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Who knows of a good website? I'm looking for a campsite in the Normandy area that isn't too built up and allows campfires (and not too many kids! 😉 ) I've tried Pitch Up, which was good, but only seems to have large campsites in it. Is that just what France is like?
Usually on largeish sites myself, but when you're staying for 2 weeks having a pool is handy with kids.
I think o2 camping are Normandy? We usually push on down to Vendee, but going to the Dordogne this year for a change if the van survives the MOT.
Take a good lock and keep the bikes in the tent locked - suffered some pro level bike thievery last year (including only my bike despite the rest of the family having pretty good bikes too - other good bikes were hit on the same night) through allowing holiday spirit to take over from common sense - never had even a sniff of a problem before then a ninja raid and my Whytes gone :-/
Google maps. Search a campsite and they'll all show up, even the smallest.
Its a while but back when i was camping in France I found the bigger and municipal places were advertised (web and books) but just looking on Google maps or driving round you'd find loads that didn't seem listed.
Living in Paris at the time I tended to prefer just setting off without a fixed place for however long. I bet I missed looking somewhere but I always found stuff on spec for the two of us and medium tent.
Is that just what France is like?
France has different types of camp site (surprise, surprise) - the British Center Parcs uber-commercial type (mostly for Brits) but also something we don't have - the municipal camp site. The latter is very much not commercial and can be on the edge of a town (or in the middle) but some are in really great spots, like old fortifications ( http://www.blaye.fr/patrimoine-touristique/camping-municipal/ or http://www.st-malo.com/tourisme/art-culture/cite-aleth/). I don't think an "app" is going to find the latter, but I may be wrong. There is less of the small private camp site in my experience, but it's a long time since I've looked.
try the big holiday companies like Eurocamp as a first off. ot all their sites are large sites, there are some small and quite basic ones too. Eurocamp just buy a number of pitches from the site, they have their own pitches as well as sell pitches to other holiday companies from other companies too. The last two years we've stayed at quite a large site in the Loire with fantastic facilities, the kids love it, and people seem to be allowed to set up their own fires using fire pit type of things rather than on the actual ground, or building up a fire in their BBQ. Plenty going on the last two years.
Nico
There is less of the small private camp site in my experience, but it’s a long time since I’ve looked.
My mate (co-incidentally called Nico) has a small private campsite south of Paris (Yvelines)
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/La+Plage+Aux+Champs/ @48.5692214,1.9334664,3a,112.1y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipPX9VHJXuGUDbxGG9t1cO1WvEn7-Vbz_VRsNrf6!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPX9VHJXuGUDbxGG9t1cO1WvEn7-Vbz_VRsNrf6%3Dw203-h152-k-no!7i640!8i480!4m8!1m2!2m1!1syvelines+camping!3m4!1s0x0:0x96af3dd4b6016b14!8m2!3d48.5692243!4d1.9334221?dcr=0
I've never seen it advertised anywhere except on the wall outside. (Not to say it isn't though)
Nico is 2nd from the left.
Cool, thanks for all the suggestions! Think I'll look into the municipal campsites more. What are they like? Super basic or do they have showers?
Municipal sites were hit hard by the 35 hour week which incresed running costs and the local authorities have sold many off. They're still there but a little more expensive for a generally higher level of comfort. You'll always get hot showers, toilets, and areas for washing clothes and dishes. A few pitches will have 13A electric but most will have 10A. Wifi is more and more common. Security is improving but look after your stuff, back in the 80s I worked on a campsite for a full season and nothing was stolen, the world has changed.
coolcamping
not been in any allow camp fires in France though, but we are moslty down south where fires are a risk
We have very different tastes, Wallop. Those are the sorts of campings we avoid. If you have kids (which the OP does not) to entertain then they have their place. If you like sleep and quietly reading a book while the merguez grill they are not good. Alan Rogers has kindly given me a list of sites to avoid in that I know a few of those sites and they are my idea of camping hell.
Thinking back to the last few campsites I've been on: Cernay, St Jean de Luz, Hourtin lac, Royan, Neuf Brisach, Nancy... . Non allowed barbies or fires except in the communal grill things, though I think Nancy allowed gas barbies. There's very often a ban by ordre préfectoral in Summer so even the communal ones are closed. Up north in soggy Brittany and Normandy it's up to the site owner but they are more and more regarded as anti-social and a fire risk (which they are) and banned.
Top info, thanks peeps!! That cool camping website has some great options and in fact I stayed in one a few years back (Le Brevedent) and it was great. There's not many to choose from though- possibly because we're going in early May!
Thanks also Edukator- some great first hand knowledge there!! 🙂
We watched an hour long TV documentary on this place:
https://alanrogers.com/campsite/camping-club-la-sirene-fr66560
Fascinating, in a watching ants or termites at work way . It's huge tourist machine (check out the number of pitches) designed to entertain you 18 hours a day or more. That might be some people's idea of holiday fun, they sure work hard to make you have fun... .
Check out Archies camping. Clunky to use with a pretty poor website but has pretty much all campsites in Europe listed. Used it extensively the last few years.
That’s a very sweeping statement, Edukator. The sheer number of campsites on that website would surely mean some of them will be shitholes anyway. Snobbery aside, it’s a useful source of information from which most people would be able to make an assessment as to whether a particular site would suit them or not.
Another vote for Cool Camping; a fantastic resource.
We used a bucket BBQ for cooking, and found that it doubled up as a fire-bowl, especially once I'd lined the top bit with aluminium foil. As long as it's a) permitted, b) off the floor and c) you are sensible and don't have it raging you should be fine. We had many a happy night by the fire with a bottle of vin.
interested
"snobbery", nah, I'm a proper pleb, moi.
You know how websites are run and make money? There are business models to promote stuff and there are business models to distort the models to promote stuff.
Some investigative journalists went to eat out in France and read some reviews. They tried the places and they followed the paper trails from the reviews. They lead to businesses being paid X euros for x reviews. It wasn't just that the reviews were nonsense, the businesses were also posting shit reviews for competing restaurants. And the French authorities couldn't do anything as all the businesses were in places without legal agreements with France.
Google maps and find something to suit your needs yourself.
My (insert close relative here) runs a business organsing tourism awards that his clints proudly wave around to say they are great. He makes a shed load of cash, you'd be best avoiding anywhere that gets an award because the main merit of businesses that get an award is they've invested a shed load of cash to get an award or a distinction or a gold star or... It's all ********.
Edukator does have a point... though I might put it less strongly
I prefer to only stop in the same place a couple of days but sometimes I've found a gem that I've stopped much longer however its rarely if ever been one that was widely advertised.
Camping is much bigger in France than here so that does lead to a distortion by businesses set up just to make cash from it.
I've stayed at Camping Le Colombier on a number of occasions and have always found it to be a really nice relaxing experience. Its set on the grounds of an old chateaux, where during the summer they have classical music nights and garden parties, in the old orchard. The facilities are very good, has a nice play area for kids and a good size pool which IIRC is heated. We've stayed there at various time during June, July and August and have never found it to be hideously overcrowded or swamped with screaming children and the site is fairly large so you should be able to find a quiet spot if that's more your thing.
The surrounding area is very picturesque with great countryside to drive or cycle through and there are plenty of options for nearby smaller towns/villages and Caen and Le Harve being a not being too far if you wanted something a bit bigger. The Normandy coastline is easily accessible and there are several national parks close by as well.
Now that I've reminded myself of it I may have to look into planning an escape myself!