From here
It’s too far from England, but I have to mention Aurillac LFLW. A very quiet place, but it has approaches and also an excellent little resto if you can find it. Landing fees about €12, if you can find anyone to pay them to.
And also Avignon. Landing fees €16, and imo just about the best airport restaurant there is. And approaches too.,
French airfields are associated with a town, which usually means they’re reasonably close. Cross-referencing Google maps for distance/transport and Tripadvisor for ‘things to do in’ will get good results. Three ideas in the very north of France, all done as a day trip or overnight from the UK, with intermediate immigration stops at Calais, Lille, or Le Touquet.
Arras LFQD – 1020m grass
4.5km to Arras, a picturesque town centre with plenty of good hotels and restaurants. It’s famous for its two large squares and gothic town hall with tall bell tower . You can climb it for spectacular views, and also visit the caves and tunnels underneath. There’s a lot of WWI history in the area.
Vitry-en-Artois LFQS – 900m grass
The airfield restaurant is in the guide Michelin.
Saint Omer LFQN – 600m tarmac
La Coupole is 4km to the south, a distinctive dome-shaped V-2 rocket bunker now housing a museum and planetarium. Saint Omer town is 3km to the north.
I agree with Gallois that paying €30 at Le Touquet is on priciple antithetical to French GA culture 
Luckily there’s plenty of other choices.
Edit: map of the three airfields on the airport database
Great advice. Thank you.
Absolutely brilliant! Thread bookmarked for the summer
I want to fly to Amiens# (LFAQ) and visit Lochnagar Crater this year, don’t know yet if it’s any good, But the story is pretty amazing. I’ve been to Lille (LFQQ), that’s is worth a short trip. More flemmish then French, has it’s own nice atmosphere.
2025 is a pivotal year for me; either I start using my Falco in earnest or I sell it.
Out of curiosity, once you’ve landed at Le Touquet or Calais or wherever to complete the formalities, do you simply depart and go to your required destination (VFR) at will?
Affirm
No PPR, landing fees, yellow jackets, A/G dictators.
Using LFAT to get the passport stamp is indeed trivial. Walk it, get the stamp, walk the next 10m, give them €30, walk out, tell them you are going to [some schengen country] and walk to your plane. On departure you just leave the 118.45 tower frequency and that’s done with LFAT.
Capitaine wrote:
No PPR, landing fees, yellow jackets, A/G dictators.
Sounds too good to be true!
