Almost all French camp sites are dog friendly as the French love to take their dogs everywhere with them but most, of course, insist that the dogs are kept on a lead.

Good afternoon folks,

  Me and mrs goldi will be off to France in a few weeks time  to Arna, I hope the weather keeps up.

  norm

One of the problems with touring naturist campsites in France ...is that you're spoilt for choice!

The Naturist Guide websites counts 143, but I'm sure there are one or two more that aren't even on their list.

http://www.naturistguide.eu/en/naturist-holidays/3/campsite/france.html

I suspect if Jacques, a NC member who lives in France, spots this post he might be able to offer some good suggestions.

Sue and I have been to a reasonably large number in our camper - I think we're past half-way - so if there are any specific ones you want to know about it might be worth asking.

Creuse Nature is a Dutch-run site with very good facilities. The outdoor pool area is pleasant and there's an indoor one too. Oh and if I recall, it participates in the ACSI discount scheme. However, there are a lot of trees, and much of the site is shaded. Good if the weather is hot - unfortunately it rained much of the time when we visited.  🙁

Have a great trip wherever you decide to go.

Mike

As always we've left it to almost the last minute...

A bit like Sunchaser we've also stayed at quite a few different naturist sites and so we're trying to mix a bit of the known with a bit of the new. We also like being less than organised and just go when and where we like, but do also want a bit of an outline itinerary, so far it's looking like;

- A few days at Le Clos Maroc, Piriac-Sur-Mer (Brittany) around 27 - 30 August

- then drop down the coast to our well-tested and loved "beach holiday" resort at Euronat for around 4/5 days

- then looking to head down to the Midi or Haute-Pyrenees which is a new area for us (so suggestions welcomed!), looking at  L'Egantiere or Les Aillos. But, any other ideas will be welcomed as nothing is booked as yet.

- then around 10th Sept head a bit more eastwards towards the provence area - again a few to choose from!

- then we'll start heading up the centre/eastern side, possibly to Le Cruese Nature

- finally to Burgundy which seems to be fairly empty of naturist sites so we'll probably have to remember to dress when trotting to the shower blocks while we're there (Mrs Newforest did once forget...). Heading home around 20th Sept.

So, any opinions/ideas for the pyrenees and central areas gratefully received - thanks.

We can recommend Domaine Laborde - it is fairly central in the Lot et Garonne department and quite close to the Dordogne so not as far south as the Pyrenees. It is two years now since we stayed there for a week in our camper van, but we very much enjoyed it - a well run site (by a Dutch family) with good indoor and outdoor pools, nice restaurant and bar and a pleasant naturist camping base for exploring the Dordogne area. It can be a bit tricky to find for the first time using satnav but is quite well signposted from Villereal.
 

Sorry that I cannot help much - the tour that you planned, nudeforestcpl, is mostly on territory that I really don't know much.
In areas with few or no naturist resorts, local clubs may help; I believe that many of them do accept caravans or campers for a night or two.
You can see a list of clubs on the website of FFN at http://ffn-naturisme.com - there is a version that is partly in English at http://ffn-naturisme.com/en/
On the right-hand side fo the page there is a search engine for "Places to go" that may help.
I hope that you enjoy your round trip through France.

In the Burgundy area:
Gîte des Chênes, in the Chalon-sur-Saône area, is usually listed as a B&B but it also offers a number of pitches (and an indoor swimming pool) and has become very popular with visitors from Northern Europe on their way South - so much so that booking a long time in advance seems to be a must. See http://www.gitedeschenes.fr/indexen.htm
Among the local clubs, I have checked that Club du Soleil de Dijon does not accept visitors.
Club du Soleil de Chalon does, but only in July and August: <cs.chalon@orange.fr>
Club du Soleil de Mâcon-Laizé apparently does too, and closes a bit later (15th September): <secretaire.csmacon@wanadoo.fr>
I collected that info from  the FFN website - I hope that it is valid, but it needs to be checked with the clubs themselves of course.

As always we've left it to almost the last minute...

A bit like Sunchaser we've also stayed at quite a few different naturist sites and so we're trying to mix a bit of the known with a bit of the new. We also like being less than organised and just go when and where we like, but do also want a bit of an outline itinerary, so far it's looking like;

- A few days at Le Clos Maroc, Piriac-Sur-Mer (Brittany) around 27 - 30 August

- then drop down the coast to our well-tested and loved "beach holiday" resort at Euronat for around 4/5 days

- then looking to head down to the Midi or Haute-Pyrenees which is a new area for us (so suggestions welcomed!), looking at  L'Egantiere or Les Aillos. But, any other ideas will be welcomed as nothing is booked as yet.

