Stay at a Campsite for Aire prices

As the cost of running & maintaining a campsite gets more expensive, a lot of towns & villages in France have decided to convert their Municipal campsites into aires – reducing the labour costs by installing automatic barriers & limiting the opening hours of the sanitary facilities. Some towns have also now sold their campsites to companies such as CampingCarPark who now run them as aires, several of which are open as a ‘Camping de mon Village’ - basically a campsite with fewer facilities but at a much lower price. Many of these now represent very good value to motorhomers being of a high standard with good facilities, open all year round yet very affordable. Hence a number of these have warranted inclusion in my new guide ‘Best Aires in France 2021/ 22’ & there are actually 67 of these ‘campsite’ aires included in the book, available now on Amazon.co.uk

Some examples of these aires from the guide include:

Capdenac-Gare in the Lot (46) - The aire (pictured above) is managed by CampingCarPark & is situated next to the river in a large grass parking area, 300m from the centre of the town. Most of the level spaces benefit from shade from the trees & all have 6A ehu’s & wifi. Access via automatic barrier, CCP card required. Euro-Relais service point with drainage platform, toilets, sinks & showers (only open July/ August).

Château-Larcher in Vienne (86) - a village of character, with its ancient chateau whose keep rises above the main street. The chapel of the twelfth century castle is part of the fortification with a panoramic view of the forest of Clouère. The aire is located in a beautiful green setting, overlooked by the ruins of the ancient castle, where there are 12 spaces on hard standing reserved exclusively for motorhomes in the enclosed grounds. The spaces are bordered by grass areas & shaded by mature trees, close to a large lake & next to the village football pitches.

Cavaillon in Vaucluse (84) - The aire, managed by AireParkReservation, is in a large parking area with individual spaces on grass/ concrete, lighting & shade in places - located next to the campsite, to the south of town. Pitches have ehu’s, water, wifi & hedges on each space – maintained by the APR company. The aire is about 1.5km from the town centre but also close to the Durance river. AireServices service point with drainage platform. Can reserve online.

Aydat in Puy-de-Dome (63) - This large well-appointed aire has 38 spaces on grass accessed by a tarmac track – most pitches having shade. This place was a Municipal Campsite that has been converted into an aire for motorhomes. There is an epicerie in the village & a bread van calls in summer. Restaurants (some open air) can be found on the opposite side of the lake. There is a modern Artisanal service point with a large platform drain. Sinks for washing up.

Murat in the Cantal (15) - another aire managed by CampingCarPark in the former Municipal campsite on the south side of Murat about 600m to the centre of town. There is good shade on many of the spaces & public toilets/ showers are nearby (open 1/05 - 30/09). There is an Artisanal service point with platform drain, ehu’s & wifi as well as a play area, laundrette & recycling bins nearby. Access via automatic barrier, CCP card required.

Moulins in Allier (03) - An excellent & very popular aire, awarded “Aire of the Year 2014”, in the former municipal campsite where there are 80 quiet, pleasant pitches (most with ehu’s) overlooking the Allier river yet only a short level walk across the bridge to the centre of Moulins where there are all the shops, services & eating places that you could need. 3 museums in town, an old “quarter” as well as the cathedral to visit. Aire is well signposted in town. Walks along river & cycle path. Local shops & InterMarche supermarket within 150m of aire.

Full details of the above sites as well as 61 more of these excellent 'campsite' aires can be found in the 'Best Aires' guide. Go to the 'Books' page to see more details.