Why Sens is a great place to start your France motorhome holiday

There’s so much to offer around Sens that you really can start your holiday as soon as you arrive!

Many motorhome guests like to stay in Sens for a night at the beginning or end of their hire. We think that’s a brilliant idea and to show you just what a hidden treasure we have here, Tanja and I decided to investigate the little city on our doorstep a bit further.

Easy to get to

Only 56 minutes from Paris by train, Sens is a great place to start your RV hire. It’s out of the heavy traffic but still on great main road routes heading South and East / West. Perfect for getting used to driving your Campervan, if perhaps it is on a different side of the road to what you’re used to, or with a manual transmission gearbox if you usually drive an automatic. You can take it easy and get used to it all on the quiet main roads. I promise you, 30 minutes in and you’ll feel like this easy lifestyle might be something you could fall in love with.

With this in mind, staying in Sens on your first or last night before heading back up to Paris to drink in the Burgundy atmosphere is very popular. We’ve found a couple of great restaurants to help you and can recommend a few hotels in the city within walking distance.

And just to clarify – although Sens is a city, and I wouldn’t want to detract from its importance – think provincial old large town full of character that’s best seen walking or on a bike and you’ll be closer to understanding why we have fallen in the love with the place as much as we have!

Eating out!

We tried two places over a weekend. One on a Thursday evening and the other for a Sunday lunch.

Thursday night: The Tin Plate “Le Plat d’Etain” – Trip Advisor rating 3.5/5 – find more information here

This little secret restaurant is great for those who like to eat a little earlier than the normal 8.30pm start here in France. The restaurant can be found on the lane at the back of the indoor market and is an easy walk from the Cathedral Square and Tourist Information Office. Open from 5pm, the menus were in English and we were warmly greeted by the owner who ensured we had a glass of wine and were seated in comfort with the menus to choose from. There was a set menu for €17.50 consisting of three courses. I had the quiche to start with and insisted on a fabulously creamy crème brulée for my dessert, Tanja tried the smoked salmon salad which both went down well with the local Aligoté white wine.

There was a warm friendly atmosphere and it made for a great evening with an early finish if you have young people with you or you want an early start in the morning.

Au P’tit Creux – Trip Advisor rating 4/5 – find more information here

Well, we enjoyed dinner so much and love Sens that we decided to go back on the Sunday for a brunch. Round the back of the cathedral this time to a Creperie where Tanja and I wanted to try different pancakes.

Tip! If you want to try more than one item, and don’t mind sharing, ask if you can share the meal and have two plates. “C’est possible de partager avec deux assiettes?” (“say poss-eeb-luh duh par-tay-jay aveck duhs ass-y-etts?”) – we did this with the dessert because we both really wanted one but couldn’t eat a whole one!

I tried the ham and cheese pancake and we weren’t disappointed to try the Pommes et Calvados dessert that was flambée! It was just sooooo good!

The little restaurant is cosy and popular with the locals, which is always a good sign of value for money. Our pancakes were only around €7 each so definitely a place to go.

Tip! When you’re looking for a good place to eat, search on Tripadvisor and set the filters to the cheapest one € symbol and 4 **** with French cuisine. That way, you’ll more often than not find where all the locals go for great value and the best food.

Where to stay overnight

There are a couple of hotels that we can recommend to stay in right in the middle of town (if you book our transport, we’re happy to collect you and return you to these places if you don’t want to get a taxi)

Hotel de Paris et de la Poste
97 Rue de la République,
89100 Sens,
France ‎

+33 3 86 65 17 43
www.hotel-paris-poste.com
[email protected]

This hotel is quite literally set equidistant between the two restaurants above and close to the indoor market. The exterior has just been updated and its a very friendly hotel.

Inter-Hotel Archotel
9 Cours Tarbé,
89100 Sens,
France ‎

+33 3 86 64 26 99
Archotel Sens
[email protected]

This hotel is at the other end of the pedestrian Rue de la Republic and overlooking the beautiful river area of the city. A summer’s evening sitting on the promenade watching the boats going up and down and enjoying the gentile atmosphere of this warm and friendly city is just the perfect way to start or end your holiday!

We do have other hotels and places to stay that you can find on our website here: local Hotels