Holiday Accommodation Options in France

Information about where to stay when taking a holiday, spending a long weekend or travelling in France...
There are many types of vacation accommodation available in France:
Hotels
The
hotels in France are classified for tourism by French accreditation committee
control body COFRAC. Hotels
are checked every five years. The classification guidelines are similar to
those found elsewhere in Europe and are as follows:
- 5 star: Rating to denote
outstanding, luxury hotel
- 4 star: Highly superior
hotel
- 3 star: Comfortable, tourist
hotel with en-suite bathroom and Internet access
- 2 star: Good standard,
tourist hotel (may have en-suite bathroom)
- 1 star: Standard, tourist
hotel, room minimum nine square meters with shared bathroom facilities
To find out the classification of an
establishment visit: Atout France
Location Saisonnières (Furnished Holiday
Rentals) and Tourist Residences
Location
saisonnière or meublé
de tourisme is a furnished villa, studio or apartment rented
out for a day, a week, or a month. A meublé
de tourisme can receive a rating from one to five stars,
according to the level of comfort provided.
The
"star guidelines" are like those for hotels. However, they are not governed
by the same legal classification criteria. These are self-catering
accommodation in apartments or villas in and around the city centres.
Lists of accommodation are available from many Tourist Offices.
Holiday
rentals can be found via the online marketplace that connects home owners
willing to rent out their homes with people looking for accommodation in the
area. There are various websites like booking.com and Airbnb which
host many different kinds of properties in their database. Searches can be done
by location, price, date, amenities, and the type of property. Contact is made
directly with the property owner. A deposit is usually required or full payment
in advance.
Chambres d'Hôtes (B&Bs)
A chambre d'hôte is
accommodation in the property owner's home or, occasionally, in a building next
to it. These vary from a room in a private house to well organised,
professionally run guesthouse. The room is rented by the night. A chambre d'hôte offers
furnished accommodation with linen provided, and the room cleaned on a night-by
night basis and breakfast included in the price.
A chambre d'hôte with table d'hôte classification
means that meals may be eaten with the host family, there may be no more
clients than the family can lodge and the meal served must be the same for
everyone. This is not a "restaurant".
Holiday Apartments, and Self-Catering Gîte
A gîte or gîte rural is a
house, cottage or self-contained accommodation available to rent for a few
days, a weekend, weekly or a period of several weeks. The changeover day on
weekly lets is usually Saturday.
It is
independent from the owner's house and has a furnished lounge and dining area,
an equipped kitchen area with table and chairs, at least one furnished bedroom
and bathroom and toilet facilities. Bed linen and towels may be provided, as
may a cleaning service. These may also be made available to guests on request,
for a supplementary fee. Guests may provide their own bed linen and towels and
must clean the gîte at the end of their stay.
Gîtes de France
Originally
rustic farmhouse accommodation, the Fédération Nationale des Gîtes de France has evolved over the years to
include Bed and Breakfast type accommodation and self-catering facilities,
outside of the big cities. High standards are maintained and one can
generally be guaranteed quality facilities from a Gîtes de France member.
Accommodation
can be found on the Gîtes de France website under the following headings:
- Gîtes Rural: Holiday
rentals in country areas
- Gîtes Chambre d'Hôte: Bed and
Breakfast in a private home, often with Table d'Hôte (modest
meals provided by the owner).
- Gîtes d'Etape or Gîtes de Séjour: Group accommodation in rural locations for hikers, and nature
sports enthusiasts
Panda nature gîte
Rural gîtes affiliated to
the Gîtes de France network display the "Panda" label. Awarded since
1993 in association with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), it indicates rural
holiday accommodation in protected and unspoiled natural surroundings like
regional or national parks. WWF France and Gîtes de France are working together
to develop eco-housing and raise awareness of the importance of protecting
biodiversity. The owners are committed to protecting the local heritage and
nature.
For
more visit:
Camping and Caravanning
There
are over 9,000 campsites in France. These fall into the following categories:
- Tourism and Leisure: A site is
categorised as Tourism and Leisure if more than half of the site is
reserved as short stay tourist accommodation. Most have parking spaces for
caravans, tents and mobile homes and also have fixed caravans, chalets and
mobile homes for rent
- Leisure campsite: If more than
half the spaces are dedicated to long stay and residential accommodation
in mobile homes or chalets a site is classified as a Leisure campsite.
These allow for the installation of a housing units and may be connected
to mains water and electricity
- Rural camping: This
category includes both farm
camp sites (Camping à
la ferme) with limited parking capacity and open-air camping sites (usually
seasonal) and limited to up to 25 families
- Glamping: This is a style of camping which
offers the escapism of nature but with luxury amenities. Glamping units
vary from site to site. Some offer sold fixed units, like chalets, gypsy
caravans or log cabins. Others offer luxury tents or yurts. Good Glamping has a guide to
glamping in France.
Many
French camping sites are graded by stars from one to four which represent the
range of facilities available rather than the overall quality of a site. The
website Camping in
France has comprehensive information in
English
Rural Tourism
Farm
holidays (Agritourisme)
are gaining popularity in France with more and more holidaymakers looking for
alternative and ecological holidays. Bienvenue à la
Ferme (Welcome to the Farm) is a
website with information on farm accommodation, either in a gîte, B&B or on
farm land where tent camping is allowed. The website also provides a list of
restaurants serving local produce and regional specialities.
Youth Hostels
There
are two main Youth Hostel organisations in France:
- The FUAJ, Fédération
Unie des Auberges de Jeunesse (the French youth hostel
federation)
- The international organisation is Hostelling International
- The Ligue
Francaise for
the Auberge de la Jeunesse has listed hostels for budget travel. A backpacker must be a registered member and hold the LFAJ card to use these facilities. Contact
the head office in Paris or
download the application online
Tel: 01 4 16 78 78
Fax: 01 44 16 78 80
Open:
Monday-Friday 09:00-13:00 and 14:00-17:00
There are many other privately managed hostels, particularly in the city centres. The Tourist Offices (almost always with an English speaker) can provide a list of addresses and a map, or make calls for a reservation. It is advisable to reserve a bed in advance, especially during the summer season from May to September (however, be aware that many hostels don't take reservations).