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A motorhome park-up, not a campsite.
An aire is a dedicated motorhome-only parking area. Most sit just outside a village, on the edge of a town car park, or next to a marina. The basics are a hard-standing pitch, a service point for water and waste, and often an electric hook-up post. You pay by coin or card at a barrier, or leave a note at the mairie, or in some cases stay free.
It is not a campsite. You park on tarmac, not grass. You do not put out the awning, the chairs and the washing line. Quiet hours are strict, usually from 10pm. Stay one or two nights, use the services, move on. That is the deal.
The same idea, different names.
France invented the concept, but most of Europe now has an equivalent. The local name, the coverage and the price all change as you cross borders.
Portugal's situation is covered further in our wild camping guide.
The apps that find your stopover.
- Park4Night. The app UK motorhomers reach for first. Crowdsourced listings with photos, reviews and coordinates across every European country. The free tier is usable; the paid tier, roughly 10 GBP a year, adds offline maps and advanced filters.
- Campercontact. Dutch-built competitor with a cleaner interface and excellent curation, particularly strong in northern Europe. Paid subscription around 25 EUR a year.
- Motorhome Stopovers. Smaller community app, good for France and Spain.
- France Passion (French-only, roughly 35 EUR a year). A private network of over 2,000 farms, vineyards and producers who let you park overnight for free, in exchange for you buying a bottle of wine or a box of eggs. Not an aire as such, but a brilliant complement.
- Independent stopover databases. Useful for cross-checking photos, facilities and recent reviews before you commit.
Use two apps, not one. Park4Night has the widest coverage but the review quality varies. Campercontact is better curated. Cross-check before committing.
Getting it right on the ground.
- Arrive by 5pm in high season. The best aires, waterfront, village centre, scenic, fill fast in July and August. By 7pm in peak you are looking at the overflow.
- Check size and depth restrictions. Some aires have height barriers, 2.5m is common, or length limits of 7m or 8m. If you are over 7.5 metres, confirm before you commit to a route.
- Carry 10 EUR in coins. Barrier machines in rural France in particular can be fussy with contactless. A small stash of 1 and 2 EUR coins will save you.
- Respect quiet hours. Genuinely. These schemes survive because locals tolerate them. A loud gathering at 10pm is the fastest way to get an aire shut down.
- Use the services properly. Grey water goes in the grey water grate, black water in the cassette disposal. Mixing them up is how you get evicted.
- Leave it cleaner than you found it. A 30-second sweep before you pull out keeps the aire alive for the next traveller.
The questions people ask most.
What is a motorhome aire?
A dedicated overnight parking area for motorhomes, usually with water, waste disposal and sometimes electric. France calls them Aires de Camping-Cars, Germany calls them Stellplatze. Some are free municipal spots, others charge 5 to 25 EUR a night.
Are motorhome aires free?
Some are, many are not. Small French municipal aires often cost nothing, or charge a token 5 EUR. Germany's Stellplatze tend to be 10 to 20 EUR. Keep small coins on you for the old-school ticket machines.
How do I find motorhome aires in Europe?
Park4Night and Campercontact are the two apps UK motorhomers use. Cross-check both before committing. Arrive by 5pm in peak season so you actually get a pitch.
What is the maximum stay at an aire?
Usually 24 or 48 hours, occasionally 72. The sign at the entrance tells you. Overstay and you risk a ticket. For anything longer than that, use a campsite.