You could always look up your route in detail on http://viamichelin.fr, or even buy a new atlas ... things have changed on French roads, and I believe that good atlases show the radar check points too! Bonnes vacances!

Thanks. I have just finished printing off the routes from the Michilan website.

Just need to get my european car insurance and breakdown cover sorted and thats it.

Got the road maps back and he also had my French guide book which I'd forgotten I'd lent him.

The Michelin website has given me an interesting route from Valance to Grasse over the mountains on the RN85.

I've not used paper maps for 4 years now except as a check for the bigger picture
Weuse Sat Nav and apart from dome UK side caravan sites we have had far less stressful journey's especially with Stephanie NOT having to navigate (on our honeymoon 15 years ago she got me lost in Bolougne docks)

It's worth considering the change

I use the Tom Tom Navigator system on a PDA so I can do other things too like email and browse HT on hols (there's free wifi in some airports)

Sorry but having a disembodied voice telling me where to go would just irritate me to death. That's mrs Hi De His job! Map reading is not difficult. And probably more reliable in the long run than relying on technology. In fact part of the pleasure is getting the maps out and looking at places we have not been before and planning the route accordingly. Can you actually programme sat nav to deliberatly take you off the direct route?

Map reading is not difficult. And probably more reliable in the long run than relying on technology. In fact part of the pleasure is getting the maps out and looking at places we have not been before and planning the route accordingly. Can you actually programme sat nav to deliberately take you off the direct route?

Where you been ???
we have done 2000 miles this year in France with Sat Nav
the map book is only opened to work out a general idea where we want to go
then the Tom Tom is programmed to go the route we want

Yes you can program waypoints to navigate by and so take diversions and scenic routes you can have Points Of Interest (POI's) for anything you wish I have one that covers caravan sites in Europe and the UK so far it's got around 9000 places plotted in so I can find a campsite easily and when there I know where the supermarket is and the local petrol station you don't get that with a paper map

You just NEVER tell it shortest route especially if you have a caravan on the back

Thanks for that. I suppose it is something you only learn once you have splashed out for the box. Still sticking to the maps for the time being though!

I have to say though that I still regard people who rely on GPS stuff to be a bit sad. Whats wrong with just looking where the Sun is and just heading off in the general direction?