We are getting ready to embark on our summer hols to France - going next Tuesday. Cant believe its finally nearly here after weeks of counting down the days!!
We are having 2 weeks at Camping Kervilor at La Trinite and wondered if any of you can advise on any thing we shouldnt miss seeing or doing whilst there? We have been to the area before but the last time was about 5 years ago when we camped near Quiberon.
We are a family of 4 with 2 kiddies aged 8 & 11 and any top tips you may have on the best restaurants/markets/supermarkets/beaches etc would be great!
OH is also wondering if there is are any fresh water fishing lakes in the area too?
Fingers crossed the sun shines
xx
------------- Plans 2012:
Hopefully buy a trailer tent and then maybe explore Burgandy!
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Our first time on a campsite in France was at the de la Baie campsite in La Trinite. That was about 8 years ago but fondly remembered as we caught the camping bug good and proper!
I seem to recall there were some fishing lakes between La Trinite and Carnac?
Best time we had was on the beach just across the road from Camping de La Baie, sunny days wading far out in water only waist deep collecting the crabs that were scuttling about.
Aquarium at Vannes was our wet day trip out, we did not do many restaurants as used the BBQ on the campsite most days but there were plenty of decent places in Carnac and Quiberon was really nice but you will know that if you camped there before.
There can be some fantastic racing yachts visiting the port in La Trinite.
Have fun, we are heading to South Vendee soon and hoping for great weather too. Lets face it, it won't be hard to beat the weather in the UK!
Hi, we're not long back from Carnac & still in the post-holiday mourning period!
Carnac's lovely, my recommendations are:
The alignments - go to those near Menec village & there's a visitor centre and, more importantly, a lovely creperie in Menec village called Le Pressoir. If you go on a sunny day for lunch then get there as soon as it opens(12.30 I think) as it's popular and hard to get a table - we were very lucky. Service is friendly & relaxed & it's in a beautiful setting. There's horses in the next field & loads of room for children to run around.
Another place to eat - Ty Gwelig in Carnac ville behind the church. The moules frites are brill & esp good with the local cider...
There's a market in Carnac ville on Sunday & either Wednesday or Thursday (all days seem to blend in to one!) It's massive & vibrant with yummy food on sale.
The beach at Men Dhu (between Carnac & La Trinite) is a good one to go to. There's a little island that you can walk out to at low tide, we had a barbie there one night & it was amazing.
There's loads of shops in the Avenue des Druides just behind the main beach in Carnac - it's lively & seems to have good, reasonably priced reataurants altho we never tried any. Look out for the ice cream stall with masses of flavours.
The beaches are really good for children as they're shallow for ages & seem safe. Not much in the way of waves tho if you like body boarding. I think the Quiberon peninsula is worth goig to if you like that sort of thing.
There's a small but well-stocked Super U halfway between Carnac plage & the Men Dhu beach on the Ave des Druides and also a Lidl or Aldi just to the side of Carnac ville.
Have a lovely time, wish we were in your place!
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
We camped in Trinite Sur Mer, by a lake (camping le lac, Carnac)...very pretty and some lovely cycle rides from the site. Brittany is not typical of the French countryside it is very Cornish somehow and to many Brits for me.
Having worked for a French company and holidayed in France for the past 20 years we had never 'done' Brittany. Bayeaux was a pleasant surprise....we by- passed Dinan and continued to Trinite Sur Mer, we definately prefered the Southern part of this region.area and would have kept going down to Il de Re had the weather been kinder.
Try South West, it is truly beautiful and very French. The beaches stretch all the way down the Atlantic coast to wards the Spanish border. The food is regional with plenty of variety and there are watersports on the inland lakes. There are over 1520k of cycle routes throughout the Landes region, away from any roads. The world surfing championships and the national triathlon are held here every year.
It suits both adults and children without a hint of commercialism.
------------- CAT
Favourite site:
Camping Nanzel, Limone, Lake
Garda..perfect for MTB, Kayak, SUP and fell running training.
Favourite areas: Provence, French Alps, Savigny (as a stop over for Southern France: Rhein valley as a stop over for Italy. 78
There are some great little restaurants on the front at La Trinite which is within walking distance of the site, its just a question of taking your pick as you mooch along the front. Carnac centre is lovely but the seafront part of the town isnt particularly nice in my view, its just tourist bustle, although thats a question of personal taste/preference. Auray is a short drive away and has a realy pretty centre based around its port area.
I agree with the above re the Ty Gwellig at Carnac, great Moules!
The seafood market is right on the front at la Trinite so if BBQ's are your thing you can get some good local produce - massive Langoustine I recall.
Kervillor is a really nice site with an updated pool facility. You may find that the kids are happy just to stay on site, ours often were.
Auray is gorgeous......we went the the shrine of St Anne. St Anne is the patron saint of Brittany and is Jesus's grandma. Mass at St Annes church is truly a moving experience.
I totally agree the seafront in Carnac is a bit of tourist bustle. There are some lovely sites to visit, the tourist information should be able to give you a local map.
Moules are great in this area, in fact all the way along this coastline. Skip the frites though.
