Holiday locations in Europe - Where?

[adnohder]

Situation is this chaps...................

Main holiday this year will be two weeks and we want to make the most of the limited time off.

The missus isn't keen on a full on two week motorcycle touring holiday. She hasn't done one before that's been longer than five days. There are other reasons why she isn't keen which do not matter here but I completely understand.

I don't like sitting around chilling out for too long either. I'm so active in daily life I get bored and restless after a week and on previous two week holidays I've ended up looking for something to get myself involved in to keep me entertained.

Compromise. We've come up with a plan where we head off into Europe somewhere. Wherever that is we stay there, chill out for a week and enjoy ourselves. The two to three days either side of that week are the motorcycle touring days getting to the destination and back home again perhaps with a stop over in each direction.

France appears to be a preferred destination somewhere in the central region or perhaps further south or south west. It doesn't have to be France but there is a requirement for hot weather. Location does not have to be coastal either but a pleasant place to shack up for the week is what we are after.

Recommendations for destinations and suggested routes to get there are most welcome.

Cheers.

@tu*

 

[lazybee]

It really depends what you want to do. There's so much to do especially in the summer.

Feria de Dax
Feria de Bayonne
Cognac Blues festival
Confelons international Dance festival (sound naff but good)
Ile d'Oleron good for a visit and some sea food
Barcelona moto gp (just over the Pyrenees)
Biarritz (better than Nice)
Every village town or City will have fete of festival in the summer months.
Ducati weekend at the Val de Vienne racing circuit
French superbikes Val de Vienne
Ferrari weekend Val de vienne
River rafting Gartempe.
La Mans GP
The Bol d'Or
Oradour sur Glane (google it)
La vallee des singes or Valley of the Monkeys at Romagne
If you go to Dordogne or Lot valleys you will be stuck behind endless camper vans.
If you use toll roads, pay with cash at the cashier. A bike is half price. If you use a credit card you pay full, as the machine can't tell the difference.
Are you planing on camping and moving around or a hotel or gite or something? I know a few good gites.

let me know when you plan on going and what you want to do.

LB

 

[danski]

hi the south of france is great .nice and hot. I would take the motorway down to grenoble so that you get as far down south in a couple of days. Then head south on the n85 towards cannes/st tropez. but before you get to the med have a ride round the grand canyon du verdon .have a look on youtube for someone doing the ride.its also called the verdon gorge. a great ride then you could stop at the cafe half way round and admire the views before you set off again. @tu*shame you cant go for longer you then could do a run up to monaco

 

[adnohder]

Cheers folks.

We're staying for at least a week in B?lesta-en-Lauragais which is a little way south east of Toulouse. The plan either side of that is to spend a couple of days getting there and back so all that's needed now is to sort out a plan for that and what we will see on the journey.

 

[twotter]

The Italian Lakes are very nice. My brother, and his good lady wife, got married in Menaggio, on Lake Como, last year and it was very nice indeed. Hot, sunny, scenic, relaxing, cafe culture...very nice indeed.

As it was a family bash we went in the car and stuck to the motorways. Took two days, but on a bike I would take three and spend more time on the country roads and hairpins in the mountains.

 

[danski]

I just had a look on the map. looks like a good base to stay, then you could take a ride up to the mountains.midi pyrenees. or further round on the motorway you could go to nimes an old city with roman ruins in the centre and just past nimes is the pont du gard another roman ruin over a river both have pics on the net there loads to choose from . but stay out of bordeaux it took me ages to find my way out lol.

where ever you go it will be great.
have a good trip

 

[stormer]

Look at Annecy in the French Alp region. Lovely lake for swimming lovely town for shopping etc and some of the best roads to be found in Europe for riding, hills for walking.......magic....@tu*

 

[gypsy]

Any deep sea diving?

 

[Tartan bigfoot]

try Germany?

Bit late now i know but for future ref...

As Lumpy said the eifel is very nice, great for biking and scenic.
I went with 8 others last august to the Black forest (Schwarzwald) and had a great time..fab roads, stunning scenery and 'jerry' was very friendly and accomodating evrywhere we went. Bikers are full on helpful too. we stayed somehwere different evry night almost and we nver booked a single place..just rode till about 3ish then started lookin..bit scarey at times but we managed to get all 9 of is in the same gaff each time..these were all gasthouses, dead reasonable and comfy. I also like the scran over there too...we stayed in Titisee (no sniggerin at the back) for 3 days down the southern end of the forest and it was a crackin place to chill out with touristy cafes and shops for the female folk.. from there we did day trips to austria and swiz..very fast ones

back up through the Alsace along the rhine valley and through the Vosges mountains in north east france ..all good..one place I can deffo recommend stayin was in asmall place north of Trier..it was a brewery cum restaurant and cheap digs...cant recommend it enough http://www.brauhaus-zils.de/Visitus/tabid/61/language/en-US/Default.aspx
cheers Si