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 GÎTES DE FRANCE by ATLC
The unsurpassable Gîtes de France guidebook has been my companion on all my France travels.
There are different kinds: cottages (gîtes), B&B (chambre d'hôtes) and for different kinds of travel (farm stays, city breaks, per département...).
I usually bought a new one every year with all the B&B's in them.
The guides can be bought in French or English (maybe even German, I'm not sure).
Different guides with different themes:
- a general GDF guide
- country cottages and B&B
- cottages and B&B per département (region)
- luxury cottages and B&B
- just B&B
- just cottages
- etc.
Please visit
www.gites-de-france.com or go to your local bookstore.
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It's personal, it's usually cheap and it's very flexible.
I'd phone or fax certain B&B's before leaving on holiday. The communication with the owner was always good.
During my holiday I'd place a few phonecalls in the morning to arrange accomodation for the same night.
Take your chances, you'll never be disappointed. Good value for money.
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Website Gites de France, English version
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In the past we have always stayed in hotels, but with an energetic ( read "rambunctious") toddler now in tow, I thought that we would be too confined in the usual Paris accomodations. Plus I wanted to have the option to flexible with meal times, etc. Our habit is usually to have our main meal at lunchtime, and a smaller, later dinner. Francesca was fine with our eating dinner at 9pm, and really well behaved, but I think that it was due in part to sticking to some routines from home. In general she is a very adventurous eater, however she does likes a big protein filled american style breakfast. How to satisfy all of this without breaking the bank and or spending ages finding a restaurant that would be suitable? Turns out that the solution was to rent a flat in the city. It was a bit less expenseive than the hotels, but MUCH roomier, plus it offered flexibility in terms of meals, naptime, snacks etc.
We were able to grocery shop locally, which was fun...and cook Francesca her usual breakfast of eggwhites & toast or cereal. We could stock up on some bottled water & juice & snacks & just pack up a bit each day to take out with us. It was nice to be able to give Francesca an apple or banana or a yoghurt, as we had a refridgerator. Otherwise I would have to just hand her cookie or goldfish snacks, which I wasn't too keen on. We all love cheese, so we would stock up on cheese, bread, grapes, and of course wine ...for the happy dance when darling daughers bedtime arrived! Oh yeah, did I mention "privacy"? Very nice to be able to put Francesca in her own bedroom, and then we had some private time watching TV in the living room or our own bedroom. That would never happen in a hotel room !There was a bit more room to roam about inside than a hotel would have offered, a larger bathroom ( with tub) , plus we got to see a different side of the neighborhood than we ever would have staying in a mainstream hotel. There was also a clothes washer in the flat, which meant that I did not have to pack so much clothing, as I could wash a bit as needed. Took a bit of effort to locate a proprietor that would take credit cards, but time spent researching online was well worth it. There are many companies that list the properties online & you can view them as well.
Make sure to ask a few key questions, if you are with little ones. Firstly, what floor is the flat on? Secondly, is there a lift? Think about how many flight of stairs you are willing to trudge up at days end with young children, bags and maybe a stroller..... I like to stay on the ground or first floor myself. This way if the wee one conks out in her stroller I can easily lift her out & carry her up undisturbed. Thirdly, I would inquire as to whether there is a/c or not, depending upon when you travel. We were there in September, which is normally fair weather, but there was an unexpected heat wave & I was glad to be able to come home & get us all cooled down a bit. Theme: OtherPrice: US$180 and up » Currency ConverterComparison: less expensive than average
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 by DanielF
Many of the châteaux-hotels are associated and edit catalogues or keep websites that are helpful when planning a trip.
This is a picture of the Domaine de la Tortiniére, a lovely château in the middle of a wide, lush park near Tours. It is one of the most pleasant hotels we have stayed in during our explorations in the Loire Valley. The vistas on the Indre Valley, the absolute tranquility and the excellent gastronomy were a perfect complement for our daily bike and horseback rides in the bucolic surrounding environment. Theme: OtherComparison: more expensive than average
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 Front of Normandy Barriere
Hotel in Deauville. by no1birdlady |
Delightful time at this Hotel. I loved it because they knew how to pronounce my name !!! Very special feeling !!!!!!In the 16th district of Paris, surrounded by trees and the air of French tradition, Hotel Massenet invites you to a classic and C comfortable atmosphere. Not far from the hotel you will find the Eiffel Tower, the Seine, with its painters and bookstores, and the Champs Elysées.
