Looking for interesting Aires in France

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IanRJ

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Hi Funsters

Sue and I have been travelling from NE UK to southern Spain since 2003, sometime two times a year and always on Peage between stops, initially by car and hotels, last year by caravan and campsite s and down this year by MH.

Last year and this we stayed at sites close to the coast, and I’m almost certain, that by using sites in high population areas we have not seen the best of France. We love the idea of ancient small towns with local produce as opposed to the tower blocks and crowded sites we have experienced (not all of course).

We are in Spain now and will head back early October and had planned to just blast through to Calais, but would really like to try the aires in smaller French towns an villages to at least say we’ve given it a fair go!

One of the YouTube MH couples who just came back from Spain (unfortunately I forgot their channel name) had a recent video of them stopping off at a number of really lovely small aires in quaint villages in France, and I’m wondering how everyone chooses their route to blend reasonable travel distance and interesting aires / towns?

I could easily have 6-7 stopovers on my route through France this time with 10 days to do it in if I could plan a nice route.

I guess I’m really asking, how do you select towns and villages to stop at? I have all the aires books for France. Is it as simple as choosing the distance you want to travel, looking for small towns and discounting those without aires?

BTW we have a dog and exercise is an essential for stopping off anywhere (mainly why we have used the coastal routes in the past).

I love planning routes and I’m usually pretty good at it, so this sounds a bit pathetic on re-reading, but I’d genuinely appreciate feedback from those experienced in this sort of trip and France in general.

TIA

Ian
 
Until recently we had a place in Benidorm, so for the past 6 years we have travelled down every summer in the Motorhome using a non toll route. We have 2 grandkids that live with us full time and come on the trip for the summer 6 weeks school holiday. We never use campsites just aires or stop where we fell like. Take a week to travel down, van in storage for a month and then another week to drive home. The drive down and back is all part of the adventure and we stop at some great locations. One year we had a night at the side of the Seine, then at an inland lake where the kids went swimming, next to a vineyard, Near the top of the Pyrennes etc..

Loads of apps like Camper contact where you can find the aires and stopovers..
Go for it. Inland aires are generally quieter than the coast ones.

Like you needing stops for the dog. We planned stops with play areas or where the kids could run about or do something to break the journey (y)
 
On Camper Contact I usually filter by number of stars for reviews, and then by facilities, depending on if we want ehu etc. Then I look at the map on the app and decide which Aire is nearest to the rough direction and distance I want to travel! The apps are best because of the reviews which often give extra info such as “good for walking the dog”, bread shop near by etc.
 
As suggested have a look at the Campercontact app and use the filters in it to hide poorly rated places. Generally anything graded 7 or better should be OK but read a few of the reviews on a place before deciding. The filters can also be used to only shows places with water etc. You can find the app in the play store under All Motorhome Parking, or something like that. :)

Not much help if you are now in Spain but the DK Eyewitness guide to France has lots of suggestions for interesting places to visit. Otherwise, look at the map and investigate places near rivers, canals, forests etc.

To see France properly I think you need to plan a specific trip as some of the spectacular stuff isn't really on your route but you could squeeze in a bit of the Dordogne and the Loire. :)
 
if you are ever traveling and see a sign to an "etap" village they are worth a look , they are villages that have all you need and useually something special as well, from what i gather they were set up where there isnt an aire close by.

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IanRJ said:
Hi Funsters



Last year and this we stayed at sites close to the coast, and I’m almost certain, that by using sites in high population areas we have not seen the best of France. We love the idea of ancient small towns with local produce as opposed to the tower blocks and crowded sites we have experienced (not all of course).

We are in Spain now and will head back early October and had planned to just blast through to Calais, but would really like to try the aires in smaller French towns an villages to at least say we’ve given it a fair go!



TIA

Ian
Click to expand...

Where in Spain are you coming from to give an idea which route you are likely to take? We've often spent some of October in the Pyrenees and found it a nice time of year to meander over some of the higher passes.... As well as CamperContact we use Park4Night which being a French website gives a greater selection of quiet, out of the way stopovers.
 
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Also worth a look for genuine French stops, is ' France passion' I know you are asking about Aires and this is slightly different but still free stops, at farms and vineyards and them sort of places but you have to join first which is about 30 quid.
 
We find that park4night app throws up some really 'different' stopover opportunities. If we (the boss!) dont like what we see on arrival, we move onto the next !!