I thank the reason this regions didn't really grab us is the absence of vineyards, our favourite spots are Burgundy, the Loire, Bordeaux and they all produce wine.
------------- CAT
Favourite site:
Camping Nanzel, Limone, Lake
Garda..perfect for MTB, Kayak, SUP and fell running training.
Favourite areas: Provence, French Alps, Savigny (as a stop over for Southern France: Rhein valley as a stop over for Italy. 78
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
We were there last year (camping de la plage) with kids of 7 and 3 - our top days out were:
Tree climbing at Foret Adrenaline - kids loved it! Would be even better for older children I would think
Vannes - beautiful town & kids enjoyed the dotto train ride
Collecting shellfish & cooking it from the beach
Most of the time we stayed on site or went cycling - good traffic free paths.
We went to the museum in Carnac and found it very dull - all in French, lots of exhibits in cases but nothing interactive really. Probably better for french speaking adults.
Seafront in Carnac is typical seaside stuff but we enjoyed it! Especially the ice cream shop with 150 flavours - pity we ran out of time to try them all..
Snap, we go on Thursday, hoping to avoid the weekend traffic.
Avoiding Paris we head SW to Chablis, taste the amber nectar on home terroir, then down through the Dordogne for a few days..and on the Aquitaine where we ditch the car and go everywhere on bikes. The piste cyclables are quite extensive in Landes region, so I get at least 30k a day clocked up without going near a road, its bliss.
I'm not one who sits and sunbathe, I need to be on the move (bit of a nightmare for my other half). He can read his KINDLE while I go and get some miles in on the bike, or I go for a run.
Enjoy your holiday, I hope the weather improves or I can see we'll be seeing the insides of some beautiful buildings :(
------------- CAT
Favourite site:
Camping Nanzel, Limone, Lake
Garda..perfect for MTB, Kayak, SUP and fell running training.
Favourite areas: Provence, French Alps, Savigny (as a stop over for Southern France: Rhein valley as a stop over for Italy. 78
Sounds good BobCat10 my OH is like you, he would have loved to take his bike, but sadly we don't have room, but he was allowed to do the John O'Groats to Lands End ride this year, so we do take holidays in turn!
Hope you have a great time too,
Jane
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Well I was brought with cycling its in the genes. My parents cycled and camped with panniers from Leeds - Dover, then calais to Paris, Paris to Bordeaux, Bordeaux to Biarritz AND back, so my daily treks are nothing by comparison.....both are sadly up there on a cloud somewhere but it is lovely to know that I have probably been along some of the routes that they did.
I'm not taking the road bike, it's MTB off road all the way.
Its quite a hike for you chaps from Bristol to the ferry, we only have a hour 1/2 to Hull, then over to Zeebrugge overnight. An expensive crossing at £309 each way but better than the M25 and no rest.
The weather looks dreadful on Friday, and it would be when we are on the fast motorway section of our route. Lets hope this blows over.
Bon voyage
PS your OH could hire a bike but its not the same.
We have a Renault Scenic, we take the seats out and the bike forks fit exactly where the seats go...the tents, camping box, cool box stack down the middle, the wheels, helmets cycles shoes sit in the door space. We tend to leave the bikes locked in the car for security and never leave them un attended whilst travelling (Specialized Rock Hopper Pro Disk). So there is a downside to taking the bikes.
------------- CAT
Favourite site:
Camping Nanzel, Limone, Lake
Garda..perfect for MTB, Kayak, SUP and fell running training.
Favourite areas: Provence, French Alps, Savigny (as a stop over for Southern France: Rhein valley as a stop over for Italy. 78
I know what you mean about tracks where the parents have been - that's why we are doing a lot of the campsites we are doing, so I can re-live happy childhood memories.
Safe journey to you to and let's hope our weather is good. OH is not that worried about taking his bike this time, he has a 12 year old DD to look after
Well, its amazing how things fall into place. We could not get on Le Tedey on saturday as hoped, so we're decided to stay in Limousin for a few nights, it will break the journey and give us an opportunity to see a part of France we have never explored.
By an amazing coincidence, this weekend is the Uzerche Classical music Festival with concerts in the magnificent Abbadial St Pierre each evening...this is icing on the cake for us as we are both classically trained singers, (we are in recess at the moment but I will be taking 'scores' with me to learn). In fact they day we return is the first rehearsal of 'Stabat Mater', and 3 days later I start Rossini's Messe Solonelle rehearsals.
There will be a full sung mass in the Abbey on Sunday at 10:30 which will be fantastic. We are both members of a First Martyrs choir so the form of the mass is familar just in French.
As an added bonus Le Tedey emailed me and have reserved us our pitch of choice. I think they must have checked out their databse and see that we have been to the site on several ocassions. Your DD and OH would love this site.
I think a prayer to St Jude may be in order for the weather, it is awful on Friday/Saturday.
Thank you for your blessing much appreciated Cat'.
------------- CAT
Favourite site:
Camping Nanzel, Limone, Lake
Garda..perfect for MTB, Kayak, SUP and fell running training.
Favourite areas: Provence, French Alps, Savigny (as a stop over for Southern France: Rhein valley as a stop over for Italy. 78
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: La Trinite Sur Mer/Carnac
