6 dreamy campsites in France

Camping is a great way to see France, enjoying picnic breakfasts and staying amid unspoiled countryside.

Whether you want mountains, valleys or to pitch a tent next to a beach on the Côte d’Azur, here are six dreamy French campsites to choose from.

Camping Le Cians in Beuli

Camping Le Cians is quite literally made for stargazing, with bubble tents containing telescopes and featuring transparent roofs so that you can recline on a sheepskin-draped double bed while gazing up at galaxies and milky ways. You can also stay in one of the property’s little log cabins, many with their own kitchen to prepare a feast for the communal barbecue. Visit in the winter months for deep snow and skiing, or in the summer months when you can hike hillsides carpeted in blooming wildflowers.

Camping de la Tête Noire in Buzançais

With safari-style tents bordered by ferns, palm trees and shaded wooden decking, you’d think Camping de la Tête Noire was located in the tropics rather than central France. But this rural retreat is located almost halfway between Poitiers and Orléans, just outside the Parc naturel régional de la Brenne, with a river running through it and an outdoor swimming pool.

Nova Lodges

At this seafront campsite on the French Riviera, guests can stroll from their wooden bungalows onto a white sand private beach in minutes. There’s also tennis and water sports facilities, a wellness centre and several restaurants and bars. Don’t miss the chance to venture to Port Grimaud, a nearby coastal town where apricot- and rose-coloured fisherman’s cottages line sea-green canals.

Huttopia Vallouise

In the shadow of the Alps in southeastern France, and at an altitude of 1,200 metres above sea level, this quiet campsite is blissfully quiet. You can choose between small pine chalets surrounded by greenery and canvas tents with verandahs in a meadow with mountain views. In addition to swimming in and sunbathing by the geometric-shaped swimming pool, guests can also play tennis and ping pong, go hiking and paragliding, or try snowsports in the winter months (the tents also have wood-burning stoves).

Camping nature Au-delà des nuages

All the wooden units at this eco-friendly campsite were built by the owners themselves, handcrafted to resemble old-fashioned gypsy caravans, with window sills painted red and green and some with thatched roofs. Bordered by national parks in the Haute-Loire region of south-central France, the scenery is quite something to wake up to; many units have glass double doors that open up straight onto the undulating countryside.

Cabanes des châteaux

Just outside Blois in central France, this campsite houses guests in heated wooden pods amid peaceful woodland. In springtime, flowering crocuses cover the clearing in which the campsite stands, while in winter the forest floor is coated in shimmering frost. The hosts provide a delightful breakfast spread including buttery, airy homemade brioche, after which a tour of the many nearby châteaux dotted around the Loire Valley is a must.