Why book a hotel when you could sleep at a campsite in Paris?

27 October, 2022

When going on a city break to Paris, camping is probably not the first thing you think of. While in fact, sleeping at a city campsite in Paris during your city break is a great idea. There are plenty of campsites near the city, and you can even camp in the middle of Bois de Boulogne, right by the Seine.

You can get to the city centre within an hour from most campsites. Camping in Paris gives you the best of two worlds. Enjoy this metropolis during the day and sleep in the countryside at night.

In early summer, I went camping during my city break to Paris. It was not my first visit to this city (I lived there for a time) but it was the first time that I combined a visit to the French capital with camping. I stayed at a campsite in Versailles, at a 30-minute walk from the palace. From Versailles, you can reach the city of Paris with the RER (train/metro which connects the city with the suburbs and surrounding cities). I travelled from the campsite to the heart of Paris in 45 minutes.

Campsites in Paris

There is a wide selection of campsites in the vicinity of Paris, in the île de France region. They vary from small campsites, large campsites with plenty of rental accommodation and even city campsites in Bois de Boulogne and close to Bois de Vincennes. These two ‘forests’ are officially part of the city of Paris and are easy to reach from the centre. On sunny days, you can walk, cycle and picnic here. Both city campsites are on the banks of the Seine.

Camping in the vicinity of Paris

You can reach some campsites with the RER or the train and they are within walking distance of the station. If the station is further away, the campsites often have a shuttle service. You can of course also drive into the city using your own car, but do consider the high parking fees and compulsory environmental sticker. The campsites in the vicinity of the city are aimed at visiting Paris and you can usually get plenty of information about the city from reception. And of course, they will be more than happy to tell you about the quickest and easiest route to reach the city.

Advantages of camping in Paris

As far as I am concerned, I would highly recommend camping in Paris. You can visit the busy city during the day, but can then sleep amid the natural greenery at night. After a long, tiring day in the city, you can relax at the campsite. Go for a swim in the pool, take a walk through the countryside or play a game in front of your tent. In the summer in particular, it is really nice to leave the hot city behind you in the evening and enjoy some fresh air. A great tip: if you happen to be in Paris on 14 July, make sure you see the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower!

Another great advantage of camping in Paris is that it is a lot cheaper than spending the night in a hotel. You can easily pay €150 per night for a decent hotel. For that price, you can spend three or four nights at a city campsite in Paris. Even when you book last minute, the price of a place at a campsite is low. While last minutes at hotels are becoming increasingly more expensive. This way, you will have more money left over for croissants and baguettes.

Tips for campsites in Paris

Camping Huttopia Versailles, close to the palace

Camping Huttopia Versailles is a few kilometres from the world-famous palace. The campsite is in the middle of the countryside, just outside the city of Versailles making it nice and peaceful. You can spend the night at one of the camping pitches, chalets, rental tents or hikers’ cabins. The campsite has a restaurant, swimming pool with retractable roof and a playground with a table tennis table. From the campsite, it is about a 10-minute walk to the RER station of Porchefontaine. RER C departs in two directions from here. You can get to the Palace of Versailles within 10 minutes and a trip to Champ de Mars–Tour Eiffel station takes about 30 minutes.

Camping de Paris, camping by the Seine

Paris’ most well-known campsite is Camping de Paris in the middle of Bois de Boulogne, right by the Seine. Despite the fact you are officially camping in the city of Paris, you feel as if you are in the middle of the countryside. The campsite has camping pitches, but you can also hire a mobile home. You can park your car at the campsite and the shuttle service will take you to the closest metro station: Porte Maillot. From there, you will be at the Eiffel Tower within 20 minutes. If you would rather walk, it is about 6 kilometres from the campsite to the Arc de Triomphe. If you want to go to Disneyland Paris for the day, take the car. Camping de Paris is a 45-minute drive from Disneyland Paris.

