Wednesday, 18 January 2012

Aires de Service - France

If you have a motor home and you go to France, then you really should know about these. They are places where you can stop overnight for little or no charge, and many have areas where you can empty waste and refill water. Some are no more than car parks, but many are special areas set aside by town or village councils for people to stay in the hope that they will use the facilities in the area. It works. I wish we had far sighted councils in the country that would do the same.

There are various listings of the sites - for example 'All the Aires' published by Vicarious Books. But I have just downloaded a 'Points of Interest' (PoI) file for my Sat Nav (which is pretty elderly now) from this site. You will need a little French to understand it - but it's fairly straightforward. Once you have made your choice they email the appropriate file to you. I also found this tool useful - it converts between types of  PoI files.

If you are sensible about where you stay, and feel like exploring a different side of France, then give the Aires a go.

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