FRANCE TRIP - Where to go?

[Deleted member 12539]

We are booked on the chunnel (first time on train) with our van in August. We have two weeks, and unusually, we have not booked anywhere.
Although we will be visiting Rouen and La Rochelle (been before and want to visit again), we would like to see other interesting places.
I know there is a wealth of knowledge on this forum and so am asking "where to go?"

There will only be the three of us, my 13yr old son, my wife and myself. My son loves the beaches and we love the history of the country. We will also be taking our push bikes as we are keen cyclists. Our new inflatable 3 man canoe will be on board so a location by a suitable lake would be nice too.
We intend to stopover on Aires and every two days on a municipal campsite (showers, waste and water).
We do not want to travel all the way down to the south of France though as we need to watch the pennies.
Thanks for your help.

Dave n Chris

 

[vwalan]

hi get to la rochelle then just lazily follow the coast back. have a look at pornic .and la baule .but there are loads of places to stop .plus brittany is full of aires . what ever see as much of brittany as you can .its the best part of france .actually its not french its breton.lovely area. enjoy it i always do.
loads of lakes and canals inland if you want them. you may never want to visit anywhere else in france ever again .only brittany.

 

[sasquatch]

This is the place we go to. Puy du Fou, european theme parks for family holidays in France
They have an aire which is about £5pn when we first went you could stay on the car park for free,close to entrance and water available. Still worth the experience a day isn't enough.

 

[Airecraft]

Would recommend Loire Valley around Saumur. Good canoeing down river with excellent train service to return to van. Cycle track along river bank and town has great chateau, is home to the Cadre Noir (French cavalry) and lots of WWII history including defence of the bridge by the cadets.
Aires, free with water and waste, are at:
47°14'26.97" N 0°01'20.97" W
47°11'16.72" N 0°07'01.12" W

 

[fishy & Nina]

hi get to la rochelle then just lazily follow the coast back. have a look at pornic .and la baule .but there are loads of places to stop .plus brittany is full of aires . what ever see as much of brittany as you can .its the best part of france .actually its not french its breton.lovely area. enjoy it i always do.
loads of lakes and canals inland if you want them. you may never want to visit anywhere else in france ever again .only brittany.

I'm with Alan on this one - Brittany takes a lot of beating!
Follow the coast back up from La Rochelle, skirt St Nazaire (uness you're in to military history) and visit Guerande and the 'Marais Salants'. La Roche Bernard is pretty, then you've got the huge area of the 'Golfe Du Morbihan' - then Brittany - so many places. If you fancy going inland a bit try Huelgoat (lake, huge boulders and grotto) then Landivisiau then....then..............

Enjoy!

 

[Kiwi Colin]

Try France Passion for Free Camping !!!

Hi

La Rochelle has a good aire at a park and ride - cheap fare into the old port area and no parking problems.

I recommend France Passion - did it two years ago and will again this year. See
https://www.vicarious-shop.com/France-Passion-2012.html
It cost 25 quid to join and then you get free camping at any of 1600 farms, vineyards, etc.
You can sample and buy the local produce very easily.

cheers

Colin

 

[theteapackets]

Hiya,

Our children always enjoyed the walled cities of Concarneau and Carcassonne (both on the east coast I think, en route to La Rochelle) ... and they bought those horrible rabbit fur keyrings every year without fail !

Envy you greatly, we can't manage France this year

 

[John H]

In August, and with limited time available, I'd think that you ought to concentrate on Brittany. The climate at this time of year is usually hot (although not quite as dry as the Mediterranean coast) and there is a lot to see and do. Incidentally, teapackets, Concarneau is in the north-west, Carcassonne is in the south-west and I think you'll find that France doesn't have an east coast!

 

[Talbot]

My son loves the beaches and we love the history of the country. We will also be taking our push bikes as we are keen cyclists. Our new inflatable 3 man canoe will be on board
Dave n Chris

When at La Rochelle cross the bridge over to Ile De Re, costs around 16 euros well worth it if you stay a few days. It's a small island approx 16 miles long and everyone cycles. In fact it's built for cycling with purpose built paths and tracks all over the island. Lovely beaches, St Martin is main town and is beautiful also. There are aires on the island and the municipals cost around 10 euros. Wherever you go, you're sure to enjoy it!!

 

[Deleted member 12539]

Wow! Thanks to everyone.... I have loads to have a look at now.. better get on to Google earth!

 

[BGT180]

We are booked on the chunnel (first time on train) with our van in August. We have two weeks, and unusually, we have not booked anywhere.
Although we will be visiting Rouen and La Rochelle (been before and want to visit again), we would like to see other interesting places.
I know there is a wealth of knowledge on this forum and so am asking "where to go?"

There will only be the three of us, my 13yr old son, my wife and myself. My son loves the beaches and we love the history of the country. We will also be taking our push bikes as we are keen cyclists. Our new inflatable 3 man canoe will be on board so a location by a suitable lake would be nice too.
We intend to stopover on Aires and every two days on a municipal campsite (showers, waste and water).
We do not want to travel all the way down to the south of France though as we need to watch the pennies.
Thanks for your help.