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moulin 87 said:
Where in Spain are you coming from to give an idea which route you are likely to take? We've often spent some of October in the Pyrenees and found it a nice time of year to meander over some of the higher passes.... As well as CamperContact we use Park4Night which being a French website gives a greater selection of quiet, out of the way stopovers.
Click to expand...
I’m coming from the south coast and could take any route north. Thanks for the feedback, I’ve taken a look at the app and it looks exactly what I need. Love to hear what your preferred route is, spent a little time there years ago on a motorcycle tour but probably different preferred roads lol.
Ian
 
Thanks to all for the feedback, I’ve downloaded the Campercontact app and, with the filters, it looks like exactly what I need.

I know many target stopovers for cultural sites, stately home visits etc, but with our dog that’s really difficult. So we tend to target laces the three of us can enjoy, mainly coastal so far, but we love the country side too, inland lakes and canals sounds idyllic to encompass both!

Thanks again
Ian
 
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My favourite route from the Spanish border or the south of France is up the fabulous A75 from Beziers to Clermont-Ferrand.
Just off that road are some smashing villages with Aires, most of them free.

You could have trawl through my blog or YouTube channel for some ideas.
Link is below or just Google Motorhome Moments.

Richard
 
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Im
The Lord Squid said:
The "purists", for want of another name, might find these expensive, but aires de camping cars suiting different needs can be found here BROKEN LINK
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I'm on one at the moment. :) The network is growing, they have around 170 aires now.

Their website has an interactive map which I find the best way to find places. They have an app but I can't find any map on it so it's more or less useless to me.

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coming back in october i would meander round the south gradually getting further north then unless were having an indian summer make a last minute dash for calais .Northern france in the cold and wet is much like england
 
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mitzimad said:
coming back in october i would meander round the south gradually getting further north then unless were having an indian summer make a last minute dash for calais .Northern france in the cold and wet is much like england
Click to expand...
Yeah, that would be my approach. Cheers
 
I will add yet another source of information that we have found very useful, even more so by the fact that it is in English except for a few user reports.

Try out the Search for Sites app which can be used either on or off line and can be linked to some navigation apps namely Waze and Google maps. Much of which are free and Search for Sites has reports on sites reported in a similar manner to Tripadvisor.

S for S has already found us some beautiful stopping places around the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg during the past week.
Rod
 
We've found picking an aire that's a short way off the beaten track, say 5-10km, often turns up a little gem. Although I usually have half an idea of where we're going to stop, we often just pick somewhere when we're ready to finish driving for the day. Never had a problem walking the dog, although some places are better than others.

Just one tip, try to get parked up by mid-afternoon as the more popular places fill up early.

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Thanks for that info, I’m hoping for spots in walking distance of a village too though.

We seem to arrive most stops around 2, and settled by 3 seems to be the pattern we have established.
 
IanRJ said:
Thanks for that info, I’m hoping for spots in walking distance of a village too though.

We seem to arrive most stops around 2, and settled by 3 seems to be the pattern we have established.
Click to expand...
Ideal!
We try to do the same.
Stroll to the village Boulanger in the morning for breakfast croissants, then a leisurely getaway.
Get to our destination in time for some lunch, then a walk to explore.

Repeat until getting to the final destination..............rather leisurely.

Richard
 
Try looking at Les Plus Beaux Villages de France - France’s most beautiful villages.
We came across a couple last year and stayed in Aires.
They live up to the name
 
Hi IanRJ,
one not too be missed is Sully sur Loire ,free aire by the Loire , lovely Chateau & town very short walk. no ehu , bit of tight access but up to 8 mtr no problem.
314835

314837
 
We've found many of these smaller aires are close to or even in a small town/village. After all, that is the point of them, they want your business.

Incidentally, boulangerie usually open early and close around 10.00 am until the evening in the smaller places. One thing we've really noticed is that during the day these smaller places often appear totally deserted.

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All of France is gorgeous. We bubble round with our dogs and use the Aires book and campercontact to choose overnight places. Usually free. Often free water and emptying too. Villages are usually on rivers and Aires usually on riverside so dog walks are usually easy. Anything on a lake is worth a look. We always visit the Plus beaux villages most of which are fab and which almost always have MH parking within a few hundred metres. We tend to use the non toll roads and sometimes just spot nice looking riverside spots. Always have a plan B. Aires are sometimes closed or approach roads blocked. They also get full but in October that's not so likely to be a problem. Central France- ardeche, dordogne, Loire, Normandy all have lovely bits. Very cheap vet at La Mailleraye on the Seine. €31 for 2 dogs for passport check, have paid over €80 in past! Have fun.
 
Free Aire a Saint Antonin Val Noble
Really interesting old town, nice old buildings and river.
 
Blaye Aires - basically a car park just outside walled medieval city.
Gastes Aires - large aires directly on a lake , nothing there except for one bar/restaurant but lovely area.
 
See? There are lots and lots and the best are those nobody tells you about............................!
 
Try Italy

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