Motorhome hire is incredibly good value in France during the late autumn, winter and early spring months but is it a good time to visit the world’s number one tourist destination?
Travelling through France between mid-October and mid-March has a totally different feel to the rest of the year. Tourist attractions are blissfully quiet, everybody from restaurant owners to wine makers are keen to welcome you, the smell of wood smoke drifts through the crisp air and the roads are free of traffic jams.
It’s not a great time to head for a week on the beach (unless you happen to like walking on quiet beaches whist looking at rough seas on chilly mornings which some of us do!) or top up your tan but if you prefer a more stimulating break, it is a lovely time to explore as you can experience France more like a local and less like a tourist.
In late October and November the weather is generally still very good and you can often dine “al fresco” at lunchtimes. Even in the mid-winter months it is common to enjoy 57 degrees Farenheit (14 degrees Celcius) in Provence, Nice or Perpignan.
Warm & Cosy Inside
Embarking on a trip in one of our young, well-equipped motorhomes gives you total freedom to enjoy a break of just about any theme you like or a great mix of different activities. With winter-weight bedding and ducted central heating (which means every part of your motorhome stays warm), hiring a motorhome provides both transport and comfortable accommodation all in one and if you encounter a rainy day you can simply view the sites from the comfort of your own cosy, mobile living room!
“Value Season” campervan rental in France can provide you with the chance to visit the grand chateaux, cathedrals, cities and thermal spas or the battlefields and cemeteries of the first/second world war with hardly a soul in your way. Famous sites such as The Mont St Michel, Lourdes, The Eiffel Tower and even Disneyland Paris are no longer crawling with other people and you can really appreciate them to the full.
Winter is a lovely time to go for long walks in France and this beautiful, varied landscape offers every type of terrain from level canal paths to hilly vineyards. Exploring historic sites from medieval villages to The Normandy beaches on foot is also a great way work up an appetite and make sure you have earned that sublime French cuisine.
If you are considering a move to France, the winter months are a great time to house hunt or even just try to find an area you like. If you are going to live here, it is just as important to see what it is like in the winter as it is in the summer and a motorhome trip gives you an open ticket to explore and house hunt at will without having to find hotels in the right place each time you move on.
Visiting family in France who don’t really have room for you can be a bit of a minefield but if you hire a motorhome, you can arrive with your own accommodation and bathroom!
Stock up for Christmas
Don’t forget the many seasonal events such as the charming Christmas markets where you can sip mulled wine as you do your Christmas shopping or the incredible January sales (in France, shops can only hold sales in January and July and they are regulated by the government so genuine bargains are guaranteed). There is no more romantic a country in the world to spend Valentine’s day than France too.
If you can drive to us by car and fancy a tour of the vineyards to discover new wines, stock up for Christmas (or restock after!) or buy Champagne for a wedding/big event, this is a great time to come as our motorhomes offer plenty of storage so you can buy whenever you find wines you like.
If you are coming to France by air, airfares are generally much lower in the off season so combine that with a very low motorhome hire price and restaurant prices that are set for the locals instead of the tourists and you have the makings of a great value trip.
Hiring an RV in the winter does present the odd challenge when it comes to places to stay. Most of the campsites are closed between the end of October and Easter so you don’t have quite the same choice but France has thousands of “Aire de Service” (free overnight halts and places to empty your tanks/top up with water).
Free Campsites
In addition, all our motorhomes and campervans come with free membership of “France Passion” (see: www.france-passion.com) for the duration of your hire which gives you a huge choice of free, interesting overnight halts from vineyards to farms. Some campsites remain open too so you can always find one somewhere on your route. Cities such as Paris, Strasbourg and Bordeaux have great campsites that stay open year round and offer good public transport links into the city centres.
There is so much open space here that even if you don’t head for an official overnight halt or a France Passion site you can park overnight pretty much anywhere (within reason) so if you want to wake up overlooking a lake or stop at the edge of town, nobody will move you on. As our motorhomes come with everything you need to remain autonomous for a few days at a time you really don’t need to trouble the campsites too frequently, which makes your winter trip even better value for money.
Consult your diary, see when you can come then get a quick price for your bargain “Value Season” break.
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