# Road trips in France > 58 road trips and 200 hand-picked places in France, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. Source: https://camping-spirit.com/roadtrips/france/ 58 road trips and 200 hand-picked places in France, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping. ## Road trips through France - [Route des Grandes Alpes: Lake Geneva to the Riviera](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/grandes-alpes/): Mont Blanc, the Galibier and a long descent to the Mediterranean. - [Provence: lavender, gorges and Roman bridges](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/provence/): Best from late June to mid-July, when the lavender is out. - [Normandy and Brittany coast](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/normandy-brittany/): Chalk arches, a tidal abbey and granite ports, with aires in most towns. - [Corsica’s wild west coast](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/corsica-west/): Calvi’s citadel, the red Calanche cliffs, Ajaccio and the white cliffs of Bonifacio. - [Alsace Wine Route](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/alsace-wine/): Half-timbered villages, storks and Riesling on the slopes below the Vosges. - [Loire Valley châteaux](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/loire-chateaux/): Chambord, Blois, Amboise and Chenonceau along the royal river, with cycle paths between them. - [Dordogne and Lot: caves and cliff villages](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/dordogne-lot/): Prehistoric art at Lascaux, villages under the cliffs, Rocamadour and Saint-Cirq-Lapopie. - [Route Napoléon](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/route-napoleon/): The road Napoleon took back from Elba, from the Alps down to the Riviera through Sisteron and Grasse. - [Pyrenean cols: Tourmalet and Gavarnie](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/pyrenees-cols/): The great climbs of the Tour de France and the rock amphitheatre of Gavarnie. - [Opal Coast: Calais to the Bay of Somme](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/opal-coast/): Chalk capes facing England, dunes and the seals of the Bay of Somme. - [Burgundy’s Route des Grands Crus](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/burgundy-grand-crus/): Stone villages with famous names, from Dijon down the Côte d’Or to Beaune and Cluny Abbey. - [Tarn Gorges and the Causses](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/tarn-gorges/): The Millau Viaduct, Roquefort’s cheese caves and a riverside road through a limestone canyon. - [Camargue and Roman Provence](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/camargue-nimes/): Flamingos and white horses, the walled town of Aigues-Mortes, Nîmes’ arena and the Pont du Gard. - [French Riviera corniches](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/riviera-corniches/): The three corniches between Nice and Menton, Èze above the sea, and art villages behind Antibes. - [Brittany’s north coast](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/brittany-north/): Corsair Saint-Malo, the cliffs of Cap Fréhel and the pink granite of Ploumanac’h. - [La Rochelle to the Dune du Pilat](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/atlantic-charente/): Île de Ré, the naval town of Rochefort, cognac cellars and Bordeaux, ending on Europe’s highest dune. - [Normandy’s D-Day beaches](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-d-day-beaches/): From Pegasus Bridge to Utah Beach along the coast of 6 June 1944, with the Bayeux Tapestry and a granite fishing port to finish. - [Finistère: the capes at the end of Brittany](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-finistere-capes/): The cliffs of the Crozon peninsula, the Pointe du Raz and the granite towns of Locronan, Quimper and Concarneau. - [South Brittany: menhirs and the Gulf of Morbihan](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-morbihan-megaliths/): Gauguin’s Pont-Aven, the wild coast of Quiberon, the standing stones of Carnac and the medieval streets of Vannes. - [Upper Loire: canal bridges and Sancerre wine](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-upper-loire/): Romanesque monks, a steel canal over the Loire, a castle being built with medieval tools and the hill town of Sancerre. - [Chablis, Vézelay and the Morvan](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-burgundy-abbeys/): White wine villages, two of France’s finest abbeys and the lakes and forests of the Morvan, ending in Roman Autun. - [Jura: yellow wine, blind valleys and waterfalls](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-jura-waterfalls/): Ledoux’s royal saltworks, the vineyards of Arbois and