Simamber

I'm planning a trip to France next year. My husband and I been a few times in the past, but they have always been whirlwind affairs, with us jetting off from one attraction to the next. This time we want to make it a bit more leisurely. A friend suggested renting a villa. We'll be there for about 3 weeks and are taking along a 5 year old. We really liked the Normandy and Provence areas. Has anyone had experience with this sort of thing? Is it a good or bad idea? Any comments are helpful.

ira

Hi Sim,

Are you planning on one villa for 3 weeks?

Do you like to do your own cooking?

Simamber

I don't mind cooking, especially with a little kid coming along. As for the 3 weeks - still deciding. 2 weeks and a week of traving? 1 week in Normandy and 2 in Provence? Am I being too ambitious? Ideally, I'd like to spend a least 10 days in one place.

ita

I would suggest renting a villa in Provence for the entire time and taking day trips when you want to. There is lots to see and do.

Eloise

With three weeks, you can definitely spend time in two or even three places.

And just because you have cooking facilities, it doesn't mean that you have to use them for every meal...

My only concern would be whether you can find a villa at a reasonable price for only three people, one of them a child. Most villas are for larger numbers of people.

I'm very well acquainted with the "agriturismo" system in Italy, where you can rent an apartment in a farmhouse/villa for 3 people, but I'm not very well informed on the French equivalent, which seems to be "maisons d'hôtes."

You might want to have a look at the following Web site as a start:

http://www.guidesdecharme.com/?lang=EN

Click on "geographical maps," which will get you to the various regions in France.

I checked it out for its Italian suggestions and found most of them very good.

The following Web site offers different kinds of "agriturismo"-type accommodations in France:

http://www.gites-de-france.fr/eng/index.htm

Finally, you may find it more difficult to rent for 10 days; many of these places like to rent on a weekly basis.

Simamber

Good advice guys. I'm going to look into staying 2 weeks in Provence - I agree, it is so beautiful. And staying in a condo might be better then renting a whole villa. Money isn't a huge consideration, but waste not, etc. Of course, if anyone whats to join us...!

I'll check out those sights as well. Any more suggestions would be great. Thanks.

AnselmAdorne

Simamber, it's a wonderful idea. We have rented numerous houses in various towns in Provence and Languedoc, including Uzès, Saignon, Nyons, Lacoste, and Agde. We have found most of them through Holiday Rentals (www.holiday-rentals.com) and French Connections (www.frenchconnections.co.uk). Both sites offer numerous selections, most of which are vacation properties that are for rent by the owner. Once you find one that appeals, you contact the owner and work out the dates, deposits, etc.

These places are typically Saturday to Saturday rentals. We have tried various approaches, from renting three houses in three different towns over a three-week period to renting one house for a two-week block. There are pros and cons to each approach, but I think we are now more likely to rent one place for a longer period of time. We have found moving day chews up a lot of time and that it adds in a bit of stress.

We like the sense of getting to know a town (Uzès is our favourite), including the local merchants and restaurants. One of the greatest pleasure of travelling in France is shopping for food in local markets. We generally make day trips, and have found that we can explore quite a large area around the town where we are staying.

Anselm

Betsy

Check out www.slowtrav.com, a noncommercial website with many suggestions and reviews for rental properties in Europe. Most of their reviews are of properties in Italy, but there's a section for France too. Lots of knowledgable posters at the site.

martinewezel

We booked several times with "Interhome" and were very sasisfied.
Search on http://www.interhome.us/index.asp?us...=03&rdgo=N

sheila

Try French Connections and Chez Nous as well. And Total France has an advertising section

jenviolin

from one mom to another - if you are going in the warm season and are looking at places with pools, get your child into swimming lessons! That will increase everyone's enjoyment and relaxation!
Here's another rental website:

