Stayed there for a few days last year, lovely place.
Getting on the Eurotunnel tomorrow morning at 7:30 to start a 2 week euro trip, stopping at verdun on the way down tomorrow before an overnight stop in Nancy followed by 3 nights in the alps and then 5 nights on lake como. Heading to monza next Friday for practice day too, tickets were only 50 euros.
Stayed there for a few days last year, lovely place.
Getting on the Eurotunnel tomorrow morning at 7:30 to start a 2 week euro trip, stopping at verdun on the way down tomorrow before an overnight stop in Nancy followed by 3 nights in the alps and then 5 nights on lake como. Heading to monza next Friday for practice day too, tickets were only 50 euros.
Sounds perfect! If you haven’t already booked somewhere to stay in Verdun, i can recommend the Jardin du Mess. it’s right on the river with a secure carpark and unbeatable VFM. we stayed there last night and it was £85 for a massive corner suite with 2 balconies overlooking the river (booked same day online.)
Rich B wrote: Sat Aug 29, 2026 8:32 pm
Cool post, we’ve been doing European road trips as family holidays for the last few years too. we were in Belgium last easter and I saw that zoo but we’d already been to an amazing one in Loire valley so didn’t think it would match it - it looks incredible!
Was that the zoo at Doue La Fontaine, near Saumur? I’ve been there twice and it was great but last time was about 2012.
Yes, that’s the one - in the caves. The aviary section is amazing, set below ground level in the collapsed caves.
Fantastic - it is such a good use of the land and old mines and quarries.
Here’s a photo from within the aviary area from 2012:
That area is pretty civilized for a 1 night stop on the way to italy - we did Reims once and it was way too early and we’d wished we’d knocked another few hours of driving off before the next day. Somewhere between Verdun and Strasbourg is about right.
We thought about Strasbourg on the way back but did a big first day across to Milan and up through Switzerland (though you need a vignette) all the way up to Verdun again (around 10 hours) and it worked well because we had a lazy start and got back to the tunnel 2 1/2 hours early and got straight on a crossing.
I’ve enjoyed driving in Europe in the van - it’s supremely comfortable and the French motorways are brilliant for covering distance. Though i think i have a speeding ticket coming - i was only doing about 135 kph (in a 130) when i saw it flash, which was lucky as i was doing 150 kph about 2 minutes earlier.
Was that the zoo at Doue La Fontaine, near Saumur? I’ve been there twice and it was great but last time was about 2012.
Yes, that’s the one - in the caves. The aviary section is amazing, set below ground level in the collapsed caves.
Fantastic - it is such a good use of the land and old mines and quarries.
Here’s a photo from within the aviary area from 2012:
I remember the giraffes in particular at the Doue la Fontaine zoo - as they are lower down you are at head height to them when you walk around.
There's a really great sweet wine place in Doue as well - Moulin Touchais. It looks like someone's garage but there's miles of cellars underneath and you can buy the wines from them priced based on how many they have left, very reasonable at 10-20EUR for a bottle, vs £80 or so here. https://dreyfus-ashby.co.uk/moulin-touc ... -du-layon/. I'd love to go back and get some more.
We did our third roadtrip through France (in as many years) in the Boxster in August
This time down to the Alps (little place called Les Gets where my sister used to live c1998-2001)
Overnight ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe then a one-hit drive down to the Alps - a long drive, but on quiet roads (in terms of traffic and tyre noise), the Boxster is an excellent cruiser with a range of about 500 miles per tank (which is amazing IMO for a N/A 3.4l)
With both front and rear boots, there was plenty or room for our luggage, and we had a blast on the mountain roads while we were there
Lots of positive comments and smiles from people too - an evening drive up the wiggly road to Avoriaz brought a few local young boys out onto their balcony to wave and cheer as we went past
(on the same drive we saw a Huracan STO blasting up the same road as we were heading down - what a noise! There was also an MX-5 behind that, and we could hear the tyres squealing as they drifted around every hairpin)
After a week in Les Gets with my family (in the most amazing chalet!) Helen and I had a few days in Reims on the way back
I know I'm on a timer with this car* but we're already discussing next summer's trip in the hope we can do it again
The car is nudging 90k miles now, and even after 3.5 years of ownership, it's still a huge privilege/thrill every time I get in it
* my parents are quite old now and getting to the point where they may not be able to drive anymore - changing for something sensible that they can get in and out of is likely going to be happening at some point "soon" - and given we don't have any parking/garage, and rarely use the car during the week - buying a second, sensible car and keeping the Boxster isn't really option
But as they say - it's better to have loved and lost....
We did our third roadtrip through France (in as many years) in the Boxster in August
This time down to the Alps (little place called Les Gets where my sister used to live c1998-2001)
Overnight ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe then a one-hit drive down to the Alps - a long drive, but on quiet roads (in terms of traffic and tyre noise), the Boxster is an excellent cruiser with a range of about 500 miles per tank (which is amazing IMO for a N/A 3.4l)
With both front and rear boots, there was plenty or room for our luggage, and we had a blast on the mountain roads while we were there
Lots of positive comments and smiles from people too - an evening, roof-down drive up the wiggly road to Avoriaz brought a few local young boys out onto their balcony to wave and cheer as we went past
(on the same drive we saw a Huracan STO blasting up the same road as we were heading down - what a noise! There was also an MX-5 behind that, and we could hear the tyres squealing as they drifted around every hairpin)
After a week in Les Gets with my family (in the most amazing chalet!) Helen and I had a few days in Reims on the way back
I know I'm on a timer with this car* but we're already discussing next summer's trip in the hope we can do it again
The car is nudging 90k miles now, and even after 3.5 years of ownership, it's still a huge privilege/thrill every time I get in it
* my parents are quite old now and getting to the point where they may not be able to drive anymore - changing for something sensible that they can get in and out of is likely going to be happening at some point "soon" - and given we don't have any parking/garage, and rarely use the car during the week - buying a second, sensible car and keeping the Boxster isn't really option
But as they say - it's better to have loved and lost....
Simon wrote: Mon Sep 07, 2026 12:52 pm
Did you go twice?
Never mind that, no photos on a trip like that?
Funnily enough, I didn't take any photos of the car on this trip - I was having too much fun driving
Brings back happy memories of the European road trip I did in my Boxster not long after I first met my wife. Great and practical cars to do it in between the luggage capacity, great fuel economy, handling and roof down motoring.