Château-Chalon, and a chain of waterfalls in the forest. - [Route des Crêtes through the Vosges](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-vosges-cretes/): A high road along the Vosges ridge from Gérardmer’s lake to the Grand Ballon, a First World War battlefield and the Ballon d’Alsace. - [Lorraine: Metz, Nancy and Verdun](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-lorraine-verdun/): A cathedral of light, the gilded Place Stanislas and the battlefields of the Meuse, from 1916 to the American offensive of 1918. - [Champagne: Reims to the Côte des Blancs](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-champagne-slopes/): Coronation cathedral, a lighthouse among the vines and the cellars of Épernay, on a short trip through the champagne hills. - [Vercors: gorges and cliff roads](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-vercors-balconies/): A limestone fortress south-west of Grenoble, with roads cut into sheer cliffs and a sudden drop into Provence at the Col du Rousset. - [Savoy lakes and the Chartreuse massif](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-savoy-lakes-chartreuse/): From Annecy to the spa town of Aix-les-Bains, an abbey on Lac du Bourget, the dukes’ Chambéry and the forests of the Chartreuse. - [Luberon perched villages](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-luberon-villages/): A spring in a cliff, Sénanque’s lavender, Roussillon’s ochre cliffs and the hill villages of Bonnieux and Lourmarin. - [Drôme provençale: olives, lavender and Roman Vaison](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-drome-provencale/): From nougat town Montélimar to Grignan’s castle, Nyons olive oil, Roman Vaison and the Dentelles de Montmirail. - [Ardèche gorges and the Chauvet cave](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-ardeche-gorges/): Perched Balazuc, the replica of the world’s oldest cave paintings, the Pont d’Arc and the belvederes of the gorge road. - [Cathar castles of the Corbières](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-cathar-castles/): Fortresses on razor ridges between Carcassonne and the Pyrenees: Peyrepertuse, Quéribus, Puilaurens and Montségur. - [Côte Vermeille and the little yellow train](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-cote-vermeille-conflent/): Matisse’s Collioure, Banyuls wine and cherry town Céret, then up the Têt valley to Vauban’s fortresses and the yellow train. - [French Basque Country: coast and hill villages](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-basque-country/): Bayonne ham, the cliffs of the Corniche, the train up La Rhune and red-and-white villages on the way to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. - [Landes: surf, pine forest and hidden lakes](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-landes-coast/): Surf towns, a jungle-like river, an old forest hamlet and lakes behind the dunes, from Hossegor to Arcachon. - [Auvergne volcanoes: Puy de Dôme to Puy Mary](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-auvergne-volcanoes/): The Chaîne des Puys, Romanesque Orcival, crater lakes and the high road over the Cantal to Salers. - [Limousin: porcelain, tapestry and red villages](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-limousin-heartland/): A martyred village, Limoges porcelain, Aubusson tapestries, the Vassivière lake and the red sandstone of Collonges. - [Southern Corsica: Bavella and the Alta Rocca](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-corsica-south/): Turquoise bays near Porto-Vecchio, the granite spires of Bavella, proud Sartène and the carved menhirs of Filitosa. - [Red gorges behind Nice](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-nice-red-gorges/): Two gorges of red rock above the Var, the ski village of Valberg, fortified Entrevaux and the eagle’s nest of Gourdon. - [Provence coast: Cassis cliffs to the red Esterel](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-var-coast/): From the cliffs above Cassis past the salt pans of Giens and the beaches of Saint-Tropez to the red rocks of the Esterel. - [Col de l’Iseran and the Maurienne passes](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-iseran-maurienne/): Over the highest paved pass in the Alps, down the Maurienne valley and across the Croix de Fer to the hairpins of Alpe d’Huez. - [Izoard, Queyras and the Cime de la Bonette](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-izoard-queyras-bonette/): From Briançon over the Col d’Izoard into the Queyras, through Vauban’s fortress towns and over the Bonette, one of Europe’s highest roads. - [Seine valley: Giverny, Rouen and the abbeys](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-seine-valley/): Follow