Roadtrip Route through France with 10 Interesting Stops

With this article we would like to encourage you to embrace our motto of “slow travel”. Instead of taking the fastest route, the toll “autoroutes” in France, we chose the country roads for our overland roadtrip south. This gave us the opportunity for 10 stops at interesting sights, from contemporary architecture to early industrial heritage to ancient Roman relics. Notice that 6 of these sites have been recognised for their Outstanding Universal Value by being listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

We take you along country roads from the Alsace to Avignon. On this roadtrip, we pass 10 interesting, historic and natural sights, worth stopping for!

A road trip route description from the Alsace to Avignon

A lot of people try to escape the cold, grey weather in central and northern Europe by heading south for the winter; in particular, mature couples who own a campervan or RV. Some go to the same places every year, others choose a different destination each winter – as long as it is somewhere warm and sunny.

A popular direction for many is the Iberian peninsula, Spain and Portugal. To get there, you have to drive through France, one way or the other. We took a similar route to many of these European snow birds (an American expression for travellers who escape the harsh winter to a warmer destination), but for us this roadtrip might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so our clear priorities are:

1. to see as much as possible along the way, preferably interesting or unique sights
2. to enjoy the landscapes we are passing through
3. to get a glimpse of normal life in the typical small villages and towns of each region

This roadtrip takes you through some of France’s most famous wine regions – here along the Rhône. Their late autumn colours range from yellow to red to a more dull brown, depending on the grape variety.

I believe that we found a near perfect route from the east of France, with good overnight places to stay with a camping vehicle. We crossed the border from Germany into France just north of Freiburg. This brought us directly to Colmar in the French Alsace region. From there we would suggest continuing on country roads and visiting these 10 attractions along the way. Each stop gives you something interesting to see! Our chosen route was marginally shorter than driving toll highways. The only price we paid: going around countless roundabouts and over nearly as many speed bumps.

This map shows all of our stops on this road trip through France. We avoided all highways but you can’t set this option in Google routing, hence I haven’t marked our exact route.

How did we plan this route through France?
Well, with our trusted DK Eyewitness Travel Guide France of course, and a Marco Polo paper map . Without this book we might have missed a lot of valuable information about these sights along our route.

[Affiliate Links to Amazon]

1. Alsace: Colmar or Riquewihr

Across the Rhine from Germany, is France’s famous wine region of the Alsace. Strasbourg is the capital of this part of France, but usually smaller towns attract us more. Colmar with its colourful half-timbered houses is a very popular destination. We knew we wouldn’t do Colmar any justice because we were fleeing a sudden cold snap in the “warmest part of Germany”. So we had decided to stop for the first day in Riquewihr, a small walled town a little north of Colmar. Guess what? We drove straight past it, because it was bucketing down with icy cold rain, mixed with fine sleet… But we might come back one day.

A street scene from Riquewihr in the Alsace. We passed by, and didn’t stop, because it was raining and miserably cold. [photo credit ]

2. Ronchamp and the Le Corbusier Chapel

Despite the bad weather we made good time, and arrived around 4pm at Ronchamp. This small former mining town is famous for the Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut, the only chapel ever designed by the famous French architect Le Corbusier. We had just enough daylight left to visit this small complex.

There is more to the site than just the chapel. Le Corbusier also designed the Chaplain’s House and a Pilgrim Shelter. The inside of the latter can be visited too. And what luck we had with the weather: the reception staff told us that in the morning they had woken up to snow. When we arrived it was still fairly grey and cold, but the sun broke through the thick clouds briefly to bathe the western wall in a golden evening light.

This little bit of sunlight helped tremendously to brighten up the chapel. Before this, I found the building actually a little too stark and dark – despite its curved outer walls. But who am I to criticise the “outstanding design” of a world famous architect? All I can do is compare this chapel with other light flooded church interiors I have visited… Still, this building forms part of the World Heritage listing of 17 Le Corbusier buildings on 3 continents.

You won’t need more than half an hour to see the chapel; you could add another hour max to explore the complete site and see the small museum. Before arriving, we had already decided to stay on the chapel’s parking lot for the night, which is possible for motorhomes. We found the only level space and settled in for a cold night with below freezing temperatures.

The Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut in Ronchamp was designed by the famous French architect Le Corbusier. Just when we wanted to leave, the sun broke through the clouds.

3. Arc-et-Senans and the Saline Royale

The Saline Royale has been a World Heritage Site since 1982 for a good reason: this outstanding, early industrial site was designed by the royal architect Claude Nicolas Ledoux (1736-1806), a leading personality in the “Age of Enlightenment”.

This is a remarkable design, which clearly displays an overall site concept, even though not all planned structures were ever completed. Once finished, it should have formed a full circle with a single central axis. The restored half circle gives a good impression of what the full circle might have looked like.

This aerial photo of the Saline Royale hangs in the welcome centre. It must have been taken right after restoration work was finished, because the gardens and trees have matured a lot more now. The picture gives a good impression of the overall symmetrical concept of the site.

Built between 1775 and 1779, only 10 years before the French Revolution, the saline doesn’t only show an efficient layout for an industrial work site. There are also elements, which show an early consideration for the workforce, like spaces provided for personal vegetable gardens behind the buildings.

We can be grateful that this site has been rescued. Although no longer operational, the last owner of the saline rejected the idea that these saltworks should be preserved as a heritage site. The company decided on the drastic step of trying to blow up the structures with dynamite – luckily the damage didn’t go far enough to be irreparable. Nowadays this remarkable complex is World Heritage listed.

The inner yard of the Saline Royale in Arc-et-Senans. The building on the left used to be the central administration, which was blown up by the last owner of the site. To right of it, one of two identical saline work houses (the other stands to the left of the administration).

Another panorama photo of the Saline Royale. The buildings forming the half circle were reception, canteen, workshops, and workers’ accommodation.

It’s difficult to name an exact amount of time required for this site; you can see all major structures in less than 45 minutes, but if you want to see all on-site exhibitions you might spend a good 2 hours – like we did. Almost right next to the saline is a free “aire” (overnight parking for campers, with services) behind the small town hall. A pleasant and quiet place to spend a night.

An architecture model by Claude Nicolas Ledoux (1736-1806): “Atelier des Cercles”. The site has one entire building set aside to display his outstanding architectural drawings and very detailed models of buildings he designed. This man was truly ahead of his time!

The aire of Arc-et-Senans was a pleasant and quiet place to spend a night. This Japanese pavilion brightened up the large park.

4. the Medieval Town of Pérouges

In densely settled Europe, you can find lots of cutesy little towns and villages, full of old historic buildings. But it seems to be difficult to find one that still feels “authentic”. Pérouges might just be an exception.

This tiny fortified town sits on a hilltop, overlooking vineyards of Burgundy. In the 13^th century it had a small thriving industry of linen weavers. Then the town slowly declined to a point where at some stage less than 90 people lived here; until the early 20^th century, when a number of artisans and craftspeople moved in, and began to restore the empty buildings.

Pérouges now attracts some tourists, but not the numbers you would expect in other better-known historic towns. The buildings still have their crumbling and well-aged appearance, and the old, roughly cobbled streets are calling for some comfortable footwear with good ankle support.

The medieval town of Pérouges, street scene 1

The medieval town of Pérouges, street scene 2

Of course you find some touristy shops, particularly ones selling the local speciality “Galette Pérougienne”, a thin dough crust (similar to a pizza base) covered in butter and sugar. But overall, the few tourist shops don’t feel tacky or spoil the overall look and experience of being in a medieval town.

You can spend anything between 45 minutes to several hours in Pérouges. The town has a gated parking lot with a (fairly low) fee, where motorhomes are tolerated for a night. Being an end-of-the-road town, it was nice and quiet overnight.

Pérouges’ streets, with the town’s church in the background.

Galette Pérougienne, a speciality of Pérouges

5. Vienne, a City with a Roman Past

This is a city, which is less promoted and visited than its more popular neighbours further south. Nevertheless, Vienne is said to have more interesting historical sights than any other city in the Rhône valley. When the Romans arrived in the 1^st century BC, they found an existing settlement in a spot they considered of strategic value, with a pleasant environment.

