PROVENCE & COTE D'AZUR

Visiting the fabulous countryside and coast of Southern France. A road trip starting out from the Northern coast of France and travelling down to the Mediterranean, touring Provence, the Camargue and the Ardeche. Including trips to Marseille, Nice and Cannes. Hitch up a towed caravan, jump in a Motorhome or do the loop round Provence & Cote D'Azur in a hire car staying in hotels or other accommodation. Happy travelling!

Photo shows:CAGNES SUR MER - Haut Ville

HOW TO GET THERE

We started on our journey from the ferry terminal at Calais, because we were travelling with our caravan* (towed) from the UK. The main loop of the trip inside Southern France could just as easily start anywhere within it, and you could do it in a car staying in hotels or other accommodation starting out from Marseilles or a similar arrival point in the south of France. If you're not intending to travel as we did across from Northern France then please jump forward in the itinerary to the section from Orange and continue the loop to end at St Martin D'Ardeche.

ROUTE

LAON
The drive from Calais to Laon will take 2.5 hrs using autoroutes, or 4 hours if you prefer to go toll free*. Your campsite has a Wild West theme, and is close to the town of Laon. A walk around the town is interesting, with its large cathedral and medieval old town perched on a 350 ft hill, the only one for miles around.

* Autoroute toll charges can be high for some routes, and in some cases journeys are not much quicker or as enjoyable as taking the slower roads. We tend to pick and mix - sometimes taking the autoroute option, other times not.

CHAGNY

A further 5 hours by autoroute(6 hours toll free) will take you from Laon to Chagny. The campsite here has a village location with good facilities, perfect for an overnight stop before your journey into Provence.

ORANGE

Orange is 3.5 hrs by autoroute(6.5 hrs toll free) from Chagny. The campsite is just a 20 minute walk from the centre of the town of Orange. UNESCO heritage sights include the Roman theatre, one of the most intact to be found anywhere, and a triumphal arch dated AD27.

ORANGE- Arc de Triomphe (Roman - 2000 years old)

A day trip from here to the pretty Mont de Ventoux area will take you round the artists’ village at Seguret, the medieval town of Vaison la Romaine, and the towns of Malaucene, Le Barroux and Beaumes de Venise.

SEGURET

PONT DU GARD

The Pont du Gard is just a 30 minute autoroute drive(45 minutes toll free) from Orange. The campsite is a short walk from the massive Roman aqueduct. Visiting the museum and enjoying the walks and views of the aqueduct and river will take up most of a day.

PONT DU GARD

A day trip to Nimes, half an hour’s drive away, will take in the Amphitheatre and the Maison Carre temple, one of the most intact in existence. The new Musee de la Romanite contains fabulous Roman mosaics, frescoes and sculptures. The beautiful Fountain Gardens and canals reaching into the City Centre are very relaxing for strolling along.

NIMES - Maison Carre, roman temple

SAINTES MARIES DE LA MER

Moving on to the Camargue area - an hour and a half driving from the Pont du Gard - the campsite is on the Mediterranean coast, a pleasant half hour walk out of this resort town with its marina.

There are nearby boat trips into the marshy delta area of the Rhone River. You will get to see some of the distinctive Camargue white horses and black bulls on the farms along the river.

CAMARGUE - Flamingoes at Parc Ornithologique de Pont de Grau

Other excursions include: the bird reserve at the Parc Ornithologique de Pont de Grau where you will see visiting flamingoes, storks and other local species of bird; and the walled fort town of Aigues Mortes where you can walk the well-preserved walls, climb its towers and explore the old medieval town. The town is a junction point for two canals and has many boats moored and passing by.

CAMARGUE - Aigues Mortes

ST MARTIN DE CRAU

It’s just a three-quarter hour journey on to your next campsite, which is near to St Martin de Crau. We stayed at another site in the town itself but unfortunately that has now closed.

This is a base for visiting the city of Arles, which has UNESCO world heritage status for its Roman remnants - the amphitheatre and baths. Also well worth seeing are the beautiful sculptures and columns at the church and cloisters at the 12th c. St Trophime cathedral.

ARLES

A recommended day’s round trip of 25 miles in the picturesque Petit Luberon district starts from Cavaillon, and passing through Lourmarin to Oppede Le Vieux ( a quaint pedestrian only old village)then onto Menerbes, Lacoste and Bonnieux.

