I have just returned from an 1800 mile loop...Cherbourg, La Rochelle, Perigeaux, Albi, Narbonne, Tarn, Orleans and back via Calais.
Car-wise it was uneventful, although I had Porsche assistance just in case. I also carried a couple of tyre kits, goo and plug kit just in case. I got the emission certificate...only took a few days but did n't need it.
We booked chain hotels as they were in the city centres and had secure parking (Ibis, Best Western, Mercure, etc) The older more characterful hotels tended not to have parking.
My initial fear was 5 hour stints in the Boxster would do my ears in (I suffer from tinnitus) but the French roads we were on were far better surfaced than ours. Cross country on D roads was fun, despite the confusion over speed limits (they have reduced them in some regions and not others). The back-roads were very quiet and the autoroutes below the Paris line not busy by UK standards.
Autoroute fuel was pricey so we topped up in the cities when we had the opportunity. My mpg cruising just beyond the limit was in the 38 region. Somewhat less on the twisties.
I was careful about speed, there was a Police Alpine showing off on the Autoroute in the North and doing the old trick of leaving the junction ahead and then appearing at high speed behind us a couple minutes later. Watch out for speed cameras. There are warnings, but cover long stretches of some roads so it's easy to forget. The ones we saw are far larger than ours but painted grey or black.
Despite this we found some very quiet twisty perfectly surfaced 'bikers' routes through the more mountainous areas...fantastic although my in-built speed limiter in the passenger seat reduced the fun a bit.
Back in the UK it suddenly feels claustrophobic. Enjoy !
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