The most beautiful places to camp in France

The two go hand in hand. The most beautiful campsites in France enjoy very often an idyllic setting and environment. Whether it's by the water, at the edge of a river, a mountain lake or in the surroundings of a natural site and/or exceptional tourist site, most of the campsites on Campings.Luxe offer you the opportunity to camp in beautiful places. Even though this selection may give rise to debate, the objective of this thematic file is to show you 10 luxury campsites offering the most paradisal situation and location that you could possibly find in France...
Whether you are looking for a campsite in an unusual location or on the contrary near a popular and busy town, there's no doubt you'll find something for you on the Campings.Luxe website. What could be better than to spend a holiday on a campsite with an at the least enviable and desirable location? In the vast majority of cases, it turns out be a seafront. This is the reason why half of these selected campsites, with the most beautiful places to camp in France, are located by the sea and enjoy a direct access to the beach. The other campsites of this top 10 are located at the edge of a river, or on the shores of an Alpine Lake.
10/10
Les Criques de Porteils
Les Criques de Porteils, a 5-star campsite in Argelès sur Mer, is certainly part of these French campsites enjoying a more than idyllic setting. Hanging on a cliff, within a property on graduated terraces, this campsite offers tourists pitches with views over the Mediterranean Sea. Better yet, and as its name suggests, at the foot of the cliffs there are beautiful coves allowing campsite guests to swim and do scuba diving in clear and turquoise water...
To get there, there is nothing simpler - a staircase has been laid out and easily enables a connection between the campsite and the creeks. The coves are also perfect to relax and sunbath, sheltered from the wind and the crowd, often so typical of the coastal beaches on the Pyrénées Orientales coast.
The natural and wild aspect of the seaside of les Criques des Porteils is characteristic of this coastal strip; the Côte Vermeille. It stretches from Argelès sur Mer to the Spanish border and forms a steep landscape. Bordered by several villages and fishing harbours, like the famous city of Collioure, that can be reached on foot from the campsite.
Finally, the ideal setting of this campsite is also explained by the presence of the mountains of the Albères massif surrounding it. First covered by vineyards and fields, the panorama of the hinterland soon becomes wilder and steeper...
9/10
Les Prairies de la Mer
Les Prairies de la Mer is a 5-star campsite in Grimaud. Situated by the sea, it enjoys a unique and select position on the...Gulf of Saint Tropez! It is indeed a short walk from the lakeside city of Port Grimaud to this high-end campsite. Considered as one of the best campsites in France, this campsite offers its guests the possibility to stay in amazing and comfortable rental accommodations with views over the Mediterranean Sea and terraces giving direct access to the sandy beach!
What could be better than a holiday on a dream campsite bordering one of the most famous gulfs in the world? At two steps from Saint Tropez, but also close to the villages of Sainte Maxime, Cogolin and Ramatuelle and Gassin, in the heart of the French Riviera and its idyllic beaches, like the Cigales beach and the Pampelonne beach, Les Prairies de la Mer counts as one of the most luxury and high-end campsites of the region.

Among all its assets, there is one that perfectly fits into this thematic file of dream places to camp. Indeed, its unusual rentals by the beach offer its guests an exceptional view on... the bell tower of the small harbour of Saint Tropez, located at some nautical miles and facing les Prairies de la Mer. This is the most idyllic place to camp on the French Riviera!
8/10
Le Panorama du Pyla
If there's one campsite with an amazing location by the sea and near an important tourist site, it is the Panorama du Pyla. This exceptional 4-star campsite lies at the foot of the impressive Dune du Pyla, which, from the top of its 110 meters in height, dominates the vast forest of the Landes de Gascogne, the Banc D'Arguin nature reserve sandbank and the Archachon Basin...
The Dune du Pyla is certainly one of the most spectacular tourist attractions of the Côte d'Argent. It turns out to be the highest dune in Europe and attracts many curious people and tourists.

Le Panorama du Pyla lies close to the southern "side" of this dune. Located on a property that could easily be described as hilly, as the Dune of Pyla has spread around lots of other mounds of sand... But unlike the dune, the property is nowadays completely covered by a pine forest.

