Plan more than 24 Hours to discover France’s motorsport capital.
Motor racing fans will already have Le Mans on their agenda—this Pays de la Loire city is famous for hosting the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans race. A visit to the legendary race track and 24 Hours Museum is top of the to-do list, but equally impressive is the hilltop medieval Old Town, where movies like The Man in the Iron Mask were filmed. For campers road-tripping between Normandy and the Loire Valley, Le Mans makes a strategic travel destination, where you’ll find motorhome and caravan parks, glamping, and family-friendly campsites with access to a swimming pool or fishing lake.
North of Le Mans, the Normandy-Maine Regional Nature Park sprawls over 235,000 hectares, all the way to the Bay of Mont St Michel. Hit the road in your campervan, stopping to visit the medieval castles of Lassay-les-Châteaux and Sillé-le-Guillaume; go hiking, mountain biking, or horse riding through wild woodlands; or enjoy canoeing along the Sarthe, Varenne, or Cance rivers.
The Sarthe River winds its way south of Le Mans to meet the Loire and the UNESCO-listed stretch of the Loire Valley. Angers, Tours, and Chinon are all popular bases from which to cycle along the Loire à Vélo bike trail, go wine tasting amid the vineyards, or visit the magnificent chateaux of Chambord, Chenonceau, and Cheverny.
Two hours west of Le Mans, Rennes is the capital of Brittany and the gateway to the region’s windswept coastal hikes, inland forests, and charming medieval towns. A classic stopover for Brits thanks to its proximity to the Channel ports, Brittany is also camping heaven, and you won’t have to drive far to find a scenic campsite or a holiday park.
Motor racing is the lifeblood of Le Mans, and huge crowds descend on the city for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race each June. It’s best to avoid visiting at this time if you aren’t attending—if you do, book your camping pitches as early as possible and expect a corresponding bump in prices. As with the rest of France, most campsites open from April through October, but some aires (caravan parks) and private campsites do stay open year-round.