There’s lots of choice for holiday accommodation in France. Depending on the kind of holiday you are planning you could choose from:

Holiday Cottages (Gites in French) and Holiday Villas

This is really a great option for families. If (like us!) you would like to have some privacy and find it easier to self-cater with small children, then a Gite or Villa holiday is the right choice for you. To get an idea of what it’s like to stay in a Holiday Gite or Villa do have a look at my article “A Villa Holiday in France”. You can book your accommodation on-line and I can thoroughly recommend Cottages4you.They have a fabulous selection of holidays properties from simple Gites all the way up to fabulous Villas with private pools. You will be pleasantly surprised at how affordable this accommodation is especially if you can travel off season.

Hotels

If you would like to stay in a Hotel, then of course you have a huge choice in France. For a good selection of hotels in a particular location we generally use hotels.com, very easy to use and often with excellent discounts for hotels in every price range from 2 star to Deluxe.

If you are looking for resort type accommodation with shared facilities, then have a look at the brilliant Pierre et Vacances accommodation situated all over France. These are really Apartment Hotels with self-catering studio type rooms, very suitable for families, and with first class resort facilities including swimming pools and restaurants.

B&B – Chambre D’Hotes

This is a great choice if you are planning to move around or if you are looking for somewhere to stay en route to your final destination. But forget the kind of B&B that you might find in a typical English Resort. In France you can really find some fabulous places to stay, often in beautiful or historic properties. Do have a look at The Special Places to Stay Guides published by Alistair Sawday (you can purchase these guides from my Amazon Store).Do remember that most Chambre D’Hotes in France are also private homes and so you will not be able to call down for room service at 11:00 at night! Many Chambre D’Hotes will do an evening meal (usually with advance notice) and of course a continental breakfast.

For an example of somewhere that we can thoroughly recommend have a look at www.abbayeferte.com situated just south of Dijon and a convenient place to stopover on the way to the South of France.

A truly spectacular 18th Abbot’s House with a lovely family room (in a converted dovecote!) all for about 100 Euros a night including breakfast. What a bargain!