France at Easter

We went to France two years in a row at Easter one was very early end of March and we drove to Paris for Disney and then back to Brittany it was cold around Paris and there wasn't many people in the camp site. The next year we had a fabulous holiday Easter was mid April and we stayed in Brittany for the two weeks we were there it was like summer mid 20's c every day but we got lucky. The great advantage is that the ferry and the campsites are for nothing and not all the campsites are open so you need to investigate. Otherwise its a good idea

The French "Easter" holidays don't start until the 11th April 2015, and not until the 18th for the Paris region. This means that it'll be pretty quiet everywhere. Weather-wise, the north (i.e. Paris!) is usually quite cold by French standards at this time of the year, but about the same as you'd be used to in Ireland.

If you're staying in a camper or caravan, I'd recommend travelling further south than Paris, even if the weather's not going to be much better. Here in the middle, it'll be very lively as there are (usually) hundreds of fairs organised for Easter Monday and (being tough country folk) we can cope with the chill and a bit of rain.

Be warned: snow in Paris in March is not uncommon - they had 15cm last year!

OK, they're two very different holidays. Disney is not Paris and not in Paris, so you really need to plan that part of the trip as a completely separate itinerary.

Part of the Disney carpark is set aside for motorhomes (quite a common and very useful arrangement in France) but has a reputation for being quite noisy and not really worth the 20-30€ per night (not sure what the rate will be for the end of March). A lot of French sites recommend staying in one or other of the campsites in the vicinity instead.

For Paris, I'd recommend you stay in the Camping du Bois de Boulogne (www.campingparis.fr) which is about as close to the centre as any hotel you'd stay in. There's a good-value bus service from just around the corner. It's where I stay if I'm going to Paris.

If you have your heart set on Disney, fair enough, but my children found the "real" Paris much more exciting - top of the Eiffel Tower, top of the Arc de Triomphe, Basilica de Montmartre, Air and Space Museum (Le Bourget), just going on the Metro & RER & buses over and over and over again, the fake caves in the Bois de Boulogne (that was their favourite - playing "Gollum and the Hobbits" ... :pac: )

MrsCR, on the other hand, would say that the "romance" of Paris is nothing compared to what you can find in most of the other French cities - the ones you rarely hear about. What route are you taking? From Cherbourg, there are so many other great (romantic/adventure) places within reach! IMO, for a romantic trip to Paris, you'd be better off flying in and staying in a boutique hotel (and that's speaking as a hard-core motorhomer)

In any case, if you're combining the two trips, I think you'd be aswell to stay in the BdB campsite and get the RER-A out to Disney. At that time of the year, you'll have the park to yourself - apart from other foreigners - as all the French children will be in school - so waiting times should be short and you'll probably get more done in two days than you would in the summer, but obviously the weather comes into it too.

This site http://www.airecampingcar.com/ has a lot of useful info about the different aires. There are other places you can stay too apart from the designated aires - if you know where you're going!

Glad to be of help.

Forgot to mention the Catacombs - also a great hit with the children (real skeletons, not plastic ones!) You should look into getting a Visit Paris card (or whatever it's called at the moment) - the usual package thing that gives you x days travel and free/discounted entry to places you might actually want to visit! I'll see if I can find a link for it.

Here : http://booking.parisinfo.com/z6200e2x26827m466g2603_uk-tour-ticket-paris-visit-pass-transport.aspx * Looks like the extra reductions are not so good as they used to be, but then most children <16yrs can get into most historic monuments free.

You haven't said what route you're taking - there's quite a difference in time and cost on the French side and different things to do/places worth staying in depending on whether you come via Landbridge or direct to Cherbourg.

*Valid per calendar day, so you need to count the day you arrive as a day of travel, i.e. if you're spending two nights in the BdB campsite, that'd be three days for the travel pass.
** For a simple visit, a ticket for Zones 1-3 is enough (BdB is in Zone 2). You only need the 1-5 if you want to go to Versailles (Z4) or Disney(Z5)
*** Don't use the BdB navette (shuttle) - it's a private service, isn't included in the Paris Visit pass and only delivers you to the nearest Metro station; get the RATP bus instead (out the gate, turn right, walk a few hundred metres to the crossroads.

Hi there, would just like to mention that this has been some great information - thank you.

We did both Disney and Parc Asterix a few years ago in that order. My eldest (14 at the time) said he was glad we went to Asterix last as it was so much better than Disney (more roller coasters etc). Our middle girl (7 at the time) loved Disney though, especially the night parade. But Asterix gives far more for your euro, the queues are a tenth of those in Disney and the characters walk around and you don't have to pay to get them in a photo. They had a fantastic show with a ship, train and cars all combined with a French farce, best I've seen in ages.