Help me choose a region of France or Germany for a great family holiday

[millimat]

Apologies if you've already seen this and replied - I realised the thread title didn't make sense so reposting!

Ferry booked for our hols in August for me, dh, dc 9 and dd 5 with our caravan. However we don't know where to go when we get to Calais!
Please inspire me with your favourite places to explore. We'd like there to be things to do as well as time to relax. Suitable cycling routes in the area would be good ;-)
We don't want to go to Paris, the Loire or Auvergne as we've been there before. Ideally would love some sun...?

I keep seeing this site mentioned on ukcampsite: Domaine de Massereau.

It's a campsite-slash-vineyard, on a greenway so access to cycle paths, good pools, nice restaurant with takeaway, and apparently the Languedoc region is the sunniest in France. What's not to like?

I'm saving it for when DS is a little older. I prefer a site with fewer pitches while he's still small.

ooh yes the cycle path is directly off the campsite and as it's an old railway line it takes you nicely into the Sommieres a couple of km away in one direction and towards Nimes in the other direction. The site is really well laid out with lovely pools and a good restaurant. They hire bikes too if you wanted them although if you are taking your own you are only 30 mins from the coast and there are lots of cycle paths along the Med close to my favourite Med beach L'Espiguette. My 1st photo on my profile was taken there last August - very hot in the day - yummy

The trouble is that most of the interesting places in France are hilly - so not much good for cycling unless you are fit.

we love the Tarn, the Ardeche and the Alps.

Marking place. That campsite looks good Quenelle.

It looks great doesn't it? And good to know it's as nice as it appears Lucycat. It's definitely on my spreadsheet for next year.

Lucycat I'm going to follow you on holiday from now on. Every one of your lovely photos is in bright sunshine.

Carcasonne?. Languedoc is lovely, almost Spanish in its influence, but quite a long way to drive with a caravan.

We're going to France tomorrow, to the Vendee. Its a bit flat and boring in many ways, but its nice and relaxing and the weather should be better than the UK!

Germany, we really liked Berlin. Celle is a lovely town. So is Hameln (Hamlin, its really good to go and see the Pied Piper re-enacted, but the town itself is pretty)

The trick is to only take photos when the sun shines - if it was raining then I'd be sitting under the canopy with either a cup of tea or a large glass of something chilled - depending on the time of day

We're off to the south of France again this year so I'm hoping for LOTS of sunshine!

Where are you staying this year Lucycat?

We have just booked Domaine Des Sources near Gordes. Surely we'll get some sunshine there!

I'm off to Google those regions thank you. I've looked at the vendee - sounds lovely but is it heaving with tourists?

Lucycat, I agree about flat regions not being as interesting. Plans initially were for the black forest in Germany but as wouldn't yet manage hills to any great extent on his bike.

www.valdaleth.com/campsite.php

this is my favourite campsite ever.....DH and i spent out honeymoon in our 2 man tent here and it was lovely

We've so far booked a week in the Dordogne (again ) at you know where and a week a Serignan Plage on the coast but then we might head towards Carcassonne or into the Tarn region...or maybe the Gard we aren't sure yet. We'll decide when we get there.

cannot wait!

How long does it take you to get to the Dordogne?

we go to Alsace every year which would be (mostly) comfortable to drive around, I don't know about the sun, depends. If you are cycling in August though, maybe it is pleasant if it isn't too hot. I find Alsace is a nice mixture of French and German.

THe German north sea islands are nice but perhaps tricky for you to get to.

The Dordogne is about7 hrs drive from Calais so you'd need an overnighter somewhere.

We've stayed here a coulpe of times, very pretty region but not too mountainous
www.camping-castels.co.uk/camping-le-val-de-bonnal-id253-id_camping19.html

nice walks, couple of lakes and a quiet part of the capsite as well as the busier end with the activities

I love Alsace ZZ, so pretty and fairytale townish. We stayed in Eguisheim near Colmar.

we stay near Colmar too, lots of pretty villages. We always drivecto Col de la schlucht which would be quite a challenge on a bike. You can also cycle across the bridge over the Rhein to see a bit of Germany. By car you could make some nice day trips into Germany, food shopping is cheaper there too.

The weather here has been so awful recently we're going to do a longer drive in search of the sun! Think we're aiming towards the provence if anyone can give specific campsites? Need to get it booked as quenelle that site doesn't have a pitch for enough nights

Oh bad luck millimat.

We're going to this one at Gordes. Not been before, I saw it mentioned on the ukcampsite forum.

Here are some others I looked at:

Nice looking site in the Ardeche
In the Luberon, surrounded by vines and olive trees.
Near Orange and Vaison-la-Romaine. Gorgeous area.

Decision eventually made! Back to original plan and off to Germany in the black forest. That way we can see the Alsace and Switzerland too. There seems to be loads more campsites with availability in Germany too. Narrowed in down to 3 possible sites. Stopover sorted. Phew!!