Hi dem
I did a trip a bit like this with the missus for 2 weeks in June. We did a bit of a loop because we wanted to see a bit more of France.
Caught the Eurotunnel train and stayed the first night in the Somme so we could visit the WWI sites the next day. Had no problems with the low kerbs on the double-decker as has been commented on other threads.
After Somme, we headed off to Dordogne for a few days, then Cassis on the south coast. We then followed the coast east towards Antibes where we stopped off for another couple of days to explore the area.
We decided not to go to Italy because we spent too much time on the south coast and we were running out of time, so we went instead directly up to Annecy.
We then drove up through Switzerland and back into France ending up at Mulhouse to check out the Schlumpf Collection - best car museum ever.
Then to Reims for a Chateau stopover
then back home.
Did around 2500 miles in total, including the Cambridge to Chunnel bits. Total fuel was around £650 - tried to keep off the toll roads unless the scenery was a bit dull. Still spent a fair bit on tolls though, except for a couple of days when the toll operators were on strike! We bought a vignette for Switzerland (several 10s of CHF). I think hotels, food etc came to around £4. Most of the hotels were 3 star, but we did stay in a couple of 4 star and one chateau.
Best bits, apart from the trip itself - the roads. Autoroutes are fantastic, surfaces are usually as smooth as glass, drivers have good lane discipline and you can make good progress.
Worst bits - the roads. Road surface in some small towns and villages can be worse than those in the UK. The Peripherique deserves a special mention as well. The missus wasn't keen on the constant 'stares'. Even on the south coast where I would have thought a Maserati was a common sight.
Contrary to a lot of naysayers, the in-built SatNav performed faultlessly. Only hassle was the need to change discs when changing regions, but soon got used to that. Was much better and more accurate than the portable SatNav which we took as a backup.
Planning on going again soon to make use of the remaining time on the vignette.
Don't forget to pack
LIGHT. Theft is rife on the south coast, so don't leave anything in the car!
Have a nice trip.