The Romans quickly expanded the existing settlement, and built a port on the banks of the river. Many of the old houses are still sitting on Roman footings, and some relics have been lovingly restored. Right in the middle of the town, surrounded by street cafes, is the attractive Roman Temple d’Auguste et Livie (10 BC). Just a block or two to the north is a park around more Roman ruins, where once stood a temple dedicated to the Goddess Cybèle.

The Roman Temple d’Auguste et Livie in Vienne

Then there’s a large Roman Theatre, currently undergoing restoration work and partly closed to visitors, and a large museum complex called Saint-Romain-en-Gal across the river, built around further excavations of Roman remains. We didn’t visit these.

But we went on an interesting short tour inside the ancient Cathédrale de St-Maurice. It was built in the 12^th century, expanded and altered in the 16^th century, and stands on top of Roman footings. Our guide was a woman archaeologist, who was clearly interested in her town’s heritage and wanted to give everyone (including attending children) the best experience.

Vienne offers 2 different versions of ‘pass tickets’ to make visits of their sites and museums more affordable. These are sold at the tourist information, right next to where we parked. Unfortunately, the office was closed for extended lunch when we arrived.

We were in Vienne less than 4 hours, but we could easily have spent more time at its interesting historic sights and museums. On the one hand, we feel a little rushed by the 90-day limit in the Schengen and, on the other hand, we didn’t know about any decent overnight place in this city. So we decided to move on further south, and overnight in a small village.

If you have more time than we did, we would recommend spending some extra time in Vienne, or even taking a beautiful sidetrip to Annecy, France’s lakeside gem , east of Vienne.

The 12th century Cathédrale de St-Maurice in Vienne

6. the Ardeche Valley

You might say it was a foolish idea to visit the Ardeche Valley at the onset of winter, and in hindsight we might even agree. Unless you are prepared for rain and cold, it’s nothing in comparison with the summer paradise, which attracts thousands of visitors, mostly for camping, hiking, and canoeing.

For us, it was a small detour and, for me, an opportunity to revive some memories from the mid-80s, the first time I drove along this spectacular gorge. Back then, it was the middle of summer and impossible to find any quiet camping.

We drove in from the north and soon reached an altitude where we were level with the thick clouds. This meant rain, thick fog, and barely enough visibility to drive more than 40 km/h. At 800 metres it was also noticeably colder than the Rhône valley we had just left.

Anyway, we reached the small town of Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, obviously the centre of all summer activity. Now, in early November, it was mostly shut for the season. We found a parking lot of a canoeing company (also closed) and settled in for a wet night, hoping the weather would clear the next morning. No such luck!

So we turned the heater on full, went to buy some bread, and then headed down the scenic road in driving rain, towards the first (and probably best known) attraction of the valley, the Pont d’Arc. This is an enormous natural arch eroded by the river, and quite a beautiful sight – even in miserable weather.

Yasha, braving the weather to take a close-up photo of the Pont d’Arc along the Ardeche.

Lucky for us, the rain eased soon after and we had more luck at the following viewpoints. Being out of season also meant that there was absolutely no traffic, which made the drive along the fairly narrow and windy roads so much more relaxing. The first car, which we met after half an hour, was the local mail delivery van.

Still it kept drizzling or raining on and off, so we didn’t do the natural beauty of this part of France much justice – we kept going. Interestingly, as soon as we were out of the valley, bright sunshine greeted us… We would recommend that you pick the shoulder season to visit. The Ardeche is a breathtakingly stunning environment worth spending more time in.

The vistas along the Ardeche are truly breathtaking. You can imagine the pleasure of taking a canoe down the river between these dramatic cliffs – but only in summer!

7. Orange and its Roman Artifacts

We have the feeling, that Orange (as Vienne, see above) is not high on the list for most tourists. Yet the town has a couple of remarkable Roman relics, which call for a visit. In the middle of a huge roundabout at one end of town, stands Orange’s “Arc de Triomphe”. This was built by the Romans between 27 BC and 14 AD.

