One of the longest road trips I ever made. When I was a teenager I went on a canoeing trip on the beautiful river Ardèche in the south of France. We also visited the Pont du Gard and the city of Avignon but my memories were fading. That is why I decided to return to these places and to go down to the Mediterranean Sea with a final stop at Marseille, France.
I took an ICE train to Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany and switched there to a BMW rental car. I could have taken the roads through Switzerland crossing Basel, Bern and Lausanne (which would have been really nice) – but as I wasn’t happy that I would need a vignette for paying the road toll I went south via Besançon, Lyon and Valence – with a night at a classic motel in Valence.
The next day I explored the Pont du Gard (a roman aqueduct very well preserved) and continued to Avignon for the Palace of the Popes and the Pont d’Avignon. Wonderful weather made this a unexceptionell beautiful day. Afterwards I went via Aix-en-Provence to Marseille which was really an adventure. Driving through this city was a nightmare and even though my hotel should have a parking garage I was simply happy when I found the entrance to a public underground car park.
Marseille is a fantastic city with lots to see – but I had simply not enough time. The way back to Freiburg was long and therefore I left early and had a last night in the Breisgau which gave my the possibility to see this medieval city center enlightend at night. Overall this trip included too much kilometers to drive – two days of my four-day journey were filled with hitting the road. But the destinations were worth it.
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