The Best Camping Destinations in France

Camping has been booming since the coronavirus crisis. Over the past few years, many new campers have joined the camping community. Many of them choose to vacation in their own country. But do they know that the best campsites are in Pouldreuzic (rating: 9.3) and that the most popular camping town is Argelès-sur-Mer?

JetCamp has compared over 8030 campsites in France to find the best camping destination. 1,882,204 reviews helped us draw several conclusions. We looked at factors such as the average rating of a campsite per municipality and the popularity of campsites throughout France.

Many campsites in France are located in tourist areas: on the Atlantic Coast, on the Amethyst Coast, on the Côte de la Manche, on the Côte d'Azur, and many other places.

Campsites on the Atlantic Coast

The west coast of France is a popular tourist region. From Charentes to the Spanish border, the ancient coastline of France is distinguished by long sandy beaches. This coastline is well developed in some areas, particularly in the far southwest, but there are also long stretches of unspoiled coastline. In this tourist area, you will have the choice between more than 950 campsites.

Top 3 camping communes on the Atlantic Coast of France (with at least 5 campsites):

1. Municipality of Saint-Julien-en-Born (New Aquitaine): Score: 8.7

2. Municipality of Vielle-Saint-Girons (New Aquitaine): Score: 8.3

3. Municipality of Seignosse (New Aquitaine): Note 8.2

Campsites on the Côte d'Améthyste

There are over 300 campsites on the Amethyst Coast. Most of them are pet-friendly, so don't leave your furry friend at home. The most popular type of camping here is family camping.

Top 3 camping towns in Côte d'Améthyste (with at least 5 campsites):

1. Municipality of Argelès-sur-Mer (Occitanie): Score 8.0

2. Municipality of Narbonne (Occitanie): Score 7.5

3. Municipality of Barcarès (Occitanie): Note 7.6

Campsites on Channel Coast

There are over 600 campsites on the beautiful Côte de la Manche, so there's plenty to choose from. The majority of them allow pets, so you can also bring your four-legged friend on vacation. The most popular types of accommodation here are well-appointed bungalows and mobile homes.

Top 3 camping towns on the Côte de la Manche (with at least 4 campsites):

1. Municipality of Agon-Coutainville (Normandy): Score: 8.2

2. Municipality of Saint-Jean-de-la-Rivière (Normandy): Score: 8.0

3. Municipality of Saint-Pair-sur-Mer (Normandy): Score 8.0

Campsites on the French Riviera

There are over 200 campsites on the incredible French Riviera, well known around the world for its glamorous resorts such as Saint-Tropez and Cannes, and the independent microstate of Monaco. The majority of campsites here are pet-friendly, and the most popular types of accommodation are well-appointed bungalows and mobile homes.

Top 3 camping towns on the Côte d'Azur (with at least 5 campsites):

1. Municipality of Hyères (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur): Score: 7.8

2. Municipality of Antibes (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur): Score: 7.6

3. Municipality of Fréjus (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur): Score: 7.5

When looking for the best location in France to camp, it is good to know in which municipalities these campsites are located. To find out, we have made a Top 5 of the municipalities whose average is made up of the best rated campsites in France. To determine the Top 5, we also took into account the minimum number of campsites per municipality, which in this case is five.

1. Municipality of Pouldreuzic (Brittany Region): Score 9.3 (5 campsites)

2. Municipality of Luz-Saint-Sauveur (Occitanie): Score 9.0 (5 campsites)

3. Municipality of Val-Cenis (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes): Score 9.0 (6 campsites)

4. Municipality of Cauterets (Occitanie): Score 9.0 (8 campsites)

5. Municipality of Lagorce (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes): Score 8.9 (6 campsites)

To find the top camping spots in France, we also looked at where most campsites in France are located. It turned out that the largest number of campsites is located in the municipality of Argelès-Sur-Mer in the department of Pyrénées-Orientales in the region of Occitanie with 53 campsites. The town of Saint-Jean-de-Monts in Pays de la Loire takes second place with 43 campsites. The Top 5 is concluded by Vias, a French town located in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region with 25 campsites.

1. Municipality of Argelès-sur-Mer (Occitanie): 53 campsites

2. Municipality of Saint-Jean-de-Monts (Pays de la Loire): 43 campsites

3. Municipality of Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez (Pays de la Loire): 40 campsites

4. Municipality of Agde (Occitanie): 27 campsites

5. Municipality of Vias (Occitanie): 25 campsites

In general, campsites are doing well with an average rating of 7.98. Campers in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes are the most satisfied with an average score of 8.2. The 13 metropolitan regions of France obtain on average between 8.2 and 7.7.

1. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes : Score 8.2

2. Brittany : Score 8.2

3. Nouvelle-Aquitaine : Score 8.0

4. Occitanie : Score 8.0

5. Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur : Score 8.0

6. Hauts-de-France : Rating 8.0

7. Grand-Est : Score 8.0

8. Bourgogne-Franche-Comté : Score 8.0

9. Corsica : Score 8.0

10. Pays de la Loire : Score 7.9

11. Normandy : Score 7.9

12. Center-Loire Valley : Score 7.9

13. Île-de-France : Note 7.7

To determine what makes a town popular, a popularity index was created. This index was developed by examining the number of reviews by municipality, country and all of France.

The number of campsite reviews per municipality is divided by the greatest number of reviews in 1 municipality. This number is then multiplied by 100. The figure resulting from this calculation determines the popularity index of an area.

Le Grau-du-Roi is an example. All campsites in Le Grau-du-Roi (there are 11) have a total of 12515 reviews. The town with the most reviews is Argelès-sur-Mer with 35347 reviews. The popularity index of Grau-du-Roi then becomes:

12515 /35347*100 = 35.40, which gives a rounded score of 35.

The popularity index revealed some interesting details. It is clearly visible that the municipalities with a high popularity index are located in Occitania with large campsites / holiday parks within their boundaries.

The Top 5 towns according to the JetCamp popularity index:

1. Municipality of Argelès-sur-Mer (Occitanie): Index 100

2. Municipality of Saint-Jean-de-Monts (Pays de la Loire): Index 59

3. Municipality of Vias (Occitanie): Index 49

4. Municipality of Saint-Georges-d'Oléron (New Aquitaine): Index 45

5. Commune of Fréjus (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region): Index 45

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

1. Municipality of Val-Cenis: Score 9.0

2. Municipality of Lagorce: Score 8.9

3. Municipality of Les Vans: Score 8.8

Brittany

1. Municipality of Pouldreuzic: Score 9.3

2. Municipality of Clohars-Carnoët: Score 8.7

3. Municipality of Penmarch: Score 8.7

New Aquitaine

1. Municipality of Rouffignac-Saint-Cernin-de-Reilhac: Note 9.1

2. Municipality of Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle: Score 8.9

3. Municipality of Domme: Score 8.8

Occitania

1. Municipality of Luz-Saint-Sauveur: Score 9.0

2. Municipality of Cauterets: Score 9.0

3. Municipality of Mostuéjouls: Score 8.8

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

1. Municipality of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence: Score8.6

2. Municipality of Esparron-de-Verdon: Score 8.6

3. Commune of Embrun: Note 8.6

Hauts-de-France

1. Municipality of Ardres: Score 8.5

2. Municipality of Fort-Mahon-Plage: Score 8.3

3. Quend Commune: Score 8.2

Grand Est (*based on a minimum of 4 campsites per municipality)

1. Municipality of Xonrupt-Longemer: Score 8.4

2. Municipality of Granges-Aumontzey: Note 8.3

3. Municipality of Corcieux: Score 7.9

Burgundy-Franche-Comte

1. Municipality of Montsauche-les-Settons: Score 8.3

2. Municipality of Clairvaux-les-Lacs: Score7.8

Corsica

1. Municipality of Olmeto: Note 8.3

2. Municipality of Zonza: Score 8.3

3. Municipality of Calvi: Score 8.2

Pays de la Loire

1. Municipality of Préfailles: Score 8.7

2. Municipality of Mesquer: Score 8.5

3. Municipality of La Plaine-sur-Mer: Note 8.4

Normandy

1. Municipality of Agon-Coutainville: Note 8.2

2. Municipality of Saint-Pair-sur-Mer: Score 8.0

3. Municipality of Merville-Franceville-Plage: Score 7.9

Centre-Val de Loire (*based on a minimum of 2 campsites per municipality)

1. Municipality of Barrou: Score 9.8

2. Municipality of Coullons: Score 9.3

3. Municipality of Saint-Gaultier: Score 8.9

Île-de-France (*based on a minimum of 2 campsites per municipality)

1. Municipality of Asnières-sur-Oise: Note 9.1

2. Municipality of Verneuil-sur-Seine: Note 8.4

3. Municipality of Nesles-la-Vallée: Score 8.0

For more information about this study, please contact:

JetCamp | Erwin Hoevenar | +31 6 47301191 | erwin@jetcamp.com | www.jetcamp.com