About Gites de France

In France,  Gîtes de France has a team of over 600 people to work with property owners and holiday-makers across the 95 departmental offices. Gites de France has just celebrated its 50th birthday. Gites de France’s objectives:

• promote comfortable, friendly holiday stays
• meet the special needs of holidaymakers seeking authentic, convivial holidays in natural settings, peace and quiet, novelty and wide open spaces
• help to preserve and promote the French countryside and its special cultural heritage
• participate in local development and bring stability to the rural population by providing additional resources through tourism.

Gîte classes:  A number of classes of gîte are defined and graded by Gîtes de France.

Gîte Rural
Offers self-catering accommodation located in the countryside, by the sea, or in the mountains. The gîte is completely self contained with one or more bedrooms, a lounge or dining room, a kitchen and bathroom facilities.

Gîtes d’Enfants
Holidays for children. During the school holidays host families provide lodging for children of various ages with a wide variety of activities. Children’s gîtes are regulated and inspected to ensure a safe and secure environment for each child.

Gîtes d’Etape
Stopover and holiday getaways off the beaten track for groups of walkers or cyclists. The English equivalent is most probably a youth hostel.

“Gîte Equestre”
A staging post for people or groups travelling across France on horseback; or gîte offering stabling for horses.

Chalets-Loisirs
A complex of wooden cottages set in the countryside providing various activities, such as, fishing, horse-riding, archery, cycling.

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Loire Valley

Whilst chateau hopping remember to take the time to happen upon some local wine cellars, for “degustation” or tasting in the Loire Valley. Take the time to relax and enjoy your holiday.

France’s Loire Valley has the grandest selection of 15th and sixteenth century castles. With fifty to sixty “must see” castles scattered on both sides of a 100-mile sweep of the Loire River, the first-time visitor can feel overwhelmed.

Image via Wikipedia

Five of the best castles are below.

Chateau Amboise

Amboise’s narrowed cobbled streets wind at the base of the large. Although only 25% of the original chateau survives, the fortress walls with flying banners look down on the village and neighboring river. It was here that King Francois I hit his head on a low arch, fatally wounding him.

Chateau Clos Luce

Not more than a half mile from Amboise is Chateau Le Clos Luce, a chateau built and designed by Leonardo da Vinci. He lived the last three years of his life here under Francois I’s sponsorship. The rooms are filled with 40 models of Leonardo’s inventions so you can marvel at his foresight and impressive mental powers 500 years earlier.

This is another nice venue to amuse children. The gardens are drop dead gorgeous with a bubbling brook and the kids can play on models of Da Vinci’s inventions in the garden for hours and hours.

Chateau Chenonceau

Chenonceau Chateau amazes you with its two-story, 260-foot Great Gallery arching over the River Cher. Originally “acquired” by King Francois I, it then passed to his successor, Henri II, who gifted it in 1547 to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. Diane expanded the chateau and built a bridge over the river.

When Henri II died, his wife, Catherine de Medici, took revenge on her rival by forcing Diane to exchange Chateau Chenonceau for nearby Chateau Chaumont. Catherine then commissioned the construction of the bridge gallery. Unbelievably extravagant galas were held here until Catherine’s son, Henry III, was murdered. His wife, Louise de Savoie, placed the castle in mourning, furnishing it entirely in black and white.

History leaps out as you tour the rooms and the gardens. In world war I the Great Gallery was converted to a hospital. In world war II the chateau marked the boundary between Nazi-occupied and free France and became the site of prisoner exchanges. Today the chateau and grounds are maintained at their height as if they were at under Catherine de Medici.

It really is the must see chateau in the Loire Valley.

Chateau Chambord

King Francois I was not content with just the castles at Chenonceau and Amboise. He acquired over 10,000 acres of hunting land and decided to construct the world’s most magnificent “hunting lodge”. Chambord was built over many decades by Francois and his successors, Henri II and Charles IX in the sixteenth century.

Fully restored now, Chambord stands as the most extravagant of all the Loire chateaux – 500 feet wide with 440 rooms and 365 fireplaces. The central grand staircase was supposedly designed by the Italian great, Leonardo da Vinci. It has double spirals which enable two parties of people to climb and descend simultaneously without meeting.

[You can hire bikes and boats at Chambord for a delightful activity - very handy if you have kids to amuse.]

Chateau Chaumont-sur-Loire

Built in the 15th century by Lord Amboise on the site of a 10th century feudal fortress, Chaumont commands incredible views of the Loire Valley. It was later the home of both Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medici of Castle Chenonceau fame. Enjoy this chateau for its fortress feeling, drawbridge, furnishings, tapestry, and incredible vistas.

It has a fantastic garden festival each year running from April to October. They have quirky contemporary displays and a different theme each year.

If you can you should spoil yourself and rent a chateau as opposed to just visiting one. A chateau is a wonderful venue for a destination wedding in France . Some even offer a destination wedding package. You do not have to be loaded to have a fairytale french wedding.

