Destination: Laives, France
It’s quite interesting now, looking back at my plan for Day 3 and comparing it to everything I did on that day. It absolutely highlights that while my original planning was intended to give some structure to my trip, especially around certain things that I really wanted to do, it wasn’t set in stone.
In my plan for Day 3, I was intending to just have a couple of stops … my how that evolved as the day unfolded!
Stop 1: Gien town
After an absolutely EPIC first nights sleep in the TentBox, I was up and about early to start my day with another wander round Gien town. I packed up the TentBox, and drove over the bridge, parking next to the chateau.
There was a great view from the car park, looking straight across the Loire, of the campsite where I’d stayed the night before.
Stopping for a quick look at the Chateau de Gien, I walked the pretty ‘chemin touristique’ before heading back to the car and my next stop.
Stop 2: Chateau de Saint Brisson sur Loire
I was really looking forward to visiting the Chateau de Saint Brisson, as it seemed to be everything I had always imagined a French Chateau to be. I was very excited as I approached, it really did look like a fairy tale!
Unfortunately, I was going to be disappointed, it was closed and looked like it had been closed for some time. I’ve since checked the website and there don’t seem to have been any updates since 2022. Never mind … I was sure there would be many other surprises along the way and not all of them disappointing!
Stop 3: Saint Fermin sur Loire
And how true that was! A short way down the road, I came across what appeared to be an interesting bridge over the road at a village called Saint Fermin sur Loire. I thought that as I now had a bit of extra time on my hands I would stop to explore. I’m so glad I did as it turned out to be the Pont Canal de Briare.
I had seen pictures of the ‘canal bridge’ when I was researching for my trip but for some reason couldn’t find out what it was called or where it was … but now I knew! What an absolute stroke of luck.
The canal is built on a bridge that crosses the Loire and itself has a vehicular bridge crossing it at Briare It’s an incredible feat of engineering and I’m so glad I was able to see it.
While I was walking along the towpath a ‘party barge’ went past, which in itself was a sight to behold.
Stop 4: Saint Fargeau
Back on the road again, it wasn’t long before I needed to stop for a proper break and as luck would have it I happened upon the pretty little town of Saint Fargeau. It had everything there I needed, decent loos, some shops and a bit of history to occupy me while I wandered round to stretch my legs.
Once back in the car, I continued my drive across Bourgogne (Burgundy) through miles and miles of sunflowers and vines. It is a very beautiful region and I will definitely be going back to explore a bit more.
Stop 5: Auxerre
My next stop was the city of Auxerre, which is one of the biggest cities in the Bourgogne region. Having planned this part of my trip I expected it to be quite straightforward. However upon reaching Auxerre I found that the ZTL (the French version of ULEZ) was closed and I couldn’t reach my pre-booked parking.
I managed to find some on road parking close by, but I would definitely recommend having a backup for this situation as it was quite stressful.
Once parked, I was able to walk into town, given the ZTL there’s not too much traffic and part of the city is pedestrianised, so it’s really easy to get around.
The main reason I had wanted to visit Auxerre was the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne where Joan of Arc was said to have prayed. It is quite imposing and houses a stunning modern stained glass window representing her campaigns.
Having visited the cathedral, I had a wander to the ‘Place d’hotel de ville’ which was not overly touristy and was a great place to stop for food.
After that it was a quick trip to ‘Monoprix’ which is like a French Woolworths, for some overnight essentials before heading off to my Day 3 camping at Laives.
Overnight: Les Voiles des Laives
It had been a really warm day, somewhere in the mid 30’s and when I arrived at Les Voiles des Laives campsite, much later than intended, I was definitely very hot and bothered. To my surprise and delight, the absolutely lovely lady owner of the site was waiting for me, with a bottle of ice cold water … unbelievably thoughtful!
It was a very picturesque site, based between several lakes on the outskirts of Laives, really nice for gentle walks and winding down. The biggest lake had a man made beach and was very clearly popular with locals. There was a childrens park, beach volleyball, a bar/restaurant and a small water park on the lake.
The campsite was very secure though and well maintained. It was obviously very popular with tourists, and included a variety of types of accommodation as well as touring facilities.
The facilities were good, and there was a very social vibe to the site. The washrooms were mixed, which I guess could be offputting to some. But as a festival regular it didn’t bother me at all, and the shower cubicles were big enough to take all your toiletries into.
The pitches were level and a decent size with hedging to provide some privacy, and all in all I thought it was a really lovely, peaceful site.
I had booked this site direct via their website which was easy enough and I would 100% recommend it. The only downside is the apparent proximity to a major road, which is only obvious in the still of night. If you’re likely to lie awake listening to the hum of traffic, I’d suggest taking ear plugs. But it would absolutely not stop me staying again, and I am hoping to go back for a much longer stay at some point in the future.
To find out what Day 4 had in store, check my next post!