Travelogue France and Italy 2025
travelogue
France and Italy 2025
In May 2025, we took a short trip through France and Italy. In France, we visited villages that are considered among ‘les plus beaux villages de France.’ Afterwards, we continued our trip to Tuscany in Italy, where we explored several towns and cities. We ended our journey in Palazzago in Lombardy, where we visited our former neighbours.
Period: May 3, 2025 – May 17, 2025. Distance: 3,630 km.
Photo series
The photos of France are on SmugMug in the series Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (click). The photo’s of Italy are incorporated in the series Città della Toscana (click). Here below a small selection of our photo’s, meant as a teaser.
Route
- Zeeland (NL) – Mareuil-sur-Ay (FR)
- Marueuil-sur-Ay – Épernay – Sézanne – Troyes – Châtillon-sur-Seine – Essoyes
- Essoyes – Dijon – Lyon – Valence – Cliousclat
- Cliousclat – Mirmande – Cliousclat
- Cliousclat – Orange – Cannes – Nice – Monte Carlo – Ventemiglia – San Remo – Sante Stefano al Mare (IT)
- Sante Stefano al Mare – Genua – Viareggio
- Viareggio – Volterra
- Volterra – San – Gimignano – Volterra
- Volterra – Pomarance – Larderello – Massa Maritima – Scarlino
- Scarlino – Montereggioni
- Montereggioni – Siena
- Siena – Palazzago
- Palazzago – Como – Chãtenois (FR)
- Chãtenois – Zeeland (NL)
Map of France and Italy with photo locations
Highlights of our trip
France
Mareuil-sur-Ay
The village of Mareuil-sur-Ay is situated along the River Marne. Although for us it was merely a stopover, I still list this place as a highlight. The camper site is right on the Marne and, after a long day of driving, it is an oasis for rest. An idyllic spot.
Essoyes
Nestled in the Champagne region of northeastern France, Essoyes is a charming village celebrated for its connection to the renowned Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir. There is a marked route, the Renoir Route, featuring spots that were important to Renoir, including the house he bought in the village. His wife, Aline, was originally from Essoyes. The painter and his wife are buried in the local cemetery.
With its peaceful streets, vineyards, and artistic heritage, Essoyes offers a delightful escape for culture and wine enthusiasts alike.
Cliousclat
Cliousclat, located in the Drôme department in the southeast of France, is a picturesque village renowned for its rich pottery-making history and charming Provençal atmosphere. With its narrow-cobbled streets, artisan workshops, and terracotta rooftops, the village exudes timeless beauty. It is also an ideal spot for campervan travelers.
Mirmande
Mirmande is one of “Les Plus Beaux Villages de France”. It is a mountain village in the Rhône Valley and is truly a beautiful old place. The tall facades of the houses, nestled close together between ancient ramparts for protection against the mistral winds, climb up the northern slope of the Marsanne massif.
Italy
Volterra
Volterra is a town in the province of Pisa, in the Italian region of Tuscany. Volterra is one of the twelve Etruscan cities in Tuscany. It is a beautiful medieval town, situated at an altitude of 550 metres. Volterra has the same atmosphere as Bergamo Alta, a place we visited frequently in the past.
Volterra is renowned for its alabaster craftsmanship. We had the chance to meet an alabaster worker and artist in his studio, who creates beautiful works of art. He looked like Bill Bayley, musician and presenter of TV programs in England.
San Gimignano
San Gimignano is a medieval town in the province of Siena. The place attracts many tourists, especially because of its special medieval architecture.
San Gimignano is known for its fourteen towers that dominate the silhouette of the city. These were built by wealthy families between the 12th and 14th centuries. The towers served as a home and fortification, but above all as a prestige object. During the battle between rival families, or between supporters of Guelphs on the one hand and Ghibellines on the other, they entrenched themselves between the towers and fought their often bloody feuds there. At its peak, the city had 72 towers.
It is a beautiful town, quite impressive. Imposing buildings, lots of churches, nice streets and squares. Unfortunately, it was Saturday that we visited the city and the city was overrun by tourists. Busloads full.
Scarlino
With our camper we were at the bottom of the castle. In front of us a view of a very beautiful valley and two ponies that paraded in front of our camper. Behind us a view of the sea and the island of Elba.
In the evening the castle was lit red and there were fireflies. The village is not special, but the location and castle make it a special place.
Monteriggione
Monteriggioni is one of the best-preserved medieval fortifications in Italy. It is surrounded by a defensive wall with 15 square towers. With a drone you would be able to make very nice shots. It is a small town but definitely worth a visit.
The fortress was intended to control the ancient Via Francigena, the central road from Western Europe to Rome, which has been a pilgrimage route since the Middle Ages. The Via Francigena avoided the swampy lowlands where the Elsa River often overflowed. Until the twelfth century, the strategic, lucrative road had been in the hands of all kinds of small noble families, but after that the cities, such as Florence, Siena, San Gimignano and Poggibonsi tried to control the Via Francigena more and more in order to promote free trade. The area became the scene of the constant armed competition between Florence and Siena, to which the smaller cities had become subordinate.
Siena
Due to the very well-preserved medieval cityscape and its special history, Siena is one of the most important tourist attractions in Italy. Since 1995, the historic city centre of Siena has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site
In the early morning, we visited the Gothic church San Francesco. Then we strolled through the city and spent a lot of time in Piazza del Campo. Il Campo is one of the most famous squares in the world. The square is world famous for the Palio dell Contrade. Twice a year for two minutes, the roughest and most famous horse race in Italy takes place here.
We also spent a long time in the Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta. The cathedral is impressive both inside and out. Perhaps the most beautiful cathedral we have visited in Italy.
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