OPPEDE LE VIEUX

SAINTE VICTOIRE

Travelling on to your next stop will take just short of an hour by autoroute (1 hr 20 mins toll free). Your campsite is located close to the distinctive Mont Sainte Victoire, a favourite subject of the Impressionist painter Cezanne.

The beautiful city of Aix-en-Provence is only 10 minutes drive or bus ride from the campsite. Aix is the most sophisticated city of Provence with its well preserved mansions, fountains, squares and boulevards. A trail around the town follows ‘in the footsteps of Cezanne’. The Granet Art Museum has a number of Cezanne’s works as well as rotating exhibitions of paintings, sculptures and historical artefacts.

AIX-EN-PROVENCE

To visit the city of Marseille from the campsite it will take about 40 minutes by car or car/train (Gardanne station). Marseille is an impressive city with a lovely port, old town and a magnificent Moorish influenced Cathedral.

MARSEILLE - Cathedral

There is a lot of quiet enjoyable walking round the narrow streets above the port with artisan shops and nice cafes/bars/restaurants. Elsewhere for a change, unlike many world cities, you can see what a difference it makes to put top class modern architecture alongside a historical backdrop.

MARSEILLE - Port

The fishing port of Cassis is a little further along the coast, from where you can take a boat trip out to the Calanques National Park, with splendid views of the limestone cliffs, coves, inlets and beaches of this distinctive coastline.

CALANQUES NATIONAL PARK

CAGNES SUR MER

Now you’re headed for the Cote D’Azur, a journey of an hour and forty minutes by autoroute ( there isn’t really an alternative route if you’re towing a caravan, and it would take you up to a couple of hours more if you’re tempted to try the other twisty narrow roads in this area).

Your campsite base is on the outskirts of Cagnes Sur Mer. The town and its harbour area are unpretentious, a nice characteristic in an area where there is so much wealth and privilege. The artist Renoir’s home is in the town, a lovely spot set in an old olive grove and retaining the charm it exerted on the artist during his years there. Also nearby is the Grimaldi Chateau at the Haut Ville.

CAGNES SUR MER - Haut Ville seen from olive grove in Renoir's garden

You will of course want to have a peek at the resort towns of Nice, Cannes and Antibes for which this area is famous. You can visit all these places by using the excellent rail service from the Cagnes Sur Mer station.

Antibes has a lovely old town and a harbour dominated by the mega yachts of the super rich.

ANTIBES

Cannes has a nice seafront and more billionaire barges. Nice is the most attractive, and more of a proper town than the others round here, with a bustling street market, a pretty bay and a nice park.

NICE - Promenade des Anglais

For a change, away from the coast you can do a very nice road loop around the villages above Cagnes Sur Mer to take in the arty village of Saint Paul de Vence, where you will find the interesting art gallery of the Foundation Maegt, which has a lovely sculpture garden as well as many modern art exhibits in the gallery.

Another nice road trip into the hills above the coast skirts round the Gorges du Loup, visiting the towns of Gourdon, and Tourette-sur-Loup.

ROQUEBRUN SUR ARGENS

Headed back now to the West, your next campsite is a 50 minute drive on the autoroute.

Close by on the way to the coast is the old town of Frejus. Then you’re along the coast to St Tropez, another haunt of the rich and famous that has a nice old port and market square.

SAINT TROPEZ

Headed inland you can visit the Gorges du Verdon, a circular route with fabulous viewpoints of the river and surrounding countryside with its escarpments and forested valleys.

GORGES DU VERDON

ST MARTIN D’ARDECHE

Journeying on to the Ardeche region, your campsite is set close to the river, and is a great base for touring the region. It will take around 3 hours to reach here by autoroute (5.5 hrs toll free).

You will enjoy a full day’s excursion around the river, its gorge and the villages along its length. Also close by are the impressive caves at Aven D’Orgnac, just to the south of the massive limestone natural arch at Pont D’Arc.

ARDECHE - Pont D'Arc

The local village of Aigueze is a short walk from the campsite. This is a small picturesque place with nicely renovated medieval buildings.

AIGUEZE

This is your last destination on the Southern France loop, which you would complete by heading back to Orange. If you’re heading back to the ferry continue on to your next stop.

ARDECHE - Lavender fields

VILLEGUSIEN

It will take you 5.5 hrs by autoroute (8.5hrs toll free) to reach your overnight stop at Villegusien. The campsite is set on a lake, a nice relaxing place before your journey onwards.

GUINES

Your final stop near Calais is reached after a five hour journey. The campsite has good facilities and is close to the cross channel ferry/tunnel, the hyper markets and the shopping mall at Cite de L’Europe.