the Seine from Monet’s garden past Richard the Lionheart’s castle and Rouen to the ruined abbeys of the lower valley and Honfleur. - [Alabaster Coast: Dieppe to Le Havre](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-alabaster-coast/): The white chalk cliffs of Normandy from Dieppe to Le Havre, with flint villages in the valleys, Étretat’s arches and Perret’s concrete city. - [Royal châteaux around Paris](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-royal-ile-de-france/): A loop from Paris to Versailles, the cathedral of Chartres, the forest palace of Fontainebleau, Vaux-le-Vicomte and medieval Provins. - [Touraine and Anjou: Villandry to Fontevraud](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-touraine-anjou/): West of Tours along the Loire, Cher, Indre and Vienne to garden, island and fairy-tale châteaux, the fortress of Chinon and Fontevraud Abbey. - [Hérault gorges and the Cévennes](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-herault-cevennes/): From Montpellier to the medieval gorge of Saint-Guilhem, the red shores of Salagou, the Cirque de Navacelles and Mont Aigoual in the Cévennes. - [Canal du Midi: Toulouse to Sète](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-canal-du-midi/): Follow Riquet’s 17th-century canal from Toulouse past Carcassonne, the Cathar village of Minerve and the Fonserannes locks to the port of Sète. - [Albi, Cordes and Conques](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-albi-conques/): From Toulouse to Albi’s brick cathedral, the hill towns of Cordes and Najac, the pilgrim village of Conques and the Lot valley. - [Bordeaux wine: Médoc, Blaye and Saint-Émilion](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-bordeaux-wine/): From Bordeaux up the Médoc wine road, across the Gironde by ferry to Blaye, then to Saint-Émilion and the Entre-Deux-Mers. - [Périgord: Brantôme, the Vézère and Dordogne castles](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-perigord-castles/): From Périgueux to Brantôme, down the prehistoric Vézère valley and along the Dordogne past Beynac, Castelnaud and Domme to Sarlat. - [Lot valley and the Gouffre de Padirac](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-lot-padirac/): From Cahors’ fortified bridge up the Lot valley to painted caves and cliff villages, then north to Figeac, Padirac and the Dordogne. - [Béarn and Bigorre: Aubisque to the Pic du Midi](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-bearn-bigorre/): From Pau up the Ossau valley over the Col d’Aubisque, to the waterfalls of Pont d’Espagne and the observatory on the Pic du Midi. - [Cap Corse and the Balagne](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-cap-corse-balagne/): Round the wild finger of Cap Corse from Bastia, through the Patrimonio vineyards to Saint-Florent and the hill villages of the Balagne. - [Corsica’s mountain heart: Ajaccio to Porto](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-corsica-interior/): From the Sanguinaires islands over the Vizzavona pass to Corte, up the Restonica gorge, through the Niolo and over the Col de Vergio to Porto. - [Guérande salt marshes to the Passage du Gois](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-guerande-vendee/): From Nantes to the thatched villages of the Brière, Guérande’s salt pans and walled town, and south across the Loire to Noirmoutier. - [Somme battlefields and Vimy Ridge](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-somme-vimy/): From Amiens cathedral through the First World War memorials of the Somme to the old town of Arras and the Canadian memorial at Vimy. - [Alpilles and Montagne Sainte-Victoire](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-alpilles-sainte-victoire/): Through the olive groves of the Alpilles, from Van Gogh’s Saint-Rémy to Les Baux and Montmajour, then east to Cézanne’s mountain and Aix. - [Le Puy-en-Velay and the source of the Loire](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b12-velay-volcanoes/): From Clermont-Ferrand through Brioude to Le Puy’s volcanic needles, then over the high plateau to the source of the Loire and into the Ardèche. ## Places worth the detour in France - [Mont-Saint-Michel](https://camping-spirit.com/places/mont-st-michel/): A tidal island crowned by an abbey. Park on the mainland and take the free shuttle across the causeway. - [Aiguille du Midi](https://camping-spirit.com/places/aiguille-midi/): A cable car climbs to 3,842 m, face to face with Mont Blanc. Bring warm layers, even in August. - [Gorges du Verdon](https://camping-spirit.com/places/verdon/): One of Europe’s deepest canyons, with turquoise water below. The Route des Crêtes is narrow, so large motorhomes