Plan your France camping trip around the landscape you want to explore: Alpine lakes, Atlantic beaches, the Loire, Mediterranean mountains or overseas forests and lagoons. This guide connects all 18 regional guides, with department coverage, nature, authorized overnight options, published prices, food, culture and practical advice.

France has 18 regions and 101 departments. The cards below cover 13 metropolitan regions, including Corsica, and five overseas regions. Each department link opens the coverage section of its regional guide.

Choose a metropolitan France camping guide

Explore the five overseas regions

These destinations require separate flights, access plans and locally confirmed overnight arrangements. Carbets, managed bivouacs and lodges may be more appropriate than conventional tent or motorhome campsites.

Nature: choose your outdoor route

For mountain walking, compare Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Occitanie, Corsica and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. Brittany, Normandy, Hauts-de-France and Nouvelle-Aquitaine offer contrasting coastal landscapes. The Loire regions combine river routes with heritage towns, while Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Grand Est suit forest and lake trips. Île-de-France makes a practical base for Fontainebleau and nearby river escapes. Overseas guides cover tropical forests, volcanic landscapes and lagoon destinations with their own access constraints.

Free and authorized overnight camping

A quiet parking space or unmarked clearing does not establish permission to camp. French official camping guidance explains that landowner consent and local restrictions both matter. Protected areas can distinguish camping from short, tightly regulated bivouacs. Confirm the exact location, permitted hours, season, fires, vehicles and current closures before staying.

The Île-de-France guide identifies designated Fontainebleau bivouac areas using ONF guidance. The Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur guides explain specific park restrictions. Corsica’s GR20 uses designated refuge overnight areas with paid arrangements. Overseas camping permissions are especially location dependent. Every regional guide states what is confirmed and what requires local authorization; an unverified fee is not described as free camping.

Paid campsites and published prices

Use each regional guide’s price section to compare real published tariffs and their inclusions. Some operators quote per person, others a pitch package, equipment components or a hammock place. Electricity, tourist tax, vehicles, reservations and showers may cost extra. Dates matter: seasonal mainland campsites may already be closed in October, and a published 2027 tariff is identified as a future season.

For straightforward municipal campsite examples, consult Centre-Val de Loire, Normandy and Nouvelle-Aquitaine. For mountain bases, compare Grand Est and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The overseas guides distinguish verified published rates from places where a current quote is still needed. Check availability and the total for your actual group directly with the operator before booking.

Restaurants and culture along the route

Each regional guide pairs nature with nearby restaurants and heritage stops: châteaux and museums along the Loire, port towns on the Channel and Atlantic, mountain villages in the Alps and Pyrenees, and island gardens, museums and local food overseas. Restaurant examples are itinerary ideas, not a promise of opening hours or availability. Use the linked venue information to check current service and reservations.

Practical planning

Book busy summer pitches and regulated mountain overnight places early. Confirm vehicle dimensions, dogs, drinking water, waste disposal and electricity. Distances in the regional guides are approximate road estimates; mountain roads, ferries, weather and walking approaches add time. For overseas routes, check official travel advice, cyclone or heavy-rain conditions, flight connections and operator access instructions before departure.

Continue a European route with the Andorra camping guide, Spain camping guide and Portugal camping guide.

Sources and published tariffs reviewed on 13 October 2026. Prices are references, not booking quotes. Local permissions, closures and fees can change; check the linked authority or operator for your travel dates.