Six weeks in France, where would you go?

Oldrat

Oldrat

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Just getting around top planning our Campervan trip, which this year, will be around France. We normally plot all the places that we are interested in on a map. and then rough out a route.

Travelling April/May, so probably headed south first of all dependant upon the weather.

What must see places do you recommend?
 
castle_of_castelnaud-la-chapelle_sm.jpg

Castelnaud-la-Chapelle​


The Dordogne is extremely pretty.

More chateaux than you can poke a stick at.

Medieval towns like Sarlat-la-Canéda; hilltop markets at Domme; influences and castles of Richard Coeur de Lion etc etc
 
South for the beginning, weather will, or should be better, the Pyrenees will always be wet, but towards the Med it will be drier and the many villages in the mountains are fantastic, Italy not being far away, so always nice to experience the cultures from what appears to be very few quilometres from the border on each side....Beer, wine, food and just everything.

The interior of France is just stunning in every way, so many wonderful villages, geology and people, I would move there in the later weeks, micro climates can provide much sun and respite from the rain, just look for the plants that are growing and the tropical like trees, to know you are in a good micro climate....

I love France, the food, the people and the country, it has everything that anyone could ever want in life. (y)
 
Big Lad said:

Six weeks in France, where would you go?​


Spain.
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Spain is a fucking desert primarily....The people concentrate themselves in areas that have services, because they are lazy and defeatist...Food is the result of that, lacking in substance and designed for immediate gratification, much as their wine is not very good.


All Spain is useful for is a quick dance, a quick shag and a snack....That`s why the Brits love it, because they are equally as lazy and shallow.
 
Blimey Brian where do you start? What’s your thing - history, architecture, scenery, coast (rivers, lakes), food, drink. What sort of places are you planning to stay at eg campsites, aires, France passion etc . What crit’air is your camper, do you like challenging roads and do you prefer toll roads or to avoid tolls? Do you move on most days or do you like to stay in the same place for a few days?
 
ChasF said:
Blimey Brian where do you start? What’s your thing - history, architecture, scenery, coast (rivers, lakes), food, drink. What sort of places are you planning to stay at eg campsites, aires, France passion etc . What crit’air is your camper, do you like challenging roads and do you prefer toll roads or to avoid tolls? Do you move on most days or do you like to stay in the same place for a few days?
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"What crit’air is your camper" What the fuck is that?
 
6 weeks is enough to do a full lap. That’s up to 42 nights in one place or another.

What do you like? Beaches, mountains, old cultural stuff, food, hiking, biking, flopping out in the sun. What?

We are in our camper right now in the Jura in France. We’ve just finished a bottle of Vin Jaune - which is ok and not worth what we paid for it but I thought I’d give it a go. Like a dry cherry. We come for scenery, pottering about old villages and towns - just random ones we find en-route and coffee, cakes and croissants and stuff we just fancy as we go - like Vin Jaune. I can recommend Croixe de Savoie instead of croissants. SuperU supermarkets are the best. We just take it as we find it though. We’ve just contacted tomorrow’s probable stop over in the Vosges. We came for snow but it’s been very mild so campsites have been wet muddy places. Farm shops and vineyards and such like much better to stop at. Park4Night app works well for us.

But tbh France ain’t what it used to be. The wonderful Bar et Tabacs are no more. Burger bars and kebab places now. Menu du Jour at Midi seems harder and harder to find. Roads are slow going - bloody painful at times and I’m in fullly chilled let every fucker past and out as I pootle along. We’ve done about 100-120 non motorway miles most days which takes us about 6-7 hours at the speed limits plus stops for coffees lunch and mooches about. And this is low season - at least it is away from the ski resorts. Which are horrible.

We’ve been to the Black Forest in Germany - brilliant and snowy and cold while we were there; Switzerland- nice in its own way but surprisingly not pretty-pretty, expensive and even slower going than France. I didn’t bother with a Vignette and it’s really really slow through the valley bottom conurbations.

If I was doing a 6 week Euro trip in summer France would only be in transit. Spain and Portugal much better imho, also Germany but you could easily make it to any of the old eastern bloc countries. Italy too busy. Scandinavia too expensive.
 
The South coast is usually warm ish at that time of year, La Grande Motte is a lovely place with few, if any English there. There is a pretty good Aire there with a short walk to the beach where there are numerous cafes and restaurants. The marina area is good for a wander around. Buildings are designed like pyramids.
Port Grimaud is another interesting place just across the bay from St Tropez. Built around a canal system. We stayed on a site there with daughter and grandchildren.
Mandelieu La Napoule is another interesting place not far from Nice, Cannes and Antibes.
Heading further north is Provence. We have stayed at Buis les Baronnies a couple of times. Gordes is one of the beau villages. Again with a great Aire. Carcasonne is a great castle/town to explore. Castellane is another very interesting small town.
North again is Chamonix, busy, bustling town with many bars, restaurants and again a good Aire near the Aiguille du midi car park.
Still heading north is Besancon a small city with again a good Aire. Dole, in the same area is a good city to wander around. Langue’s is a small town perched on a hill with a good Aire and a few small restrooms and bars.
Getting back towards Calais is a good Aire at Gravelines with a very good last evening restaurant called
L’eclusier.
Have a great trip.
 
