Plenty of budget hotels, Campanile, Accor group, b&B, IBis etc. or if you want typical french but more costly try logis de france or buy the michlin guide of B&B under 80E I think it is or there is a salway B&B book.

As for provence never been. we stopped in grnoble last year wouldnt recomend it. We have stoped campanille Epernay for a night last year as a stop over now that was nice but not a lot around for you children plus it is only a couple of hours fromCalais.

Adrian

Agree about the Accor hotels. When you say teenage boys will they be willing to share a room with their 'old mum' or will you need two rooms, that could get pricey. If you want cheap and cheerful I would recommend Etap hotels. Clean rooms with en suite facilities. 2 rooms would not set you back too much.

Two or three days is ample to have a relaxing trip. We usually avoid Paris taking the route via Troyes and Reims getting back onto the A6 sout of the capital at Beaune.

Lots of great cities to see that way, Reims is very beuatiful. Lyon has a great centre, Beaune is worth an evening. If you want a good stop further south then Grasse is good. When you get the Valence on the A7 turn off to the East and follow the road down through the mountains to Grasse, very picturesque and then in the morning you will only have a short drive to the coast. We took is Ez one the way to the resort as it is much better in the morning before all the tourist buses arrive. Or get off the A7 and drive on the N7, more to see and no tolls.

Last time we went that way we stayed in Menton which is right on the French Italian border. If your French is passable I can recommend a tour they run from the tourist office in Menton. It is called the Villages au Perche. A small group in a people carrier taken to the villages right up in the mountains at the top of some improbable hills! A good day out that included lunch and wine!

Provence is a lovely area to visit and I can highly recommend it. We stayed a couple of times in villas that we booked through Owners Direct (the website is ownersdirect.co.uk). Menton is beautiful, used to visit there when my girls were younger and they loved the "beach", it is very safe for kids. I always check with Trip Advisor to see what others have to say about the area, there is a special forum for Provence.

Nice is lovely and we have stayed there a couple of times although the parking is a nightmare!!!!

Paris should be fairly quiet in August as that is when the Parisians head to the coast! There seems to be quite a lot of them in the area we have a house - Charente Maritime and August is the one month we head back to the UK, going back in September when they have all gone back to Paris!!
Have a great holiday.

Carol