I recently went on a road trip to Northern France. We took the Eurotunnel from Folkestone to Calais and it was so convenient. You just drive your car onto the train and hey presto, 35 minutes later you’re in France! The return ticket only cost £60 which was very reasonable for four people and a car.
Once we got to Calais we headed south to Rouen which took about two-and-a-half hours, a very easy drive on the straight French roads (easy for me to say because I was sitting in the passenger seat!). Rouen is a picturesque city which is relatively compact and easily explored by foot. There is lots of wonderful architecture including the impressive Cathedral of Notre-Dame and the church of Saint Ouen. It’s a beautiful place to just wander around stopping every now and then to enjoy a coffee and people watch. You can also visit the site where Joan of Arc was executed.
Northern France is a great destination for lovers of history. After spending the night in a cute, family-run hotel in Rouen we headed back in the direction of Calais. We drove through the area where the Battle of the Somme took place, stopping off in the town of Albert in Picardy for lunch. The Somme 1916 Trench Museum there is well worth a visit. The museum displays several dioramas of the trench war of 1914-1918. There are also hundreds of photos and personal belongings of the soldiers who fought there. It’s obviously quite a sombre experience but one which I think definitely warrants a visit.
The Canadian National Memorial at Vimy Ridge (about 60km north of Albert) stands as a tribute to all those who represented their country in the First World War. The memorial is enormous and stands on top of a hill, visible for miles. It stands in the preserved battlefield area of Vimy Ridge.
The only slight criticism I have of my trip is that the food isn’t exactly a vegetarian’s dream! French cuisine is heavily focused around meat and the only thing most restaurants offered for a vegetarian was an omelette or a side salad. So although people the world over rave about French food it didn’t offer much for me!
All in all it was a great weekend and very accessible from London. We actually got to France quicker than we could have driven to Devon or Cornwall! I enjoyed relaxing and soaking up the chilled out atmosphere in Rouen, learned more about World War One and I have a couple of little reminders of the trip in the form of nice red wine!