http://www.interhome.nl/home/index.a...t=Y&rqst=Y

GregY

In my opinion, having a fixed base from which to see a region is by far the best way to do it - provided you have the time. Some people need to keep moving because it may be their one & only opportunity to travel. As you have 3 weeks I would certainly vote for renting something, whether a 'villa' or something more modest. I think it would make life easier for your 5 year old as well if you are not continually on the move. Being able to leave suitcases etc 'at home' for several days is a great benfit. You could easily spend 2-3 weeks in Provence without running out of things to do, or you could even consider 1 week at three locations. If Provence is definite, I wonder whether Normandy is a good idea, it being about as far away from Provence as you can get. You may like to consider something else - for example a week each in Provence, Burgundy, Alsace might be logistically better. Or Provence, Languedoc, & the South West.
I have to declare a vested interest here as I am part-owner of 2 village houses - one near Avignon in Provence, and 1 near Perpignan in the Roussillon. Either, or both could be ideal for you, unless you are looking for luxurious properties with a pool.
We have a website for each house and I would be happy to send you details if you were interested. Respond here and I will provide my email & the web addresses.

mcmrjm

GregY...I would like to know more about your 2 village houses...could you post the web sites here? Thanks. Mary

LisaE

GregY-I too would be interested in your house near Avignon. How can I get more information? Can it be rented for a few days in October or do you only rent by the week?

GregY

Hi Mary & Lisa,

The house near Avignon is in a village called Beaumes de Venise - you can see it at http://users.tpg.com.au/adsl8fbu/
The other house is between Perpignan and the Mediterranean beaches, in a village called Claira. You can see this one at
http://users.tpg.com.au/adsl8fbu/claira.html
We normally rent by the week, saturday to saturday. We have had the Beaumes de Venise house for several years and it is usually fairly solidly booked, although I think we do have 2 weeks left in mid-late october this year. The Claira house is more recent and it is more lightly booked, although I have to say that is also booked from now until 16th October. Both houses are well renovated - they are village houses, so no pool, no garden, but both are very comfortable. Feel free to email me on [email protected] for more information.

GregY

To the Top - in case Mary & LisaE are still out there

TOCommuter

Hello everyone. I know it's been a few wks since the last post in this string, but just wondering if anyone has had any experience renting homes in France through an organization called "Languedoc Lets." I'll ask on the www.slowtrav.com site that was mentioned in another reply, but thought I'd inquire here as well.
Thank you in advance for your input!

RichardSpitzer

We got back from renting a villa in le Coux et Bigaroque a small town in the Dordogne area. It was a 1773 stone house with a swimming pool (small pool deepest part around 4', good for cooling off and floating, not for diving and vigorous swimming) and it was great!! 900 Euro, two bedrooms, fruit trees, nice areas to walk. It was about 45 minutes to Sarlat, 20 minutes to St.Cyprien, close to the beautiful villages of Domme and Belves where there is a market in each town on different days, 20 minutes from La Roque where Chocolat was filmed (or is that Beynac where the castle is carved into the rock?) and close to the caves of Font-de-Gaume, Pech-Merle and many others. It was ideal, and private and just down the road were the cutest donkeys who came up to the fence to be stroked. We stayed there a week, but could have stayed way beyond that.

JoeCal

Just thought I'd add my two cents worth. We were in Paris for a week and then rented two gites (self catering cottages) in France this past June/July (one through French Connections and the other we just found on Yahoo), and the experience was wonderful. We stayed our second week in the Lot region (near Cahors) and did day trips around the Lot and Dordogne river valleys. The third week was in the Loire Valley and again rented a gite for the week (Saturday to Saturday. 700 Euros for the week - 5 of us).

It was very nice to have a "home" to come back to every evening - we rented places with pools and my son used it every day/night. My wife loved shopping at the local markets and even the supermarche and we bought local wine - very cheap - and had great times with our hosts (one was a french couple the other was Dutch). My thanks to the many posters who gave great advice (especially St. Cirq).

I rented a van through Autoeurope and I must say they are great. Get your best quote and then call them - they will beat any price. We ended up with a van from Europcar. No problems and we drove all over the place - usually in the countryside. Driving in France is not difficult but it is great to have a co-pilot to read the signs and keep you on target.

Our gite near Montgesty was so nice that we even stayed on the farm (so to speak) for a day instead of touristing. The place we stayed in the Loire had horses and let us ride - no charge by the way (large things - Chambois, I think they were called - just beautiful).

I highly recommend this approach to a vacation in France and anywhere in southern or southwest France will be great. Have a great trip.

cigalechanta

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