Chenonceaux to Giverny: too slow to go the N way?

Hi again,

Only a day to departure, and I am still planning and tweaking...

This question is about driving in 1 day from Chenonceaux (where we%26#39;d have stayed for our last night in the valley) to Giverny and ending up in Paris in the evening. So my wish-route/itinerary is:

Chenonceaux - Blois (1h stop, no chateau visit)

Blois - Chartres via Châteaudun(1h stop in Chartres)

Chartres - Giverny (visit Monet%26#39;s estate, at least 1h,closes 18:00)

Giverny - Paris (hopefully arrive around 20:30 in the 15e)

Is this doable, taking into consideration the slow traffic on N roads? Both michelin and google want me to go Blois - Chrtres through Orleans, but I%26#39;d rather enjoy the country roads if it%26#39;s feasible (in terms of getting to Giverny on time, around 16:00).

Thank you.

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An odd route. I would go this way - its isn%26#39;t much slower than the Autoroutes, the roads are pretty good. I have travelled along these roads a couple of times in the past months and there are no real issues. The scenery is a bit prarie for my tastes, but there you go!http://tinyurl.com/motxsc

I am not sure when you are travelling, but if it%26#39;s the end of August, forget driving - all the roads will be nose to tail and all trips will take at least twice as long as the estimates.

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Really odd route? I was hoping for some pretty roadside vistas. We don%26#39;t have to go through Châteaudun if it%26#39;s not worth it. Would you say it isn%26#39;t?

And yes, the day is Aug. 27, so I expect it to be busy, but that%26#39;s the time we had. At least it%26#39;s not the weekend itself.

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There are one or two scenic spots along the way, but for most of the time you are driving through grain growing country.

Considering the time you are travelling, what you are looking for is roads that in no way point towards Paris. At this time of year the N roads will be nose to tail, and the Autoroutes full of people who arent in the best frame of mind because the holidays are over. Usually I would recomment spending that week in front of the TV :¬)

Mind you - I could well be driving back from Paris at about the same time. If you see a shiny Black Citroen Traction Avant 11B give it a wave - it could be me.

Allow a lot of time for the trip - on my way back from Calais at the end of a long weekend I kept meeting traffic james in the most unlikely of places

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I had to google Citroen Traction Avant 11B since I had no idea what it looks like.

Well, it%26#39;s obviously gorgeous, good for you! Just wondering, are there many of them on the roads in central France? I don%26#39;t want to be waving to the wrong person ;-)

Cheers,

Era

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I%26#39;m with Wiz on this one -- while it%26#39;s not bad, it%26#39;s a little unusual...

The countryside in this region very closely resembles much of the American Midwest (or the area outside Toronto! ;) ) -- rolling hills, fields of wheat and corn, interspersed with vegetable fields.

You do get glimpses of chateaus, but other than that, there%26#39;s really nothing all that worthy of taking %26quot;the scenic route%26quot; -- the view from the autoroutes isn%26#39;t going to be all that different, in this region.

Not sure at all why you%26#39;d stop at Blois if you%26#39;re not going to see the chateau -- it%26#39;s not a bad town, by any means, but unless you%26#39;re going to the chateau, it%26#39;s just another town.

Haven%26#39;t been to Chartres yet, but from all I%26#39;ve heard, one hour is seriously shortchanging yourself -- and allowing yourself only one hour at Giverny is criminal. If you like Monet%26#39;s works enough to visit his house, it%26#39;s worth a couple of hours, minimum.

Take your time and savour the sights -- it%26#39;s not a race.

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%26gt;%26gt;rolling hills, fields of wheat and corn, interspersed with vegetable fields. You do get glimpses of chateaus, but other than that, there%26#39;s really nothing all that worthy ...%26lt;%26lt;

Aha! Exactly! Here%26#39;s my sneaky psychological strategy: if we only see dreamy sites, we%26#39;d falsly believe France is all chateaux and romance. But if we see its %26quot;everyday%26quot; version, it will be easier to leave and not so heartbreaking. A couple of years ago when we visited Bavaria, I kept taking pictures of the backyards of factories from the train, documenting the fact they too have %26quot;junk%26quot;, not just pretty, clean, inhumanly ordered scenery. I can now look at those pictures and say, %26quot;Yah, it%26#39;s pretty, but not ALL of it!%26quot; That way I don%26#39;t mind the view from my window that much.

In Blois we%26#39;ll see the chateau from the outside and have breakfast. The fact that it%26#39;s just another small town is perfect, since we won%26#39;t have seen any such towns by then.

I know we%26#39;ll just skim Chartres, but that%26#39;s all the time we have.

We are planning to spend 2h in Monet%26#39;s home (so we HAVE to be there by 16:00) and another hour in Giverny (dinner). For that reason we may end up taking the motorways, not the not-so-scenic route. I am still debating...

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So you spend your vacation searching out the ugly stuff?

Horses for courses, I suppose.

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Such a smart remark!

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It wasn%26#39;t intended to be snarky at all -- I%26#39;m really not fussed if you want to take photos of dumpsters and junkyards. It%26#39;s your camera and your vacation, and it affects me not at all.

I%26#39;ve just never heard of anyone taking pictures of the ugly stuff to balance the good stuff.