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Holiday Villages in France

There are various alternatives for people planning a vacation in France – hôtels, holiday rentals, camping and Holiday villages are among the most popular. But perhaps it is time to consider Holiday Villages in France.

Image via Wikipedia

Hotels offer the advantage that everything is laid on – no cleaning to do or meals to prepare – and are often located in the best town centre locations. Holiday rentals provide a chance to stay in a typical house of the region, and give the freedom to come and go that may be missing with a hotel.

Camping holidays are a great way for a young family to visit France. Entertainments are usually laid on for adults and children alike, and most campsites offer bars, restaurants and swimming pools with slides and water games. Facilities depend, as always, on the price you pay.

Don’t confuse these large family oriented campsites with ‘camping a la ferme’ (on the farm) French-style when you make your booking! Camping at a farm is a cheap, traditional camping experience where you pitch your tent in a field – and very few facilities beyond running water and toilets are made available.

The last main option is French holiday villages, and perhaps these offer the best of all possible worlds.

A well run modern holiday village offers numerous facilities with a selection of bars and restaurants, night-time amusements, day time entertainment, tennis and other sports, and a dazzling choice of pools and associated fun.

But on-site enjoyment is only part of a successful holiday. Sometimes you need to get away and enjoy the French countryside or beaches! The best of the villages are found in the best locations. Usually they are near the coast, perhaps the Cote d’Azur, the Atlantic surfing beaches or the beautiful scenery of the Brittany region, but sometimes they are located in the most impressive country ide such as the Dordogne or the Gorged de l’Ardeche.

Whichever type of holiday you are looking for you are sure to find it in France from one of the options above – just spend some time deciding what is best for you and your family to be sure you make the best possible choices.

You can find some of the best villages available for a visit at holiday villages in France. If you need some ideas about which part of France to visit first, visit regions of France to start exploring.

Marcus Smith

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France is split into regions – then earch region is sub-divided into departments:

LINKS: Back to Main Map or Regions of France

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The 22 regions of France:

LINKS: Back to Main Map or Departments of France

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There are ferry ports along the south coast of England and across northern France. Choose your point of departure carefully to minimise travel times and onward journeys to your French destination, There is a good tool to calculate journey times in France >> French Route Planner.

Dover to Calais, Dunkerque and Boulogne - P&O Ferries and SeaFrance operate up to 50 departures to Calais every day with a crossing time of 90 minutes. Hoverspeed operates the faster Seacat with crossings in less than hour. Norfolkline operates a two-hour crossing up to 10 times daily to Dunkerque for car and motorcycle travellers only. SpeedFerries runs a low cost high-speed catamaran service to Boulogne, with onward good motorway links to Paris and to rest of France.

Newhaven to Dieppe – Hoverspeed operates three Seacats and two ferry departures a day over to Dieppe. This is a route with more time to relax on board but still with great access for onward travel into central France. Transmanche also offer a service from Newhaven.

Portsmouth to Uper and Lower Normandy and Brittany – P&O operates up to four conventional ferries and three fast craft services to Cherbourg every day, and three daily to Le Havre. Brittany Ferries runs three ferries a day to the port of Caen, including an overnight crossing, and two ferries a day to St.Malo in Brittany.

Poole to Cherbourg and St.Malo – Brittany Ferries runs one or two conventional ferry departures each day to Cherbourg as well as three fast craft departures a day from May to September. Condor Ferries runs a fast craft ferry service to St.Malo once a day, and a similar service to St.Malo from Weymouth.

Plymouth to Roscoff - Brittany Ferries runs three departures each day on this six-hour ferry crossing.

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School Holidays

Dates for the French school holidays for 2008 & 2009. Please note school holidays in France vary depending on the region.

The country is broken down into the following zones:
- Zone A includes Caen, Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble, Lyon, Montpellier, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Rennes and Toulouse
- Zone B includes Aix-Marseille, Amiens, Besançon, Dijon, Lille, Limoges, Nice, Orléans-Tours, Poitiers, Reims, Rouen, and Strasbourg
- Zone C includes Bordeaux, Créteil, Paris, and Versailles.

French Bank Holidays 2009

On the following days, all administrative offices, banks and shops are generally closed:
- Saturday, November 1st, 2008:  All Saints’ Day
- Tuesday, November 11th, 2008:  Remembrance Day
- Thursday, December 25th, 2008:  Christmas
- Thursday, January 1st, 2009:  New Year’s Day
- Monday, April 13th, 2009:  Easter
- Friday, May 1st, 2009:  Labour Day
- Friday, May 8th, 2009:  Victory Day
- Thursday, May 21st, 2009:  Ascension Day
- Tuesday, July 14th, 2009:  Bastille Day
- Saturday, August 15th, 2009:  Assumption
- Wednesday, November 11th, 2009:  Remembrance Day
- Friday, December 25th, 2009:  Christmas

Resource – France Guide

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