Help me plan a holiday to France!

[SYPD]

Hey 👋

So, next year we are looking to spend a couple of weeks in France in the summer holidays. My DF and DSM recently moved to Bourganeuf, and we plan on spending approx 3 nights with them preferably at the very start of the holiday.

We are planning on getting the Eurostar to Calais and driving straight to my Dads (with a one night stop off) but after that we haven’t a clue! Do you have any suggestions? Hoping to visit south of France for around 5 nights then head back up to Calais with a couple of stops in between.

Our DC will be 15 and 12 and they just love a really nice safe beach with some water sports. DH and I love to visit a couple of historic places too.

Would be so grateful for some tips or suggestions on where to visit/stay etc. Are Air bnbs good or holiday parks? We just don’t know where to start looking to be honest!

From Bourganeuf you could drive to Carcassonne, via a stop off at the Airbus factory just outside Toulouse (if that’s something that would interest your family). From Carcassonne, you could head to Argeles sur Mer (via Les Orgues d'Ille sur Tet perhaps?) which has several companies either doing water sports lessons/tours or renting out equipment.

Yes, to Argles sur Mer, and also Saint Cyprien (c. 5 miles to the north). It has lovely beaches, though is quite than Argles.

There are plenty of nearby historic towns to visit and you could even cross the boarder into Spain for a day trips, e.g. to Girona or L'Scala.

There is decent shopping at Figueres on the boarder too.

We spent 2 weeks travelling in France in July and had some lovely overnight stops using this website: https://www.chambres-hotes.fr/index_en.html. I'd also really recommend this place in Calais: https://les-secrets-des-loges.com/en/home/

We had lovely holidays in Brittany and Vendee a while ago.

My main recommendation is that you drive to the furthest point first and work your way back.

Cote sauvage. Las palmyres is perfect for teens. .

If you are in the Cote D'Azur there is the Chapelle de la Rosarie in Vence, and the Picasso studio in Antibes.

Le Touquet is lovely for a couple of nighys on the way back

You could head west from Bourganeuf to La Rochelle/Ile de Re, or Atcachon nr Bordeaux. The Dordogne area itself is also beautiful, loads to see and do.

That's potentially a lot of driving for 8 nights of holiday! Can you go for a bit longer?

I would head west after staying at your dads to La Rochelle area as pp suggested- less of a schlepp back to the uk afterwards, it's a lovely part of France and potentially not as hot as the south which can be unbearably hot in the summer.

Sorry, just read your post again and can see you are going for a few weeks!! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Thanks so much, some great suggestions here. Looks like heading west is the best option.

Do you have any advice on what type of accommodation? Ive seen lovely air bnbs, or is it best going to a holiday park?

We always do Eurocamp. Our kids love it as there is always stuff going on and if they are interested in making friends this is a good way for them to meet some. Look on the website there are absolutely loads of sites in France. I love France , it has it all!