- then around 10th Sept head a bit more eastwards towards the provence area - again a few to choose from!

- then we'll start heading up the centre/eastern side, possibly to Le Cruese Nature

- finally to Burgundy which seems to be fairly empty of naturist sites so we'll probably have to remember to dress when trotting to the shower blocks while we're there (Mrs Newforest did once forget...). Heading home around 20th Sept.

So, any opinions/ideas for the pyrenees and central areas gratefully received - thanks.

Hi
I saw your follow-up post a few hours ago, and then our internet service went down at home - hence a slight delay responding.

Firstly, not sure if you are a member of Suntreckers - the UK naturist camping and caravanning club - but it just so happens that they have a rally scheduled for 22-30 August at Camping le Clos Marot at Piriac-Sur-Mer, so expect some other Brits there. It's a site that Sue and I haven't visited yet, but it's on our radar.

Euronat is obviously a favourite of yours, and understandable why.

Making site recommendations has to come with the caveat that everyone's preferences are different. So one persons perfect naturist location is another persons disappointment.

I go along with D.Manude's recommendation of the 4-star Laborde - a very pleasant site and they offer the ACSI discount rate of €16 for two people, dog, pitch and hook-up - so excellent value.

Other sites in the general vicinity we like are Couderc and Terme d'Astor.

A visit to L'Egantiere had been on our wish list for a few years, because I'd understood it was a good resort. We finally made it there at the end of May this year. Unfortunately, we were somewhat disappointed. Their season opened at the beginning of April, so it was almost 2 months in, but we thought the place was in a bit of a sorry state at the time we stayed. Feel free to pm me if you want more detail. It had long been in the France4Naturisme consortium, but apparently no longer so. The owners were  friendly, however.

We stayed at Les Aillos a couple of years ago and enjoyed it. Part of the site is on a steep slope, with a winding road down the hill. We were able to pitch near the top of the site, on the level, and close to the pool and other facilities.

A couple of other places to consider in the Midi-Pyrenees - Les Manoques, where the pitches are all amongst the trees in quite dense woodland, but the swimming pool has some of the most stunning views anywhere in a naturist environment. And Deveze, which is on the outskirts of the charming village of Gaudonville. Again, part of the site is on a slope, but part level. We thought the facilities were good and the rural setting attractive. I seem to recall the prices were reasonable for the standards offered.

In Provence some of our favourites include: Belezy, Castillon de Provence, Le Haut Chandelalar and Camping Verdon Provence - but there are many other great locations to choose from. I think we've been to most of them. Perhaps one to avoid, from our perspective, Domaine de l'Escride at Belgentier. Access is impossibly steep (it's a wonder we've got a clutch left), and the place was sadly somewhat run down when we visited last August. It's the only naturist site we've every arrived at, looked around and left without at least staying overnight. 

Creuse Nature - you mentioned - is another Dutch resort and set again mainly in dense woodland. The facilities are excellent, but unfortunately our stay coincided with bad weather - cold and wet, which tends to colour one's judgement somewhat. And being very dark under the trees didn't help. However, we'd be happy to try again if the forecast was good.

Another site we liked in the Limousin was Lous Suais, set beside a huge naturist-friendly lake. Once again Dutch and on a hillside - we were able to pitch at the top, but the lake, reception and bar etc were at the lower level, so a bit of a climb. But we loved the views. Well worth checking out the photos on their website.

You mentioned Burgandy, and I'd highly recommend Domaine de la Gagere - a four-star site in an attractive rural location with good views and facilities. The ACSI rate is €18, and I recall the taxes were slightly higher than I'd have anticipated - but still excellent value.

I see Jacques has mentioned Gîte des Chênes. We stayed there last August on our way south. From our perspective it was OK, just! We wouldn't return and we did only stay overnight. Surprisingly, we thought some of the facilities a bit primitive. We received a very warm welcome, however.

I could go on and on, but believe that's probably sufficient for now.

Hope you have a  great trip.

Mike

A quick update on how's turned out...and thanks to all that posted.