should skip it. - [Dune du Pilat](https://camping-spirit.com/places/pilat/): Europe’s tallest sand dune, over 100 m high, between pine forest and the Atlantic. - [Col du Galibier](https://camping-spirit.com/places/galibier/): 2,642 m on the Route des Grandes Alpes and a Tour de France classic. Usually open June to October. - [Palais idéal du Facteur Cheval](https://camping-spirit.com/places/facteur-cheval/): A village postman spent 33 years building this dreamlike palace from stones he picked up on his rounds. - [Calanques de Piana](https://camping-spirit.com/places/piana/): Red granite pinnacles above the Gulf of Porto, on a narrow, twisting coast road. - [Bonifacio cliffs](https://camping-spirit.com/places/bonifacio-cliffs/): An old town perched on white limestone cliffs that hang over the sea. Walk the cliff path at sunset. - [Château de Chenonceau](https://camping-spirit.com/places/chenonceau/): A Renaissance château built on arches across the river Cher, with formal gardens on either bank. - [Rocamadour](https://camping-spirit.com/places/rocamadour/): A pilgrimage village stacked up the side of a gorge. See it first from the L’Hospitalet viewpoint. - [Cirque de Gavarnie](https://camping-spirit.com/places/gavarnie/): A vast rock amphitheatre with one of Europe’s tallest waterfalls. A flat path from the village reaches its foot. - [Gorges du Tarn](https://camping-spirit.com/places/gorges-tarn/): A deep limestone canyon with a riverside road. Hire a canoe or take a boat through the narrowest section. - [Èze village](https://camping-spirit.com/places/eze/): A medieval village clinging to a rock 400 m above the sea, with a cactus garden at the top. - [Pink Granite Coast](https://camping-spirit.com/places/ploumanach/): Giant pink boulders shaped by the wind along the Customs Officers’ Path at Ploumanac’h. - [Arromanches Mulberry harbour](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-arromanches-mulberry/): Concrete caissons of the artificial harbour towed across the Channel in 1944 still lie in an arc offshore. See them best from the clifftop viewpoint east of the town at low tide. - [Normandy American Cemetery](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-normandy-american-cemetery/): More than 9,000 white marble headstones on the bluff above Omaha Beach. A path leads down to the sand; the visitor centre explains the landings calmly and well. - [Pointe du Hoc](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-pointe-du-hoc/): A headland still pitted with bomb craters and shattered bunkers, where US Rangers climbed the cliffs on 6 June 1944. Stay on the marked paths, the cliff edge is eroding. - [Pointe de Pen-Hir](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-pointe-pen-hir/): Sheer 70 m cliffs at the tip of the Crozon peninsula, facing the sea stacks of the Tas de Pois. A coastal path runs along the top; keep well back from the edge in wind. - [Pointe du Raz](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-pointe-du-raz/): Brittany’s wild western tip, a granite blade above one of Europe’s strongest tidal races, with the Île de Sein offshore. Park at the visitor centre and walk the last kilometre. - [Carnac alignments](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-carnac-alignments/): Some 3,000 Neolithic standing stones set in long rows across the heath. In summer the fields are fenced and visited on guided tours; in winter parts are open to walk freely. - [Briare canal bridge](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-pont-canal-briare/): A 662 m steel trough opened in 1896 that carries a canal over the Loire. You can walk along either towpath while barges glide across above the river. - [Guédelon castle](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-guedelon/): A fortified castle being built from scratch since 1997 with 13th-century tools and methods. Masons, carpenters and dyers work in the open; it is closed in winter. - [Fontenay Abbey](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-abbaye-fontenay/): The best preserved early Cistercian abbey in France, founded in 1118 in a quiet wooded valley. The bare church, cloister and water-powered forge are all intact. - [Vézelay Basilica](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-vezelay-basilica/): A Romanesque basilica on a hilltop, a starting point of the Way of St James, with a carved tympanum and light-filled nave. Park at the bottom and walk up the single main street. - [Royal Saltworks](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-saline-royale/): Claude-Nicolas Ledoux’s semicircular 18th-century saltworks, designed as an ideal factory town. A UNESCO site, with a large garden festival in