Have a Safe journey home!

UZBEKISTAN - Central Asia’s Silk Road

Travelling along the Central Asian section of the ancient trading routes between China and Europe. Visiting the cities of Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. There are a large number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites on this trip, covering religious buildings, fortifications, bazaars and the scientific and cultural aspects of the country. (Picture shows Bibi Khanym Mosque, Samarkand ) HOW TO GET THERE We travelled as a couple with a personalised itinerary provided by the tour company Avantour ( based in Tashkent), who booked our hotels, rail tickets, guides and drivers for our journey. We flew from Manchester (U.K.) with a connecting flight from Istanbul to Tashkent. ROUTE Headed out from Tashkent we went to Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva then flew out from Urgench to Istanbul and then back to Manchester. TASHKENT Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and the biggest city in Central Asia. Most of the old buildings in the city were destroyed by the earthquake of 1966, a...

NORWAY - Fjords & Northern Lights

Travelling on the Coastal Ferry - headed all the way up through the Norwegian Fjords, crossing the Arctic Circle to the far North Eastern corner of Norway, close to the border with Russia. This is a 12 day round trip, catching sight of the Northern Lights(Aurora Borealis). Route of Havila Cruise with stops from/to Bergen How to get there There are plenty of options to get to the starting point at Bergen. However there is only really one way of seeing the fjords, which is by boat. Various cruise companies operate part of the main routes but only 2 run the route of the old ‘mailboat’ connecting the cities,towns and villages along the coast. Before 2021 only Hurtigruten ran this service, but there is now a major rival - the Havila Krysruten line. Havila built a brand new fleet of 4 ferry/small cruise ships which are excellently equipped to high hotel standards. These ships are powered by low emission engines. These are very quiet with no smelly fumes. The engine includes a...

JAPAN - Central Cities train trip

Japan is a wonderful blend of the ancient and ultra-modern. There are a large number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites on this trip - fabulous gardens, temples and cultural highlights linked by super smooth fast bullet trains. Visiting the major cities of Central Japan - Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Okayama and Kanazawa - together with trips out to the Nikko National Park and Naoshima Island. (Picture shows Garden at Nishio Yatsuhashi-no-Sato restaurant , Kyoto) HOW TO GET THERE We arrived at Tokyo's Haneda International Airport. For this trip we used the services of a travel company - for a number of reasons. As you may know from other posts we have usually made all our own travel arrangements because we enjoy tailoring trips to our own tastes. The Japan trip took us outside our usual comfort zone because we have no language skills at all in Japanese. We also wanted to make the most of our time on the trip rather than having to navigate all the connections and bookings befo...

GUATEMALA - Mayan and Spanish Colonial heritage.

HOW TO GET THERE We flew into Guatemala City, and then made the journey to and from Flores by plane. All other journeys were by minibus or taxi, apart from boating on Lake Atitlan. As an alternative arrival you could take a Pullman Coach Bus to Antigua out of Copan Ruinas in Honduras that takes about 7 hours if you want to make this part of a longer Central American trip. (See the separate post on Nicaragua and Copan Ruinas.) You will need to check for the current health restrictions that may be in place for your arrival in Guatemala. ROUTE WHERE TO GO SAFELY Guatemala does not have a clear rating for safety/security, so you will need to check your own Government's travel advisory page for the latest updates. Most criminal activity is not aimed at tourists but attacks have happened. Although this should not put you off, you need to be aware and take precautions. There are issues about where and when you shouldn't go to particular places, but you will...

SINGAPORE & BORNEO short break/stopover

SINGAPORE - MacRitchie Reservoir Park WHERE TO? HOW LONG? You may be on your way somewhere else, or need to make the most of your precious time with a short break. Many travellers spend just one night in Singapore, but if you plan to stay a little longer you will have a great opportunity to savour what this part of the world has to offer. That’s why the suggestion here is for a lengthier stay, including a short break on the nearby larger island of Borneo. SINGAPORE Singapore is built on trade and is now the 2nd busiest port in the world. Singapore is where many of the world’s civilisations meet up in a jungle setting. SINGAPORE DOWNTOWN The Downtown area is concentrated around the mouth of the Singapore River. Few cities offer as many cultural influences in such a tight space - Little India, Chinatown, the Arab Quarter and the British Colonial District. All of these areas are easily accessible on foot. Not to be missed: The Arab Quarter’s fine clot...

