M
muttley
Guest User
Sorry for the long winded post!
We had our first 'big' 2 week tour in the Cali this August. It was a real adventure, and I have detailed the rough route below in case anyone is interested in something similar.
We headed down to the South of France near Nice, then up into the Gorges du Verdon, across into Provence, up into the Central Massive, back across into Burgundy and up through Champagne. A lot of driving (2000+ miles), but it didn't feel like too much. If you have the time, then this would be much more relaxing as a 3 week tour - we had to squeeze it into 2.
All the stops are detailed on this Google map:
http://goo.gl/maps/AdSNz
French Tour – South of France / Mountains / Rivers / Provence / Burgundy / Champagne
1. Juan-le-Pins / Antibes
Antibes is a large town on the South Coast, with a historic centre full of interesting little shops and cafes. Juan-les-Pins is a short walk away, and is a rather upmarket tourist spot, with a huge selection of restaurants and boutiques alongside the beach. Nice for an evening stroll, and there is also a large park with a play area for the children.
There are campsites outside Antibes, but they are large and noisy in season, and you have to cross a railway and busy road to get to town or the beach. We didn’t fancy that and booked in a little hotel in Juan-les-Pins for a few nights. To be honest, we find it hard to sleep in the Cali in 35C in any case (stuck downstairs, with the boys in the roof).
2. Castellane / Gorges du Verdon / Rougon
Site: Camping La Ferme, Castellane. Rustic site, with small river running alongside and play area
The Gorges du Verdon is France’s Grand Canyon, and whilst much smaller in scale, it is a spectacular mountain gorge, with the turquoise verdon river twisting its way through white limestone rocks. Castellane is a small town, which is the ‘gateway’ to the canyon. To swim in or explore the river, take the Couloir Samson road on the D952 just before Rougon. A short canyonning path takes you down to the river with its beautiful pools, and little waterfalls. Take a torch if you want to follow the busy path through the long mountain tunnels. Good views from Point Sublime, but better from the hilltop village of Rougon, famous for its crepes restaurant.
3. Fontaine de Vaucluse / Gordes / St Remy de Provence
Site: Camping Monplaisir, St Remy. Excellent facilities, short walk into the village.
Fontaine de Vaucluse is famous for its natural spring, which pours out 60,000 litres of water a second. The spring is less impressive than that would suggest in the summer, but apparently in winter it creates a large waterfall. However, the river and riverside restaurants were very pleasant, and the little town was interesting enough.
The fortified hilltop village of Gordes is a famous tourist spot, and well worth visiting, though we didn’t have much time to explore. Lovely Provencal lavender & sunflower fields in this area.
Saint Remy is a pretty old town, with little winding streets punctuated by open squares filled with cafes.
4. Castelbouc / St. Enimie / Aven Armand
Site: Camping Les Fayards, St Enimie. Set into a wooded valley, next to the river.
Saint Enimie is a chocolate box village in the Gorges du Tarn, with narrow medieval alleyways, and interesting shops. It is worth stopping off en route to see the tiny village of Castelbouc nestled into the cliffs, and if you drop down into the village from the main road, you can swim in or walk by the river which opens up into a wide expanse of beach.
The Aven Armand cave is a short drive from St Enimie, and is large enough to fit a Cathedral inside. Hundreds of enormous stalactites and stalagmites, with a mini railway to whisk you into the depths.
5. Puy de Dome
Site: Camping Ceyrat, Clermont Ferrand. Wouldn’t recommend - filthy washrooms.
We stayed here just to see the chain of extinct volcanoes from the top of the largest - Puy De Dome. Naturally, this was the one day when the weather turned foggy & drizzly, so we didn’t actually get to see them. The pictures look nice on Google though!!
6. Beaune / Dijon – Burgundy
Site: Cent Vignes – Beaune. Nice little site, a short walk from Beaune.
Beaune is a large town, famed for the Beaune Hospice with its coloured tile roof. It is a nice town, with a good range of shops & restaurants. We visited the Veuve Ambal bottling plant, and the children loved seeing all the machinery in action, and robots packing the crates of wine. Nice sparkling wine too.
Dijon is a short drive from Beaune, and is really worth seeing. There is a beautiful historic centre, with stunning architecture, and more patisseries and chocolate shops than are good for you.
7. Troyes / Epernay – Champagne.
Site: Kawan Village Lac D’Orient, Troyes. A large site, excellent facilities but a bit noisy in season.
We took a detour on the way to Troyes to see the medieval hilltop village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain. One of the ‘plus belles villages’ of France, and featured in the film Chocolat. Troyes has a medieval centre, apparently shaped like a champagne cork, with plenty of interesting things to see. There is a champagne route nearby, where you can visit the vineyards & cellars of local champagne producers (and have the obligatory tastings)! We intended to visit Epernay, which is the real centre of Champagne production, but ran out of time on this trip.
We didn't book any sites, and never had a problem getting a pitch. Don't arrive late at munipal sites though, as they seem to fill up late in the day. I haven't given much information about the sites, unless they were particularly good or bad. Our preference was for small, quiet sites where possible.
