WelshGas
Retired after 42 yrs and enjoying Life.
Super Poster
Lifetime VIP Member
Just finished giving our California a wash & brush up following our European trip to Italy, via France - Germany - Switzerland - Italy - FLORENCE - Italy and back through France.
We covered 2,784 miles door to door.
This was a very special trip as our youngest, and last, son was getting married in Florence on the 30th June 2016.
If you do not pre-book campsites or only wild camp then STOP reading now as this is not for you.
To make life easy and minimise the number of companies etc: involved in booking our trip I used Eurocamp Independent ( Howls of Protest ). We booked the Euroshuttle, campsites in Germany and the Italian lakes on the way to Florence and campsites in the South of France, the Ardeche and Paris for the return. Also we used their Holiday, Travel and Health Insurance. So 1 company and 1 bill.
The stay in Florence was at a 5* Hotel and I booked the Italian Campsite, on the beach, directly and we stayed at a Municipal campsite on the way to Paris from the Ardeche.
So, we travelled to the Holiday Hilton at Folkestone which is literally 10 minutes from the Euroshuttle Terminal. It has a bar and restaurant and offers a Continental Breakfast for early morning travellers. Our Shuttle was at 05.50 hrs and an hour later we were bowling along the Autoroute in France heading South East. Our 1st Stop was at the Herbolzheim Campsite in SW Germany, just over the border from Strasbourg. Excellent site with shady pitches all serviced. The Owner runs Reception and there is a Shop and excellent Restaurant and you order fresh bread or croissants that are delivered at 0730 each morning. Near the site entrance is a large Community Lido that is popular with the campers and the locals and is very well appointed and run.
After a quick run through Switzerland, don't forget your Vignette if you use the Autoroutes, we decided to enter Italy via the Gotthard Pass rather than suffer the approximately 2 hr que for the Tunnel. Lovely route if you enjoy driving. We were held up for 10 minutes by a Coach and 6 horses taking the route.
The campsite at Lake Idro was OK, very busy and despite having a reservation you are given a list of vacant pitches and had to pick one and notify Reception. This seemed to be the norm on the Italian sites we stayed at. Good shop and Restaurant but pitches a little small . Lots of cabins/chalets.
Following day a leisurely drive to Florence, well leisurely apart from the A2 Autostrada around Milan. That is one busy road.
Hotel Villa La Vedetta. Whats to say. Pure luxury with one of the best view of Florence second only to the view from the Piazza Michelangelo , which is alongside the Hotel.
The Wedding was out of this world and the Reception was held on the Hotel Balcony with the city as a backdrop and lasted long into the evening as the sun set and the city lite up.
There is a campsite nestled between the Hotel and the Piazza in an Olive Grove but it doesn't seem to have that good reviews but position wise it couldn't be better.
Four days later we headed to the Italian Mediterranean cost at Camping Maremma Sans Souci just outside Castiglione della Pescaia, a small tourist and fishing port. The site is in a Pine Forest with direct access to a beach. Large pitches, excellent toilet and shower facilities with its own Shop, Market Place, Restaurant and Take Away ( No English Food ) and Bar. Lovely sandy beach with a Beach Bar and for 150€ / week your own Umbrella and sun loungers + Life Guard on a special section of Beach. ( Well worth the Money ).
We will be booking for next year .
The local town is 3km away with a wide variety of excellent restaurants and bars + you can see the fish,shrimps and octopi being unloaded each evening and buy on the quayside.
After 8 days off to the South of France for 1 night on our way to the Ardeche. Camping L'toile d'argent | St Aygulf is a large campsite, well run with large pitches and good facilities.Next to a river they run a free boat service throughout the day to the local beach 2 km away. Lots of children and because of the layout they spent most of the evening raising up and down the tarmac roads on bikes/scooters and mini motorcycles. OK for some but not us.
Then onto the Ardeche - Camping les Ranchisses | Largentiere. Fantastic site. Excellent facilities. Lots of Chalets on Hillside terraces BUT the campers are in pitches along a river bank that the children spend hours paddling in trying to catch fish and build dams. There is a large water complex with 4 pools, 1 for infants, 1 for juniors and 1 for over 14s to adult. Open at 0800 for adults and 0900 for children. But the bonus is an ADULT only complex with Spa, Jacuzzi and swimming Pool + showers etc: free to use you just pay 5€ deposit for a magnetic bracelet for entry. Excellent shop and a Fine Dining Restaurant and Brassiere/Take away. Well worth a visit. NO English dishes All French + Pizzas.
