Tours to Bayeux to Arras

If you were taking the train from Bayeux to Arras, I could help you there. Going by car to Arras I 've only done from Paris always in the summer. You're see signs indicating scenic routes, one of which you'll see when you get to the Somme River, ie, the sign indicates you're crossing that river.

Which particular sights do you have in mind in Arras, culturally and historically, aside from the "centre ville." It's the capital of Nord Pas-de-Calais.

Once we arrive in Arras we will visit WW l sites. It’s en route to our destinations that I was wondering about.

I suggest checking out the city hall in Arras, it's also a Tourist Office with lots of information, brochures, and tours. In Arras itself the are memorial plaques to events in WW2, eg, its liberation by the Welsh Guards in 1944, plus one dedicated to the British armoured attack on the flank of Rommel's 7th Panzer Division, an unexpected event that unnerved the General Staff. Those details are omitted on the plaque, what gives it away is the mention of the specific dates in May 1940 and the pertinent location.

The WW1 sites unless on a tour require a car to see as many as possible, even getting out to Vimy, the German military cemeteries as well as those of the French. The US one is nearby in St. Quentin.

For finding scenic roads you can use the yellow cover Michelin Departemental maps, easy to get in supermarkets and gaz stations for about €7 each.

For your itinerary is for me the most scenic part to explore the area roughly inside the triangle Caen – Alençon – Rouen with a region like the Pays d‘Auge with very lovely places like Beuvron-en-Auge, Cambremer, Blangy-le-Château, Broglie, Le Bec-Hellouin and lovely countryside. But also seaside places like Houlgate, Cabourg, Deauville and ofcourse Honfleur. The road between the two latter places along the coast is scenic. For exploring this area you can use map #303.

Countryside between Rouen and Arras is not directly scenic. For WW1 sites you can go to the Somme with Amiens (worth a visit too btw) and the area east of it. you can visit the Lochnagar crater near St-Albert, where there is also a museum about the Battle of the Somme and further north the huge Thiepval Memorial and Beaumont-Hamel Memorial. Near Vaux-sur-Somme along the D1 the crash site of the Red Baron, only a sign indicating the place where it happened.

On the way from Tours to Bayeux not to miss is the historic centre of Le Mans.

Here's some general advice I often post about how to research a vacation in France and how to use Michelin maps to find scenic drives without having any prior knowledge as to where you'll be driving:

Get your hands on the Michelin maps for any region in which you will be driving. These are a crucial resource for researching scenic drives and finding interesting towns/villages/sites to visit. The maps have nothing to do with using google maps (or similar) to get driving directions from point A to point B (though you can use them for that in non-congested, rural areas). You want the ones of the scale 1:200,000 (regional maps) or 1:150,000 (departmental maps, more detailed, cover slightly less area) for whatever regions you visit. The Michelin maps have icons for all kinds of historically/touristically interesting things such as châteaux, ruins, churches, abbeys, scenic view points, caves, Roman sites, megaliths, designated scenic roads (highlighted in green) and many other things. A nice feature of the 1:150,000 maps is they show the starred attractions in the corresponding Michelin Green guidebooks.

Usually when I'm exploring various regions in France I just look at the map and I am able to plan interesting and scenic drives just reading the map. For instance, I usually look for a designated scenic road, which are highlighted in green, and I especially look for towns with the historic church and/or château icon as well as the other icons I mentioned and try to string all these things together. With the departmental maps also look for towns/sites/attractions that have been give one or more Michelin stars. I also try to make sure the route goes through as many small villages as possible. Usually putting all these things together I find interesting and scenic drives without even knowing where I am going and with no assistance from a guide book. Often these places are never mentioned in guidebooks and remain completely unknown to many tourists. You can buy the Michelin maps from their website. If you're going to be traveling all over France you may find it easier to buy the Michelin Atlas, which covers all of France.

As a side note, when you are researching your Michelin maps you'll note that there are two icons for châteaux. One is easy to identify as it is in bold, black color and indicates a château designated as a historic monument. However, you'll have to look closely at your map for the tiny, rectangular white château icon. These are usually private châteaux and many can only be viewed from the exterior (some may be open to the public) but they are nice to view from the exterior.

Speaking of Michelin, you can go to the website viamichelin.com and get info on drive times and distances, toll and fuel costs and suggested routes (i.e. scenic routes). The drive times given do not consider stops (fuel, food, bathrooms) nor do they consider bad weather and bad traffic.

Here is some other general advice for you. You can google the tourist office websites for any region, département, city, town or village you may want to visit. France is divided into several regions and each of these regions is divided into departments. You will find loads of info on these websites including hotel/accommodation and restaurant info as well as what to see and do in the area. Occasionally the websites have English versions. In doing a google search enter the words "office de tourisme" followed by the name of your region, département, city, town or village and this will bring that place to the top of your search. If you don't know in which region or département a city/town/village might be located then just go to wikipedia and enter the name of that city/town/village and it will mention in which region and département that city/town/village is located.

Thanks to all for your advice. It will come in handy.

You're welcome.

Depending on the route you take or how far you deviate, be advised too of the WW1 museums located near Amiens, ie from the Somme northwards, should you be interested in seeing them.

The big one in that area is in Peronne. In Albert (not far from Amiens) is another museum pertaining to the war. Albert served as a British military HO,

Outside of Albert (a few miles or so) is Fricourt. Fricourt has one of the German WW 1 cemeteries located in Northern France.

If you're spending time in Arras itself, the main British WW1 cemetery is there, next to the ex-French Army caserne, which is now open to the public. The last time I was there the premises were off limits since the caserne (La Citadelle) was still in possession of the French Army. Still, what one was allowed to see from the outside was interesting.