Chapter II: Preface

The fascination of a motor tour through France can scarcely be exaggerated. It is a country eminently suited to the new method of road travel, for with the spaces between the towns traversed by wide national ways going to their objectives as straight as the contours of the country will permit, no one feels that the presence of a rapid car is destroying the peace or beauty of the neighbourhood. And yet in the tour described in this book there is a huge diversity of scenery, from the wheat plains of the North to the mountains and sea of the South.

Great pains have been taken to embody in the small compass of a book that will easily slip into an overcoat pocket all that is essential for the motorist to know both before and during the tour. At the same time, the large clear type of the first volume of this series has been retained in order that there may be no difficulty in reading while the car is in motion.

Dr. Kirk’s practical notes are the result of much experience, and they need only be supplemented by a word as to hotel charges. In _every_ case the wise tourist discusses prices with the manager or proprietor before he takes his car into the courtyard or garage. By doing so he knows exactly what his bill will amount to in the morning, and he is quite sure of no overcharge. If no arrangement is made on arrival, one must be prepared for any charge, _notwithstanding the prices given in guides or the hotel books published by the Touring Club de France_.

For those who either do not possess cars or do not wish to take their own abroad, the simplest method is to hire a car in England. The author’s experience of hiring from the Daimler Company has been so satisfactory that he is glad of this opportunity of recommending their cars. To Mr. A. H. Hallam Murray the author is greatly indebted for permission to reproduce four of his delightful pictures from ‘On the Old Road through France to Florence.’

As in the previous volume of this series, a list of dates of prominent events in French history and of the Kings of France is given in the Appendix.

The author would greatly appreciate any suggestions for improving the book, and would much like to hear of any inaccuracies which may have crept in.

GORDON HOME.

_43, Gloucester Street,

London, S. W._

CONTENTS

SECTION PAGE

I. HAVRE TO ROUEN, DIEPPE TO ROUEN, AND CALAIS AND BOULOGNE TO ROUEN 1

II. ROUEN TO EVREUX 27

III. EVREUX TO CHARTRES 50

IV. CHARTRES TO ORLEANS 62

V. ORLEANS TO TOURS 80

VI. TOURS TO POITIERS 116

VII. POITIERS TO ANGOULÊME 138

VIII. ANGOULÊME TO BERGERAC 152

IX. BERGERAC TO MONT-DE-MARSAN 167

X. MONT-DE-MARSAN TO BIARRITZ 175

XI. BIARRITZ TO PAMPLONA AND SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN 193

XII. BIARRITZ TO PAU 218

XIII. PAU TO ST. GAUDENS 227

XIV. ST. GAUDENS TO CARCASSONNE 241

XV. CARCASSONNE TO MONTPELLIER 254

XVI. MONTPELLIER TO AIX-EN-PROVENCE 272

XVII. AIX-EN-PROVENCE TO CANNES 292

XVIII. CANNES TO SAN REMO 305

XIX. AIX-EN-PROVENCE TO AVIGNON 324

XX. AVIGNON TO VALENCE 320

XXI. VALENCE TO ST. ÉTIENNE 346

XXII. ST. ÉTIENNE TO MOULINS 356

XXIII. MOULINS TO BRIARE 364

XXIV. BRIARE TO MELUN 375

XXV. MELUN TO ST. GERMAIN-EN-LAYE 383

XXVI. ST. GERMAIN-EN-LAYE TO GISORS 390

XXVII. GISORS TO ROUEN 400

XXVIII. GISORS TO DIEPPE 417

HINTS ON TOURING IN FRANCE, BY JOHN L. KIRK 420

FRENCH AND ITALIAN ROAD WARNINGS 426

A TABLE OF THE DATES OF THE CHIEF EVENTS IN FRENCH HISTORY 430

INDEX 435

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

IN COLOUR

1. Chartres _Frontispiece_

FACING PAGE

2. Caudebec-en-Caux 12

3. The Towers of St. Ouen, Rouen 40

4. The Road near Rouen 49

5. Amboise 105

6. The Château of Chenonceaux 112

7. The Limestone Cavern on the Road near Mas d’Azil 248

8. The Pyrenees in Spring 257

9. Narbonne 265

10. The Castle at Tarascon 272

11. On the Coast of the Estérels 305

12. Cap Martin 312

13. The Mouth of the Roya at Ventimiglia 321

14. An Arched Street in Apricale, Italy 328

15. The Roman Arch at Orange 344

16. Château Gaillard, Normandy 412

IN BLACK AND WHITE

1. Rouen Cathedral from the South 57

2. Approaching Chartres 64

3. Old Gabled Houses at Tours 121

4. The Street of Narvate 128

5. Shoeing a Bullock in the Basque Country 201

6. One of the Gates of Pamplona 208

7. The Limestone Gorge in the Pyrenees between Pamplona and Tolosa 217

8. The Fortified Bridge at Orthez 224

9. A picturesque Corner of St. Lizier 243

10. The Cloisters at St. Lizier 246

11. On the Ramparts of the Cité of Carcassonne 259

12. The Arcaded Square of Mirepoix 262

13. The Greek Theatre at Arles 289

14. The Romanesque Bridge at Avignon 296

15. The Tour de l’Horloge at Moulins 361

16. The Fifteenth Century Fireplace in the Hôtel du Grand Cerf at Le Grand Andely 368

IN THE TEXT

Plan of the Château of Blois, p. 95.

How Biarritz was visited in 1813, p. 188.

Twenty-eight Route Maps.

Thirty-one Town Plans.

AT END OF BOOK

Folding Map of France, showing all the routes described and other
alternative routes to which some reference is given.

THE MOTOR ROUTES OF FRANCE

ERRATA

The amount of ‘£48 10s. 0d.’ on page 420 _should read_ ‘£89 3s. 4d.’; and the grand total at the foot of the page _should be_ ‘£102 16s. 4d.’

(OMITTING JUMIÈGES, 89 KILOMETRES)

DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE

Kil. Miles. =Havre= to Harfleur =7= 4½ =Harfleur= to Lillebonne via St. Romain de Colbosc =29= 18 =Lillebonne= to Caudebec =16= 10 =Caudebec= to Jumièges =14½= 9 =Jumièges= to Duclair =7= 4½ =Duclair= to St. Martin Boscherville =9= 5½ =St. Martin Boscherville= to Rouen =11= 6¾

THE MOTOR ROUTES OF FRANCE

TO THE CHÂTEAUX OF TOURAINE, BIARRITZ, THE PYRENEES, THE RIVIERA, AND THE RHONE VALLEY