We crossed over a couple of weeks ago and the weather in the north of France was cr@p (as it was in the UK based on emails from friends) so sadly we didn't do Le Clos but instead headed down to Le Colombier on the edge of the vendee. Really nice site, the weather perked up and most people there were naked, good swimming pool and the surrounds are nice too.

We then headed to our 5 days of 'beach holiday' (5 days is fun but that's about long enough for us as we need to roam a bit) staying in a chalet at euronat and that is a known spot for us, and it lived up to expectation - great weather, wonderful surf and no need to leave the site or dress for the entire stay. We motored east into the midi-Pyrenees and did a textile site for a couple of nights (nice site but...all those clothes to try and keep dry in the showers - Sue actually only half wore a towel on her way to and from the showers) and we are now at Le Fiscalou naturist centre near Montaubon. On first arrival it seems a bit disorganised but it is actually a nice site, in a really nice area with some great medieval hill towns nearby to explore. It's run by a lovely couple (he's French, she's Dutch) who are very attentive without being intrusive, facilities are reasonable except the swimming pool which is darn cold...shame when the temperature in the sun is 32c as you want to stay in but get concerned whether all your important bits will still be attached. Still it is refreshing! Mostly Dutch here, a few french and three other Brit vans, one of whom is moving on tomorrow. We'd tried to book into one of their cottages for our stay but they were fully booked and that looks genuine now we're here - not bad for the 'shoulder' season. We're here for a couple more days, then probably up to La Creuse Nature (more Dutch - we should be fluent soon!) for a couple more days in the van before hitting our gite in Burgundy for five days - not strictly naturist but on its own in the country so hopefully discreet!
So far the dog has been welcome everywhere we've stayed although there's always a charge.
One thing we can confirm...the sun does still exist, it's just emigrated south by about 200 miles !

Hi
I saw your follow-up post a few hours ago, and then our internet service went down at home - hence a slight delay responding.

Firstly, not sure if you are a member of Suntreckers - the UK naturist camping and caravanning club - but it just so happens that they have a rally scheduled for 22-30 August at Camping le Clos Marot at Piriac-Sur-Mer, so expect some other Brits there. It's a site that Sue and I haven't visited yet, but it's on our radar.

Hope you have a  great trip.

Mike

Shame we didn't get to Le Clos but the weather in Brittany when we were there wasn't conducive to taking your fleece off, never mind the rest of your kit, but it would have been nice to have seen Suntreckers "in action" as we've toyed with joining their rallies for a couple of years but we're not sure if it's all a bit to organised for us.

I have noticed several times that the sun comes out as you cross the Loire going South.

We are at La Petite Brenne with Suntreckers and thorougly enjoying ourselves . PetJac have a chalet here and we have had an odd drink with them , erm erm . Saturday we move south to Le Fiscalou for another rally . Where we are going after that we don't really know as Le Fiscalou is the last of the 3 late rallies . At the present time it is a bright blue sunny sky, although cool in the morning .

Julie and Dick

I have noticed several times that the sun comes out as you cross the Loire going South.

lol
- although this depends. In my part of France (the South-East) we say that as you drive down the Rhône Valley the weather changes from "Continental" to "Mediterranean" around Montélimar.
On the parking area on motorway A7 at Savasse just north of Montélimar there is a huge carving called "La Porte du Soleil", the sun's gateway. The monument is not very convincing (it is part of a number of huge and often baffling monuments to be found on the French motorways, sometimes referred to globally in a derogatory way "motorway art"), but the hint about the weather turns out quite ofen to be right: for us, the South begins there. After all this is not very far from the 45th Parallel, half way between the Equator and the Noth Pole.

We are at La Petite Brenne with Suntreckers and thorougly enjoying ourselves . PetJac have a chalet here and we have had an odd drink with them , erm erm . Saturday we move south to Le Fiscalou for another rally . Where we are going after that we don't really know as Le Fiscalou is the last of the 3 late rallies . At the present time it is a bright blue sunny sky, although cool in the morning .

Julie and Dick

So, Julie and Dick, we just missed you I guess as we left Le Fiscalou as the main Suntrekkers contingent was arriving on the Saturday (we had an arrangement to see friends that evening in Limousin). We intended staying at Le Fiscalou for just three/four nights but loved it's informality and the surrounding area so much we stayed a week (it didn't help that Sue did fall in love with Pascal...apparently he's cute).
How did Suntrekkers get on? We felt that perhaps Fritz and Ken were a bit concerned about the somewhat casual management of the site...such as the power leads that grew on the trees  ;D ?