Our old house in Normandy, which is now a charming rental cottage. We highly recommend this place!
For the first 10 years that we lived here, whenever I was visiting the U.S. and met someone new, they would inevitably ask me where I lived. When I would reply that I lived in France, their response, every single time, would be, "so how long have you lived in Paris?"
I always found that pretty funny. It's like telling someone that you live in the U.S. and they respond by asking how long you've lived in New York City.
But I get it. Paris represents "France" to most foreigners.
However there is much, much more to l'Hexagone than Paris! And over the years we've been fortunate enough to live in a few regions and have enjoyed exploring a good chunk of this beautiful country on many of our vacations.
I know that once you've chosen where to go, picking where to stay can be daunting. The sheer number of holiday rentals out there is crazy, so I thought I would share a handful of places that we know and would recommend around France. We stayed in some as paying guests (and would happily return), a few are owned by friends and one house we lived in for 4 wonderful years.
If you have any more places to recommend, please share them in the comments!
This gorgeous home, with a large pool, is located close to the Mediterranean sea in Occitanie. The owners, who are close friends of ours, are renting it out this summer.
A perfect spot for a summer apéro is the terrace of Maison de la Fontaine, a vacation house located in the center of the market town of Nérac, in the south west. It is owned by my good friend, Mardi, of Eat. Live. Travel. Write.
Gîte de la Roche à Vent in the Loire Valley, located between Saumur and Angers. We spent a week in this spacious, comfortable house, which was a fantastic location for exploring the region.
Another lovely rental, complete with a big swimming pool and a large garden, is located in a medieval town in the south of France.
Can you imagine sitting here with a glass of wine, enjoying this view? Gorgeous! And the owners are winemakers, so a visit to their vineyard and wine tasting is included in the price.
Another picturesque spot in Gascony is Kate Hill's home, Camont, where I learned to make cassoulet many years ago. It is exceptionally being rented out for the summer of 2017.
Logis la Cabane, located about 20 minutes from Cognac, is a beautiful property with 2 acres of gardens and a heated swimming pool.
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