There are a growing number of commercial aires which have barriers and are more strictly controlled, but are generally very well run and often have additional facilities such as showers and restaurants. The largest provider is called Camping Car Park France , who run over 250 commercial aires in France. Whether you can put out an awning, use external cooking equipment, hang out washing or put out a table and chairs. Luneville – A lovely aire with pitches separated by hedges and your own picnic table. Ideal for a visit to the very splendid chateau and gardens.

Aire’s vary wildly from place to place but follow a general pattern. You will find them close to the edge of a town or village right across the country. They are almost all just a few minutes walk to the town centre, although some can be more distant. That being said, if you want to have a picnic or set up some outdoor kit, don’t do it in a place where another vehicle could park . Some aire de services are free but there’s often a small charge of a few euros. Euro relais is a common type of machine where you drop in coins or use a bank card (these are becoming more common now) and get a certain amount of fresh water and/or electricity in exchange. Disposal is almost always free unless there’s a barrier to get at the service point. Aire de reposThe aire may not be suitable for large or heavy motorhomes (this could be due to access or designated space size) – think over 5,000kg or 7m long. Don’t try and get in if this is the case, as you’ll take up more than your share of room. There was one Aire I came across that refused all three of my British cards and seemed for domestic French cardholders only and didn’t have a cash option. In three months of travel, that was the only failure. But I did have a plan B! How Can I Find an Aire de Service and Aire de Camping-car in France?

Clean up after yourself. Nothing is more revolting than having to deal with someone else’s waste. It’s not hygienic and it’s definitely not cool. Often, these are run by the local council and are designed to encourage people to visit the area. They are nearly always well kept and welcoming, with signs in French and often English. If the signs aren’t in English, the info will be displayed in a way that’s fairly easy to understand.There’s also a scheme called France Passion, which is a collection of vineyards, farms and other places where they offer free or cheap overnight motorhome parking. It’s a bit like BritStops in the UK. The boards will show how long you are allowed to stay, with 24 hours being the usual norm. Some Aires do allow a day or so longer, but the nature of Aires is that people move on most days. The books are broken down into colour-coded regions with maps, making it easy to search geographically around your location. A picture and a description are included and each aire is inspected by All the Aires periodically. But HOW do we do this? How do we travel to another country without booking any overnight motorhome parking stopovers in advance? Answer- we use a wonderful system called French Aires. They are the same as a service station in the UK and provide fuel, toilets, restaurants, a shop etc etc. You can often buy refillable gas from an aire de service too, although not always. There will often be a vending machine for hot drinks and sometimes a microwave for public use too.

There are roughly 4,000 known aires in France, so wherever you travel, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to find one. Books and guides To confuse you even further, other types of aire (which are the ones you’re probably looking for) are also often referred to as ‘aires de service’… so when you’re looking for nice places to stop, look for any which aren’t right on a motorway- more on this later! If we want to charge/ empty toilets or find somewhere to park for a few days so we can ride our bikes, we head for a French Aire. Nancy: La Capitainerie is a quiet spot next to the river in a fascinating French city, with a wonderful mix of baroque and art nouveau sights.

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Arromanches-les-Bains: Perfectly situated for golden beaches ( Gold Beach in the D-Day landings) and a sweetly bustling seaside town. There are two aires in town, this is the one just north of Camping Municipal. Some gated aires closed during the height of the Covid pandemic. France currently has few restrictions and most aires are fully open, although where there are services like toilets and showers, they may remain closed.