Touring France & Spain

Popty 51
Popty 51 Forum Participant Posts: 21
edited February 2021 in Overseas Campsites & Touring #1

Hi all, hope you are all keeping well & safe, and not going (too much) stir crazy.

If & when we are allowed to go into Europe, we hope to go to Spain (Portsmouth-Bilbao) on the Mediterranean coast for a few weeks (with our motorhome) & then travel back to Calais for the Ferry or Eurotunnel back to the UK.

We hope to spend a few weeks in France on the return journey & stop over on sites in or near vineyards, do any members know of sites in/near vineyards, or any publications/websites that can help, we use our ACSI card to reserve sites but the ACSI site does not show if the sites are in or near vineyards, I'm some members have done this before so any help would be appreciated.

We hope to spend 6/8 weeks (or more, as now retired so no ties) for the entire trip, so we only book our outbound crossing, so any advice please   

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  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,829 ✭✭✭
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    edited February 2021 #2

    As motorhomers you can sign up as members of the France Passion scheme and get free overnight stopovers with some of their hosts who actually have vineyards and hope to sell you their wine. 

    But if you prefer campsites here's  a map of the main French wine regions for you to choose from. I don't think you will need to reserve inland campsites for the sort of tour you have in mind. 

  • Wherenext
    Wherenext Club Member Posts: 10,601 ✭✭✭
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    edited February 2021 #3

    Just trying to think of sites we have stayed at where we have visited nearby vineyards.

    Maussane-les-Alpilles, near St.Remy de Provence, has several vineyards on its doorstep that you could walk to or cycle to.

    Camping Le Mas de Mourgues at Gallician on the edge of the Petit Camargue. Walk down the road towards Gallician and the Co-Op (big warehouse but easily missed) sells wonderful Costieres de Nimes

    Municipal camlsite at Blere next to the Cher river. You can walk to vineyards selling local wines such as Tourraine.

    Campsite at Ribeauville in Alsace. Vineyards all around. The local Pinot Gris is a cut above any other we've tried.

    Camping Le Bosquet at Malaucene near Mont Ventoux. Try the local Reds. Not far to travel to Cotes de Rhone land or Beaumes de Venice if that's your tipple.

    Plenty others but they escape me at the moment.

     

     

     

  • Jamsdad
    Jamsdad Forum Participant Posts: 275
    edited February 2021 #4

    The campsite at St Emillion is in the middle of the vineyards, and another good one is the campsite at Blaye  ( Cotes de Blaye, Cotes de Bourg, Bordeaux Suoerieur). Clisson  site is well placed for Muscadet, and the Camping Muncipal at Vouvray is a great site for the eponymous wine. Depends on your route, whether going up the west coast or up the Rhone. If you give the route I can recommend lots more.

  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,829 ✭✭✭
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    edited February 2021 #5

    Popty, We were staying at that cute little campsite inside the fort walls at Blaye which has just been mentioned  - it's on the Gironde, downstream from Bordeaux - and we walked down though the village for lunch at an honest, non-tourist restaurant at the bottom of the hill. 

    We asked for a bottle of house red - always a sound choice at that sort of restaurant.-  liked it, and noted the label - Chateau des Millards - so the next day we went to find the place and bought half a dozen bottles. 

    It's tactic we have used several times in other places - but we do go for restaurant lunches more than many people, so it won't work for everyone. 

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,387 ✭✭✭
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    edited February 2021 #6

    If you use the "Advanced Search" facility on >Search for Sites< you can apply a location filter to show all sites on vineyards. Search for Sites is also available as an App for tablets and smart phones.

    peedee

  • Unknown
    Unknown Forum Participant
    edited February 2021 #7
    The user and all related content has been Deleted User
  • mnlatham
    mnlatham Forum Participant Posts: 108
    edited February 2021 #8

    You could visit Oradur Sur Glane the site of an SS atrocity during WW2. There is an Aire there I believe. Well worth a visit if in the area.

  • Wanderbirds
    Wanderbirds Forum Participant Posts: 71
    edited February 2021 #9

    Another vote for France Passion. It was started by a group of French vineyard owners who had pockets of land they were not allowed to grow grapes on. They wanted to entice motorhomes to their vineyards in the hope that the attraction of a free nights camping and the "offer" of some wine tasting might encourage the purchase of the odd bottle or two (substitute plastic containers or case/s as appropriate). We have stayed in some lovely places "off the beaten track”. Being congentitally gullible when it comes to wine we fall for it every time. If we don’t like the wine we buy a bottle to say thank you. Be aware that our most expensive nights camping ever was a “free nights camping” on a vineyard in Cognac. We did enjoy the fruits of our research for a good few months.

     

    We find the CamperContact website most useful for vineyard camping in Germany but if you look at Motorhome Stopovers names for Domaine, Vignoble or the name of a wine region in them they usually indicate stopovers on a vineyards.

     

    https://www.campercontact.com/en/france

     

    Hope this helps.

    Carl

     Moderator Comment - Link edited

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