The Local town,L'Argentiere can be reached by bus, bicycle or a 2.5 km walk along an old Muleteers pathway away from the traffic. Lots to se in the town, very artisan and a good selection of bars/cafes and restaurants.
Once again we will definitely be revisiting next year.
Then onto Paris, but we broke our journey at Municipal - Mehun sur Yevre. 9€ for the night, 12€ with electric. Fantastic site with 28 pitches in the centre of town. The Facilities were absolutely fantastic and unusual for French sites they had toilet seats and papers. Lots to see in the town with historical connections to Charles 7th and Joan of Arc. Lovely old castle remains and lovely riverside gardens.
Then onto Paris - Camping International | Maisons Laffitte. On an island in the Seine about 20 km by road from the Eiffel Tower. Pitches alongside the Seine, large and with shade. Shop was good as were the toilet and Shower Facilities. The Restaurant was OK but a little English ( Burger and Chips etc. ) but plenty of restaurants 10 minutes walk away as fellas the local station with fast commuter trains into town. A major train line nearby crossing the Seine but not too noisy and goes quite about 2300 hrs until 0600hrs,
If you are into cycling then there is easy access to the London - Paris Off Road Cycle Track, the Avenue Verte http://avenuevertelondonparis.co.uk/troncons/la-seine-impressionniste that takes you into the Centre of Paris via the Seine.
Finally a simple 3 hr drive to the French Euroshuttle Station. Straight off the Autoroute into the Terminal with no hassle at all.
We used a Sanif Tag and also hired the Italian TelePass Tag- Well worth it. Lovely just driving through the 30 kph Tag lane.
Beware the A86 Tunnel - 2m Height limit for almost 10 Km. Fortunately we have a tower bike rack.
Well next year we will definitely be revisiting the Italian Beach campsite and the Ardeche again.
Hope this has been of some use to someone and if you want anymore information then just ask.
We covered 2,784 miles door to door.
This was a very special trip as our youngest, and last, son was getting married in Florence on the 30th June 2016.
If you do not pre-book campsites or only wild camp then STOP reading now as this is not for you.
To make life easy and minimise the number of companies etc: involved in booking our trip I used Eurocamp Independent ( Howls of Protest ). We booked the Euroshuttle, campsites in Germany and the Italian lakes on the way to Florence and campsites in the South of France, the Ardeche and Paris for the return. Also we used their Holiday, Travel and Health Insurance. So 1 company and 1 bill.
The stay in Florence was at a 5* Hotel and I booked the Italian Campsite, on the beach, directly and we stayed at a Municipal campsite on the way to Paris from the Ardeche.
So, we travelled to the Holiday Hilton at Folkestone which is literally 10 minutes from the Euroshuttle Terminal. It has a bar and restaurant and offers a Continental Breakfast for early morning travellers. Our Shuttle was at 05.50 hrs and an hour later we were bowling along the Autoroute in France heading South East. Our 1st Stop was at the Herbolzheim Campsite in SW Germany, just over the border from Strasbourg. Excellent site with shady pitches all serviced. The Owner runs Reception and there is a Shop and excellent Restaurant and you order fresh bread or croissants that are delivered at 0730 each morning. Near the site entrance is a large Community Lido that is popular with the campers and the locals and is very well appointed and run.
After a quick run through Switzerland, don't forget your Vignette if you use the Autoroutes, we decided to enter Italy via the Gotthard Pass rather than suffer the approximately 2 hr que for the Tunnel. Lovely route if you enjoy driving. We were held up for 10 minutes by a Coach and 6 horses taking the route.
The campsite at Lake Idro was OK, very busy and despite having a reservation you are given a list of vacant pitches and had to pick one and notify Reception. This seemed to be the norm on the Italian sites we stayed at. Good shop and Restaurant but pitches a little small . Lots of cabins/chalets.
