Hi, can anyone help me on this?  I'm off to a rally in the French /Italian Alps in June and I've never done this before.  Does anyone know decent biker friendy places and campsites to stay on the way from Calais, and gorgeous places to visit?  I've been on about doing this for years so I'm going!! Just learning basic French phrases and doing some planning, it's all a bit scary at the moment.  Cheers x

Plenty of websites worth a look,bike-stay.net,beds4bikers.com,motorbikefriendly.com,etc.Might be a bit too far west but I have stayed at a biker friendly hotel between Poitiers and Limoges,route66hotel.com,secure parking,bar,characterful hotel and brit owner,well worth a look.

Also at lunchtime pretty much anything with a Les Routiers sign and a load of trucks and utility company vans outside is worth a look!                                                                                                                                                                              

Nice one thanks, I'm starting from scratch so I'll check them out!  Just looked at Limoges and that is a bit far west but my plans aren't set in stone yet.  The only bit I'm not looking forward to is the ride from Hudds to Dover, that's gonna be boring!

  Sprint's links   www.bike-stay.net   www.beds4bikers.com   www.motorbikefriendly.com   www.route66hotel.com                                                                                                                                                                                 

can recommend the hotel,been a fair few times                                                                                                                                                                              

sounds intresting                                                                                                                                                                             

Thanks guys, some to start looking at.  I might have just had a change of plan by the way, instead of alps, a ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao (provisionally booked today!), then ride back along the coast and past that hotel near Limoges.  Then I can do the Pyrenees instead of the alps, check out the caves and mountains, then the beaches and La Rochelle.  Oooh I want to be there now!!!  How hard is solo travelling abroad?   Any more ideas would be great, this is going to be a big beautiful adventure.                                                                                                                                                                              

The D703 from St Cyprien to Carsac has amazing scenery,runs along the river Dordogne near Sarlat,goes past Beynac and La Roque Gageac with old chateaus overlooking the valley.East of the Dordogne but not far is Rocamadour which is a nice old place too,an ancient old town hanging off the side of a cliff,nearer the Pyrenees is Nerac,where they filmed Chocolat,that is nice,stayed in a good hotel there,the Hotel Henri IV (www.hotelhenriiv.fr),clean updated rooms,a garage to park bikes in,a couple of minutes walk into town with plenty of restaurants for all budgets (La Roma pizzeria down a side street towards the river was good last time I went).
Been to France a few times on bikes and loads in the car,always made welcome on bikes,a far more bike friendly place than the uk in many ways,watch for police speed traps though!
The Route 66 hotel is very bike friendly,bar with a pool table,settees,jukebox etc,single rooms were 40 euros inc breakfast last year,bar has a doughnut/burnout on the floor from a previous guest!
Further north the Loire valley is good,stayed at Chinon a couple of times,nice town with plenty to do and see,hotel I stayed at last time lets bikers park in their garden (www.hotel-plantagenet.com).
Hope I haven't bored you,I must say I love France and go at least once a year for my hols.

Hi Sprint, Trust me, you haven't bored me at all, this is just what I'm looking for!  I've got plenty of time to work ot a rough route, where to stay etc.  The ferry's going to cost a lot so I might have to do some camping on the way.  Saying that, I might save a few quid and do less rallies this year.  It looks like Route 66 is a must, got to see the burnout! I'll work out the mileage but I can't decide now whether to stay near the seaside til La Rochelle or go inland to the hills.  Too many decisions! Cheers, I'm putting your ideas on a word doc so I can sit down with a map some time and work things out.                                                                                                                                                                             

Thanks sprint I'm heading down to Dordogne  with mate and daughter on the bikes in August so will have a look at some of the places you've suggested,
Usually fly and spend 3 weeks there but riding this year can't wait                                                                                                                                                                             

Check out www.bestbikingroads.com for recommended routes that are fun and get you away from the monotony of the Autoroutes.                                                                                                                                                                             

Route 66 does camping too,big field behind the barn,can still use bar,have breakfast etc but a fair bit cheaper.Municipal/council camp sites are very good,stayed on one at Grolejac (between the A20 and Sarlat) which was very good and cheap too,also used one at Nevers near Magny-Cours,that was good too.Les Routiers truckstops usually do a four course lunch with wine for around 12 euros,not had a bad one yet and much cheaper to eat at lunchtime and snack on baguettes and cheese in the evening.
In the Dordogne Domme and Sarlat are both worth visiting,nice places with good restaurants etc.August will be very busy as its when the French take their hols,thats why I go in september!

Well I went for that change of plan from the Alps after all, today I booked the ferry to Bilbao and I'm going to look at Route 66 this weekend.  I'll check out the biking roads website and wander around the Pyrenees.  I'll have about 2 weeks going wherever I like before I hit Caen, and the next 5 months to figure out a rough route and save up for a brilliant holiday! And remember basic repairs just in case, it's been a while since I did any proper spannering - Carole Nash could come in useful but hopefully it'll be great.
Thanks guys!!