Southwest/east France help needed.
 

Hi. Just decided to visit France arriving Oct 1st for 8 days. Trying to fix an itinerary. There will be 4 adults (ages between 48 to 55, fit) and we will rent a car. If we flew into Marseille and out of Montpellier or Toulouse, is there a great road trip we could do. Accommodation budget under $100/night/room. Looking for scenery and pretty villages and markets, and good food. Not into biggish towns or cities. Thanks in advance.

Try Gites de France (http://en.gites-de-france.com/ )for accommodations. The two ears of corn rating has been satisfactory for us, and it usually does not exceed 60€ per night.

You might want to pick up the Michelin Green Guide for that area, which does suggest itineraries. The Michelin map of the <i>plus beaux villages de France</i> might be useful in that regard. This site can help if you can work your way around the French:

http://www.villagesdefrance.free.fr/page_france.htm

Thanks for the information and useful links.

Don't forget your Michelin maps of the scale 1:200,000 for whatever region you visit. They are invaluable for getting around and if you learn how to read the icons you can find great drives and interesting villages/places to visit.

To clarify, this is the B&B page when wishing to stay for shorter periods of time:

http://en.gites-de-france.com/vacati...tml?critinit=O

You should familiarize yourself with the name of the departments or know which towns interest you to get the best results, but most B&Bs are out in the countryside.

The villages link Michael gave is great. I enjoy browsing it when we are planning our trips. I let google translate it as if you click on the English translation on the site, it takes you to the site for Les Plus Beaux Villages. This is a different group of villages, but also a useful site. By using both, a lot of villages get mentioned. Some appear on both.
Good luck with your planning.

you might have trouble with quality at $100 per night...

<i>you might have trouble with quality at $100 per night...</i>

Not for B&Bs in the provinces, unless luxury is what you are looking for. For clean and usually large enough accommodations, Gites de France is very dependable. One should be able to find accommodations between 45 and 60 euros per room for two. More expensive accommodations are also available.

Agree with Michael. You can find great accommodations in rural France for under $100 a night. Not a problem.