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Long Drive in a Rental Car (Nice to Angouleme)

Posted by on

Hello,

Has anyone driven between Nice and Angouleme and have any suggestions for our family of four?
We will have a rental car from the Nice train station in the morning and plan to drive all the way to Angouleme in one Sunday so unfortunately not much time for sightseeing along the way (no Carcassonne this trip much to my son's chagrin).
Appreciate any advice, tips or tricks to help make this a smooth journey.
Thank you!

Thank you for your reply, Balso.
Unfortunately the flight schedules did not work out for this trip so we are stuck with the costs (and long drive).
We will be making the trip next Sunday to visit friends in Angouleme for a few days before taking a train on to Paris.
The tip on the rest stop is great and will plan to take a break there.
(was not able to reply to your comment for some reason, so had to edit my post)

Posted by
7300 posts

Hi,
I have never driven the route in one go, but I have driven (or been driven) over most sections. The fastest route is via Toulouse & Bordeaux, and that's the only realistic route in your timeframe.

On the A61, the Belvédère d'Auriac rest area has a nice, if a bit distant, view of the walled town of Carcassonne. I highly recommend a brief stop there.

Sunday means no commuting traffic, which is good news. However, Sundays in summer have heavy holiday traffic - when is the trip?

Last but not least, this 1,000-km drive will cost 250€-300€ in gas & tolls depending on vehicle size. Have you priced flights from Nice to Bordeaux (2 hrs. to Angoulême)? or even Nice to Nantes (3 hrs. to Angoulême)?

Posted by
7300 posts

I saw your edit!
Safe travels, then.
The days are very long right now. If you find that you are making good time, between Arles & Montpellier this route (+15-20 min) is an interesting diversion through Camargue, which lets you skip the busy Nîmes-Montpellier stretch of the A9.

Posted by
824 posts

I've never driven it either, but applying my own algorithm to the Google maps results I'd say plan on at least 12 hours door to door, longer if you go via Bordeaux. Add on stops and it's a monster day.

Yesterday I drove from Carnac to my home, which Google suggests should take 4hours and 9 minutes. With one 10 minute stop it took a shade under 6 hours.

Posted by
10 posts

Thank you, Balso.

Appreciate the tip for the alternate route and will look into that as an option.

Thank you, Simon.

Know that we are in for a long haul, but we are used to driving from Chicago to Denver non-stop (though typically overnight through the flat cornfields of Nebraska). Hoping that SE France will be at least a little more scenic!

Posted by
824 posts

I used to do a similar length trip in Australia to visit my parents from where I lived. The roads in France are better, but if you can average 50mph you're going really well.

The last 4 years of living in France my average speed is a shade over 35mph. That includes about 50% travel on roads where the speed limit is 80mph.

Autoroutes are never scenic, no matter what countryside you're travelling through

Posted by
10 posts

thank you to all for the replys and advice.

We survived the drive and it ended up taking about 10 hours with stops for lunch, bathrooms and gas.

The rest stop near Carcassonne was greatly appreciated and enjoyed by all.

Looking forward to the next adventure!

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