Driving route to Calais from Quesada

GrahamR proposed a good route and you can travel via chartres.I first drove to Spain while Franco was giving folk a hard time may I suggest;Calais to Rouen(toll only from Boulogne to Abbeville about €10);Rouen to Nonancourt via A13 and Evreux(toll €2);At Nonancourt follow N12 to Mortagne au Perche.So far all dual carriageway.At Mortagne follow Le Mans via Belleme and Bonnetable.As you enter Le Mans follow Change to the east and south of LeMans towards Saumur then Poitiers.Follow ring road past airport and pick up N10 to Bordeaux,all dualled.Bordeaux ring has matrix signs showing time to reach exit for A63 Bayonne.Follow until the 3 lanes become 2.Here you have a choice.Follow Mont de Marsan and then Pau to pick up GrahamR's route via Somport tunnel.Or follow A63 to Spanish border at Hendaye.5 tolls amount to around €20.First exit after border is signed N121A to Pamplona.55 miles to Pamplona then stay off autopista and follow national route to tudela and Zaragoza where you can join grahamR's route via A23 to Quesada.Not a cent toll to pay in Spain.both routes sound complicated but look at a map.There are numerous hotels and filling stations en route.Use supermarkets in France for fuel.Intermarche,Leclerc or Carrefour.

Google Maps with driving directions. Option with or without toll roads

Done that route 4 or 5 times a year for the last few years, never had a problem yet. It’s impossible to list every route on here for that length of journey. So my advise to you is just look on a map or do a route search on google maps. U can’t avoid mountains completely as u need to cross the Pyrenees to get to France. But all the roads are great quality compared to the U.K. there are no dangerous mountain edges to scare u. All I can say is it’s straight forward, and any reply on here will in no way match the experience of the journey itself. It is only a two day direct journey but pack plenty of water in bottles and a few butties, and pet food to last u at least 3 days. Good luck.

What on earth is this obsession with mountains?!?!

Do people imagine that they face driving through snow drifts or creeping up twisty passes with snow chains on their wheels and death defying sheer falls on either side of them?

The definition of a mountain is something over 2000m in height and there is NO motorway route through France or Spain which comes anywhere remotely close to that, in fact the there are few paved roads of any sort which attain it!

Niktam wrote:

Could you please add some more detail as never looked at /found this route and coming down a fortnight next Thursday. Leave after work on Thursday and already booked in at Chartres as get there about 1 am on Friday morning. I thought you had to climb the mountains!


Thanks N

Have sent you a PM

There are some mountain routes that are fairly hairy as anyone who follows the Tour de France in the Pyrenees and the Alps can attest to i.e Col de Tourmalet and Alpe d'Huez come to mind. In fact there is a great route to Spain over the Pyrenees and down past Andorra for anyone with time to spare. Come off the motorway south east of Toulouse and join the E09/N20 climbing up to the spa town Ax-les-Thermes and on past Andorra (call in if you fancy a stroll but nothing much to either buy or see in the supposed duty free country) to the Col de Puymorens on to Puigcerda and eventually joining the E15/A7 at Barcelona.

Some people who are scared of heights get panicky when driving at height even things like thee Severn bridge scare people.

Very true

A.N.Other wrote:What on earth is this obsession with mountains?!?!

Do people imagine that they face driving through snow drifts or creeping up twisty passes with snow chains on their wheels and death defying sheer falls on either side of them?

The definition of a mountain is something over 2000m in height and there is NO motorway route through France or Spain which comes anywhere remotely close to that, in fact the there are few paved roads of any sort which attain it!

2,000 metres? Really?
Unless you meant to put 2,000 feet.

From ourview
According to our dictionary, amountainis "a natural elevation of the earth's surface rising more or less abruptly to a summit, and attaining an altitude greater than that of a hill, usually greater than 2000 ft. (610 m).

How it Works says 1,000 feet but the OED defines it as 2,000 feet.


By your definition, Mount Olympus in Cyprus isn't a mountain at 1961 metres but I can assure you that it is.

If you drive from Huesca via Somport tunnel to Pau you probably won't even know you are crossing the Pyrenees if it is dark!