 Best Rest Areas in
France:
‘Aire de Repos’ (basic facilities) or
fully equipped Service Areas occur every 15kms or so on the older ‘péages’ and
less frequently on more recently added motorways. Over many years of
travelling we have found certain favourites, which have perhaps particularly
good play areas for the children, really good picnic facilities on offer, a good
location to time a lunch stop or especially nice scenery or surroundings
If your route is from Calais/Boulogne heading
south towards Rouen on A16 then the Aire du Bois du Coudray between junctions
6&7 has an excellent play area – both north and southbound. As so many of our
travels entail driving through Rouen and onwards on the N154 towards Evreux,
Dreux, Chartres and ultimately The Loire/ Charente/ Dordogne regions we have
found that the Aire Sud du Bord between junctions 19 & 20 on the A13 just SE of
Rouen makes for a useful lunch stop, being a drive of approximately 2 –2 ¼ hours
from the Channel Ports. This has nothing 5 star about it (although there is a
play area and shady seating) but it is the last picnic spot before hitting ‘N’
roads and the children are just getting hungry by this point!
For those heading to the South of France or
destinations in between, the A26 via Reims and Troyes is the main péage route.
Here a journey of approximately 2 ½- 2 ¾ hours brings you to the very pleasant
Aire de l’Espéance between junctions 26& 27, 8km SE of Reims. Lunch can be
enjoyed overlooking the Champagne Vineyards.
Much further south on the A6, just north of
Lyon between junctions 30 & 31, is the Aire de Boitray (likely day 2 on your
outward journey or possibly lunch on your return trek). This is one of our
favourite Aires as it is set amongst woods and lakes, with lots of space for the
children to run around as well as several play areas.
On the southern side of Lyon (still on the
A6), the first Aire (southbound) after the toll booths comes as a welcome break
after driving through Lyon itself, particularly if traffic has been very heavy
(often a problem in August)
|
