Hotels in France

[T other Dave]

Hello, Information required as to the ease of finding hotels traveling via French back roads please. I usually do touring on the motorbike so finding hotels is pretty simple as I can cover ground a hell of a lot quicker, I keep an eye out from 6pm ish and usually stumble upon a decent place soon after. I tend to have a route plan but not a schedule and will be doing the same on the push bike, having looked at a few possable routes it seems I will be in the middle of nowhere at times or at least sleepy villages with one bakery so hotels wont be a plenty.
Any words of wisdom greatly recived.
Dave

[tatanab]

Like many things in rural France the old village hotels are disappearing. Some bars may have rooms though. It would probably be sensible to head towards a small town or a larger one towards the end of the day. Even then, if the small town is too close to a city it may not have a hotel simply because of the competition from the city. I've been caught out when hotel touring "on spec" in France. You have a rough schedule/route in mind, so why not use the internet to research hotels with say a 10 to 15 mile radius of where you think you might end up. This is what I tend to do when camping in France especially in the areas where campsites are a bit spaced out. I am sure you know that Logis tend to be non-chain hotels, often in the smaller places. http://www.logishotels.com/en/feeling-l ... gions.html

[dodger]

Lots of chambres d'hote (nice B&B) in rural areas, although they are rarely low cost.
If you know the general area you intend to be, look at the tourist websites or call in on a tourism info centre in a larger town; they usually have a good range of accommodation listed and will usually phone ahead for you if asked.

[Barrenfluffit]

Near the railway station is a reasonable bet, a central square might be ok. The best is to head to an office du tourisme if they have one as there will usually be a list, street maps and prices. However tourist offices are very variable. But also some bus shelters have street maps with hostel locations on them. With a decent resolution digital camera you can take a pic and refer back to it.

[DaveP]

We managed to sort ourselves out by googling. Hotels / B&B / Accomodation in........ and so on. It seems a bit helpless, maybe, but it can work.
Strongly advise booking in advance in August when the French take their rural holidays! If you have to move on to the next town on motorised transport thats an inconvenience. On a bike, when you've done ypour daily stint...

[DougieB]

hi,

I'm used to motorbiking as well, and the ease of accomodation finding that brings.

I've been about 3 weeks in France this trip, so far. Never failed to find a place to stay, no route planned other than 'towards barcelona'. I have a tent though, which I'll use if a campsite is handy. but I'm trying to pick up more french, so it's better for me to stay in places with french people.

my strategy so far.

1. early in the day get a feel for how much juice is left in the legs (could be 20 miles, could be 70)
2. roughly work out where that puts me on the map (give or take 10 miles)
3. if it's sparsely populated (with towns/villages) stop sooner rather than later

tourist info in towns are great, they'll book a place (free) and give you a map to get there. also, in smaller places just ask a local (the older the better I've found, or a shop owner). helps to know the questions in french, and the answers/directions; at least start off in french.

it's basically the same as on the motorbike, but start looking for a town to stop at after mid-day, say 3-ish (or 3 hours before dusk) for me. I've had some great finds, where you think all is lost and then some converted old barn that's now an auberge appears.

the one thing with the bicycle (compared to motorbike) is that you rarely see an F1, Etape, etc; because they are clustered around motorway exits. So I wouldn't bank on using them.

also, all places I've stayed have put the bike inside.

cheers,