Camping de La Croix d'Arles

Stays hereabouts would be incomplete without a taste of history, so get started with a trip into Langres, five minutes’ drive away. The small town is home to an impressive fortified wall (parts of which are more than 2,000 years old) with seven towers and seven gateways. Begin visits to the town by walking or biking the ramparts, then turn attention to the cathedral and the stunning Navarre Tower. For non-drivers, Langres can be reached via a greenway joinable 700 metres from the site. Hikes and bike rides along this route will also bring explorers as far as La Liez, the largest of the four lakes (otherwise a 20-minute drive), where waterskiing, wakeboarding and sailing are to be tried, and where pike and carp can be caught. A sandy beach also beckons for lazy days of swimming and sunbathing. The other two lakes – La Mouche and Charmes – are within 25 minutes, and it’s just five minutes from base to the source of the mighty Marne river. This is France, bien sûr, so it should come as no surprise that a wealth of chateaux are within reach. The nearest is Château du Pailly, 15 minutes away, which is considered one of the best examples of renaissance architecture in Champagne-Ardenne. Castles aren’t the only historical draw round here either: the abandoned (yet scenic) forts of Cognelot and Peigney are both within 15 minutes, and the pristinely pretty 12th-century Abbaye Auberive is 25 minutes away.