summer. - [Baume-les-Messieurs](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-baume-les-messieurs/): An abbey village at the bottom of a blind limestone valley, closed by 200 m cliffs, a cave and a mossy tufa waterfall. The belvedere on the plateau above gives the classic view. - [Hérisson waterfalls](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-cascades-herisson/): A chain of about thirty waterfalls on a forest river, including the 65 m Éventail. A path climbs past them all in two or three hours; wear good shoes, the rocks are slippery. - [Grand Ballon](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-grand-ballon/): At 1,424 m the highest point of the Vosges, a short walk from the road. On clear autumn mornings you see over the Rhine plain and the Black Forest to the Alps. - [Metz Cathedral](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-metz-cathedral/): Nicknamed the Lantern of God for its huge area of stained glass, from medieval work to windows by Chagall. Come on a sunny afternoon when the golden stone glows. - [Place Stanislas](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-place-stanislas/): An 18th-century square framed by gilded wrought-iron gates and fountains, part of a UNESCO ensemble. On summer evenings a light show plays on the façades. - [Douaumont Ossuary](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-douaumont-ossuary/): A long vault and tower holding the bones of some 130,000 unidentified soldiers of the Battle of Verdun, above a field of crosses. Fort Douaumont and the Verdun Memorial are close by. - [Reims Cathedral](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-reims-cathedral/): The Gothic cathedral where French kings were crowned, with more than 2,000 statues including the Smiling Angel. The Palais du Tau next door holds the coronation treasures. - [Avenue de Champagne](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-avenue-de-champagne/): A street of grand mansions above kilometres of chalk cellars, part of the UNESCO Champagne listing. Several houses offer cellar tours; booking ahead is wise. - [Gorges de la Bourne](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-gorges-bourne/): A road cut into the cliffs of a deep limestone gorge, with overhangs and short tunnels. The Choranche caves open near the lower end. - [Combe Laval](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-combe-laval/): One of the most dramatic balcony roads in the Alps, hacked into a vertical cliff above a wooded amphitheatre. Narrow and unsuitable for large motorhomes; drive it slowly. - [Grande Chartreuse](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-grande-chartreuse/): The mother house of the Carthusian order hidden in deep forest. The monastery itself is closed to visitors, but the museum at La Correrie shows how the silent monks live. - [Sénanque Abbey](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-abbaye-senanque/): A 12th-century Cistercian abbey in a narrow valley, with rows of lavender in front that flower in July. Monks still live here, so dress modestly and keep your voice down. - [Ochre Trail](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-sentier-des-ocres/): A short trail through old ochre quarries in every shade from yellow to blood red. It takes under an hour, but do not wear white. - [Roman Vaison](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-vaison-roman-city/): Two excavated districts of a Roman town, with streets, villas and a theatre that still hosts summer performances. A Roman bridge leads to the medieval upper town. - [Chauvet 2 cave replica](https://camping-spirit.com/places/b2-chauvet-2/): A full-scale replica of the Chauvet cave, whose lions, horses and rhinos were painted some 36,000 years ago. Book a timed entry in summer. ## FAQs **What are the best road trips in France?** Popular routes include Route des Grandes Alpes: Lake Geneva to the Riviera, Provence: lavender, gorges and Roman bridges, Normandy and Brittany coast and Corsica’s wild west coast. CampingSpirit has 58 trip guides that pass through France, each with a stop-by-stop itinerary and a route map. **Which places in France are worth a detour?** Our editors recommend Mont-Saint-Michel, Aiguille du Midi, Gorges du Verdon, Dune du Pilat, Col du Galibier and Palais idéal du Facteur Cheval. **Do you need a vignette or pay tolls in France?** Motorway tolls. Tolls on most autoroutes; the limit drops to 110 km/h in rain. Rules and prices change. Check official sources before you travel. **What is the motorway speed limit in France?** 130 km/h on motorways for cars, unless signs show otherwise. **Are there low-emission zones in France?** Low-emission zones (Crit’Air sticker).