France - where would you go?

[BonnesVacances]

I really want to go to France this summer but find it such a stressful country to choose where to go as it's so big!

So if you were planning a week there, going over on the tunnel, weren't looking for sunshine (so no need to drive to the south), where would you go?

DD is disabled and we won't be able to do much exploring other than by car. So it'll just be about baguettes and croissants, cafes and just French ambiance. And we'd self-cater rather than stay in a hotel.

I spent a week in Luc sûr mer (Normandy) recently and loved it. We stayed in a Yelloh Campsite and took a train to Paris from Caen for a day. Also visited all the museum's.

The Vendee is lovely and do able for a week, great beaches, very French!

We are getting the ferry to Caen in a week in our campervan. Staying at a campsite in Normandy nearby which seems to have lots for the kids. Ds10 wants to visit the WW2 stuff, Normandy beaches and so on as he is very interested in all that atm. I'm really quite excited about it.

I think that's where we are going. Any tips please would be greatly appreciated 🙏

The Bordeaux region is stunning

Luc sur Mer for CamperVanKween: We hired electric bikes from the campsite and cycled to Caen. There were several great food trucks for dinner a few evenings. The museum in Sainte Mere Eglise was fantastic as was the War Museum in Caen. There is a bus from Luc to Caen which was a great service. The town hall has a fabulous park with a whale skeleton in it and peacocks who take themselves off for a walk around town. The town itself was lovely, pretty and friendly. There was a great little brocante on the coast road east. I'd go back there again tomorrow!

Thanks. The mobile home option seems a good one as it's all on one level for DD.

DC are 20 & 18 and DS probably won't use the pool at Yelloh on his own, so I might look for something similar but with fewer facilities and therefore a bit cheaper.

Good starting point though.

Stunning scenery sounds good. How long does it take to drive there from the tunnel?

Thanks so much, will do all this, really helpful. Looking forward to it even more now. Seems like such an adventure.

Normandy or Brittany. Dinard is lovely, Honfleur, Bayeux.

If you're tempted by Luc sur Mer, we stayed in St Aubin sur Mer (two villages along) and there is a lovely, flat promenade all along that bit of coast. It's about 3km long and would be a lovely walk with a wheelchair user, if your DD uses a chair. Lovely moules mariniere in a restaurant on the promenade in St Aubin called Le Charleston.

You can easily visit Arromanches, where the D-Day Landings museum is and where you can still see the remains of the mulberry harbour from D Day in the water. Bayeux is also an easy drive and the tapestry is fully accessible, if your DC are interested in history.

You'd have to check Google Maps

I loved the Ardèche, south of Lyon (worth a visit too) in the Rhône Alpes, with its gorges and rivers good for swimming and kayaking, and caves and caverns like Caverne du Pont d'Arc to explore. It has lovely old towns like Jaujac and Vallon Pont d'Arc. It can get a bit filled up with camper vans in the Summer though, clogging the windy roads.
I also liked Drôme Provençale, all the loveliness of Provence, lavender fields and perched villages, but somewhat quieter. Around Nyons is good as is Buis-les-Baronnies, each with their markets.

But, there might be accessibility issues (sorry).

I'd recommend travelling to Caen by ferry. So easy to reach lots of lovely places - north Brittany 2 hours away, south down to north Loire or, within half an hour Normandy coast - we stayed near Cabourg once. Very French, very accessible.

@midsomermurderess oh my word, you mentioned my VERY favourite part of France - Drome and Nyons. No one seems to know it and it is GORGEOUS. We are going this summer. A long drive though, for us we are flying to Lyon this year.

@shortsaint It is gorgeous isn’t it, so, relatively, peaceful. Lyon is worth at least a day too, before heading south.

Look at Wissant. Only 30 minutes or so from Calais with fabulous beaches.

I really enjoyed a trip I took to Brittany - Fougeres, Vitre, Dinan, St. Malo, Mont St. Michelle - I used the bus but a car would allow for so much freedom to check out everything in between. Visited a great little castle in Combourg for example.

If they like art or gardens Monet's garden in Giverny is well worth a visit if end up near there and cafes near by. Fontainebleau is nice as well. Do your children or you have any interests. Not in France but Bruges is lovely and full of cafes, Belgian chocolates etc and driveable from the tunnel.

I love drôme and Nyons too!

Brittany is lovely. Not sure how far it is from the tunnel though. South Brittany has slightly better weather - round the carnac area. When are you going in the summer as all France seems to break for their summer holidays on a certain weekend and the traffic is horrific then - there will be massive queues at the tolls. So if that co-insides with your holidays i would factor that in and not travel south or so far

Southern Brittany is a long drive from the tunnel, but if you take the ferry to St Malo it's not so bad. I agree that it's gorgeous down there. Vannes, Carnac, Auray, the Quiberon Peninsula - all absolutely lovely and wild and not overrun with tourists.

Quimper in Brittany is gorgeous. There are lovely beaches nearby and markets to explore.

Thanks all. Ideally we'll take the tunnel and drive from Calais, and preferably not for hours as DD doesn't travel well. That's the trouble with France, isn't it? All the best places are hours away.

I've just sent my passport off for renewal so won't be planning or booking anything until that comes back.

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