A large part of the campsite's pitches and rental accommodations are located 'ocean' side and boast a direct and panoramic view on the Banc D'arguin, a sand bar located opposite the entrance of the Bassin d'Arcachon, between the Pyla Dune and the Pointe du Cap Ferret. At nightfall, the guests of le Panorama du Pyla can admire the sunset from their plots or from the top of the dune, offering an incomparable romantic moment for couples in love...
7/10
Camp du Domaine
In front of one of the most beautiful bays of the Côte d'Azur, the Lavandou Bay, there's a campsite in Bormes les Mimosas that is since many years even famous beyond the French borders. This campsite is Le Camp du Domaine. A campsite rated 5 star for which one of the assets is its paradisal location by the sea and its direct access to a lovely white sandy beach...
Camping by the sea, that is what this Camp du Domaine campsite literally offers. This 45-hectare campsite, on landscaped graduated terraces, boasts many pitches by the beach, so tourists who occupy these plots don't have to walk more than 10 metres to reach the seafront! And what a fantastic water to wet your feet in! Here the Mediterranean offers crystal-clear turquoise water over several dozen metres, inviting tourists to come in for swimming and diving...
The guests on the pitches, and in the rentals located higher up, have an absolutely exceptional view over the Le Lavandou bay and a large part of the French Riviera, as the panorama extends as far as the beach resorts of Rayol Canadel sur Mer and Cavalaire sur Mer.
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6/10
Beach Garden
Le Beach Garden is a 4-star campsite in Marseillan. Like all the campsites mentioned previously, it enjoys a perfect location by the sea, facing the beautiful beach of Marseillan. Beach resort of the Hérault coastline, Marseillan Plage is located between the towns of Sète and Cap d'Agde. Among the Beach Garden’s many assets is its luxury accommodation offering a splendid view over the Mediterranean Sea and direct access to the beach for its guests...
We have to admit that you could not ask for more from a seaside holiday. Having just arrived, the guests of these exceptional mobile homes only have to go down a small stairway to reach the beach. From there, the sand seems to spread out of sight; that's the magic of the Côte d'Améthyste and the Roussillon coast.
Children can play in the sand and build sandcastles while parents can start sunbathing right away on a towel! A few dozen meters from the first rentals of Le Beach Garden, the Mediterranean Sea and its warm and transparent water tempting the swimmers!
5/10
La Plage Fleurie
If there's a campsite that enjoys an amazing situation by the river, it is La Plage Fleurie in Vallon Pont d'Arc. This 5-star campsite borders the Ardèche, a river which canyons have been carved in the heart of a limestone plateau forming one of the most beautiful tourist and natural sites of the South of France. A thirty kilometres long canyon, which can be descended by canoe or kayak, offering spectacular landscapes like the famous Pont d'Arc, the Cirque de la Madeleine or the Balcon des Templiers.
Just a few kilometres downstream from campsite La Plage Fleurie we find the Pont d'Arc, a natural arch of some sixty meters high overlooking the river. Marking the official entrance to the Ardèche Gorges, it certainly represents a must-see sight for tourists staying in Vallon Pont d'Arc, where we also find the Chauvet Cave.
If La Plage Fleurie is one of the most beautiful places to camp in France, this is above all because of the campsite's formidable advantage in view of the attractiveness of the watercourse; a natural beach where you can swim and do different leisure and aquatic activities in and around the Ardèche...
It is indeed on this beautiful grassed sandy beach that each summer the surroundings are warmest on this luxury campsite. Children can have fun digging and building sandcastles whilst teens can swim to the floating platform, located a few metres from the shore. Parents, meanwhile, can peacefully relax on sun loungers or simply lie down on the grass to better indulge in idleness... Finally, everyone can enjoy this natural pier to launch his canoe and exploring the beautiful Ardèche Gorges...
4/10
Domaine de Soleil Plage
Just like La Plage Fleurie, le Domaine de Soleil Plage enjoys an incredible situation by the river. This 5-star campsite of Vitrac is settled on the edge of the Dordogne, a watercourse that certainly counts as the most beautiful and the most tourist ones of the South-West! It forms a random semi-ring while passing in Vitrac, and it is within this natural arc that we find le Domaine de Soleil Plage.
Facing impressive cliffs that the river has helped shape over the centuries, this campsite by the water enjoys a more than pleasant environment. Greenery is all around. There's no lack of space either and the peace of the site is only sometimes interrupted by the joyful cries of kayakers and canoeists coming down the river.
Taking them down into the heart of the Périgord Noir and near the most renowned tourist sites of the Dordogne. First, the village of Vitrac, dominated by the castle of Montfort, then La Roque Gageac, counting as one of the most beautiful villages of France. Lastly, the fortress of Castelnaud la Chapelle and its medieval village will soon appear before everyone’s very eyes from the river bed…
Just like La Plage Fleurie, the name of the Domaine de Soleil Plage has not been chosen by accident, as a pleasant beach separates the leading pitches and the top holiday rentals of this campsite in the Dordogne. Ideal to sunbath, but also to swim in the river. On the beach there's also a nautical base allowing tourists to rent canoes and kayaks.
3/10
L'Orangerie de Lanniron
Like the two campsites mentioned above, L'Oangerie de Lanniron, a 5-star campsite in Quimper, borders a watercourse. But unlike the others, the watercourse we are referring to here is a sixty kilometres long coastal river that many consider simply as the most beautiful French river! The Odet, is its name, has indeed lots of charm, and it is not the above-mentioned campsite that will contradict this insinuation!
The Odet River, some sixty kilometres long, begins its course on the border of the departments of the Finistère and the Morbihan, in the Montagnes Noires mountain range. Lined with numerous castles, manors and enchanting forests, the most beautiful river of France follows its course through the changing landscapes of the Cornouaille, and then finished its course in Bénodet, where it throws itself into the Atlantic ocean.
Some forty kilometres from the source and some twenty kilometres from the estuary, the Odet River crosses the city of Quimper and its touristic historical centre. L'Orangerie de Lanniron is situated south of the Finistère. This high-end Breton campsite is installed in the heart of a 38-hectare property, once the summer residence of the Bishops of the city.

