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We're camping this year. We have nearly 3 weeks. We've booked nothing beyond the ferry, planning to go as far south as we need to to get good weather. If its fine then we'll stay in Brittany. If we need to go the the Loire/Vendee/further then we'll just keep on driving.
The plan is to use the money we'll save by camping, to invest in doing "activities/big days out" with our 12 & 14 year old. From surf lessons, to pony trekking, to bike hire, to canoes in the river, water parks. Natural wonders (eg Mont St Michel/Arcachon for the dunes) always a winner, but I'd also like to visit Chartres, and eat fresh seafood in a wooden shack in Trinite Sur Mer. Open to ideas really. What did you love doing and what were your great days out in a giant patch that runs south from Cherbourg for 600 miles?
Bit of a trek from Brittany but you did say “west”
http://picdumidi.com/en/plan-your-trip/your-day-out-high-up-in-the-pyrenees
A surprisingly very good day out - Puy du Fou
A better use for old train tracks? - Velorail
Still the best aqaurium we've ever been to - Oceanopolis
Great place, but pick a quiet day - Concarneau
Fresh oysters at Cancale. Best (and cheapest) I've ever had.
Grand Elephant at the Machine de Lile park at Nantes.
APF
Excellent suggestions thank-you. Exactly what I was after. Though I eventually clicked that APF was not an attraction, but AlexPalaceFan signing off......
We had a cracking time at Le Clarys Plage Eurocamping a few years back.
Noirmoutier is a nice little town with a nice little aquarium.
Guaranteeing the weather is hard on the west coast of France - the weather is oceanic and comes from the Bay of Biscay - one thing that is virtually guaranteed is that whatever weather you get it will last at least a week.
I am quite attractive though
APF
For something 100% not educational, Oglisse waterpark was a hoot 😀
Love the Oglisse waterpark thanks. Is that new? We've stayed at La Tranche before 5 years ago and never seen that one. Clarys Plage also great shout thanks. @APF everyone's mum tells them they are attractive- it does not count.
Nantes is worth a visit for the Airbus Factory tour and the submarine pens from WW2
Futuroscope in Poitiers is an interesting French take on theme parks. I really enjoyed it.
Airbus tours are always very good. We've been to Toulouse twice. There is now an excellent aircraft museum on site.
Boat trip to La Belle Isle or one of the outlying islands - I was lucky enough to spend a fair while sailing those parts many years ago. Concarneau is nice too - as you travel south, the coastal areas tend to be more touristy
Oglisse is pretty new I think. Get there early, we rolled up about 10 minutes after opening, and the car park was rammed already. Didn't feel crowded in the park though, we were there till they kicked us out.
Puy Du Fois should be done, take lots of food and drink though, they don't really do snacking and a sit down meal with three boys didn't appeal much.
La Rochelle aquarium was good, La Rochelle itself nice - there is another aquarium near Les Sables d'Olonne that was also value on a rainy day.
Any of the Parc Acrobranche, far better than Go-Ape
If you make it down to the Vendee then Venise Vert is a good day (at least) out, with kids of all ages, as they say. Hire a boat and have a relaxing time pottering about the green canals, until completely lost and then have an invigorating family argument about where you are and which is the way back.
We holidayed in Brittany a lot, Vendee and further south to les Landes as well, always in reach of surf. But for me it's not the big attractions so much as the smaller stuff that sticks in the mind, like exploring the random neolithic stuff that's scattered everywhere in Brittany. Not the crowds of Cargnac but crawling through a long burial mound without a torch, that sort of thing. That said, running down Dune du Pyla is a laugh, and the oysters and strawberries in Archachon are the best I've had. I could go on btu you get the idea.
We stay La Rochelle way every year and love it lots of different place to go we took ours to the places below last year
First link is a drop in slide place, really good fun for a morning. Second is the valley of the monkeys also good day out and bottom one is high ropes Go ape type thing last around 3-4 hours hard work and so much fun
http://www.la-vallee-des-singes.fr/
https://www.coolongalook-parc-aventure.com/fr/
There is also futuroscope (never been )
Don't forget the new French speed limit, see https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44472557
Some great suggestions thanks. Exactly what i was looking for. Thanks all
Hourtin campsite is next to the beach (with a bit of surf) so you can park up and forget driving. Chateau Poujeaux, Moulis Médoc, is nearby for amazing wine. Paths through the pines for cycling. Ferry from La Rochelle to save a bit of driving. Supermarkets 20 minutes away for cheap eats.
Depends on your idea of a great day out but La Rochelle is a beautiful town to visit.
I spent a great day with my wife and kids in the Musee des Blindes in Saumur if you like military history and specifically tanks. More WW2 German armour there than i have ever seen anywhere else.
The dunes at Arcachon you already have covered. My wife wanted to go there and i wasn't keen, i mean who wants to see a sand dune? But when we went along i was like 'whoa! that is a monster'
Take or hire some bikes near arcachon. Pan flat and bike lanes that are totally separated form the traffic (not just by a small break but 20 or 30 metres to the side of the road. you can easily do a loop of 70km without a single pothole or car
Another year i spent a great day again with the family wandering around Le Mans museum. Obs very car heavy but it was great. A motorbike club had hired the circuit for the day so we could see bikes racing along too
Hey BillMC
Im staying for a week in that big camp site in Hourtin plage during the summer hols. ... a couple of question pls
Should we defo take the ferry when coming from our overnight stop in Le Mans ?
and should I book surf lessons now ??
Any other tips/advice for the local area.
Thanks
We’ve just come back from a few days in the Île de Ré - it was heaven. You could hire bikes and ride all over the island for the day (or bring your own!). We got through over 30 oysters while we were there....!
We stopped in Saumur for a couple of nights on the way down. I tried to take my husband to the Museé de Blindes but he wasn’t interested! We went wine tasting instead. Nice Huttopia campsite just outside the town with a pool and a lovely view over the Loire from some of the pitches.
If you want to try surfing head to the stretch from Soulac-sur-Mer to cap ferret, basically one 50mile long beach backed by lakes and pine forests. Great surf (can get big even in the summer) all along especially around laccanau. We stay here most of the summer freecamping in the forest and surfing everyday.
If you want a break from the surf you can head to the lakes where they do sailing, paddle boarding etc. The ferry over from Royan will save you some driving for about 30ish euro.</span>
Abit further down Dune of Pilat is quite fun for day
Can anyone recommend a F1 type hotel, Tours or Le Mans sort of way? Coming back up from the Dordogne, and not convinced 7 and a bit hours is accurate to Le Havre for the poor old van.. as we're camping I'm thinking of packing up friday and doing 3/4 hours then, to make hitting the ferry time a bit less stressful. Its that or chambres d'hote onsite but halving the driving appeals quite a lot.
Any of 'em. We used to just book an Etap on an industrial estate around that area when the kids were small and we were as poor as church mice. so no worries about bikes hanging off the car. Possibly this one (first hit on etap tours)
Them in one room, us in another. Kids were still impressed by having as many boiled eggs and croissants as they wanted for brekkie. We went very slowly upmarket (Ibis and beyond, oh yes) but it's all good.
not an F1 but an English-owned B&B we stayed at a few years ago just outside Le Mans and can recommend was:
I had been driving all day, we rocked up and were welcomed by the owners. Dennis said 'alright Rich, want a beer'?
Yip, I do.
New owners now but have apparently kept the relaxed vibe going,