Your best ever holiday in France?

[tomskip]

When and where?

Cities, towns, villages, gites, chateaux, Eurostar, ferry, campsites, caravans, air b n b, any and all memories/recommendations are very warmly welcomed.

Merci!

[rendelharris]

The French Pyrenees, in my opinion, have the best people in all of France, wonderful wine, great food and such a relaxed attitude to life. Many happy weeks spent down there, superb walking, cycling and general loafing around.

[DovertheRoad]

The lesser known Cote Vermeille us great. It's on the west side of the southern (Mediterranean) coast. Cheaper, more unspoiled and without the bling of the Cote D'Azur. You'll find a chain of charming coastal harbour towns, little beaches, vinyards and walks into the Pyrenean foothills. And Catalan culture. Get there by flying to Perpignan on a cheapish Ryanair and get the local train or drive south to Collioure (pretty, walking trails above), Porte Vendre ( good food), Banyuls. You can then hop over the border into Spain and check out Cadaques etc. Hotels are rarely more than 90 Euros a night even in peak season. With France May, June, early July amd mid sept to Oct are my favourite times. Would avoid August completely unless you like it busy.

[Inbound]

I followed the Loire Valley for a hundred miles or so, nothing planned just cruised along and stopped off at towns cities and villages. I ended up on the Atlantic coast, beautiful! Wonderful countryside! Cities are half empty if you time it with the French national summer holiday.

[malumbu]

So many places - I liked the Masdif Central going onto Cantal. The Gorges including the Tarn (less visited) and the Ardeche. Motorbiked around France many years ago and I think we slept on the beach at Banyuls.

Some parts - the SW coast and up towards Nice are frighteningly expensive. A recall motorbiking down South from Le Mans and it was flat, straight and dull. I spend a lot of time in Brittany which is what it is, less 'continental' a little wet but quiet and rugged.

First place I went to is Provence - good in the spring and autumn - quieter and cooler. And Paris - just has a great vibe.

Much of it is a mood thing!

[Mark]

We cruised downn to St Jean de Luz last year for a holiday, best places were:

Maison dans site troglodyte Gennes https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/16278626 - a lovely place to stop on the way

Bois Bourdet http://www.boisbourdet.com/ - a great base for La Rochelle

An apartment right in the centre of Saint Jean de Luz, Airbnb I think.

Seat Jean De Luz is the quieter smaller version of Biarritz , French with a Basque feel about it. Great food, art, beach, walking etc, well worth the drive.

The big sand dune or the Dune du Pilat as the French call it is worth a look.

Take a copy of your driver's license, car registration doc and insurance in the glove box in case the gendarme want to have a look. We were stopped randomly and had a proper telling off for not having the documents.

[Mark]

Oh and for a wonderful meal: La Grenouill?re - https://www.lagrenouillere.fr/ 19 Rue de la Grenouill?re, 62170 La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil, France - upscale and superb.

Only an hour from Calais, and it has sister restaurants, Froggys' Tavern and Antidote for a more down to earth experience, also in Montreuil.

Best ever holiday in France was actually 30 years ago backpacking around youth hostels in Frejus, St Raphael, Le Trayas and Nice but those memories are a bit faded.

[SpringTime]

In 1983 we stayed near Castillonnes on a farm, south of Bergerac and it was beautiful. I remember being about 3 in another place near quarries close to Brossac somewhere North West of Bergerac. Somewhere by a lake in a chalet. Lots of good caves in this area. That was in 1981 I think. More recently I stayed overnight in Chateauroux on a trip down to Girona. There's a good square in the town for a nice evening of food and drink. You could stop off at Oradour-sur-Glane to see the site of the massacre. I went as a boy and it's still quite harrowing now although the bones in the church have been cleared. I think the roof fell in in the end. There's a good hotel in Carcassonne though probably better to be in town when it's colder as it gets busy and a little trippery. We also stopped at a quiet village called Nancay between Bourges and Orleans. Grand Fougeray is a good (quiet) stop off in Britanny....

More fun driving than train or plane if you ask me, and there are thousands of good places really, where are you planning on going?

[DovertheRoad]

And why not make it old school? Ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo. Then drive on to Brittany (Carnac) for some Eurocamp camping, beach and frites by a massive communal swimming pool. Buy some bangers, a flick knife and one of those pens with a stripper on it.

[SpringTime]

DovertheRoad Wrote:

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> And why not make it old school? Ferry from

> Portsmouth to St Malo. Then drive on to Brittany

> (Carnac) for some Eurocamp camping, beach and

> frites by a massive communal swimming pool. Buy

> some bangers, a flick knife and one of those pens

> with a stripper on it.

We might have been on the same bus. Whatever happened I am sorry!

[DaveR]

"Buy some bangers, a flick knife and one of those pens with a stripper on it."

This was obviously de rigeur for every school trip to France in the 80s (mine included). Plus we all bought lots of different flavours of chewing gum as well - Hollywood, was it?

