France Off The Beaten TrackWhen someone says France, most people immediately think "Paris". Now that is perhaps understandable, as France is a pretty Paricentric country, and there are plenty of Parisians who just think of the rest of their country as an appendage to the nation's capital. But the Parisian perception of France beyond Paris is ambivalent; on the one hand, the life of the nation is ordered and ordained from the centres of power in the capital city; on the other, most Parisians also have a strong attachment to their provincial roots, and tens of thousands of them do not hesitate, whenever the occasion is suitable, to flee the capital for a long weekend or a week's break in la France profonde , deepest France, where life moves at an altogether different pace. The French, and notably the urban French, are a nation of second-home owners; and France is a nation of second homes, not just for the French but increasingly for the British, the Dutch, the Germans and others. There are well over three million second homes in France, and not surprisingly a large number of these are hired out by their owners as holiday homes, or gites as they are known in French. Renting a gite in rural France is a great way to combine discovering the real traditional France, and enjoying a relaxing holiday away from the hassle and noise of Paris or any other big city. France is not a densely populated country, and outside of its urban areas, the countryside is very rural. For city-dwellers, it can be a surprising novelty to sit outside on a clear warm summer's night in rural France, and look up at a million stars twinkling in a clear sky above, unobscured by air-pollution or light-pollution. Another novelty is the noise - or lack of it; away from the main roads, the French countryside is a remarkably silent environment, if you disregard the birdsong or the sound of the wind in the branches, or the croaking of the frogs, or the cri-cri-cri of the crickets in the warm summer evening air. Then there is the variety. France is an incredibly diverse country, with landscapes varying from north-European spruce forests to arid Mediterranean hinterland, by way of miles and miles of tranquil rolling farmland, rocky mountains, and barren highlands. Sometimes just a hundred kilometres is enough to give the impression that you have moved into a different part of Europe, even a different continent. Renting a property in France these days is a relatively easy business; most owners rent on a weekly basis, Saturday to Saturday, but there are others with flexible offers, particularly in off-peak months. For July or August, there are some parts of France where holiday cottages tend to get booked up well in advance, specially those offering the best value for money; but outside of these months, supply vastly exceeds demand, and the holidaymaker really has a great choice of properties to choose from - from small thatched cottages to manors and castles - or parts of them. Finally, holidaying in the depths of rural France does not mean cutting yourself off from life for week or two. France's tradition of good restaurants is anchored strongly in its regional cuisine, and even the smallest of towns and many villages have good restaurants serving delicious food; there are places in rural France where you can get a good four-course meal with wine for the price of a starter in a London eaterie. And of course, the whole of France is dotted with historic monuments, natural features and cultural activities which mean that even in the most rural of areas, there are sights to be seen and attractions to be visited. France is so much more than just Paris, the Eiffel tower and the Louvre; and the beauty about it is that it s really so easy to discover. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
The Gitelink.com directory provides a directory of rural accommodation, many of the properties being run by English-speakers, whom you can contact directly. For Bed and Breakfast, try the BandB-in-France.com website ; for an overview of the regions of France, check out the . |