ANCIENT THAILAND - A slow rail trip

THAILAND - A slow rail trip through Ancient Cities. Rail travel - what’s not to like? Take it nice and slow with overnight stops and linger in some fantastic ancient cities on the journey from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. Pictured SUKHOTHAI - Historical Park HOW TO GET THERE Coming from outside Thailand you'll need to fly into Bangkok unless you're coming overland from elsewhere in Asia, in which case you could start in Chiang Mai and just do the rail trip. There is also an overnight sleeper train that does the journey between Bangkok and Chiang Mai in 15 hours if you prefer to do that rather than the domestic flight. ROUTE This is mainly a rail trip, with a flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai at the beginning. Both of these cities feature heavily in the itinerary for the trip and are properly destinations in their own right. The additional main features of the trip are on the rail journey between the two major cities, visiting the towns of Phitsanulok and Lop Buri...

CHILE- Central Cities and Lake District tour

VALPARAISO HOW TO GET THERE We flew into Santiago via Miami on an overnight flight. We managed to get a good deal on our flights with Latam , the Chilean carrier, for all the domestic stops and the international journey by selecting the multi-city option when booking on their internet site. Much of this trip is by plane, with bus/taxi transfers on the short journey legs. You'll need about 3 weeks to do this trip at the leisurely pace we chose, although you could do it in 2 weeks if you cut down the number of nights in some of the locations. ROUTE: SANTIAGO We opted to stay in the Providencia area, with metro links into the centre, good accommodation and dining facilities nearby. This is a short walk from the Sculpture Park which is set on the banks of the Mapocho river. On the way back you’ll pass by or pop in to the Costanera Center - the largest shopping mall in South America with large food halls. SANTIAGO - Providencia Sculpture Park Early on in our stay we t...

PORTUGAL (North) - Historic towns ,cities and the green (verde) region

Take the trip heading out of Northern Spain to the remote mountainous Verde (Green) region of Portugal, and travel back via the historic towns and cities of Braganza, Guimares, Braga, Santiago de Compostela and Gijon. Photo shows Braganza - the Citadel HOW TO GET THERE We completed this trip with a car and towed caravan*. The main loop of the trip inside Spain and then into Portugal could just as easily start anywhere within it, and you could do it in a car staying in hotels or other accommodation. Headed to Portugal from the UK or Northern Europe you have plenty of options on land routes and stops on the way across France. Alternatively there are ferries into Santander and Bilbao from the UK. We took three weeks to complete the main trip loop, and a further week in total on the outward and return journeys across France taking the ferry from Newhaven(UK) to Dieppe(F). * please see notes on travelling with a caravan or motorhome underneath the header 'Caravanning' next ...

MEXICO - Spanish colonial heritage

GUANAJUATO - night view HOW TO GET THERE We flew into Mexico City. We travelled around on buses or took local taxis/other transport options. The inter-city buses are the Pullman/Executivo type with massive legroom and reclining seats. As we had pre-booked all our accommodation and knew our departure dates we bought our onward coach tickets at each arrival point after leaving Mexico City. ROUTE This is a tour focused on the Spanish colonial cities to the north and west of the capital. WHERE TO GO SAFELY We were fortunate to have a contact in Mexico who offered to have a look at our itinerary before we finalised our plans and booked accommodation. We were advised not to go to destinations in our original plan that were further north and on the west coast as they were not deemed to be so safe. All the places on our route were safe, and the people were very friendly and helpful. Parts of Mexico do not have a clear rating for safety/security, so you will need to check...

CROATIA/SLOVENIA - city, countryside and coast tour

A road trip starting out from the Northern coast of Europe and travelling down through Holland. Germany and Austria into Slovenia and then Croatia. Including visits to Lake Bled, the Istria peninsula, Split, Zagreb, Ljubljana and the Plitvice Lakes. Photo shows: ROVINJ, CROATIA HOW TO GET THERE We started on our journey to Slovenia/Croatia from the ferry terminal at the Hook of Holland, because we were travelling with our caravan* (towed) from the UK. The main loop of the trip inside Slovenia/Croatia could just as easily start anywhere within it, and you could do it in a car staying in hotels or other accommodation. If you're not intending to travel across Holland, Germany & Austria please see the Route 2. map below and then jump forward in the itinerary to the section on the Slovenia/Croatia loop starting at Lake Bled. If you do the whole trip this will take you about 6 weeks, with 3 weeks just for the loop inside Slovenia/Croatia which is 960 miles plus mileage for side trip...

Search This Blog