Destination: Gien, Loire Valley
Having disembarked from the ferry at Caen, my first step was to familiarise myself with driving in Europe. I’d done it before, having driven to Luxembourg and through Germany but it was a VERY long time ago and I hadn’t been relying so heavily on keeping the car intact.
I had researched this subject very heavily before my trip and the single best piece of advice I found was to stay next to the curb. As we have right hand drive cars in the UK, we should always be next to the curb if we are driving on the right hand side of the road. Genuinely, this advice kept me on the right side of a few sticky situations.
I was also using the Waze app for navigation, and this was an absolute godsend, as it tells you EXACTLY which exit to use at junctions, sliproads and roundabouts and more importantly shows you which way round you should be going!
My destination on the first day was to be a little town called Gien in the Loire Valley, where I would be camping overnight. As this was a bit of a stretch, I’d planned in a couple of stops to break the drive, at Chartres and Sully-sur-Loire.
Stop 1: Chartres
My first stop was to be the historic town of Chartres. I had decided not to use the toll roads and this turned out to be a really good decision as the countryside was absolutely stunning. Also, as the roads were pretty much straight and not too busy, I’d not have gained much time.
The landscape around Chartres is pretty flat, and as you approach the little town the skyline is dominated by the main reason for my visit, the Cathedral. It really is very imposing and rises up almost at odds with the countryside around it.
Before heading into the town, I decided to stop at the local Intermarche, which is a chain of supermarkets in France. I was blown away by the difference to our UK stores. The choice of fresh produce was incredible, and don’t get me started on the range of cheeses!
After having spent far too long browsing cheese, I headed off to get some fuel at the supermarket fuel station.
A word of caution when using these, in France you are debited 150 euros as soon as you start filling up. Once you have finished using the pump you are then refunded the balance. This really confused me, especially as my refund took several days to come through. I was literally on the verge of a full on rant with Intermarche customer services, but luckily the extent of my rusty spoken French saved the day!
To be fair I think there may have been a notice about this at the pump, but I was probably still thinking too much about all that cheese to pay it enough attention.
Having filled the car I headed into town. I had pre-booked my parking (yes there is a column on my spreadsheet for that as well) and let Waze lead the way. I was using the QPark Coeur de Ville car park not far from the cathedral, it was easily accessible and very safe.
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres was just a short walk away, and although I’d been impressed by it’s size on approaching the town, I was absolutely blown away when I rounded the corner and saw it close up!
The cathedral is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is definitely worth a visit. It’s free to enter, has an incredible history, and both the inside and outside are quite beautiful.
If you do visit, I can recommend the little ‘La Conciergerie’ shop just across the road from the cathedral. Aside from selling a great range of souvenirs, they operate a really clean and tidy WC which costs just one euro.
There are a variety of other shops in the quaint narrow streets around the cathedral and plenty of places to get food or just sit and take it all in. Chartres is a really chilled little town, perfect for a stopover and well worth a visit in it’s own right.
Stop 2: Sully sur Loire
My next stop was in Sully-sur-Loire to visit the picturesque castle and have a quick break before the last leg of my drive. The Château de Sully-sur-Loire has a very rich history and originally was situated within the river itself, controlling access to the Loire valley. In modern times, dykes have been built to protect both the castle and the town from flooding, but the castle is still pretty impressive and sits within it’s own moat.
By now I was really feeling the previous nights lack of sleep and couldn’t wait to get to my first campsite and set up the TentBox.
Thankfully the last part of the days 4.5 hours of driving was only 15 miles. I can’t stress strongly enough the importance of being conscious of how long you are sitting in the car and staring at the road … as I was to discover later on in my trip!
Overnight: Camping Gien, Loire Valley
For now though, it was only a short while before I reached my campsite. I was staying at a fabulous site called ‘Camping Gien‘ located on the banks of the Loire.
I had booked this site direct online via the Camping Gien website. Although there are often english versions of international sites available, these can sometimes be partial and will rarely include multi-language downloads. So for anyone who doesn’t speak the native language, Google Translate is definitely your friend here. I would recommend having it handy when you arrive as well, as although many campsite staff speak pretty good english, that is not always the case, and it can be useful if you have questions.
On arrival I was given a map, and as with many of the sites I visited, was advised I could park in any free pitch within a certain area. This approach is great if you are arriving on site early, not so good if you are the last to arrive. On this occasion I was able to find a really lovely level pitch with plenty of space, close to some picnic benches.
Having set up the TentBox, I had a had a quick shower at the well provisioned shower block and took a moment to appreciate the pretty view across the river to the town before having a much needed nap.
Several hours later I woke regretting not having set an alarm! But nevertheless, determined to make the most of my day, set off across the nearby bridge to have a wander round the town.
As with many towns across the Loire, Gien features a chateau and it dominates the town. There’s a small pedestrianised town centre and a lovely walk along the river where you can find several restaurants and bars. As I was visiting just outside of the high season it was pretty quiet, but had a nice relaxed atmosphere and I felt safe enough wandering about on my own.
It was lovely just to get out and about and experience my first evening in France, but it was getting pretty dark, so it wasn’t long before I headed back to the campsite and a good nights sleep!
More adventures in the Loire valley and beyond await in Day 3!