glenn2926 said:
The South coast is usually warm ish at that time of year, La Grande Motte is a lovely place with few, if any English there. There is a pretty good Aire there with a short walk to the beach where there are numerous cafes and restaurants. The marina area is good for a wander around. Buildings are designed like pyramids.
Port Grimaud is another interesting place just across the bay from St Tropez. Built around a canal system. We stayed on a site there with daughter and grandchildren.
Mandelieu La Napoule is another interesting place not far from Nice, Cannes and Antibes.
Heading further north is Provence. We have stayed at Buis les Baronnies a couple of times. Gordes is one of the beau villages. Again with a great Aire. Carcasonne is a great castle/town to explore. Castellane is another very interesting small town.
North again is Chamonix, busy, bustling town with many bars, restaurants and again a good Aire near the Aiguille du midi car park.
Still heading north is Besancon a small city with again a good Aire. Dole, in the same area is a good city to wander around. Langue’s is a small town perched on a hill with a good Aire and a few small restrooms and bars.
Getting back towards Calais is a good Aire at Gravelines with a very good last evening restaurant called
L’eclusier.
Have a great trip.
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Sounds like good information to me....I wish I could remember where I have been. :D
 
ATT said:
Sounds like good information to me....I wish I could remember where I have been. :D
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I can’t remember all of it as we have toured France for at least 15 years. We do love it there. The food the people, the scenery, the coasts and especially the Alps. Mainly because our son and his family live there.
 
ATT said:
"What crit’air is your camper" What the fuck is that?
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A bit of a joke to be honest - it’s a bit like the ULEZ stuff in the UK. You’re supposed to have a sticker which indicates how polluting your vehicle is but in reality you’ll be hard pressed to see one of these stickers on a French vehicle even in the big cities where the restrictions apply. We frequently drive through Marseille and Toulon in our old van (crit’air 4) and we’ve never seen a sign telling us we in a restricted zone.
 
Cevennes definitely.
Languedouc in the SW. Lots of great vineyards using obscure grape varieties only used in that area. Nice coast.
Carcassonne and the Aude Gorge
If the weather is mild, the Volcanes region
Lot and Dordogne region
In May, the Maritime Alpes may be viable, plus Mont Ventoux.
Jura, Alsace
Burgundy wine region. Beaune is lovely. Take a tour around Patriarche Pere et Fils cellars. Dine in Caveau des Arches
Epernay in Champagne. Maison Castellane does a great cellar tour.
 
Bourges, a town smack in the middle is a nice visit....full of half timbered old properties. West to the chateaux of the Loire valley on on towards the likes of Blois, Angers, Nantes etc. South of that, Le Mont Dore, a spa town in the Massif Central.
 
Wow, UKGSer at it's best. Thanks for the speedy responses. each one valuable on it's own.

We are Euro 6, and suitably Crit Air'ed up, and totally self sufficient for 5-7 days.

Last year was a slow mooch down to Croatia, avoiding France and it's toll roads, we've also spent a lot of time previously in Germany and environs, Austria Switzerland and the top of Italy - further south in the future. We've been to northern Spain, and small trips into Portugal.

But we've got a big black hole by the name of France, save traveling up the west coast back from Spain and plenty of biking trips where the journey was the aim, not places.

We tend to only stop a day or so, and the plan is always pretty loose, sometimes the most random of finds are the most memorable.

Thanks again for your suggestions, they are most welcome and very gratefully received. Keep them coming.
 
glenn2926 said:
The South coast is usually warm ish at that time of year, La Grande Motte is a lovely place with few, if any English there. There is a pretty good Aire there with a short walk to the beach where there are numerous cafes and restaurants. The marina area is good for a wander around. Buildings are designed like pyramids.
Port Grimaud is another interesting place just across the bay from St Tropez. Built around a canal system. We stayed on a site there with daughter and grandchildren.
Mandelieu La Napoule is another interesting place not far from Nice, Cannes and Antibes.
Heading further north is Provence. We have stayed at Buis les Baronnies a couple of times. Gordes is one of the beau villages. Again with a great Aire. Carcasonne is a great castle/town to explore. Castellane is another very interesting small town.
North again is Chamonix, busy, bustling town with many bars, restaurants and again a good Aire near the Aiguille du midi car park.
Still heading north is Besancon a small city with again a good Aire. Dole, in the same area is a good city to wander around. Langue’s is a small town perched on a hill with a good Aire and a few small restrooms and bars.
Getting back towards Calais is a good Aire at Gravelines with a very good last evening restaurant called
L’eclusier.
Have a great trip.
Click to expand...
Some great spots there and I can second La Grand Motte, Gordes, Port Grimaud and Castellane as places to look around. If you’ve watched the movie ‘A Good Year’ there are lots of film locations around Gordes and the Luberon valley worth seeking out. Beaune in Burgundy is a great place to pick up great wine, en route…😊🍷
We did a lap a few years ago and now tend to head for 2 stops in places we’ve not been before, when we visit. This year sees us heading to Aulnay in Charente Maritime for a week, followed by Crozon at the tip of Brittany for another week.
 
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