from whether the hire company would be happy, the driver's seat will be on the wrong side to drive easily on the right. I would take the train to Lille and hire a left-hand-drive car there, return it there when you leave France, and hire a car in London if you'll want one.

You should really fly into Paris and rent your car there. If you must fly in to London, then book Eurostar, or a connecting flight to Paris. Drive ... Normandy >> Loire Valley >> Alsace

Michelin has an online tool that can help you plan routes and calculate distances along with toll fees and gas costs. You need to get a couple of good guidebooks and some regional maps with good detail. France is big - nearly the size of Texas - and you'll need to plan on two or three days to drive from Normandy to Alsace. Routing through the Loire Valley is a good idea - you could spend two nights there and spend a day visiting chateaux. Alternatively, you could drive across the north coast of France and drop down to Alsace. We went from Alsace to Luxembourg and Brugges on our way to Normandy. Another option would be to skirt around Paris, stopping off in Reims and visiting the Champange region. Guidebooks and maps will help you decide which plan would fit you best. And, yes...don't drive a car fron London. Rent one upon arrival in France. Have a great time planning your trip.

It's not clear whether you are thinking of having a car in London. If so, I have one piece of advice. Don't. We had a car when we lived and I worked there 20+ years ago; but if we were going into the center, we always took public transport. Traffic can only have gotten worse since then, and there is now a no-go congestion zone. Depending on where your relatives live, you might be able to forego a car altogether. If not, pick one up when you are ready to leave London, preferably at a location with quick and easy access to a motorway.

It will be extraordinarily expensive and not very logical to rent a car in the U.K. and drive it into France. (Not to mention the car rental company may not even allow it). You need to either find a second flight from London into France or take the train. Or, better yet, fly into Paris and back out of London. There's no reason for you to fly into London when you're arriving since you're not spending any time there until the end of your trip. You'll spend far more getting yourself from London to Paris than the difference between the cost of a RT ticket in/out London and an open jaw ticket into Paris and out of London.

No, there are no cars in Wolves land. lol It is on foot or on the bus in the Black Country (so named from all the mills and factories turning the sky black in Victorian days). You need an interpreter, too, to understand the Black Country dialect. lol

Luckily I do understand it.

So Wolves, eh? 2-2, nil-nil, and lost one-nil. MK (x-Wimbledon) next. hmmmm.

Don't try to take a UK car to France. Boat is slow, and parking on the boat can be a real picnic. Eurotunnel (what I do several times a year) is very expensive if you are not a frequent traveler. Eurostar is not all that cheap either but a much better suggestion than the other.

Fly into Paris and out of London or Brum.

thanks very much to all of you.
I guess as you say it would be better for us to fly into Paris instead of London.
That is one problem solved,Now what about a base for Normandy as my brother in law wants to visit the D Day beaches
I was looking to stay in bayeux can anyone recommend a nice place to stay for 3/4 nights.
Plus somewhere to stay once we get to the Alsace area.

How many is "we"? Kids ages, or any seniors on the trip? Any disabled issues?

Do you want to be in the larger towns like Bayeux or Colmar, or in nearby villages? What price point?

Hi there are 4 of us 2 couples so we will need 2 rooms.
yes we would stay in the town centers but it would also depend on any other suggestion if someone new a better place not to far away.
Price good question not to expensive,we would like a nice place without having to pay a fortune for it.
as this would be our first time in these area`s not quite sure what the hotels charge.
plus if not a hotel a nice B& B would be fine.

Logis de France is an association of small family owned hotels all over France. Google for more information, specify the area or town you are inquiring about. Almost all of them have on-site parking at no extra charge. Very often the owner is a competent chef so a decent meal can be had.

We did an extensive 3 week driving tour of France in 2014, and loved every bit of it. If you have a car, it is quite fun to do all (or many) of the chateaux in the Loire Valley. We stayed 4 nights at the Holiday Inn in Blois, and used that as a base to drive around to the various sites. It was wonderful! If you want to stick a little closer to the channel, you will love Normandy and Bayeux, and going a little farther south, Dinan is fun too. By the way, because we had been to Belgium before and knew the Brussels airport fairly well, we decided to fly to Brussels and rent our car there. It is so close, and worked well for us because we weren't going to Paris (having been there previously.) We drove from there and spent our first afternoon and evening in Reims which is only 2 hrs. from Brussels. Good luck!

Thanks again all, this is starting to get tough.
Nigel.Wolves forever although I live in Canada I still love the Wolves.
We may have to alter our Itinerary as my brother in law and his wife are coming with us they are only staying for 2 weeks we want to try and get as Much in as possible without killing ourselves with to much travel.
I shall go back to the drawing board and come up with a new Itinerary.
Then post again.

Hello again so after my last post and all you answers I have changed our Itinerary.
New one,
Fly to Paris arrive sept 4th,hire a car drive to Strasburg stay 4/5 nights.
Then drive to Normandy stay 3/4 nights.
Drive to Paris leave the car and take the train to London stay 3 nights
Then rent a car and up to Wolverhampton.

Alan.

If staying in Paris itself is not on your radar then I would take the train to Strasbourg and pick up your car there. Drop it in Lille and get Eurostar to London.

Arrive Paris
Train to Strasbourg
Pick up rental car
Drive to Normandy via Reims
Drop off rental car in Lille
Eurostar to London (10+ services per day)

That's very interesting would you know the cost of train fare

As an example, Paris to Strasbourg, fares in January currently showing from 25 euros for 2nd class TGV.

Thank you We like your idea

(smiley face)

I spent 3 nights near Colmar with a car, then and 2 in Strasbourg after returning the car. Instead of staying in Colmar, I stayed in a lovely B&B in Eguisheim, easier and more pleasant for day trips than driving in and out of Colmar. It's one of the smaller towns, you may prefer a larger one with more dining choices, especially if you're there mid-week as most of the restaurants were closed Mon-Wed.

Normandy/Bayeux-- check out the Hotel Tardif