French campsite maps/book

[Bigtallfatbloke]

I have some poi's loaded into the gPS but I am not going to rely on them, so i want to have a book showing all the locations of the campsites on a map with me...I have seen this:

http://www.stanfords.co.uk/stock/camping-france-2008-161506/

..any good? What do all you seasoned Francophile tourers carry?
I know what it's like at the end of a long days ride with nowhere to sleep and darkness falling...so i just want to know I can whip it out..erm...and find a campsite quickly.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

I don't bother with anything. All the reasonably sized places or larger have campsites and the Tourist Offices (or SIs) will let you have a full list and a map for free. Sometimes it's a little awkward as they usually only have the details of the one in their Department or even more local, but it works.

The only time I would actually bother to find out the exact position of a site is if I was arriving off the ferry late at night, or going to a city where you can't just ride in and find a sign or ask someone. (For instance Paris!)

 

[andrew_s]

I don't know of any readily available books that have more than a selection in. The Michelin guide has about 1000, but this website has a headline figure of 9500.

In the past, I've used the campsite markings on the Michelin 1:200,000 maps, but I was proposing to add in the use of POIs on the GPS next time round. Any book would be a fair bit of weight, and cover areas that you don't want. At least POIs are a no-cost extra to whatever else you may use.
The problem will be getting hold of the info. There are lots of POI files around, but most of them seem to only have a few sites in, and have been put online in the hope that others will add to them. Archiescampings (12,000 sites for Europe) is the best I've found, but when I check the sites I've used, I'm still well under 50% hit rate.

 

[vernon]

I have some poi's loaded into the gPS but I am not going to rely on them, so i want to have a book showing all the locations of the campsites on a map with me...I have seen this:

http://www.stanfords.co.uk/stock/camping-france-2008-161506/

..any good? What do all you seasoned Francophile tourers carry?
I know what it's like at the end of a long days ride with nowhere to sleep and darkness falling...so i just want to know I can whip it out..erm...and find a campsite quickly.

In 14 or so days of cycling from the Channel to the Med, I only failed to locate campsites on two ocassions. The place is normlly awash with them at the end of a a long days ride you just might find yourself like I was - too far from a camp site (quickly found on a conventinal map) to be willing to extend the day any further.

Michelin maps have black triangles indicating the presence of campsites and they are independent of electricity and electromagnetic radiation.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

Michelin maps have black triangles indicating the presence of campsites

It's not definitive as they only indicate the presence of a campsite mentioned in their 'Green Guides'. There's often many others around as well.

 

[vernon]

It's not definitive as they only indicate the presence of a campsite mentioned in their 'Green Guides'. There's often many others around as well.

I never suggested that they were the definitive guide but they give enough indication of the likely presence of alternatives too such as the municipal sites.

In reality I rarely used the 'black triangle sites' but equally I never felt the need to have a definitive list of sites either.

 

[Percy]

As most of above, I've never used guides and have always just headed for reasonable sized places if I wanted a site - they nearly always had something.

Tourist informations, as someone mentioned, have decent guides/maps if you do want them, generally for the departement in which you are in at the time. I've found them to be very helpful in the past - the maps and the people. More than once I've had worried French ladies telephoning the various town that lay ahead to make sure there would be somewhere open for me to stay the night, despite my protestations!

I did once try to plan a trip around the sites listed in an Alain Rogers (is that what they're called) guide, but gave up because I soon realised it would be a very limiting thing to do given they only list a selection of 'approved' sites. I would have busted a gut to get to some of them and missed some great campsites/towns/people along the way which is, as we often say, what it's all about.

I would say the only time you'll find a problem with sites is if you go really out of season, then the problem won't be finding a campsite but finding an open one.

 

[psmiffy]

using the Michelin maps i have only had one failure in a dozen tours (say 250nights) in france- campsite was there but it had closed for ever - last year was the first and only time i carried a guide (Michelen) but that was because it was very early in the year

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Camping-France-2008-Michelin-Guides/dp/2067130684

http://www.stanfords.co.uk/stock/camping-france-2008-161506/

well this jus tarrived in the post and I have to say i am very disapponted. Basically it is useless for my purposes. It doesnt even give the address of each site! The maps are so high level that they are only of use to a Nasa astronaut trying to find earth!
Basically all you get is confirmation that in the town you choose there is a campsite..or two...the name...satellite info and and whole load of other carp only of interest to wohnwaggeners...but is there a simple map with a simple dot of where the site is at street level??? Oh no...that would be to easy...so they included a map of where all the amusement parks are instead.
It is heavy as well, mostly because of the limitless useless info and adverts...so my opinion is do not buy this if you are off to france on a bike...total waste of money. I mean i can teven locate the site on googlemaps with the information in this 'guide'.

100% useless.

 

[andrew_s]

I've just checked in the bookshop, and the current Michelin maps don't show campsites, or even symbols against towns with campsites.
This applies to 1:150,000 Local (yellow), 1:????? Regional (orange) and to the 2008 1:200,000 road atlas.

IGN have never shown campsites, at least at 1:100,000 or 1:250,000.

Keep your old Michelin maps.

 

[gwhite]

The most comprehensive list of French campsites which include the one star small sites is found here.
(Fédération Française de Camping Caravaning [FFCC]


The book can be bought through the Caravanning and Camping Club or in France but be aware it's too heavy to be carried on tour. I usually photo-copy the maps and details I need.

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

Thanks all for your help.

So far i am having themost success with the simple Yellow pages link. It gives me an easy search, full address etc and full mapping down to streeet level. It's time consuming but I am trying to mark all the sites (in the location of the town I reckon I might make it to each night) onto my 1;180,000 road atlas pages and then I will try to get them all into the gps as well.

I am not one to just ride and see what occurs, I need to know where I am headed at least...but you probably guessed that already!

 

[psmiffy]

BFTP-fair Play everybody to their own