Simon
We had our first 'big' 2 week tour in the Cali this August. It was a real adventure, and I have detailed the rough route below in case anyone is interested in something similar.
We headed down to the South of France near Nice, then up into the Gorges du Verdon, across into Provence, up into the Central Massive, back across into Burgundy and up through Champagne. A lot of driving (2000+ miles), but it didn't feel like too much. If you have the time, then this would be much more relaxing as a 3 week tour - we had to squeeze it into 2.
All the stops are detailed on this Google map:
http://goo.gl/maps/AdSNz
French Tour – South of France / Mountains / Rivers / Provence / Burgundy / Champagne
1. Juan-le-Pins / Antibes
Antibes is a large town on the South Coast, with a historic centre full of interesting little shops and cafes. Juan-les-Pins is a short walk away, and is a rather upmarket tourist spot, with a huge selection of restaurants and boutiques alongside the beach. Nice for an evening stroll, and there is also a large park with a play area for the children.
There are campsites outside Antibes, but they are large and noisy in season, and you have to cross a railway and busy road to get to town or the beach. We didn’t fancy that and booked in a little hotel in Juan-les-Pins for a few nights. To be honest, we find it hard to sleep in the Cali in 35C in any case (stuck downstairs, with the boys in the roof).
2. Castellane / Gorges du Verdon / Rougon
Site: Camping La Ferme, Castellane. Rustic site, with small river running alongside and play area
The Gorges du Verdon is France’s Grand Canyon, and whilst much smaller in scale, it is a spectacular mountain gorge, with the turquoise verdon river twisting its way through white limestone rocks. Castellane is a small town, which is the ‘gateway’ to the canyon. To swim in or explore the river, take the Couloir Samson road on the D952 just before Rougon. A short canyonning path takes you down to the river with its beautiful pools, and little waterfalls. Take a torch if you want to follow the busy path through the long mountain tunnels. Good views from Point Sublime, but better from the hilltop village of Rougon, famous for its crepes restaurant.
3. Fontaine de Vaucluse / Gordes / St Remy de Provence
Site: Camping Monplaisir, St Remy. Excellent facilities, short walk into the village.
Fontaine de Vaucluse is famous for its natural spring, which pours out 60,000 litres of water a second. The spring is less impressive than that would suggest in the summer, but apparently in winter it creates a large waterfall. However, the river and riverside restaurants were very pleasant, and the little town was interesting enough.
The fortified hilltop village of Gordes is a famous tourist spot, and well worth visiting, though we didn’t have much time to explore. Lovely Provencal lavender & sunflower fields in this area.
Saint Remy is a pretty old town, with little winding streets punctuated by open squares filled with cafes.
4. Castelbouc / St. Enimie / Aven Armand
Site: Camping Les Fayards, St Enimie. Set into a wooded valley, next to the river.
Saint Enimie is a chocolate box village in the Gorges du Tarn, with narrow medieval alleyways, and interesting shops. It is worth stopping off en route to see the tiny village of Castelbouc nestled into the cliffs, and if you drop down into the village from the main road, you can swim in or walk by the river which opens up into a wide expanse of beach.
The Aven Armand cave is a short drive from St Enimie, and is large enough to fit a Cathedral inside. Hundreds of enormous stalactites and stalagmites, with a mini railway to whisk you into the depths.
5. Puy de Dome
Site: Camping Ceyrat, Clermont Ferrand. Wouldn’t recommend - filthy washrooms.
We stayed here just to see the chain of extinct volcanoes from the top of the largest - Puy De Dome. Naturally, this was the one day when the weather turned foggy & drizzly, so we didn’t actually get to see them. The pictures look nice on Google though!!
6. Beaune / Dijon – Burgundy
Site: Cent Vignes – Beaune. Nice little site, a short walk from Beaune.
Beaune is a large town, famed for the Beaune Hospice with its coloured tile roof. It is a nice town, with a good range of shops & restaurants. We visited the Veuve Ambal bottling plant, and the children loved seeing all the machinery in action, and robots packing the crates of wine. Nice sparkling wine too.
Dijon is a short drive from Beaune, and is really worth seeing. There is a beautiful historic centre, with stunning architecture, and more patisseries and chocolate shops than are good for you.
7. Troyes / Epernay – Champagne.
Site: Kawan Village Lac D’Orient, Troyes. A large site, excellent facilities but a bit noisy in season.
We took a detour on the way to Troyes to see the medieval hilltop village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain. One of the ‘plus belles villages’ of France, and featured in the film Chocolat. Troyes has a medieval centre, apparently shaped like a champagne cork, with plenty of interesting things to see. There is a champagne route nearby, where you can visit the vineyards & cellars of local champagne producers (and have the obligatory tastings)! We intended to visit Epernay, which is the real centre of Champagne production, but ran out of time on this trip.
We didn't book any sites, and never had a problem getting a pitch. Don't arrive late at munipal sites though, as they seem to fill up late in the day. I haven't given much information about the sites, unless they were particularly good or bad. Our preference was for small, quiet sites where possible.
Simon
great pictures thanks for sharing your adventures 
