First time France

[Velvet Brightwell]

We are going to the Loire valley in early June, I have booked 3 nights on a site not far from Saumur. It's an 11 day trip, we like pretty villages as opposed to big towns, any suggestions would be welcome.

 

[Alied]

We are going to the Loire valley in early June, I have booked 3 nights on a site not far from Saumur. It's an 11 day trip, we like pretty villages as opposed to big towns, any suggestions would be welcome.

I stay at Camping Kathy Dave in La Fosse De Tigne. It's a small basic site of seven pitches, with very hospitable owners. It's adults only I'm afraid.

 

[dspuk]

Sort the Crit Air before you go, some will say it’s not needed, but for 5 Euro, not worth the hassle in case it is.

Get the pass for toll roads - there is a special kind of smugness to glide past the UK Porsche w️ who overtook you a few miles back and is now stuck in a Q to pay.

Use Waze - “police point” will warn you of any speed cameras.

Else serendipity is your friend and quiet village lunch mooching. Just don’t do the scenic route all the way, will get tedious after a while.

 

[stoobthealien]

Sort the Crit Air before you go, some will say it’s not needed, but for 5 Euro, not worth the hassle in case it is.

Get the pass for toll roads - there is a special kind of smugness to glide past the UK Porsche w️ who overtook you a few miles back and is now stuck in a Q to pay.

Use Waze - “police point” will warn you of any speed cameras.

Else serendipity is your friend and quiet village lunch mooching. Just don’t do the scenic route all the way, will get tedious after a while.

And as was discussed on another thread - have a quick look on street view to see if the "scenic" route really is - plenty of depressing industrial estates and distribution warehouses in France just as in the UK!

 

[sticky1]

There is loads to do around Saumur, it obviously depends on your interests but when we’ve been with the kids we visited;
Abbey Fontevraud - now a UNESCO heritage site.
Chateau du Rivau - if you enjoy gardens
The mushroom museum - if you enjoy cooking (it’s also cooler in the caves on a hot day)
We took Canadian canoes and enjoyed paddling down the river, we saw several Loire cruises which might be an option in the summer.
There are several very pretty villages nearby as well.
It’s making me jealous - must go back soon.

 

[Velvet Brightwell]

There is loads to do around Saumur, it obviously depends on your interests but when we’ve been with the kids we visited;
Abbey Fontevraud - now a UNESCO heritage site.
Chateau du Rivau - if you enjoy gardens
The mushroom museum - if you enjoy cooking (it’s also cooler in the caves on a hot day)
We took Canadian canoes and enjoyed paddling down the river, we saw several Loire cruises which might be an option in the summer.
There are several very pretty villages nearby as well.
It’s making me jealous - must go back soon.

Many Thanks for your reply, I'm sure we will stop by some of your recommendations

 

[Aubisque]

The mushroom caves and tank museum in Saumur are good.

 

[DaveB]

Get the pass for toll roads - there is a special kind of smugness to glide past the UK Porsche w️ who overtook you a few miles back and is now stuck in a Q to pay.

Where do you buy this from these days?

 

[Betsycalifornia]

Where do you buy this from these days?

Emovis
Fulli
Bip and go

Or one of your choice.

I’ve used emovis and Fulli, stuck with Fulli as it covers wider parts of Europe to emovis which was France only when I had it.

 

[sticky1]

The mushroom caves and tank museum in Saumur are good.

Ah yes I had forgotten the tank museum!

 

[stoobthealien]

Emovis
Fulli
Bip and go

Or one of your choice.

I’ve used emovis and Fulli, stuck with Fulli as it covers wider parts of Europe to emovis which was France only when I had it.

If you're a caravan club member you get the subscription fee waived on emovis I think

 

[dspuk]

Where do you buy this from these days?

Just direct from the Emovis site

 

[Jay586]

Emovis gave Harry Melcalfe a tag in his latest video (road trip to Monaco) with a link for a special offer. I was watching it last night, think it waives the admin fee or something.

Harry's Garage on YouTube

 

[Stow]

I stayed at Camping les nobis d'anjou south of Saumur. Very pleasant and low key, easy stroll into a pretty town. In the area, Ackerman Caves were surprisingly good and interesting, very cheap self tour ticket, though as you may expect, supermarkets sell the wine cheaper than the shop, but you can at least taste. Kids or no kids, the Bioparc Zoo de Doué la Fontaine was amazing and I'm not much of an animal person. The grounds were impressive on their own. Driving around and cycling the area though was pretty dull in the main. Loire valley conjures images of landscapes, but clearly they need to be hunted down round there.

 

[Ayjay]

We have used Emovis tags for France and Spain for years - you might pay a fee but IMHO it's worth it to sail through toll booths and not have to worry about the odd occasion when the machine has refused to accept the first card (for no obvious reason).

 

[Celia Vanchez]

We are going to the Loire valley in early June, I have booked 3 nights on a site not far from Saumur. It's an 11 day trip, we like pretty villages as opposed to big towns, any suggestions would be welcome.

We were in the Loire area a couple of months back and stumbled upon the town of Amboise which was a real gem. It has a former royal palace and a chateau where Leonardo Di Vinci sent his last years. His tomb is in the palaces chapel. The chateau has a wonderful garden which contain models of various of his inventions.

 

[barney108vwcali]

https://www.emovis-tag.co.uk/subscription?ref=RF-20240408-24A7092B

 

[Adeline]

Sort the Crit Air before you go, some will say it’s not needed, but for 5 Euro, not worth the hassle in case it is.

Get the pass for toll roads - there is a special kind of smugness to glide past the UK Porsche w️ who overtook you a few miles back and is now stuck in a Q to pay.

Use Waze - “police point” will warn you of any speed cameras.

Else serendipity is your friend and quiet village lunch mooching. Just don’t do the scenic route all the way, will get tedious after a while.

Careful using speed camera detectors in France, they are forbidden.

 

[dspuk]

Careful using speed camera detectors in France, they are forbidden.

They are and have been for over a decade. We had to remove the POIs from all Nissan sat nav.

That is why Waze is used by the locals. It does not mark speed cameras. It marks “police points”. As per my post.

 

[Adeline]

They are and have been for over a decade. We had to remove the POIs from all Nissan sat nav.

That is why Waze is used by the locals. It does not mark speed cameras. It marks “police points”. As per my post.

I stand corrected, thanks!

 

[Fishface]

At the moment Total Energy fuel stations have 1) cheapest Diesel at 2.10 Euros and 2) the longest queues for obvious reasons. This ( quite amazingly) includes Autoroute service stations as well. So worth looking out for these. Supemarkets between 2.15 and 2.20 Euros per litre

 

[Anthony1]

Careful using speed camera detectors in France, they are forbidden.

A bit irrelevant now anyway. The French no longer request details of UK drivers - a Brexit Bonus. That's my experience anyway.

 

[acer]

The mushroom caves and tank museum in Saumur are good.

Make sure you arrive in an appropriate vehicle

 

[stoobthealien]

A bit irrelevant now anyway. The French no longer request details of UK drivers - a Brexit Bonus. That's my experience anyway.

I was reading about how they are finding other ways that are a bit mysterious - likely using dodgy UK parking companies who have access to the DVLA database and want to make a bit of extra cash

 

[Velma's Dad]

Make sure you arrive in an appropriate vehicle

Ah but if that was a real British military vehicle it would be even more superior in the camping equipment department, 'cos it would have a BV.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_vessel)