Book a Gite!

A gite is a self catering cottage or villa and is the most popular accommodation for holidays in France.  There are thousands of gites available for holiday rental.  Prices for a gite range from a few hundred pounds for smaller ones in the less popular and northerly locations, to several thousand pounds in the more popular locations.  The benefit of renting a gite is that you can have your own space and really get away from it all.  If you don't want to cater for yourself it may be possible to arrange for a fully catered service, although this can be expensive.  French gites can be more rustic than you might expect but the best gites can be palatial....it pays to choose carefully using our guides here.  To decide on the region you would like to stay in, check out the options on the interactive map below.

Find Gites by Region:

Tips on choosing a Gite:

In the summer you won’t spend so much time in the gite, so don't waste money on interior features, especially if you are staying south of the Loire….if you’re not out sightseeing you’ll probably be in the pool or barbecuing!  A nice shaded area outside is a real bonus.  In the winter look more for inside comforts and don't spend money on an outdoor pool.

If you are holidaying in the south we recommend having a pool or a gite by a river, as it can get quite hot in peak seasons.  But be careful with young children – make sure the pool is fenced.

It's quite common in French gites to have a mezzanine level, a sort of balcony where you often find additional beds.  Providing you have separate rooms where you can put younger children to sleep when they need it, these flexible sleeping arrangements can work out alright, again you probably won't spend so much time in the gite unless it is out of season or if you are holidaying north of the Loire.

We’ve found that the best gites are those used as either family homes or as second homes, rather than purpose made gites or those on larger developments.  Often the best gites book up more than a year in advance as people return time and time again to repeat happy memories, so book early.

Getting the best value when choosing your Gite:

You can expect to pay significantly more money for a gite with a swimming pool.  However, you may wish to consider if this is really necessary unless you are South of the Loire (generally considered to be the point at which the climate in France gets suddenly hotter).  Another option is to rent a gite alongside a river – most French rivers are perfectly clean enough for swimming.  Do consider this carefully though, because you don't want to have to spend the entire holiday watching the children to ensure they are safe!

Prices increase as you head south east with the most expensive area around the Côte D’Azur.  However, think twice before you are tempted to rent inland as the traffic can be terrible in the summer and you don’t want to spend your vacation driving to/from the resorts.  Better options if you are tight on cash but still want a sun/sea/sand holiday are 1) Languedoc Rousillon – heading round towards Spain from Marseilles the properties are definitely less expensive than the Côte D’Azur and you can also travel from inland much more easily; 2) the Vendée – this area has a microclimate that is nearly as warm as the south of France but is much less expensive and is also more accessible to people travelling by car.  The only downside of the Vendée is that there doesn’t seem to be so many gites actually in the seaside resorts.  There is no shortage of campsites though so if you’re happy with a mobile home or tent holiday then this is an even more attractive option. 3) Charente is good value with a reasonable range of gite rental options (even those a few miles inland are convenient for beaches as the traffic, although busy in peak seasons, is nothing like that of the Côte D’Azur), decent weather and some nice beaches.

Another expensive area is that of the Luberon National Park.  Absolutely enchanting, it’s really worth it, but if on the other hand you’re just looking for that elusive combination of beautiful weather and glorious scenery you could try the other side of the A6 autoroute in the Ardèche / Cévennes.  Here it’s really possible to get away from it all and believe you’re in paradise!

In the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for on France For Families, here are some other lists of websites that may be worth trying out (the list appears in a pop up window):

     - Booking a gite direct with the owner  - Agents (or offering own gites / cottages) - Regional Gite Rental Specialists