Camping Sandaya Paris Maisons Laffitte, sleeping in a tree house

The medium-sized Camping Sandaya Paris Maisons Laffitte is right by the Seine, close to the city of Paris. Here, you can spend an exceptional night in a tree house! Camping pitches and mobile homes are also available. After a day in the city you can have a refreshing swim in the pool at the campsite. Or relax for a day at the campsite, because there is plenty to do for the whole family. The RER station, Maisons Laffitte, is a 850-metre walk from the campsite. Here, you can take the RER to Paris. Both the Eiffel Tower as well as Notre Dame are can be reached from the station in 40 minutes. Disneyland Paris is a good hour’s drive and it takes about 90 minutes on public transport.

Campsites in the vicinity of Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Paris is not in Paris itself but in Coupvray, which is about 45 kilometres from the centre. The park is easily accessible both by car as well as by public transport. If you are going by public transport, take RER A to Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy. You can easily walk to the entrance of the park from this station. The Thalys also stops at this station. There are campsites in the vicinity of Disneyland as well. City campsite Paris Est – Marvilla Parks is about a 25-minute drive. Camping International de Jablines is only 16 kilometres from the theme park. From Camping Les Etangs Fleuris, Disneyland Paris is a 30-minute drive.

Transport to the city of Paris

In Paris, you can travel from A to B by public transport. You can go take the metro, bus or tram. You can also take the train or RER to get to the surrounding towns and villages. You can buy a subscription or individual tickets, which you can use on all public transport in Île-de-France. Some handy tips:

• With the Bonjour RATP app, you can easily see which train or metro you can take to get to your destination.
• The first metros run from around 5 am (less frequently than later in the day) and the last one leaves around 11 pm on weekdays.
• Metros and the RER run later in the weekends.
• You can buy tickets from the machine at the station (you can often only pay by debit card) or from a ticket office (with someone at the desk) at the station.
• You can buy a Navigo card for a week, which will only cost you €22.80. This card is valid on all forms of public transport around Paris and from Monday to Sunday. Take note: you do need a passport-sized photo that will be attached to the card. You can only buy this card from a ticket office.
• You can also buy a Paris public transport card which you can load up for a number of trips. You don’t need a photo for this card. (It is comparable to an anonymous public transport card in the Netherlands).

Eating in Paris

It goes without saying that you’ll need to eat during your city break in Paris. And you can make it as expensive as you wish. In contrast to a hotel, you don’t have a breakfast buffet at a campsite of course. But you can usually order fresh rolls/bread for breakfast at the campsite. With a bit of luck, you will start your day in the sun in front of your tent or mobile home, while enjoying a delicious croissant. I got fresh sandwiches and a coffee to go from the bakery each day. The bakery was right between the campsite and the RER station, so ideal. There are also plenty of restaurants in Paris where you can order breakfast.

I recommend having a lovely lunch in the city. Many bakeries have a lunch menu, with which you can get a filled sandwich, drink and a pastry. In nice weather, you can picnic in one of the city parks. Or have a hot lunch in a French brasserie. Lunch menus in restaurants are often cheaper than dinners. In French culture, it is normal to have a hot lunch.

You can of course return to the campsite in Paris for your evening meal and cook yourself. But there is an enormous selection of restaurants in the city. The city has about 38,000 restaurants, so plenty of choice.

My experience of camping in Paris

Personally, I found camping in Paris a great experience. I enjoyed waking up at the campsite and having a relaxed start to the day. From the campsite, we walked to the station in 10 minutes. The city is easy to reach with the RER. In the evenings, we intentionally chose to take the second to last train back to the campsite. Should anything unexpected happen, we could still take the next train. Another plus point is the fact that staying a night at a campsite is a bit cheaper than staying a night in a hotel. The price of our pitch at the campsite (where we could also swim) for four nights cost just as much as one night in a hotel.

View the campsites in the vicinity of Paris:

Would you like to go to a campsite in Paris but don’t have your own tent, motorhome or caravan? Or are you just not keen on driving to Paris with your camping equipment? If that is the case, you can rent accommodation at many campsites around Paris. Sleep in a luxury mobile home, safari tent or wooden chalet and enjoy the camping life in Paris.