Dave n Chris

Agree with others that Brittany takes some beating- St Louis, Quiberon and Carnac aires. On the way this year in May, we called in at Honfleur and Dinan- both have much to offer and stayed on Aires.

 

[diggerdave27]

try a place called Fouras on the west coast .I think its in Vendee not far from La Rochelle,La Caderat campsite. we saw a article in the MMM about 7 years ago and been there every year,definely worth a 2/3 day stoppover moving down the west coast from Brittany, Carnat Plaige a place to visit in Brittany , happy motorhoming, Ps don't forget to take your 2 breatherlizing kits,

 

[Russtic]

Hi

La Rochelle has a good aire at a park and ride - cheap fare into the old port area and no parking problems.

I recommend France Passion - did it two years ago and will again this year. See
https://www.vicarious-shop.com/France-Passion-2012.html
It cost 25 quid to join and then you get free camping at any of 1600 farms, vineyards, etc.
You can sample and buy the local produce very easily.

cheers

Colin

Hi Colin we are planning to motorhome through France skirting the coast on the way to Spain in October, France Passion sounds fantastic as we have a 2 year old who is crazy about tractors and farm animals, there must be limits like the number of nights in one location? Or the number of nights in total per year? Are you obliged to buy produce from the farmers? Also are there plenty of locations near the west coast? Sorry about all the questions but it sounds too good to be true for £25!

 

[theteapackets]

Yes, not quite sure why I put east - must have got my Never Eat Shredded Wheat mixed up!!!! My OH looked over my shoulder and said "that'll be the west coast then".... but it was too late - already pressed post!!! :rolleyes2:

 

[bobowas007]

France trip

We are booked on the chunnel (first time on train) with our van in August. We have two weeks, and unusually, we have not booked anywhere.
Although we will be visiting Rouen and La Rochelle (been before and want to visit again), we would like to see other interesting places.
I know there is a wealth of knowledge on this forum and so am asking "where to go?"

There will only be the three of us, my 13yr old son, my wife and myself. My son loves the beaches and we love the history of the country. We will also be taking our push bikes as we are keen cyclists. Our new inflatable 3 man canoe will be on board so a location by a suitable lake would be nice too.
We intend to stopover on Aires and every two days on a municipal campsite (showers, waste and water).
We do not want to travel all the way down to the south of France though as we need to watch the pennies.
Thanks for your help.

Dave n Chris

Visit Arcachon and The great Dune of Pyla. Camp site at Pyla.

 

[Kiwi Colin]

France Passion is Great for free campsites.

[/B][/B]

Hi Colin we are planning to motorhome through France skirting the coast on the way to Spain in October, France Passion sounds fantastic as we have a 2 year old who is crazy about tractors and farm animals, there must be limits like the number of nights in one location? Or the number of nights in total per year? Are you obliged to buy produce from the farmers? Also are there plenty of locations near the west coast? Sorry about all the questions but it sounds too good to be true for £25!

Hi Russtic

Yes, France Passion is almost too good to be true. I used it in July 2010 and it was great. All the farms/vinyards/etc I stayed at were in quiet country places and although I was often woken by roosters and farm animals, I always got a good night's sleep. Your 2-year-old should enjoy it - one place near Milleau had friendly angora goats wandering around - some of the farms had unfenced ponds though which could be a hazard. Lots of times I was the only camper there. The rule is one night only which suited me as I had a lot to see in one month - one host encouraged me to stay a second night - glad I did as they gave me a great meal for only 5euro. There is no annual limit - this year, if you stay at least 8 nights you go in a lottery. You are not obliged to buy anything, but for me, part of the joy of travel is to try the local fare - I got, and liked, duck meat, pate, goats cheese, wine, more wine, fruit and veges including globe artichokes (yum), fresh milk, etc. - saved stopping in narrow streets in villages to buy food. The only thing they ask are to say hello and good-bye.

see FRANCE PASSION la France en camping-car for a map


My main complaint is, although I found their directions adequate , there are no GPS co-ordinates. I set the GPS to the village and follow the directions from there - they all have a sign on the gate.

good luck

Colin

 

[DRoader]

I sort of assumed you had the French bible - All The Aires France https://www.vicarious-shop.com/All-....html?page=1&gclid=CKL-44Lf0LACFcUmtAodaC8OVg

If you have ignore my post if not get it before you go it will save you so much and give you a real authentic taste of France.

 

[theteapackets]

Our youngest loves the beach, so we always stop at Hardelot for several days on our way out and way back. If you drive past horse riding stables and posh holiday villas, and then through the centre as far as you can possibly go, you will come to the area where there are several high rise seafront blocks and behind them is a rough patch of ground with a tarmac road/parking area that will hold about 15 motorhomes.

Lovely beach and nice little (modern) town centre with some nice restaurants. The architectural circle of villas from 1908 is well worth a look at too.