While it won’t guarantee you the perfect French accent, there is a simple way you can try out life as a French family on your next visit to France. You could spend your next French holiday in a gîte, one of the many holiday homes sprinkled across the French countryside.

Why do it?

We have found this an ideal way to travel when we are with our young children. My husband and I almost always have ambitious travel plans when we are exploring a region and do our best to squeeze it all in. For longer stays, we find it pleasant to have the space of a small home to serve as our base. Our boys love picking out their room and exploring our new house. We like to have breakfast together in the mornings before heading out on a busy day.

After long days of sightseeing and exploring, the kids are exhausted and the thought of having to keep them calm enough for dinner at a restaurant is hardly inviting. We generally set up our days to return in the early evening and allow the kids to run around in the garden or take a swim. Then we have a light dinner, ideally out on the patio, before the kids take their baths and get to bed to rest up for another day. With any luck, my husband and I get to enjoy a quiet glass of wine before calling it a day ourselves.

I am a daydreamer when I travel, so I often find myself wondering what it would be like to live in one of our destinations. For me, staying in a gîte allows me to pretend just that. Generally, you get to know your local markets and towns, and often you get the chance to chat with your neighbors. On a recent stay at a rural gîte in southern Brittany, our neighbor had horses and she allowed our sons to ride one of her ponies. They had no intention of leaving after that!

As nice as hotels are, family members are often tripping over one another during long stays. A gîte can be a relaxing alternative and provide more space. They can also help to keep costs down for family holidays. Although prices range considerably, costs are almost always much lower than hotels. All gîtes contain fully-equipped kitchens; cooking at home for some meals can also help to contain costs – and what a pleasure it is to shop for ingredients in the daily markets, just like the locals.

How to book

Gîtes belonging to the National Federation of Gîtes de France are all marked by this symbol. Gîtes de France are encouraged by the regions as a way to strengthen tourism and the network is quite well organized. The National Federation of Gîtes de France was founded in 1955, with 146 properties. Today, it is the largest guest-house network in Europe with over 56,000 accommodations spread across all of France’s regions.

Similar to hotels, gîtes have their own rating system. Rather than stars, there are ears of wheat (épis) which range from 1 (lowest category) to 5 (highest). All of this information is available in the web site, in addition to photos, maps of the property, languages spoken by the owner, and a list of amenities. Be certain to check what is included in the rental agreement: towels often are often not. Additionally, sheet rental often incurs additional costs and should often be requested in advance.

Many of the properties can be booked directly, others (once identified on the site) must be arranged by calling the owner. However you book, the Federation of Gîtes de France will send a contract to be signed and returned, along with a deposit. Renters agree to a meeting time directly with the owners. During the busy summer holiday season, most rental properties are offered for one-week rentals only, commonly running from Saturday to Saturday. During other periods of the year, weekends or long weekends are often possible.

Enjoy your French holidays – almost as a local. Bon voyage!

May 26th, 2009 | by Kimberly Sullivan 6 comments