The Roman Arc de Triomphe in Orange. (For fun: have a look on Instagram, how many photos of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris are wrongly geo-tagged with Orange.)

At the other end of the town’s centre stands one of the best preserved Roman theatres in all of Europe. Here we again picked a time to see “our entrance fees at work”. Although the building went through countless changes of usage throughout the millennia, and was badly damaged by the Barbarians, its basic structure is in remarkable shape. The entire back section, stage backdrop and wings, are still standing, as is the seating ring with its access stairs behind. At the moment [late 2018], the entire stage is covered in scaffolding for restoration works.

The “Théâtre Antique” can hold up to 9,000 people and to this day is used for major performances – both classical music and modern rock. Many famous names of contemporary music have performed here. Both the theatre and the “Triumphal Arch”, are included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

If you only want to allow for a quick visit of Orange, two hours or so should be enough. We stayed one night on a parking lot right next to the Arc de Triomphe, where it was surprisingly quiet… The next day, we left in the afternoon and stayed in a small village closer to Avignon.

This impressive photo of the Théâtre Antique in Orange isn’t mine. When we visited, the entire back wall of the stage was covered in scaffolding. [photo credit ]

8. Avignon and the Papal Palace

Yes, let me state right at the beginning, that Avignon has more sights than just the Palais des Papes. We were getting to the stage where we were exhausted, and our brains would only take in so much more information, hence we limited our visit to this palace. Avignon also has the sad reputation of many break-ins into camper vans; another reason not to stay too long.

This is not the space to repeat a complete history lesson about why there is a Papal Palace in Avignon , when everybody knows that the pope has traditionally resided in Rome – for centuries before and since. It’s a convoluted story, which (as always) is all about sway, power, and influence.

It was the Frenchman and elected pope Clement V who refused to move to Rome, and then set up his papal court in Avignon in 1309. His immediate French successors all chose to remain in Avignon; each one of them extended and fortified the residence even further. Now we are left with a large, pompous building, half palace half fortress, which is listed as a World Heritage site.

The Papal Palace in Avignon, the only attraction we really visited in that city.

Although it’s quite interesting to walk through the Papal Palace, we cannot recommend it for people who are unfit or unstable on their legs. There’s a lot of up and down and some of the old stairs are quite steep. It’s basically a warren of structures, an annex here, and an added staircase there, all on different levels. Still, it’s remarkable in what kind of splendour the then pope resided whilst Europe was suffering from famine and the Black Death.

We left Avignon in the mid afternoon, after having spent roughly 5 hours in the centre, and drove out of town. But as I said before: Avignon has more to offer.

This ‘Merry-go-Round’ in Avignon is from the early 20^th century.

For the next night I had picked a nearby place in the middle of a forested region south of Avignon – we were in need of somewhere quiet and peaceful after all the cities… This was a slight mistake, because we had forgotten about number 10 on this list and needed to backtrack a little afterwards. But the night in the beautifully quiet pine grove was really worth it. With more time up our sleeves we would have loved to stay longer…

We did at least see the famous bridge of Avignon, the medieval Pont-Saint-Bénézet. The rest of this bridge washed away in floods, many centuries ago.

9. Abbaye Saint-Michel de Frigolet

If it hadn’t been for the above mentioned faux-pas, we would never have seen this remarkable church. To get here, you zig-zag along narrow country roads, past masses of old olive trees, until you enter a beautiful forest of these bent and twisted pine trees so typical of southern France and northern Spain. The drive alone was relaxing, after yet another city.

Be impressed by the beautiful interior of the Notre-Dame Basilica.

In the seclusion of this forest stands a monastery with a long history: the Abbaye Saint-Michel de Frigolet. Originally founded around 960 by Conrad I of Burgundy as a Benedictine monastery, it was soon converted into canonical Augustinian community, which later dissolved in the 15^th century. During the following centuries the abbey had an ever changing history, until in the 19^th century the Premonstratensians, or Order of Norbert of Xanten, took possession of the property.

Throughout those turbulent times the original chapel, dating from the 11^th century and still standing today, remained a destination for pilgrimages. The Premonstratensians have since extended the property and built a second church.

