Puy du Fou voted Best Theme Park in the World !

Tbe French theme Park Puy du Fou has been voted "Best Theme Park in the World" at the Thea Award Ceremony of the "International Asssociation of Amusement Parks and Attractions" in Los Angeles.

The Vendée park, between La-Roche-sur-Yon and Angers, was chosen ahead of 700 parks and shows in 40 countries to receive the Thea Award at a ceremony in Los Angeles. This fantastic historical theme park tells the history of the Vendeen region through a series of arena shows where visitors can watch performances starring Roman gladiators, swashbuckling musketeers, marauding Vikings and fantastic swooping birds.

We all had a different favourite show but they are all fantastic and well rehearsed. There is a new show this year to celebrate the parc's 35th Anniversary and I believe this show will feature acrobatics on horseback !  There is also, of course, the famous night show at the park, which features numerous horses and a cast of hundreds.

We loved this park and visited from the La Garangeoire campsite in the Vendee - an easy hour's drive away. You can also visit from the Loire campsites that feature on our website at :

Go Back to Best French Campsites

Spectators's Guide to the Tour de France

If you are lucky enough to be camping near the Tour de France cycle race route this year then here are some handy tips to help you sound like a knowledgable follower of Cycling !

We went along to watch the race two years ago as it left the small town of Auray in Brittany at the beginning of a stage (or etape as its called in French) and we had a great day out.

This year the Tour runs from Saturday July 2rd to Sunday July 24th 2011, it will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,430.5 kilometres. The route varies each year but always includes some short flat sprint sections and some mountainous sections before culminating in Paris with a sprint. This year the "Grand Start" is in the Vendee and then it continues through Brittany, Normandy and Central France before heading south to the Pyrenees then across to the Alps before heading back for a final finish in Paris.

If you are able to catch the tour then go along to watch about two hours before when you will catch the "Caravane" which is a series of mad looking vehicles and characters who throw lots of freebies to the crowd - great fun !"

Then the race itself will flash past - we nearly missed it after all the waiting !  Either our watches were wrong or they set off two minutes early.

Watch out for the following jerseys - they all have a meaning !
The YELLOW Jersey is awarded to the overall leader of the race.

The GREEN Jersey is the next most prestigious and is given to the leader of the sprint sections.

The red POLKA-DOT Jersey is awarded to the rider who earns most of the points on the mountainous sections of the race. The wearer of the jersey is known as the "King of the Mountains". Scotland's Robert Millar was King of the Mountains in 1984.
The WHITE Jersey is the newest of the jerseys and was introduced in 1975. It is given to the best young rider (i.e. under 25).

To impress your friends and family as you are spectating, why not casually mention some of the more famous recent winners of the race !  These include 7 times winner and surely you must have heard of him, Lance Armstrong from USA who won between 1999 to 2005.

Then there was five time winner Miguel Indurain from Spain who won between 1991 and 1995

There were two recent major French winners, Jacques Anquetil, who won five time, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964 and Bernard Hinault who won five times in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985
And there was 5 times winner Eddy Merckx from Belgium who won between 1969 to 1972 and in 1974.

Some possible British and Irish competitors who may be competing and who you can look out for are :

• Mark Cavendish, from the Isle of Man (I think he is in blue in the photograph above),
• Bradley Wiggins, the three time Olympic Champion,
• David Millar, a Scot who is one of only four British competitors to have worn the yellow jersey (the others were Tom Simpson, Sean Yates and Chris Boardman),
• Geraint Thomas, who has been an Olympic Team pursuit champion, and,
• Nicolas Roche, son of the Irish 1987 winner Stephen Roche 

Go Back to Best French Campaites

Drought continues in France

The drought is continuing in France into the month of May after a very dry Spring.

There is a meeting today of a "drought committee", which meets at the request of the Minister for Ecology Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, to take stock.

Wildlife in the Loire and Cher is threatened by drought. The sun, combined with the lack of rain has caused the rivers to be at their lowest. This could cause fish to suffocate by lack of oxygen in the limited water available.

Twenty-six départements, mainly in the West, are either limiting water supplies to certain uses or are considering doing so.

The worst hit area is the four départements of Poitou-Charentes, which have implemented the strongest measures, so have banned any watering of parks or filling of swimming pools. Poitou-Charentes is popular with tourists. It lies south of the Vendee on the West of France and includes the popular tourist resorts of La Rochelle and Cognac.

Measures are also being taken in the north of France (Somme, Oise, Eure), Ile-de-France (Essonne, Val-de-Marne, Seine-et-Marne), in the Center (Indre, Cher, Nièvre ) in the Lyon region (Rhone, Isere, Ardeche) and Eastern (Jura, Doubs, Territoire de Belfort).

But the problem extends well beyond French borders. Throughout northern Europe there have been unusually dry conditions this spring. The situation could last "a few weeks or even months" because of an area of "very persistent high pressure" announced in early May by the World Meteorological Organization.

