BOOKS WORTH A LOOK

A major plus point for campsites in France is that most are well established and are reasonably priced. Many are landscaped with trees, unlike a lot of soul-less British ones where you pay dearly to 'park' against a backdrop of closely packed static caravans.

"Michelin Guide Camping France 2009"

There are quite a few guides to camping and caravanning in France and they all take a different approach. This can vary from the highly selective to the seemingly all encompassing.

I say 'seemingly' because France is so well served with campsites that it would be difficult to list them all. Even without a guide you won't to go far without finding a sign pointing to one.

The most comprehensive and for my money handiest guide to have in the car is published by Michelin. Their 2009 edition of Camping France has been fully revised to include 2700 campsites.

It offers a good overview of campsites and although primarily in French it is easy to handle.
All the essential ingredients needed are shown by symbols that are covered by an English index.




At a glance one can see the percentage of shaded pitches, the facilities on site including shop/restaurant/showers etc, facilities nearby, the price and also tent symbols indicating the rating for the campsite. There is even an indication of which sites have beautiful views.

You might not find the personal opinions that are expressed in other books, but it makes up for that by the way it handles the necessary information and also the sheer number of campsites reviewed.

With the guide in one hand and a Michelin map in the other you will find it easy to cross reference potential campsites.

Guide Camping France 2009 £11.99. The guide can be purchase through the web site at

http://www.michelin.co.uk/travel or by calling: 01923 205240

'Camping-Car Europe 2009'
Motor caravanners may also find useful a Michelin's book of European routes.
This new publication, 'Camping-Car Europe 2009' aims to indicate the best spots for mobile homes in 21 countries. The descriptions are in French.

Guide Camping Car Europe 2009 £13.99

 

"Coolcamping Europe"

If you want to savour specially selected sites before you go and be inspired by pretty pictures then "Coolcamping Europe" is well worth a look

Punk Publishing has launched Cool Camping: Europe - its biggest book yet. Covering 80 outstanding European campsites spread across 12 countries. The guide explores a range of camping grounds and claims to guide you to 80 of the most magical locations to camp across Europe, providing all the practical info you need to discover the best places to visit, to eat and to drink.

The book uncovers those hard-to-find countryside camping gems, well away from the packaged camping crowds. Featuring spectacular mountain sites in the Alps and Pyrenees, lazy, shady riverside hang-outs in the Loire and Dordogne, smart chateau camping in Brittany and balmy outdoor places on the Cote D' Azure.

Price £18.95
http://www.coolcamping.co.uk



Guides worth perusing ,

The AA Caravan and Camping Europe

Fully updated for 2009, and casting the net wider, this extensive European camping guide offers information on more than 3,500 sites in Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey.

Each country in the guide is divided into regions so that you can easily find the sites in your chosen holiday area. There is essential European motoring information including speed limits, motoring law and required equipment, and fully updated contact information including web site and email addresses where available.

'Alan Rogers guide to campsites in France.'

An informative guide to quality camping and caravanning sites in France is a regular best-seller. A well established selective guide to campsites in France This year it details around 1,000 inspected and selected campsites in France and Corsica.
There is It features a special mobile home section, full colour maps, town/village index, listings for ‘open all year’ sites, ‘dog-free’ sites, sites that offer fishing, bike hire, golf and riding. 576 pages, paperback.
Cost including post £13.99

http://www.alanrogers.com/

and see online the web site MapCampingFrance.com

See camp sites in France
Use real satellite pictures to find a camp site you will really love!
http://www.mapcampingfrance.com

 

 

.........and whether you use this or a guide book, you can of course, what ever campsite you want to look at, usually zoom in on the area by using the free Google Earth program.

If you have not already got this on your computer you can download it free of charge at http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html