I always hear that the French (and most Europeans) go on holidays in August. Where is it they go; what do Europeans consider a great holiday destination?
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Well, I%26#39;ve met many French people while camping in various parts of France - Mediterranean, Alps, Provence. Camping is very popular and French campsites are wonderful. Many, many Dutch also spend the summer camping in France. I%26#39;ve also read recently that more French and other Europeans (from euro-using countries) will be coming to the UK this year because of the favourable exchange rate.
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Our European friends and colleagues have gone to Italy, Spain, Iceland, Japan, Australia, Morocco, Tunisia, Australia, Cuba (they%26#39;re allowed!), South America...
and even to the US.
Basically, anywhere that anyone else goes to, although I think Europeans visit Africa far more readily than do Americans (but then again, it%26#39;s closer!).
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35% travel to africa (norte africa )
25% travel to southamerica
21% travel and camping around france
10% travel to assia (japan thailand india...)
9 % travel to usa%26amp;canada .
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Biarritz/St Jean de Luz/Bayonne are very popular in August for the French
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A Parisian hotel owner told me that relatives run the business in August while he and his wife live in Quebec. Their English is not very good and they enjoy spending time with the French-Canadians.
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My in-laws are camping this week about an hour from Paris but they frequent Dijon and Provence for longer vacations.
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The vast majority of French people stay in France for their holidays. Remember that France is a big country; it has three coastlines (English Channel, Atlantic, and Med), it has two major mountain chains, and a lot of unspoilt countryside. The French will tell you that France has all they need for a holiday. The coastal resorts are usually packed in August.
The other aspect is that the majority of French people do not speak English, so they prefer French speaking countries if they do travel abroad. So they go to French possessions like Martinique, Guadeloupe, La Réunion; or countries with historical connections with France where French is still spoken, like Quebec in Canada, Tunisia, and Morocco.
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We%26#39;ve met a lot of French people camping in our national parks, too. Camping in France appeals to us, but not hauling equipment from California! How would one go about renting camping equipment in France (for people who do not speak the language well?)
It%26#39;s funny, I often think of the European countries as all being so close to one another that I%26#39;d imagined Europeans freely moving between countries the way we might travel between states. Yes we all speak the same language, but I had also imagined that Europeans were far more multi-lingual, given their close proximities. In the 7 trips we%26#39;ve taken to Europe, I%26#39;ve seen a melding of languages in border towns between countries.
Thanks for the replies; my husband thinks vacationing where the locals vacation makes good travel sense.
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A lot of campsites rent out cabins/chalets/caravans/ ready-erected tents. You can deal directly with the campsites - find the website of the office de tourisme in the area you want to go to and there will be a listing of the campsites in the area and hopefully links to the campsite websites. There are also companies which have caravans or tents on campsites which you can rent through them - Eurocamp is a big UK/Dutch camping company. These tend to be on busier sites in popular areas and are usually more expensive that renting directly from a campsite. Are you planning a trip to elsewhere in France from Paris?
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Sunlover has it, the French mainly holiday in.......France.
Overseas travel has tended to be to countries with a historic French connection. The drive over the border into Spain and Italy is also fairly popular.
Recently more are travelling to worldwide destinations, international travel is becoming more popular, but is still far less than a lot of other European countries.
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