Explore the France landscape with a Camping Cars, Campervan, Motorhome or Camper from one of the above France Camper hire companies. With a Recreational Vehicle hire, you have the complete freedom to discover the France Countryside at your own pace with no strict timetables or hotel check ins.

Stop when and where you want to ! Have the convenience of storage space where you can take all the essential items that you require for your family vacation up in the mountains or alongside a river or down on the beach.

Create life time memories with a French self drive camper rental. Experience the adventure of the open road with your France Camper Rental and enjoy great value for money (especially for families) with being able to prepare your own meals plus also the bonus of spending quality time with the family.

France is a country located in Western Europe. Clockwise from the north, France borders Belgium and Luxembourg to the northeast, Germany and Switzerland to the east, Italy to the south-east and Spain to the south-west, across the Pyrenees mountain range (the small country of Andorra lies in between the two countries). The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south of France, with the Principality of Monaco forming a small enclave. To the west, France has a long Atlantic Ocean coastline, while to the north lies the English Channel, across which lies the last of France's neighbours, England (part of the United Kingdom).

The name France originates from the Franks, a Germanic tribe that occupied northern Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. More precisely, the region around Paris, called Île-de-France, was the original French royal demesne.

The French are generally attached to politeness and will react coolly to strangers that forget it. You might be surprised to see that you are greeted by other customers when you walk into a restaurant or shop. Return the courtesy and address your hellos/goodbyes to everyone when you enter or leave small shops and cafes. It is, for the French, very impolite to start a conversation with a stranger (even a shopkeeper or client) without at least a polite word like "bonjour". For this reason, starting the conversation with at least a few basic French phrases, or some equivalent polite form in English, goes a long way to convince them to try and help you.

"Excusez-moi Monsieur/Madame": Excuse me (ex-CUE-zeh-moi mih-SYOOR/muh-DAM)
" S'il vous plait Monsieur/Madame" : Please (SEEL-voo-PLAY)
" Merci Monsieur/Madame" : Thank you (mare-SEE)
" Au revoir Monsieur/Madame" : Good Bye (Of-wa)

Note that French spoken with an English or American accent can be very difficult for the average French person to understand. In such circumstances, it may be best to write down what you are trying to say. But tales of waiters refusing to serve tourists because their pronunciation doesn't meet French standards are highly exaggerated. A good-faith effort will usually be appreciated, but don't be offended if a waiter responds to your fractured French in English.

Please note that some parts of France (such as Paris) are at times overrun by tourists. The locals there may have some blasé feelings about helping for the umpteenth time foreign tourists who speak in an unintelligible language and ask for directions to the other side of the city. Be courteous and understanding.

Camping
Camping is very common in France. Most campsite are a little way out of the city centre and virtually all cater not just for tents but for Camper Vans/Caravans also. While all campsites have the basic facilities of Shower/toilet blocks, larger sites tend to offer a range of additional facilities such as bars and restaurants, self-service laundries, swimming pools or bicycle hire. All campsites except for very small "farm camping" establishments must be registered with the authorities, and are officially graded using a system of stars.

In coastal areas, three-star and four-star campgrounds must generally be booked in advance during the months of July and August, and many people book from one year to the next. In rural areas, outside of popular tourist spots, it is usually possible to show up unannounced, and find a place; this is particularly true with the municipal campsites that can be found in most small towns; though even then it may be advisable to ring up or email in advance to make sure. There are always exceptions.

Climate
Generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as mistral
French Guiana: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation
Guadeloupe and Martinique: subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devasting cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average
Reunion: tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April)

Phones
Country code : 33
All numbers within France have 10 digits. The first two digits are 01 for the Paris area, and 02/03/04/05 for the northwest/northeast/southeast/southwest, respectively. Numbers starting with 06 are cellphones. You cannot drop the first two digits even if your call remains within the same area. Some numbers may also start with 08 if they are attached to Voice over IP telephones connected to DSL modems from French DSL providers that integrate such functions (Skype numbers also start with 08).

The initial '0' may be replaced by some other digit or longer code indicating a choice of long-distance operator. Don't use this unless explicitly told to.

When speaking phone numbers, people will usually group the digits by sets of two. For example, 02 47 66 41 18 will be said as "zero-two forty-seven sixty-six forty-one eighteen" (but in French, of course). The two-digit pair 00 is said as "zero zero", not "double zero".

To make an international call from from France, dial: 00 + country code + local number.

Unusual Food
Contrary to stereotype, snails and frog legs are quite infrequent foods in France, with many French people enjoying neither, or sometimes having never even tasted them. Quality restaurants sometimes have them on their menu: if you're curious about trying new foods, go ahead.

Frogs' legs have a very fine and delicate taste with flesh that is not unlike chicken. They are often served in a garlic dressing and are no weirder to eat than, say, crab.
Most of the taste of Bourgogne snails (escargots de bourgogne) comes from the generous amount of butter, garlic and parsley in which they are cooked. They have a very particular spongy-leathery texture that is what is liked by people who like snails. Catalan style snails ("cargols") are made a completely different way, and taste much weirder.
Let us also cite:
Rillettes sarthoise. A sort of potted meat, made from finely shredded and spiced pork. A delicious speciality of the Sarthe area in the north of the Pays de la Loire and not to be confused with rillettes from other areas, which are more like a rough pate.
Beef bone marrow (os a moelle). Generally served in small quantities, with a large side. So go ahead: If you don't like it, you'll have something else to eat in your plate.
Veal sweetbread (ris de Veau), is a very fine (and generally expensive) delicacy, often served with morels, or in more elaborates dishes like "bouchees a la reine".
Beef stomach (tripes) is served either "A la mode de caen" (with a white wine sauce) or "A la catalane" (with a slightly spiced tomato sauce)
Andouillettes are sausages made from tripe is a specialty of Lyon
Beef tongue (langue de bœuf) and beef nose(museau) and Veal head (tete de veau) are generally eaten cold (but thoroughly cooked!) as an appetizer.
Oysters are most commonly served raw in a half shell.
Oursins (sea urchins) For those who like concentrated iodine.
Steak tartare a big patty of ground beef cured in acid as opposed to cooked, frequently served with a raw egg.
Cervelle, pronounced (ser-VAY) lamb brain.

Cities of France
France has numerous cities and towns of interest to travelers. Below is a list of nine of the most notable:

• Paris - the "City of Light", the capital of France
• Bordeaux - city of wine, capital of South-West
• Bourges - a middle aged city, capital of central France.
• Cannes - host of the annual Cannes Film Festival
• Lyon - France's second city, with a history from Roman times to the Resistance, restaurants (Beaujolais and delicatessen)
• Marseille - big harbor, heart of Provence
• Nice - a major resort on the French Riviera
• Strasbourg -a historic city on the Ill Rhine and home to, among other institutions, the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights, the European Ombudsman, the European Parliament
• Toulouse -- "La Ville Rose," a very nice and lively city in the south of France
  

Cities with an outstanding castle

• Fontainebleau - Vaux le Vicomte near Melun - la Malmaison in Rueil-Malmaison
• Roquetaillade castle in Bordeaux, restored by France's most famous architect Viollet le Duc.
• The Loire Valley with Montreuil-Bellay - Azay le Rideau - Blois - Chambord - Chenonceaux