We will need to see how this might affect holidaymakers - there may be increased risk of forest fires etc. However the worst effects will be to farmers and food production. The drought has occurred just at the time that seeds and seedlings are expected to take in the fields and when they have small root systems so this could have devastating effects on agriculture and as a result food prices in France.

Update on 24/5/11 - the Government has asked banks to be considerate to farmers who may have cash flow problems. The harvest date of 15 June has also been brought forward.  The départements which have water restrictions in place can be seen on this map of France :
http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/11005_carte_limitation_eau_24_05.pdf

Thankfully there is some rain predicted in the next week so lets hope the situation improves before this year's harvest is badly affected.

Update at 13th June - cracks have appeared in homes built on clay soil in drought hit regions and problems predicted for electricity supply if the heat and drought continues : http://www.connexionfrance.com/drought-homes-subsidence-structural-damage-cracks-insurance-claim-12791-view-article.html

Go Back to Best French Campsites

Tour de France Route 2011

Here is a nice video of the route of the Tour de France for 2011.
It starts at Ile de Noirmoutier then through Vendee and into Brittany so there is lots of action for us campers who like to camp in the North of France. We should be able to get to see this great spectacle of a race.

http://www.lemonde.fr/sport/video/2010/10/19/le-tour-de-france-en-3-minutes-40_1428401_3242.html

Go Back to Best French Campsites

Tour de France 2011

Why not plan your campsite this year so you can have a day watching the Tour de France ! We did this two years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the great carnival atmosphere surrounding it all. There is a parade beforehand -"the Caravane" which travels an hour ahead of the Tour and throws out various goodies to the crowds. All good fun. We nearly missed the actual cycltists in the end as they went whizzing past !

The tour this year starts in the Vendee on the Ile de Noirmoutier ! The cyclists will travel over the narrow causeway which should be a great spectacle. So why not camp this year in the Vendee or find out the route of the rest of the Tour !
http://www.letour.fr/2010/TDF/COURSE/us/grand_depart_2011.html#zone4

Go Back to Best French Campsites

Our French Camping Holidays and Planning for Next Year !

Our First Camping Holiday in France was when we visited a great campsite "Le Chatelet" right on the northern coast of Brittany at St Cast, which was only a half an hours drive from St Malo. That was a great holiday and we were lucky to see the 2006 Tall Ships race at St Malo. Also memorable from that holiday was watching the World Cup final at the campsite bar, sharing with lots of nationalities as we watched the now infamous or famous head butt incident !

The next year we ventured to South West Brittany and Benodet where we stayed at La Pointe St Gilles Campsite. The memorable moment from that holiday was watching the fishing boats racing in to land their catch at Guilvinec ! What a moment ! At least 30 small boats race into the port at 4.30 to land their catch. Thanks to the Canvas holiday reps on our campsite for letting us know about this !

I had always wanted to see the standing stones at Carnac, so the following year we finally made it to Carnac, or more precisely to Trinite Sur Mer which is adjacent to Carnac. We stayed at La Baie Campsite. What a great holiday destination that is. So much to see ! We viewed the miles of standing stones both on foot and from "Le Petit Train" which takes you around Carnac. We visited the very interesting museum which was co-founded by a Scotstman and a Frenchman and bears their names. We went on some great walks from that campsite and discovered a very old church which is dedicated to the memory of St Columba, who visited this area. Our guide for these walks was a multi-lingual Russian student who was in France to learn (or perfect !) her French. But this was a great opportunity to mix with some others from the campsite so we met some lovely French, Belgian and English people who were on the walk.

In following years we have stayed on a lovely spacious campsite Les Deux Fontaines near Nevez with probably the nicest beach we have seen - Tahiti Plage - a well named beach ! From Nevez we visited the lovely artist's town of Pont Aven - famous for paintings and crepes and also for a fantastic glass blowing workshop where you can watch the glass blowers at work and also buy some lovely glassware. We also managed to watch the start of one of the stages of the Tour de France that year in Auray which was not too far from Nevez. That was great fun if you ever get the chance to watch that.

This year we ventured further south to the Vendee. We stayed inland at a lovely site called La Garangeoire. Our highlight of this holiday and definitely worth a visit was the fantastic theme park "Puy du Fou" ! What a place ! There are five main shows to see during your day at this park and these include a Gladiator show in an amphitheatre with a chariot race. There is a Knights, (Chevaliers) Show and a spectacular Birds of Prey show with birds swooping just above your heads ! Be warned though, at the bird of prey show the warning to "keep sitting, don't wave your hands around and pack all cakes away" is only announced in French !

