Camping Universal

If you're an outdoorsy and active sort, you're sorted: a few kilometres from Camping Universal is the UNESCO-listed Gorges du Gardon Biosphere Reserve for long days hiking, canyoning, tree climbing, caving, mountain biking, rock climbing, rafting, horse riding and yet more lazy kayaking. (And all in stunning surroundings, natch: have a look at the site pics.) This is ancient as well as splendidly scenic land, so dig into some Provence heritage in the surroundings too, like at the must-see Pont du Gard, built by those roaming Romans around 19BC and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Pont d'Arc over the Gardon river, yet another top kayaking spot, and yes, you should pretend you're on a Tolkienesque quest as you float under it… Another must for ancient sights is the Gard department capital of Nîmes, to see its famed amphitheatre, the best preserved in France and still used these days for gigs; its cathedral, probably built on the site of the temple of Augustus, and the eighteenth century Jardins de la Fontaine, built around the remains of the city's Roman baths.