Camping Le Cardinal

We had a great stay in a friendly setting. After leaving, we ran into a serious bike problem a couple of kilometres down the road. The campsite owner was incredibly helpful, booking us a taxi to a bike shop so we could get it fixed. It's a lovely campsite in a great location.

My children and I all loved this. Staying here may feel a little unusual if you're used to hotels, but the experience was much better than I expected. It's also near plenty of the attractions around the Val de Loire, so it's definitely worth trying if you're in the area.

The new pool was very welcome in the July heat, and the town centre is an easy walk, about 1 km away. There were a few frustrations, though. You have to take whichever pitch you're assigned at check-in instead of picking one and giving reception the number, which is how many other sites do it. The welcome was poor because the barriers stay locked whenever reception is closed, which happens often while staff are doing other jobs around the campsite. They were otherwise friendly enough. The toilet block has no loo seats and never seems to have toilet paper, so bring your own. The showers are marked for women only, so I guess men have to sneak in?

Camping of Camping Cars is at the municipal site, about half a kilometre away. Le Restaurant, Le Cardinal isn't part of the campsite and isn't nearby. The restaurant itself is superb, with excellent food at reasonable prices, and I'd say it's the best in the area.