A very warm and relaxed atmosphere for me. I love the dining room early in the morning. The relaxed feeling I had having breakfast. Theme: HotelPrice: US$40-80 » Currency ConverterComparison: less expensive than averageAddress: 5 bis rue Massenet 75116 ParisPhone: 0145244303Directions: About a mile from the Eiffel Tower??? Across La Seine river through the Rue De Passy and then look for Massenet street.Website: %CR%B www.hotel-paris-massenet.com Other Contact: fax 0145244139
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Our first campsite in France on our return journey from Greece. We found this not far from Modane, just off the N6 after descending the Col du Mont Cenis. It's just over the border from Italy and close to where the Frejus Tunnel heads south through the mountains.
A sloping, clean cut site which charged a little more than we were used to paying. In reality, it was all a bit over the top for us, with sparkling facilities, (even if the ladies was closed some of the time) and seemed to cater more for caravans. There was a great little childrens playground that Philip particularly enjoyed and I think possibly a restaurant.
Here, we noticed an English caravan camped!
Again, I would have to say the views were the site's best feature. We really didn't know anything about the area but it was very pretty scenery with mountians rising up around us.
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This was our last campsite in France, enroute to Greece. Situated in the foothills of the Alps, it was simply a stunning location.
We looked at the two sites we had noted from our Caravan and Camping Club guide but weren't particularly impressed with either. We had actually passed a handwritten sign to another site which we followed and found ourselves in a large, rough field with the most stupendous views of the snow capped mountains. Wow, this was it! The site didn't appear to be open nor could we work out the tariff. Just as we were despairing, Mamon appeared and explained, (we think) that they weren't really open but we could stay if we wanted. Her son appeared and told us in English that they would turn the water on, both hot and cold. We were ecstatic, and when we asked how much for the night, we were asked, "How much do you want to pay??" We suggested 40 francs which seemed reasonable and our hosts seemed more than happy. For that princely sum, we had for our soul use, toilets, hot and cold water and showers and of course, the location. I manged to succesfully bathe Philip, who was 2, in the huge sink where he sat for what seemed like hours, splashing about. I remember doing the washing up (in the same room) as he frolicked in this sink!
That afternoon and evening, we sat out, enjoying the crystal clear air, looking out on the 10,000 ft. mountains, watching the ski lifts in operation. Apparently the pass up from the village is closed until June and I can understand why. As the evening grew chilly, we collected firewood and attempted to light our camp fire by rubbing a stick in a notched piece of wood, Ray Mears style. We had to resort, in the end, to a lighter!!
The friendliness of our hosts and the landscape. Oh, and the fact it was all so quiet and we had the place to ourselves. I'm thinking this is a certain breed of country camp sites in France as the word peasant features.
For those who want to stay in a beautiful area of France with ski-ing and walking in abundance.
We left France with a feeling of great sorrow and that we must return in the future.
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 Camping...it's what France
does well by nickandchris, 1 more photos
The 35 pitches are marked, the more popular, flatter ones at the top of the site next to the ablutions block where most of the six or so caravans were pitched.(I can never understand why caravans with their own facilities like to perch right on top of the toilet block!!)
Some of the terraced pitches are a little tight for a motorhome, I remember we had a go at fitting ourselves on a couple of different ones before we managed a "snug" fit.
In April, it was pretty quiet, we had the whole terraced area to ourselves and apart from the previously mentioned caravans, only a party of Austrian men with a couple of tents shared the site.
Reading my diary, it says the showers were superbly hot and of a good quality. Well, we Brits like to know these sorts of things!!!
Open April to end October.
A very peaceful location set amongst the vines.
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 by VECCHIA
All around there is outstanding country views and the coast is just an hour away. Theme: Pension/GuesthouseComparison: less expensive than averageAddress: Fontana Vecchia Sermezzana Lucca ItalyDirections: North Tuscany ItalyWebsite: http://www.underthetuscansun.co.uk
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This was our second night's stay in France. A large, level municipal site next to the river Armancon and the Burgandy canal, with good, clean facilities and electric hook ups. There is also a childrens play area, which was located next to one of the ablutions block in 1997.
It's location, by the river. There was a small beach by the waterfalls to swim from and the canal was the other side, where you could watch the comings and goings of the various crafts.
Tonnerre itself, is a walkable distance from the campsite and is a pretty town built on a hill. I remember we had great trouble finding camping gaz (of all things) here and when we did, it was very pricey, considering it is a French invention.
This was the place where we bought a piece of horsemeat to grill over the BBQ. It was as tough as old boots and was probably meant for stewing!!!
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