Who wants to spend their hard-earned holiday fighting for space on a crowded beach, or sweating on a packed city street, even if it is in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe? Answer; a lot of people do! But not the astute ones, and not those who want to be sure of getting home less exhausted than the were when they began their holiday.
If your idea of a good holiday means getting away from it all, or just settling in a relaxed environment far from home, with local colour and a feeling of really being “somewhere else”, then hiring a cottage in the heart of rural France or even rural Spain or Italy can be a great solution. In France, country cottages are called “gites”, and there is a wide range of properties available for hire all over France, for all tastes and all budgets. A good place to start looking is in the Directory of gites, cottages and rural b&bs in France run by Gitelink. Here you will find a selection of privately-run holiday rentals ranging from historic manor houses to small village cottages. Many of the properties listed have British or English-speaking owners, which makes booking and other formalities much easier for those who do not speak French. The majority of French-run gites can be booked through a central booking organisation known as the Gites de France – but it is probably true to say that only a minority of the many British and Dutch who have bought up and renovated rural properties in France make use of this service.
In cost terms, gites can be an ideal solution for a family holiday, as it can cost far less to stay for a week in a gite than in a hotel: self-catering will reduce the cost even more, but for those who don’t want the hassle of cooking, this being France it is usually possible to find a good quality restaurant within easy access, and often within walking distance if the gite is in a village.
Many gites, particularly those renovated by foreigners, come with private swimming pools; but a private pool is not always a necessity, especially if the gite is near the seaside or near a lake or river. Besides, a pool is not the only attractive accessory that gite-owners can provide in order to offer the best possible service; others welcome guests with a complimentary bottle of wine or champagne, or just provide a well informed, free and friendly local information service - in English - to help you make the most of your holiday.

One way or another, renting a rural gite for a week or two can be the perfect way to ensure that your holiday in France is a relaxing experience, and a real break from the bustle and hustle of urban life. From Brittany to Provence and the Atlantic coast to the spruce forests of the Vosges and Alsace, France really is Europe’s most varied country, with a wealth of hidden corners to discover.