Tourists, who these days come to stay in this place, can only fall in love with it, and with the view on the watercourse that is offered to them. From Quimper, it is also possible to descend the river until the sea by taking a river shuttle...
2/10
La Pergola
La Pergola is a 5-star campsite in Marigny, a hamlet of barely 200 inhabitants located some 20 kilometres east of Lons le Saunier, in the Jura department. Although its facilities and equipment make it one of the most beautiful campsites in the east of France, above all, it owes its presence in this thematic file to the fact that it runs alongside the Chalain Lake, a remarkable water body with heavenly colours...
After having selected some of the most beautiful campsites in France located by the sea or a river, we wanted to close this section dedicated to the best places to camp in France, by showing you two lakeside campsites. Among all the campsites present on Campings.Luxe and corresponding to this criterion, unanimity has been reached for La Pergola.
Seventh largest natural lake of France, the Chalain Lake counts as one of the most important tourist sites of the Franche Comté. Many water activities can be practised here, as well as swimming since long sandy beaches border the lake. Along one of these beaches lies campsite La Pergola.
The campsite guests can enjoy this beach to swim, to rent a water bike or to launch a canoe into the water. With its colours ranging from turquoise blue to fluo green, the water of the Lake of Chalain is the genuine charming asset of this paradise!
1/10
Europe
The last place where it feels good to set up your tent or rent a mobile home in this top 10 of campsites boasting an idyllic situation, is campsite Europa in Saint Jorioz. This 4-star campsite in the Haute Savoie is located 400 metres from one of the banks of the beautiful Lake Annecy. The surrounding mountains seem to form real natural barriers, as if hiding the vision of this paradise of the Alps to the largest number of people is done on purpose!
You've understood, it is on the edge of one of the most beautiful French Lakes, Lake Annecy, that we find campsite Europa. It offers its guests the opportunity to set up their tent or rent a luxury mobile home in a property surrounded by mountains. At only 900 metres from a developed beach where you can swim and practice different water sports.
Nine kilometres of camping Europa and still on the shores of Lake Annecy, the town of the same name offers itself to the curious and the visitors. This town, known as the "little Venice of the Alps", presents many sights. Largely pedestrian, its city centre is crossed by multiple channels which remind the charms of the city of the Doges...

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