Hi all,
Touring first time in France. It's Dec, not many campsites open. Can we stop overnight at camping car Aires? Appreciate some help.
Thanks
Lily

At this time of year it's very unlikely to be a problem.
We've done it lots of times right across most of France

BUT

You cannot unhitch and technically you mustn't drop your legs.
We never had any problems.

That's great feed back. Thank you. Legs will stay up! Do we have to pay or buy a card? Thx lily

No you don't need to pay as the vast majority are free.
There is no booking. They are simply for people passing through.
Although on some occasions we have stayed for a week as they have been so nice
Many if not most have fresh water and also toilet emptying facilites.
A significant number also have free electricity (you need an adaptor plug).

There is a publication 'All the Aires France' which is invaluable.
It lists around 3000 Aires with a description and often a photo.

www.Vicariousbooks.co.uk

We used this extensively touring France for several years up to 2014.

You just put the cordinates in your satnav and go.

Enjoy

There's no way I'd leaves legs up LOL We've never stayed in one. Usually you pay a small fee to someone who will pass by to contribute to your leccy and water and us local tax payers object to camping-caristes getting it all for nothing :)
I can'tiagine you'll be turned away at this time of year.

When in France/ Spain if you drop your legs in the Aires, or a lay-by, motorwayway services, or even to take a 'quick break' in a village
you take the risk of paying a hefty fine. Believe me the local police won't hesitate issuing a fine to foreign tourists....it pays(literally) their wages
and they do this without upsetting the locals in their community.

In all the aires we have stayed and it must be well over 100, we have never been asked to contribute anything to anyone.
We have wined and dined in the local community and no one in France has ever suggested a payment. The aires themselves
by their very nature are rarely used by French locals but mostly other europeans travelling through France. Most of them appear to
have been created and or maintained funded through the grants from the EU which according to the British Newspapers is wholly
subsidised by the british taxpayer 'ME!'

The Aires are brilliant and the French are really to be complemented on their attitude towards visiting tourists. There are also the
local municipal caravan parking that again charge little but these are often more difficult to find and often without facilities.

What's in it for them ?
The tourists bring in the money.

Enjoy.....and spend your money...we loved it!

The French put us to shame with their provision for stopping, resting, services etc. and the network and variety of sites is excellent.
I believe the word aires just means place so what you can expect to find or be allowed to do is in the description; aires de repos, aires de service, aires de joues, aires de picnic, etc.

I agree and also to some extent Spain where again similar facilities exist and we have spent many touring holidays.
I understand that Spain has more recently considerably expanded in their number sites.

I think it is also about the attitude of the locals to visitors and tourists.

I remember in one small spanish village we were visiting there suddenly arrived without warning, a huge gathering of 'hells angels'!

There had to be at least a hundred bikes etc, The bikers themselves looked quite fearsome with their iconic leather jackets, long hair
and equally long beards(and that was the women)!

The bikes roared up and down the main village street with their exhausts firing away. The bikes did wheelies and skids and all sorts of scary manoeuvres.

Now imagine what the Brits would do if this happened without warning in their village street ?

The attitude of the Spanish :

They came out of their homes and businesses to cheer and applaud the visitors.

Reference where did I get this information ?

I have, for my transgression been warned, by the police and fully advised as to what is and is not allowed
Also later in discussion with a French resident being told I was very lucky not to have received a fine.

I am also aware that there are visual signposts indicating that offenders will face a fine.

Basically as I understand it and I have discussed this with fellow travellers the advice is:

No problem at all in parking the caravan, but do not unhitch and do not drop the legs.....
.....I have a vague recollection that it is seen as a type of 'camping' rather than 'parking'or something similar.
Exactly the same applies to motorhomes. they are not allowed to put down their legs.

Arguing with the French gendarmes is not advised particularly as they go around in large groups wearing big boots and have a big black mariah!

Oddly enough I too did ask, in a nice way, what law had I broken.
This was a mistake but I won't bore you suffice to say a sharp jab in the ribs from Anne shut me up !

Living here in the Charente we have nothing but respect for the gendarmes and the locals, perhaps it is more an attitude that " we are brits therefore we can do anything we like", mutual respect works for me

I agree entirely with the 'When in Rome' approach and it's always best that when in doubt be careful.

Having said that in all my travelling abroad I have yet to meet, " we are brits therefore we can do anything we like" attitude.

You may read about it in the newspapers but it's not something I have come across and in fact would say it's often quite the opposite.
I think we go out of our way so as not to offend. I would like to believe that is the reputation we have abroad.

We have spent this year going round about and putting our legs down at every stop and no-one has paid us the slightest bit of notice.
In the summer, caravans are really expected to go to campsites. This can be municipal (- fabulous facilities, often better than private sites), or private. From what I have found on the net, caravans will be tolerated on aires out of season. The law classes caravans and campers as the same. The law about legs up seems to imply that you should be in a state to MOVE. I don't think in reality that anyone will object to your legs being down if it's clear that you're staying in a designated spot for the night. Many motorway stops now have very pleasant places that are free where you can spend the night. Don't try to spend the night just anywhere in the countryside or in a layby.
There are also a lot of farms that welcome independant campers.
There's also "gamping" where people with private land will welcome either/or campers, caravans, tents. Some have great facilities and some don't.
https://www.gamping.fr/explore/Bretagne but that exists all over France.
If you're really nice to the Gendarmes (they DO carry guns!!!) they're usually fabulous and don't shoot Brit tourists for fun. It isn't their remit to watch aires; You're much more likely to get a visit from Police Municipal who can and will charge you for the night if it applies. Towns and villages are obliged to provide these aires hence the charge. But, it's very cheap. As far as I know Jabberwock isn't paying my or Bryn's taxes LOL I'll go and ask an authority to get something more official in the week and get back to you.
This might be interesting too
http://www.camping-france-ouvert-annee.com

I'm jobberwock

If I was jabberwock I'd have the:

'jaws that bite, the claws that catch'.


I was however in the school play and had the part of the Jubjub bird