Following day a leisurely drive to Florence, well leisurely apart from the A2 Autostrada around Milan. That is one busy road.
Hotel Villa La Vedetta. Whats to say. Pure luxury with one of the best view of Florence second only to the view from the Piazza Michelangelo , which is alongside the Hotel.
The Wedding was out of this world and the Reception was held on the Hotel Balcony with the city as a backdrop and lasted long into the evening as the sun set and the city lite up.
There is a campsite nestled between the Hotel and the Piazza in an Olive Grove but it doesn't seem to have that good reviews but position wise it couldn't be better.
Four days later we headed to the Italian Mediterranean cost at Camping Maremma Sans Souci just outside Castiglione della Pescaia, a small tourist and fishing port. The site is in a Pine Forest with direct access to a beach. Large pitches, excellent toilet and shower facilities with its own Shop, Market Place, Restaurant and Take Away ( No English Food ) and Bar. Lovely sandy beach with a Beach Bar and for 150€ / week your own Umbrella and sun loungers + Life Guard on a special section of Beach. ( Well worth the Money ).
We will be booking for next year .
The local town is 3km away with a wide variety of excellent restaurants and bars + you can see the fish,shrimps and octopi being unloaded each evening and buy on the quayside.
After 8 days off to the South of France for 1 night on our way to the Ardeche. Camping L'toile d'argent | St Aygulf is a large campsite, well run with large pitches and good facilities.Next to a river they run a free boat service throughout the day to the local beach 2 km away. Lots of children and because of the layout they spent most of the evening raising up and down the tarmac roads on bikes/scooters and mini motorcycles. OK for some but not us.
Then onto the Ardeche - Camping les Ranchisses | Largentiere. Fantastic site. Excellent facilities. Lots of Chalets on Hillside terraces BUT the campers are in pitches along a river bank that the children spend hours paddling in trying to catch fish and build dams. There is a large water complex with 4 pools, 1 for infants, 1 for juniors and 1 for over 14s to adult. Open at 0800 for adults and 0900 for children. But the bonus is an ADULT only complex with Spa, Jacuzzi and swimming Pool + showers etc: free to use you just pay 5€ deposit for a magnetic bracelet for entry. Excellent shop and a Fine Dining Restaurant and Brassiere/Take away. Well worth a visit. NO English dishes All French + Pizzas.
The Local town,L'Argentiere can be reached by bus, bicycle or a 2.5 km walk along an old Muleteers pathway away from the traffic. Lots to se in the town, very artisan and a good selection of bars/cafes and restaurants.
Once again we will definitely be revisiting next year.
Then onto Paris, but we broke our journey at Municipal - Mehun sur Yevre. 9€ for the night, 12€ with electric. Fantastic site with 28 pitches in the centre of town. The Facilities were absolutely fantastic and unusual for French sites they had toilet seats and papers. Lots to see in the town with historical connections to Charles 7th and Joan of Arc. Lovely old castle remains and lovely riverside gardens.
Then onto Paris - Camping International | Maisons Laffitte. On an island in the Seine about 20 km by road from the Eiffel Tower. Pitches alongside the Seine, large and with shade. Shop was good as were the toilet and Shower Facilities. The Restaurant was OK but a little English ( Burger and Chips etc. ) but plenty of restaurants 10 minutes walk away as fellas the local station with fast commuter trains into town. A major train line nearby crossing the Seine but not too noisy and goes quite about 2300 hrs until 0600hrs,
If you are into cycling then there is easy access to the London - Paris Off Road Cycle Track, the Avenue Verte http://avenuevertelondonparis.co.uk/troncons/la-seine-impressionniste that takes you into the Centre of Paris via the Seine.
Finally a simple 3 hr drive to the French Euroshuttle Station. Straight off the Autoroute into the Terminal with no hassle at all.
We used a Sanif Tag and also hired the Italian TelePass Tag- Well worth it. Lovely just driving through the 30 kph Tag lane.
Beware the A86 Tunnel - 2m Height limit for almost 10 Km. Fortunately we have a tower bike rack.
Well next year we will definitely be revisiting the Italian Beach campsite and the Ardeche again.
Hope this has been of some use to someone and if you want anymore information then just ask.