It’s this newer abbey church, the Notre-Dame Basilica, which we found so fascinating. Its simple facade belies what you find behind. Almost every square inch of walls and columns is hand-painted in rich colours, either with religious motifs, or portraits of prominent canons, or simply endless rows of names of canons who used to live here. It all comes together as a beautiful mesmerising ensemble. Like the entire decoration of the church was one devoted meditation.

The hand-painted interior of the church at the Abbaye Saint-Michel de Frigolet.

A side chapel of the basilica at the Abbaye Saint-Michel de Frigolet.

As mentioned, we spent the night on the large parking lot of the abbey, something you can do off-season and on weekdays. On Sundays the abbey seems to open its doors, inviting people for prayer, so it might be better to keep the lot free. Entrance to the abbey is free, but you cannot visit all parts. Around midday the churches are not open for casual visitors (time for mass). You need maybe an hour to visit the abbey. Please respect the peace and privacy of the resident canons!

This was a beautiful, quiet spot to spend a night. The entire forest around the Abbaye Saint-Michel de Frigolet would lend itself to camping, as long as you are careful with fires in summer.

10. The Pont du Gard

The Pont du Gard is the most prominent part of an ancient aqueduct the Romans built in the 1^st century AD. The entire aqueduct originally stretched over 50kms, starting in Uzès, and supplied water by gravity to the city of Nemausus (nowadays Nîmes).

It’s simply astonishing what great engineering masterpieces the Romans left behind, long after their civilisation vanished. To quote Henry James, who visited the aqueduct in 1884:

The hugeness, the solidity, the unexpectedness, the monumental rectitude of the whole thing leave you nothing to say – at the time – and make you stand gazing. You simply feel that it is noble and perfect, that it has the quality of greatness.

To give you some facts: the Pont du Gard was originally 360 metres of length in the upper most section where the water flowed, 275m of which are still preserved. It crosses the valley of the Gardon River, which at times can flood, something the bridge has withstood for two millennia (many modern-day bridges would not). It was constructed in three tiers and stands 48.8m tall at its highest point.

The World Heritage Listed Roman aqueduct Pont du Gard – simply impressive!

No wonder this monumental structure is listed as a World Heritage Site!

We spent the night on a parking lot in Vers-Pont-du-Gard, the small village close to the bridge. The large parking lot at the bridge is closed overnight. Your parking fee of €9 at the bridge parking is refunded when you buy an entrance ticket.

The Pont du Gard should have been number 9 in logical order, but sometimes we make illogical mistakes (see above). We visited the attached museum, but again thought that modern museums, with dim lighting, sound effects, and large 3D models really don’t do it for us. Still, a visit to Pont du Gard can take anything from an hour to four – the site is large, and invites you to explore on foot. And it really shouldn’t be missed, especially if you can visit outside peak season!

The museum at Pont du Gard: for us, not really impressive.

Final thoughts about our road trip through France

I hope that this article encourages you to plan your next overland trip differently. Read up on your route beforehand, or maybe look for an alternative one, and find a few worthwhile sights to visit along the way. Not only will it provide a welcome interruption to the boredom of driving long distances, it will also do wonders for your wellbeing. At each site you can stretch your legs and walk around – with an inspiring purpose! You might even learn something new or find new topics to talk about on the road ahead.

If you found this post inspiring you might want to read the continuation of our “Roadtrip: Revisiting the South of France” , where we visit Arles, Les Baux de Provence, La Camargue, Canal du Midi, Carcassonne, Forteresse de Salses, Côte Vermeille, all on our way to Spain.

How did we plan this route through France?
Well, with our trusted DK Eyewitness Travel Guide France of course, and a Marco Polo paper map . Without this book we might have missed a lot of valuable information about these sights along our route.

[Affiliate Links to Amazon]

Please note: we are slow travellers, no doubt. With tighter planning and faster driving our route could easily be done in half the time we took – and still include all stops except the Ardeche. It’s all up to you…

One of the many neat French villages and towns we drove through on our overland roadtrip.

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