South of France advice please

take a walk through the lavender fields of provence around nyons,park up by the river in buis les baronnies,get some grub off the market in mirabel,drive along the top of the gorge du verdun and go on to the ardeche,park where you want and act foreign and apologetic,first time i went we stayed for 18 months,then spent a couple of years selling on the markets,best way to see the country.love the place!
 
oldpolicehouse said:
Hello
Like lots of others I would avoid the Med coast in July. There are some very nice sites in the Tarn Gorge along the river but not cheap.
If like me you appreciate wonderful engineering pay the 9 or 10 Euros and drive over the Millau bridge and stop at the visitor centre.

Blue Skies
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Hi,
We're travelling to this area next month, regarding the Millau viaduct, I've heard you get a much better look at this masterpiece if you view it from the minor roads below. Any comments on this?
 
Hi Spigot
We were traveling through the vally regularly as they built the bridge and it was an impressive sight ,the views from a distance are spectacular ,the experience of driving over it is wonderfull the first time but a bit of an anticlimax afterwards,the view from the bridge is quite restricted (mainly sky )it is so high and everything is so far away ,but certainly not to be missed at least once ,for a spectacular view take the old road on the way back and you will be impressed how high you were on the way there .
mos
 
We found Cavalaire-sur-mer really nice,several sites to stay on and a fantastic quiet beach just to the west of the town off the D559 Bonporteau.Try camping de la baie.
 
Thanks again for all the advice. The plan is now to go to a site near a town called Roquebrun in the south of France, take two days to get there with a stop at a place called Salbris, spend a week in the south and then take 2 or 3 days for the journey back to Calais. I would stay on Aires and on vineyards but Sally likes her swimming pools and sun!!!! Thanks to Witzend for the driving through France link. Question....Is it better to avoid tolls, loonger journey, more fuel, more stress or is it better to use toll roads. Mappy.fr reckon it is 96euros each way would be the toll charge. Has anyone done it both ways and which is best? I cant help but think I will get badly lost if I dont use the toll roads. I am also aware of it being busy time etc, but unfortunately we are still both working and holiday time from work dictates when we can go. I need to be more spontaneous.....maybe I will plan to be more spontaneous next year.......cheers again...Dave....ps I think I will go to my first wildcamping meet this year so I look forward to meeting you all
 
spigot said:
Hi,
We're travelling to this area next month, regarding the Millau viaduct, I've heard you get a much better look at this masterpiece if you view it from the minor roads below. Any comments on this?
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Hi, I am down that way next month. You can also stay overnight here - no charge. The following photo was taken a few years ago.

Millau.jpg


Dezi :pc:
 
Cote d, azur was my region last year, a word of warning in respect of Roquebrune ( between St Maxime and Frejus ).

2010 and last year this area badly flooded ( our customers evacuated by helicopters off the restaurant roof) we lost 50 mobile homes in one evening.2010 then the same in 2011 believing lightning or floods dont strike twice.( thankfully the second oiccasion the vans were empty end of season)

The French actually did a marvellous job rebuilding the area, however it was obvioius in certain parts the devastation that had been wreaked.

Can they do the same this year ?

The site David mentioned at Castellane was one of my sites and is quite tranquil, However you are a good hour and a half away from the coast, this is offset by the site being to the entrance of the Gorges du Verdon , Frances answer to the Grand Canyon.

A tip if you visit the Gorges, East side Morning West in the afternoon........Otherwise the sun is in your camera on the photos.

If you are wanting to visit this area, consider Camping La Clos at Bagnols en Foret ......No tour companies there, I commissioned a couple of Owner homes......Closer to Roquebrune indeed in its shadows is camping La Noguiere in Le Muy it is Dutch owned, and a quiet site with the amenities and pitch sizes are larger than normal....if there is a criticism it does lack shade.

As others have mentioned high season the coastal road part of which is unavoidable is chaos from St Tropez all the way round to Frejus......My recommendation is if you want to see St Tropez, taske the boat from St Maxime or frejus across the bay, Parking in St Tropez, the time it will take get sit there a better option and I think about 18 euros each.

There is actually an aire at Ramutelle, on Pamplone beach ( in fact there are two) 12 euros a night and there is a shower block

Channa
 
If your going to the Millau bridge (under it) and a bit further west (12 miles) up the tarn there is a cracking wild camping spot at St Rome de Tarn. Been there a few times. Best when its warm though as you can dive directly out of the van into the river!

hank+rhone+tarn.jpg
 
I'm French! I never stay along the coasts during the summer : too crowded, too expensive. You'd better go there in September or even in October.
 
Gorges du Tarn

118-1831_IMG.JPG

I can recommend Gorges du Tarn too. And you can use the river like a pool. Fresh water without any cemicals. We was one week in La Malene on the municipale Camping, just on the riverside. Nice place and not crowded. But there are many places like that in the Gorges.
 
barryd said:
If your going to the Millau bridge (under it) and a bit further west (12 miles) up the tarn there is a cracking wild camping spot at St Rome de Tarn. Been there a few times. Best when its warm though as you can dive directly out of the van into the river!

hank+rhone+tarn.jpg
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Hi, can you let me have the co ordinates for Google maps please? Thanks

Dezi
 
Sparks said:
For twenty years I used the peage (Reims, Dijon, Lyon, Orange) in a car, in a day but as I got older I needed to stop in a motel half-way. A couple of years back I kept reading people's recommendations to go east of Paris instead (Rouen, Orleans, Clermont-Ferrand, Millau) so I tried it twice last year towing our caravan behind the van and even though I still need that stop half-way it seemed to take no longer really. There are a few small toll sections (and the bridge of course) but it is a nice, stress-free and easy journey. I only wish I'd tried that way earlier.
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have they moved paris ?

if not that route is to the west and is improving every year with new roads
 
Yes thats it. You turn off the main road in the village up above and drive through the village, down the hill and round in front of a campsite. There is room for quite a few vans but there is never more than half a dozen even in the height of summer. On the other side of the village near the bridge on the way up the village is a layby with a public loo and tap.

Lovely Area. Lake Pareloup to the north is also worth a look. Great lakeside Aire just outside Salles Curran (no services there though either)
 
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