One of the joys of travelling through France by car is the opportunity to get off the autoroutes and main N roads and follow back roads to your destination. Often these are surprisingly quiet and can allow you to cover long distance at a decent speed, except for the towns and villages en route.
With such a big country ( in European terms anyway) it always strikes me how much of the place remains undiscovered when hurtling south to warmer climates or mountains. On numerous ocassions when time has allowed we have stumbled upon charming small towns and villages, sometimes with a local market, sometimes with a good little restaurant or brasserie or other delights – parts of the real France. You can almost feel “lost” driving away from the well-known landmarks of the country.
Of course, there is always a danger that by sharing our knowledge of some quiet corner of Franced then others will find it too and before long it becomes less special.
However, Dorling Kindersley Books have published a new title in their range of image-rich and informatice Travel Guides “Back Roads France” which provides details of 24 leisurely and scenic routes across France together with pull-out map to guide you.
Of course the pioneer for such exploration of France in the 1970s was Arthur Eperon whose book “Travellers France” offered many the first opportunity to discover hidden France with detailed routes and hotel/restaurant recommendations. I remember using his book on an early trip to France in pursuit of the “undiscovered” France only to arrive at the first nights hotel to discover that it was full of Brits with the only French people being the staff!!
In the same series DK have also published Back Roads Italy, Back Roads Spain, Back Roads Ireland and Back Roads Britain and offer several other useful travel guides to France