There’s nothing quite like the freedom of the open road in a camper van. This may sound a bit of a cliché but it’s very true. And it’s a dream unfulfilled for most people. The truth is that for most people, the pressures of work and daily life preclude this sort of adventure until retirement – whilst most youngsters either don’t do it or simply can’t afford it.
So if ever life presents you with the opportunity to take a few weeks or months off and to tour aimlessly – grab it with both hands – you never know when you’ll pass this way again.
And of all the countries in Europe in which to go touring – none is better than France for many different reasons – all of which help make France the world’s most visited country.
Photo by A Guy Taking Pictures
When to come
Firstly – decide when, exactly, you’re going to go. This is absolutely crucial to get right for climatic and practical reasons. The geography of France means its climate can be blisteringly hot in the height of summer depending where you are exactly. The best tip if you can manage it is to travel during the spring in a generally south to north direction.
One good idea if you’re travelling from the UK is to take the ferry to Santander in northern Spain then work your way north and gradually follow the sun.
In an ideal world, you would explore the south of France in late April and early May – when the weather is often perfect. The days are fresh, the sun is bright, the beaches are more or less deserted and the towns all along The Côte d’Azur are beginning to wake up to the promise of long summer days. You will find driving conditions ideal unless you’re extremely unlucky and the campsites sparsely populated. This latter point is vital in that it allows you to plan as you go along. You won’t need to bother to book ahead and remember that every commune has its own “camping municipal” with generally excellent facilities. Most of these are well signposted from the towns and easy to find. They’re also incredibly good value.
And remember this is the real beauty of this kind of road trip – the lack of too much planning. You can let the weather forecast and your mood take you wherever you want to go. And depending on which direction you head in France – you’re always into a new region, each of which feels like a different country from the last.
The key month to avoid is August. At this time, most of France seems to be on holiday and the auto-routes are often log-jammed on the so-called “Black Saturdays” of the first and second Saturdays of the month. Of course, it can be good fun to be here at this time of year as the French know how to enjoy themselves and if you love people, you love August in the holiday resorts. But you’ll also find you have to pre-book accommodation in holiday resorts as all the camping pitches will be booked up – and you’ll find things expensive.
Meanwhile, the following months of September and August are also wise choices on the same basis as the April-June period. Again, it’s a good idea to follow the weather from north to south as the autumn wears on. You won’t be disappointed by the weather at this time of year when the light often has a deep golden hue in the early evenings.
Caution – Euro 2016
Photo by Photophilde
Remember, too, that if you’re planning a trip to France any time next year, you may want to plan around the Euro 2016 football tournament. For many people, this will be the ideal time to visit and tour around to watch as many games as they can – whilst for others, this will be the key time to avoid.
The Euro 2016 tournament will be held at ten different cities across France between Friday 10th June and July 10th when the final will be played at the Stade de France in Paris.
Where to go
Deciding where to go in France is both hard and very easy. It’s hard because there are so many different regions and cultures to choose from – but it’s easy in the sense that not a single one of them will really let you down.
Just plan you overall trip and direction carefully without sweating the details too much of exactly where and when you’ll be staying. This is the great thing about a road trip if you’re able to get your timing just right.
Broadly speaking, doing a giant ‘n’ shape in a camper isn’t a bad idea. So if you’re able to come for six months, including the summer period, then starting off around the Biarritz area, for example, in the extreme south west of the country and working your way, generally, up the west is broadly a good basis. This takes in areas such as the Dordogne, Bordeaux, La Vendee, and Brittany before heading east. You can then move across the north to Paris, then come down west of the Rhine through Alsace and Lorraine, Champagne, Burgundy, the Alps and down to the Cote D’Azur and the rest of the Mediterranean coastline.
If you find yourself anywhere near Paris in the early Autumn (which is surely just about the most beautiful time of year to see the city of Light – then be sure to take a trip to nearby Longchamps for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
This is a fantastic day out at the most prestigious horse race in Europe held every year in early October and it is particularly fun if you enjoy a gamble on the horse racing whether that is online with bookmakers such as betfair or at the bookies themselves.
Obviously, this is a quick and grossly over-simplified version of a trip you may wish to take, and misses out 90% of the country and all the interior regions! But get busy enjoying “la vie en rose” with the freedom of the open road in a camper van – and it might just be the trip of a lifetime!
