3,572 official stopovers · 5 countries
Official free stopovers and wild camping rules, country by country.
Find a legal free place to stop tonight: 3,572 aires, Stellplätze and sostas across 5 countries, and what the local rules actually allow.
By country · 5
Where are you camping tonight?
France 1,890 Aires · Europe's densest network, and many are free to park on.
Germany 465 Stellplätze · From full service points to a bare corner of a car park.
Spain 116 Áreas · Park freely; put the awning out and it counts as camping.
Denmark 1,050 Shelter camps · Free state shelters, about half walk-up and half booked.
Italy 51 Soste · Article 185 draws the line at your wheels. Is it legal here?
What the law actually allows
Can you sleep there? What the law in each country actually allows, in plain English.
Scotland Wild camping is a right here, with conditions, and Loch Lomond is the exception Read
Scandinavia What allemansrätten covers, and why Denmark is not part of it Read
France Bivouac and camping are different words in French law, and only one is allowed Read
Dartmoor The only place in England where you can legally camp without asking Read Before you go
First trip to Europe? The four things that catch people out.
What an aire is, how the service points work, and where the water goes.
Free aires & services
Where to stop, and where to empty the tank.
Every pin traces to an official source. Where this comes from
Latest from the blog
Just published.
Wild camping in Belgium: banned, and the bivouac zones that are not
Belgium lets you sleep out in one place only: a bivouac area someone officially designated. Here are Wallonia's aires de bivouac and Flanders' bivakzones, the rules at each, the fine the Walloon forest code sets for everywhere else, and why none of it works for a motorhome.
Sep 16
Wild Camping in the Czech Republic: What the Law Actually Bans
There is no single nationwide ban, but the forest act and the nature protection act between them cover almost anywhere you would sleep. Here is what the paragraphs say, where a bivouac ends, and what that leaves a motorhome.
Sep 15
Loire Valley motorhome aires: where to sleep at each château
Chambord forbids overnight stays in its car park and charges 15 euros per 24 hours to park a motorhome there. Every other headline château on the corridor has an aire within 2 km, and the ones at Cheillé and Sully-sur-Loire are free.
Sep 6