Verdon Gorge, Loire Valley with French Castles, Normandy (Sept. 2022)

Parking space was ok for one night before going to Switzerland. Free supply and disposal, overnight fee 5 €. Singing as a travel destination was rather questionable.

I drove to Schaffhausen to avoid tolls. Okay with a panel van under 3.5 tons, but not recommended for larger campers.

The food was again very tasty and the service very friendly. You should reserve in advance, as everything is freshly prepared.

Small place near the Verdon Gorge. Parking space costs €6.60 per night including supply and disposal. There is no electricity on site! There is a market on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Pitch is ok and I will stay here rather than go to the campsite.

Did a nice bike ride with a local friend.

Took a camper van from Reiz to Moustiers and then cycled to Gorges du Verdon. Then explored the city on foot and hiked a Roman trail.

Short walk to the local chapel, otherwise a service day (washing clothes, shopping)

In the morning still on the way with the canoe and then to Clermont-Ferrand via toll roads. The parking lot is not nice and very noisy. 8€ plus 0.45 per person council tax. Unfortunately I had to spend 2 nights here for various reasons.

Toll-free from Clemont-Ferrand to Chambord. Chambord car park costs €11 for up to 24 hours. I cycled to Blois (about 18 km).

So far the most interesting castle of the trip. Very beautiful gardens, art exhibition and castle buildings have contributed to this. The entrance fee of €19 was worth it to me.

Beautiful castle with an interesting history. Campers can park for free right in front of the castle. I couldn't understand the two Park4Night suggestions.

Leonardo DaVinci stayed here for a few years. I walked here from the parking space, about 2o minutes.

Is on the way to the Clos Lucé. I only looked at it from the outside, because from the inside it looked like the others. The city itself is very attractive and has many beautiful corners.

Originally planned for the whole day, but the city wasn't as beautiful as I expected and I was able to see the sights faster than I thought. So keep going. I probably wouldn't have slept in the stables either, as it would probably be very noisy.

Very nice gardens and you could have parked right in front of the castle and stayed overnight if necessary. I had decided to spend the night at the Camping Car Park facility for a fee.

I had learned the day before that the 3rd September weekend is the "Patrimoinie weekend". Admission to all state institutions was free and there are discounts to non-state cultural institutions. That's why I overdid it a bit that day.

There were some free parking spaces for campers in front of the castle. Each castle has different themes. Here there was a "Snow White" story in 2 towers.

A real defensive castle ruin linked to Jean d'Arc. The city itself is also worth seeing. You could park at the top of the mountain. There was an elevator down town. There was an exhibition of the Hollywood depiction of knight gear compared to historical reality.

I stayed here because I have a Camping Car Park card. Pitch is quiet and with many shady places.

Arrived in the late afternoon and the castle was already closed. Have viewed from the outside. Was enough for me.

Was time to do something for the condition again. Since I "won" a day, I chose the Abbey Royale de Fontevraud as my new destination. On the route to Saumur, I was impressed by the buildings built into the mountain wall and I wanted to take a closer look at them. I also drove past the Château de Montsoreau.

Free parking space next to a swimming pool. Quiet and well located for visiting the château. Supply and disposal possible. It was time for a free overnight stay again ;-)

More of a castle than a château. There was also a free wine tasting. The wine and crémand were amazingly dry.

Unfortunately closed on Tuesdays. Was on my way to Angers so I stopped by anyway.

Should be instead of Château Brissac and according to Google on Tuesdays. Unfortunately since mid-September Wednesdays to Sundays.

About 15 minutes walk to the castle and old town. Supply and disposal is also free. For a city visit ok

Since the morning program was canceled, I have enough time to see the sights and could then continue in the late afternoon.

There is a larger parking area for RVs. The overnight stay cost about €19, without everything. Not cheap, but location is everything.

It's worth seeing...

Admission €9. Was made interesting, but not necessarily worth seeing.

11€ with electricity, supply and disposal. I then rode my bike to Utah Beach and various bunker systems

Also visited the Batterie de Crisbecq and Batterie d'Azeville. I went into the Crisbecq system (€ 11.50) and just looked at the others.

Impressive what happened back then. Had a nice walk on the beach.

Google Maps was again creative in the route guidance. Must be more careful when entering the destination. The old bunker was also impressive.

I continued towards Étretat "toll-free". Driving through the city was so beautiful that I took a break here. There was sufficient parking space for campers.

Decided to pay the toll because I didn't want to arrive too late in Ètretat. Arrived at 4 p.m. and found another place on the pitch (the campsite was already full). There weren't really any alternatives and "camping car" prohibition signs were everywhere. There was really something going on in the city. The pitch costs 11€ without electricity.

I moved from the pitch to the campsite next door. I would have to put in a household chore again and the campsite has washing machines and a dryer. Been shopping and eating out in town too. The weather now seems to be getting a little wetter for the rest of the trip. Cost 12.20 without electricity. Electricity would have been €5 more.

Went too fast and am a day ahead of my original plan. Since I'm meeting a friend in Nancy in three days, I've added the 2 cities. Since the weather tends to be bad, I opted for city visits over nature. Rouen was very beautiful, even with the bad weather. I learned a lot about Joan of Arc. Didn't know it ended here. The main church was the most impressive of the trip so far.

A medium sized city on the way to Paris. Good for an afternoon stop. Again a camping car park. 11 € including electricity and disposal and supply. WiFi was also available.

Napoleon's Versailles. Park4Night and Google Maps don't understand each other again today and I couldn't find the planned parking lot. I just parked outside the castle grounds. No problem with a campervan. The castle was very impressive and the workmanship of the fireplaces and ceilings was remarkable. Entry €13, parking was free.

The city and the surrounding area offers a lot and you could stay here longer than half a day.

The parking space location is very good for a city tour. 8 € with supply and disposal is more than fair. The city had pleasantly surprised me. The 8 lines in the Baedecker were not enough; definitely worth a visit!

The parking space is not well signposted, but very central. €16.50 for a parking space with supply and disposal is steep, but the location is good, albeit quite noisy. Showers and electricity are available but cost extra. Tomorrow we're going home, so Nancy is the last destination on the tour.

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