Fancy a quick road trip to France?
France is such a good destination when you fancy getting away, you can road trip and be adventure heavy, or you can find a glorious countryside retreat and fully relax... or you can even go all the way to the South of France and bask in the glorious sunshine. There's endless options depending on what kind of holiday you want.
In September 2022, when my youngest was only three months old, we were ready to get away from home for a bit so we decided to jump in the car and head on a little road trip around the North of France. It's such an easy way to holiday with small children, if yours are like mine, and just sleep in the car. Luca was exclusively breastfed so I didn't have to worry about how I was going to carry around bottles or make formula, and honestly it was probably one of my favourite and easiest holidays with the kids. He's almost two now and I'm dreading our upcoming four hour flight!
I did mean to write a post on our trip back then, but you know what life is like when you're busy with a small baby attached to you permanently... so here I am sharing the details now. We look back on the family photos so fondly and want to do a similar trip to this sometime soon, and maybe even road trip to the Netherlands.
Mont Saint-Michel
We've done both the Eurotunnel and the ferry over to Calais, and my personal preference is the tunnel, however for this trip we did do the ferry which is usually a bit cheaper and good for a budget holiday. We stayed in the Premier Inn in Dover and got the first ferry over that morning, and then drove down to Le Touquet for a quick pit stop and lunch, which is a gorgeous little town along the coast.
From there we drove straight down to Mont Saint-Michel which was the first stop on our list. It's about a 4 hour drive from Calais. We got there early evening as it was getting dark, so we stayed in an F1 Hotel which was cheap and nearby, but I wouldn't stay in one again with children. It's a really good budget option for a couple or solo traveller, but it just wasn't suitable for a family in my opinion. We woke up and had breakfast in a town called Pontorson at Cafe de La Paix which was lovely, and then ventured to Mont Saint-Michel for the day to explore.
Mont Saint-Michel is absolutely stunning, from afar and on the island itself. I carried Luca in his baby carrier which worked out well as the island is completely covered in steps and is not accessible or pram friendly. It's full of cute little shops, lovely little cafes and restaurants, and the view from the top over the beach and sea is amazing. It's definitely one to visit for the day!
Saint-Sauveur-Villages
We then drove an hour to Saint-Sauveur-Villages where we stayed in the most gorgeous bed and breakfast in the countryside, called La Synchronicité - Chambres d'Hôtes. In the photos above you can see the gorgeous private road we drove down to get to it, surrounded by trees, and then the beautiful big farmhouse that it's situated in. It was the perfect stop for a rest and reset, and very suited for a family with a big kingsize bed and bunk beds in the room.
We went for pizza in a pizzeria in the next village, and then the breakfast at the b&b the next day was incredible too. It was set in a conservatory type area looking out onto the big beautiful garden, with lots of choice of pastries, jams, and fresh coffee. My eldest who was five at the time, was very happy with his croissant and chocolate spread!
Chevreuse
We drove over to Chevreuse which is just outside of Paris, and is a beautiful quaint town with a few bars / restaurants dotted about and free parking. We loved walking around here and stretching our legs, it was one of those towns with such beautiful buildings, and a river flowing through it that made a gorgeous walk in the sunshine. The floating lanterns in the streets were so dreamy! This is somewhere I'd definitely like to go back to one day, maybe tied into a visit to Paris as it's so close by.
Versailles
We got to Versailles in the evening just as the sun was setting, so I didn't get any photos from the car, but let me tell you it was gorgeous seeing the city at sunset. And Versailles Palace was extremely gorgeous from a distance. We parked up and went to a Chinese Restaurant which was completely dead, but was 10/10, especially the service. It was called Au Mandarin Royal, and we were served by the most lovely lady who even helped us with what to order. We just stayed in a French chain hotel for the night in Versailles and then moved on to another town.
Sommery
In the morning we drove over to a really cute French bed and breakfast in Sommery, where we explored the area and then found an all-you-can-eat buffet at the restaurant at La-Table de Forges Hotel. Now let me tell you, this is one of the highlights of our trip. It was like a five star restaurant, watching chefs cook things from scratch, including steaks and the works. We only paid 30 euros each to dine here, and they let my five year old eat for free which was so lovely, and not something they had to do, so it was 60 euros for the three of us in total. We had perfectly cooked steaks, pasta, fish, fresh fruit, cheese and bread, various chocolate desserts. There was honestly everything you could imagine. If you're in the area it's not one to miss out on, I promise!
Lyon's-la-Forêt
Our last destination was Lyons-la-Forêt, which was a 30 minute drive from Sommery where we were before. It was absolutely beautiful here, from the architecture, to the parks and greenery, to the gorgeous little town square with a water fountain situated right in the middle. We went for a lovely walk around, and then came back to the square for the most delicious cakes from a French bakery. I had a pistachio cream cake and it was incredible.
After that, we drove all the way back to Calais, did an obligatory stop at a big supermarket to stock up on French bits, and then got the Ferry home. We did the whole trip on such a budget, yet stayed in some amazing bed and breakfasts and visited so many lovely places, eating lots of delicious food.
If you're thinking of taking a road trip, it's definitely worth considering getting the ferry/eurotunnel over to France and doing it there instead of in the UK.