[Michael Palaeologus]

DovertheRoad Wrote:

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> And why not make it old school? Ferry from

> Portsmouth to St Malo. Then drive on to Brittany

> (Carnac) for some Eurocamp camping, beach and

> frites by a massive communal swimming pool. Buy

> some bangers, a flick knife and one of those pens

> with a stripper on it.

The campsite with standing stones within it? Marvellous place. Stayed in a Keycamp static caravan. Roast chicken from the site shop, fresh baguette and croissant with fresh coffee. Lovely.

The Dordogne. Punting through underground lakes and rivers, the Lascaux caves, wine and cheese. Staying in a static in a wood, being surrounded by rabbits every evening, waiting for their share of the salad. Feeding the resident pair of coypu with stale baguette every morning.

Languedoc-Roussillon. Beachside campsite. Trips to Carcassone and Beziers, cruising through the Pyrenees, full of Cathar history. Going down the Vallee de l'Aude, spotting the signs to Rennes le Chateau and driving to the top of a mountain to explore the quiet and dusty village with its now famous church. This was many years before Dan Brown made it famous in The Da Vinci Code and the village was all-but-deserted with one small bookshop selling multi-lingual versions of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail. Rather different now I suspect.

[SpringTime]

Mark Wrote:

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> We cruised downn to St Jean de Luz last year for a

> holiday, best places were:

>

> Maison dans site troglodyte Gennes

> https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/16278626 - a lovely

> place to stop on the way

> Bois Bourdet http://www.boisbourdet.com/ - a great

> base for La Rochelle

> An apartment right in the centre of Saint Jean de

> Luz, Airbnb I think.

>

> Seat Jean De Luz is the quieter smaller version of

> Biarritz , French with a Basque feel about it.

> Great food, art, beach, walking etc, well worth

> the drive.

>

> The big sand dune or the Dune du Pilat as the

> French call it is worth a look.

>

> Take a copy of your driver's license, car

> registration doc and insurance in the glove box in

> case the gendarme want to have a look. We were

> stopped randomly and had a proper telling off for

> not having the documents.

Can anyone give me anymore info about La Rochelle area? We're doing a Normandy, Brittany, Dordogne trip this year and will be looking for a coastal stop as part of the holiday. Will obviously look at alternatives if Rochelle isn't a good seaside break.

[Seabag]

The one where I crossed the border and rented an apartment in San Sebasti?n. That was great, food was way better. There?s only so much duck a man can take.

[Yak]

Just north from La Rochelle is the Vendee region, which has excellent white sandy beaches and pine forests. Directly around La Rochelle It's a bit marshier. Unless of course you go to the Ile de Re which is superb but v pricey and crowded in August. La Rochelle itself is nice for a night or two city break - plenty to see and do with castles, fort, marina with compulsory ice cream parlours etc.

[malumbu]

Off to Carcassoonne shortly so interested in recommendations already made and ones to come.

[SpringTime]

malumbu Wrote:

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> Off to Carcassoonne shortly so interested in

> recommendations already made and ones to come.

Are you camping, staying in the town, or elsewhere? And how long are you going for?

[fishbiscuits]

SpringTime Wrote:

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> Can anyone give me anymore info about La Rochelle area?

V nice town, but no beach that I can recall.

Les Sables Dolonne, 50 miles up the coast, has an excellent beach and is perfect for families. Royan has a pretty impressive beach too. But both lack the charm of La Rochelle.

[edcam]

Can also HUGELY recommend this restaurant. The area is great but probably not the greatest in France but that restaurant and Montreuil for the weekend? Definitely!

Mark Wrote:

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> Oh and for a wonderful meal: La Grenouill?re -

> https://www.lagrenouillere.fr/ 19 Rue de la

> Grenouill?re, 62170 La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil,

> France - upscale and superb.

> Only an hour from Calais, and it has sister

> restaurants, Froggys' Tavern and Antidote for a

> more down to earth experience, also in Montreuil.

>

> Best ever holiday in France was actually 30 years

> ago backpacking around youth hostels in Frejus, St

> Raphael, Le Trayas and Nice but those memories are

> a bit faded.

[rendelharris]

malumbu Wrote:

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> Off to Carcassoonne shortly so interested in

> recommendations already made and ones to come.

Not too far from the Pyrenees climbs - Porte de Paliheres and Plateau de Beille would be nearest - both utter bastards - not tempted to take your bike?

[malumbu]

Ryanair cancelled the flight to Carcassonne two days before, rebooked with Easyjet to Toulouse which was cancelled on the day, bumned a lift with some others waiting at the customer services queue. A 14 hour drive..... Note Easyjet much more helpful with the claim than Michael O'Leary. Air traffic control strike. France full of it at the moments aas Macron 'modernises' the state

Thanks for the suggestion of the Cathar Castles etc, brilliant and the local gorges. Carcassonne a bit of a disneyland, but good for the day and the art work, works. At this point train strike so had to come back a day early to get return flight so recommend a day in Toulouse. Looking after dogs so didn't do the climbs but have a mate in the foothills who thoroughly recommends.

Going to Finnistere for the tour. Not a lot of mountains there!