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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How about spending a couple of days in the city the French themselves think is the capital for food? How about staying on the edge of two different wine regions, with a chance to make comparisons between the two at amazing prices? How about being in an ancient Roman city with its own theater and with fabulous mosaics? How about wandering down narrow passages between houses, designed originally to get the bales of silk down to the river protected from the climate? How about having two of Europe’s great rivers joining together within the city? How about seeing some great paintings and sculpture without being surrounded by hordes of other vacationers? How about a short trip to the Alps?

Getting to Lyon

You can reach Lyon easily from Paris by the world-famous fast train, the TGV. You can travel across a major part of France in just two hours, in great comfort. In fact, some Parisians take their business colleagues down to Lyon by train just to have lunch. Lyon is considered the gastronomic center of France with the highest concentration of Michelin three star restaurants in the world. Many of the young cooks at these great restaurants leave to open their own restaurants, serving great food at modest prices. You are sure to find exceptional food at reasonable prices in Lyon.

I don’t know why Lyon is not included in more vacation plans. It’s a great city for tourists and a perfect stop on your vacation trip on the way from Paris to the sophisticated beach life of the South of France. For your next vacation in France, spend a few days in Lyon.

More Info:
Vacation Rentals near Lyon
Regional Guides

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LINKS: Back to Main Map or Departments of France

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