What is your favourite Place to Camp in France ?

Without any shadow of a doubt, the very best place (and that would be my favourite) to camp in France, is where the local population live. work and play. You mix with real people and become immersed in their way of life and that is the only true way to become integrated while you are there. Anything else will only give you a poor experience of a holiday. Those are my thoughts.
 
teejay;n21221 said:
Without any shadow of a doubt, the very best place (and that would be my favourite) to camp in France, is where the local population live. work and play. You mix with real people and become immersed in their way of life and that is the only true way to become integrated while you are there. Anything else will only give you a poor experience of a holiday. Those are my thoughts.
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Exactly and a splendid way of life it is as well. I could list many examples of generosity and hospitality we have been shown by the French. A recent and quite funny one was last September when we were wilding at a really remote spot high up in the Pyrenees under the Cirque de Troumouse. There we were parked up in a lovely grassy area and all these cars started turning up, one after the other. In the end the spot we were in was full of them and we were surrounded. Out came tables, cool boxes and of course boxes of booze and a big party commenced by the nearby stream. Eventually there was a knock at the van door. "Would we be so kind to come and take a photo or three". Turns out it was a big family reunion. Huge in fact. So bewildered we came down to do the photos and were met with riotous applause and cheers. We were not of course allowed to leave and were now guests of honour. Plates of food and booze were thrust upon us and we became part of the family and oddly nearly everyone could suddenly speak English. ;)

If you want to experience real French hospitality and enjoy a really good village / town festival visit Quintin in Brittany in late November. Fantastic but get there early. The Aire expands but was crammed. All free, except the excellent Mulled wine but at 80c a go you might be crawling back to the van.
 
At a site on the Atlantic coast at Pornichet, we spent a fantastic September doing the same. We were invited to a local ladies' 50th birthday party. It started at 8.45 am with a communal breakfast and continued through the morning, then lunch in a similar manner. It continued through the afternoon followed by dinner in the same way. The entire day was a party with a party atmosphere, celebrating the recipients life and celebrated in a fashion the likes I had never seen before-absolutely full of fun and joy for all ages. More food than you could eat and more drink of all sorts available free all day and all evening until 10.30pm when the celebration ended. Fantastic people having a fantastic time and we were invited and took a full part in it. You do not get that sitting in your van looking snootily down on others.
 
We spent 4 fantastic days at Plage de Plemanson in the Camargue last summer only moved on because we ran out of water. There were Flamingo's about 100 yards away :)
 

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Another one I really like that we have been to a few times now is Collobrieres in the Var about 10 miles inland on the Cote D'Azur near St Tropez. Its a cracking small town tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the sometimes manic coast but its all there in easy reach if you have secondary transport. We found this place in 2015 and ended up staying more than two weeks there over two visits and over a week last summer. The town itself is great. Nothing special to look at but very welcoming, some great bars and its famous for its chestnuts and even chestnut Ice cream. We end up feeling like locals there. Very welcoming. The official aire is just a service point and a car park but at the other end of the village there is a superb open grassy area and its never busy even in August. When they are charging up to €70 for a cramped pitch around St Tropez and this one below is free I know where I would rather be. .

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Soussons plage on the Atlantic coast towards biaritz was good. An aire under trees and a huge inland lake just behind the beach. A nice beach bar too.
 
Midi Pyrenees no longer exists. Its part of Occitania now.

we are currently in the Luberon. In Lurs to be precise. I imagine its fantastic in summer , but likely mobbed. There are onky 3 spots on the aire, we are the only bus here. We had a couple of beers in the only bar open. Established they had snow recently. There was a funeral today which was well attended but people were a little down in general. This is how France is in winter. Mundane. No different to our corner.
we prefer the ski villages which we have been exploring on our way back from SudTirol. We have dound a few good uns . But they must be hideous in summer.

so my point is, it depends on the time of year. I have no need to be out on the roads here in summer with everyone else as we have all we need at our abode.
but the places we visit in winter are great...in winter !
 
Burgundy, The Vosges, The Jura, The Central Massiff, Champagne. All visited and lovely.
Looking forward to Val d'Isere area and Rhone Alpes later this year.
Maybe the "Pair of Knees" next year
 
i set my satnav to "no tolls no Motorways" and found some wonderful little villages and small towns. i wilded the vast majority of the time. I especially adored the Auvergne - some of the smallest roads took me through gorgeous scenery, few campsites but peace and quiet and lovely walks.
 
I think you could draw a line from the east to west or vice versa in the south of France from Alpes maritime, var, eastwards through luberon, ardeche, aveyron, tarn, lot, dordogne and just not go wrong. Add the Alps at the beginning or the Pyrenees at the end and that's a perfect long summer trip. Plenty of places to get away from it all even in peak season as well. The only bit I'm not keen on is the Med coast from Marsielles down to Perpignon. Some of it's ok but it's not a patch on the Côte D Azur or Atlantic coast around Biarittz
 
One of my favourite stops used to be, St Mailleraye-sur-Seine, between Le-Havre and Rouen. Then one year they "improved" it, and spoilt it, sadly same thing happened in Brugge Belgium.
 
debs;n21891 said:
One of my favourite stops used to be, St Mailleraye-sur-Seine, between Le-Havre and Rouen. Then one year they "improved" it, and spoilt it,
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Still very good. I stayed there twice last year and I will be using it again this year as long as I don't need a snorkel! My other favourites in Normandy are a farm aire at Englesqueville and the free aires in Beuvron En Auge and Campigny.
 
So many wonderful places in France I couldn't name a favourite, as every time I move to another town or village I find another favourite,
 
The time has come to say "Canterbury P&R":Tongue_Out_Emoji_wi:Rabbit_Face_Emoji:
I post the rabbit .Run Rabbit Run ! etc:FROG_emoji_icon_png:Red_Wine_Emoji:
 
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