magicsurfbus
Free Member
Our Spring Tour de France 2017 included the following aires that we hadn't previously visited, so I thought I'd share the details:
Verdun - Avenue du Soldat Inconnu (below south wall of the Citadelle) - free MH tolerant car park, no services, within walking distance of town centre. Always closed 3rd w/e of March due to local festival. We also visited the WW1 monuments around Douamont - no problems with MH parking.
Lac Madine, (nr Heudicourt sous les Cotes, Lorraine) NW end - lovely lakeside parking spot at a resort-style complex that is deserted in the low seaon, and free of charge until April. Service point is a pay to use (including bog emptying) Flot Bleu. Cycle track round lake, a bit bumpy in places. More fully-featured pitches (ie EHU) are available at a cost, but we used the basic parking area. Similar facilities are available on the other side of the lake at Madine 1.
Nancy, Boulevard du 21e Regiment d'Aviation (next to Marina) - a bit of a tight fit (bays are 10m max length) and the entrance is fiddly to get in, but convenient for the city centre. Quite expensive at 16 Euros (pay at Marina office whenever the bloke's in) and noisy due to traffic but it has EHU, a service point and it suited our purposes at the time.
Marsannay la Cote, Rue du Rocher, next to local community hall - We used this free one for Dijon because the city's municipal site/aire by Lac Kir doesn't open until April. Regular bus services from village to Dijon - MH parking around the city is very limited as the P&Rs are height restricted. Service point water supply unavailable at the aire before April.
Seurre - the loose gravel parking area opposite the 'official' aire near the River Saone is no longer available for MH parking so the capacity is now halved to about 10 MHs. Early arrival now advised in the high season.
Vulcania - new purpose built overnight MH parking for Volcano-themed visitor attraction near Clermont-Ferrand, with optional EHU and a service point. Fairly costly. We'd planned to stop at Puy-de-Dome but the electric train to the summit doesn't run until April so we opted for Vulcania.
Gruissan-Plage, (nr Narbonne) Ave de Quatre Vents - huge spacious aire near the marina, payment on arrival at site hut. Popular with big MHs towing cars etc because the bays aren't marked. Old town and more modern shopping area are best visited on a bike, otherwise you've got a bit of a walk. A good stopover for the journey south to Spain.
Narbonne, Ave Hubert Mouly (nr stadium) - typical medium-sized aire, reasonably convenient for the town centre. Only problem we had was the Flot Bleu service point didn't accept our bank cards even though the exit barrier did.
Carcassonne, Chemin de Montlegun - alongside the coach parking, so can get a bit noisy with tourist coach engines ticking over. MH bays are now quite tightly defined with fence posts and there's no on-site service point. Still convenient for visiting the old city, but I wouldn't stay there a long time.
Capbreton, Plage des Oceanides - large aire backing onto the dunes, similar to Mimizan-Plage but more out on a limb. It's a good long walk to the town centre but very convenient for the beach. A couple of service points, and EHU is included in the price.
Verdun - Avenue du Soldat Inconnu (below south wall of the Citadelle) - free MH tolerant car park, no services, within walking distance of town centre. Always closed 3rd w/e of March due to local festival. We also visited the WW1 monuments around Douamont - no problems with MH parking.
Lac Madine, (nr Heudicourt sous les Cotes, Lorraine) NW end - lovely lakeside parking spot at a resort-style complex that is deserted in the low seaon, and free of charge until April. Service point is a pay to use (including bog emptying) Flot Bleu. Cycle track round lake, a bit bumpy in places. More fully-featured pitches (ie EHU) are available at a cost, but we used the basic parking area. Similar facilities are available on the other side of the lake at Madine 1.
Nancy, Boulevard du 21e Regiment d'Aviation (next to Marina) - a bit of a tight fit (bays are 10m max length) and the entrance is fiddly to get in, but convenient for the city centre. Quite expensive at 16 Euros (pay at Marina office whenever the bloke's in) and noisy due to traffic but it has EHU, a service point and it suited our purposes at the time.
Marsannay la Cote, Rue du Rocher, next to local community hall - We used this free one for Dijon because the city's municipal site/aire by Lac Kir doesn't open until April. Regular bus services from village to Dijon - MH parking around the city is very limited as the P&Rs are height restricted. Service point water supply unavailable at the aire before April.
Seurre - the loose gravel parking area opposite the 'official' aire near the River Saone is no longer available for MH parking so the capacity is now halved to about 10 MHs. Early arrival now advised in the high season.
Vulcania - new purpose built overnight MH parking for Volcano-themed visitor attraction near Clermont-Ferrand, with optional EHU and a service point. Fairly costly. We'd planned to stop at Puy-de-Dome but the electric train to the summit doesn't run until April so we opted for Vulcania.
Gruissan-Plage, (nr Narbonne) Ave de Quatre Vents - huge spacious aire near the marina, payment on arrival at site hut. Popular with big MHs towing cars etc because the bays aren't marked. Old town and more modern shopping area are best visited on a bike, otherwise you've got a bit of a walk. A good stopover for the journey south to Spain.
Narbonne, Ave Hubert Mouly (nr stadium) - typical medium-sized aire, reasonably convenient for the town centre. Only problem we had was the Flot Bleu service point didn't accept our bank cards even though the exit barrier did.
Carcassonne, Chemin de Montlegun - alongside the coach parking, so can get a bit noisy with tourist coach engines ticking over. MH bays are now quite tightly defined with fence posts and there's no on-site service point. Still convenient for visiting the old city, but I wouldn't stay there a long time.
Capbreton, Plage des Oceanides - large aire backing onto the dunes, similar to Mimizan-Plage but more out on a limb. It's a good long walk to the town centre but very convenient for the beach. A couple of service points, and EHU is included in the price.