We have loved most of the campsites we have visited although we always make sure and do lots of research beforehand. However at least one of the sites was not particularly busy last year whereas other campsites which are not so nice were full of people so we decided to spread the word about some of the lovely campsites we have visited and for this reason we started a website http://www.bestfrenchcampsites.com. We have also included details of some of the great places we have visited from each site. And to make sure we all stay as "happy campers", we have started this blog so we keep track of any useful websites and we have also translated any relevant news items from France.

We haven't booked up yet for next year. We have loved all the places we have been but it is also good to see new places. We will possibly visit the Alps for a change of scene or perhaps even visit in early or late season. As the weather turns increasingly chillier at home, we are already looking forward to next year's holiday !!
Go Back to Best French Campsites

September is last month to Visit Puy du Fou Theme Park this year

September is the last month for 2010 when you can visit the fabulous Puy du Fou historical theme park. It opens again April 2011 for summer 2011.
Its definitely worth a visit !
If you want to see all our photographs please visit our flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/best_french_campsites/sets/72157624495744356/

So if you are camping in the Vendee or Loire areas then this is definitely worth a visit ! You can also stay there in either a Roman Villa Hotel or some huts on stilts over water. So that might be an option - combine a couple of nights stay there with a camping holiday.

Go Back to Best French Campsites

Aftermath of Xynthia Flooding

Residents of the areas of the Vendee affected by flooding, around l,aiguillon sur mer and La Roche Sur Yon have won the right to have the destruction or not of their houses reviewed on a case by case basis. The state had decided that 1,500 houses would be destroyed, with the floodzone area basically being declared uninhabitable.

http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2010/05/07/en-vendee-les-proprietaires-qui-contestent-les-zones-noires-verront-leur-situation-etudiee-au-cas-par-cas_1348297_3244.html

Go Back to Best French Campsites

Update on Situation in Southern Vendee after the Xynthia Storm flooding

If you are worried about whether the area you are planning to holiday in the Vendee is still being affected after the Xynthia Storm and flooding earlier this year, then please have a look at this website :
http://www.holidays-in-vendee.com/Articles/Floods_in_Vendee.htm

Go Back to Best French Campsites

Repercussions after Vendee Flooding

The flooding at the weekend which affected Faute-sur-Mer and L'Aiguille Sur Mer both on the estuary of the Lay is being blamed on an unusually high tide combined with increased rain and wind.

In both villages, with inhabitants of 3 500 people between them, there are 27 dead, mostly elderly residents.

The President of the Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, went there on Monday morning to support the bereaved families. He has asked the government to set up an inspection team to report back exactly what has happened.

Unfortunately, there was a report from 2007 which highlighted this risk of flooding. It was signed by Pascal Company, of the "direction départementale de l'équipement de Vendée" (I'm not quite sure what that is but sounds like a government agency !). He said "The vulnerability of coastal Vendée to coastal flooding is in no doubt,".

The expert considered necessary to establish a plan of prevention of flood risks "in the estuary of Lay, where the combination of two phenomena - the rise of the Lay and marine flooding - could have a major impact on the populated areas to the rear of a network of aging levees. "The failure of levees would cause major damage to property and people," he insisted. That's exactly what happened in the night from Saturday to Sunday this weekend.

However local officials dispute this and say that the dams did not break but were overwhelmed. "Our levees were regularly maintained and in good condition", says Alain Barraud, Deputy Mayor of The Aiguille Sur Mer.

The prefecture had told us with certainty that the sea would rise at least of 1 meter. We must understand that we are the victims of a small tsunami, the sea is coming by the point of Arçay and it is rose much higher than expected. This is why people were not evacuated before the storm.

The new prefect of Vendée, Jean-Jacques Brot said it is now up to parliamentarians and councillors, to undertake work on many dams Vendee and help plan dykes.
The total length of these dikes, the oldest of which date back to Colbert and the more recent period between the wars is around 1000 kilometers in Vendee and Charente-Maritime.
The sea formerly went to Niort but brutally reasserted itself at the weekende. There have been measures to try and avoid building in the coastal areas but also recently the Administrative Court in Poitiers gave the right to the inhabitants of Port-en-Ré to oppose the raising of a dam because it would deprive them of the views of the sea. Perhaps now these residents will think again.

So these are perhaps issues to be aware of if you are camping in coastal areas of the Vendee.
http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2010/03/02/la-vulnerabilite-du-littoral-vendeen-etait-etablie_1313180_3244.html#ens_id=1311986

Aiguillon Sur Mer, La Flotte en Re on Ile de Re, Sables d'Olonne in the Vendee affected.

Flooding affected Aiguillon Sur Mer, La Flotte en Re on Ile de Re to name but a few and damage has been sustained at Sables d'Olonne in the Vendee.
http://wwwo.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2010/03/01/on-ne-peut-pas-prevoir-l-imprevisible_1312618_3244.html
http://wwwo.lemonde.fr/planete/portfolio/2010/03/01/vos-photos-de-la-tempete-xynthia_1312747_3244.html

Go Back to Best French Campsites