Hotels versus Rentals

 Hotels versus Rentals

I often get calls from clients looking for house or apartment rentals in France. It’s easy to be charmed by the vision of your own little home in France, buying your morning croissants at the local bakery, sipping an apéritif on your terrasse overlooking the – fill in the blank – vineyard/red tiled roofs/ Eiffel Tower.   And it can be lots of fun – no doubt.  

The pluses – more space, kitchen facilities, a more residential location, and most of all, the feeling that you’re part of the place rather than just a visitor.   I've rented apartments and even a small house in Paris and in Nice, and a charming house in the Dordogne. 

But it’s not for everyone and not for every trip.

When should you choose a hotel rather than a rental?

On your first visit, or especially your first trip to Europe.

            You have enough to get used to, without keeping house.

If you require or desire someone available for advice, booking restaurants, giving directions.

            Most apartments or rental houses have someone you can call when the plumbing breaks down, but on-site help is quite variable.   Sometimes there’s a lot and sometimes there’s none.

If you’re only staying a few days

            There’s no cost advantage and you’ll spend more of your time dealing with practical matters.

If you like to be waited on

            With a rental, you make your own bed, do your own dishes, tidy up after yourself.

On your honeymoon.

            See above.

If you don’t want to pay a large amount in advance.

            Rentals require substantial deposits and damage deposits – for good reason.

And when should you consider an apartment or house rental?

When you’re staying longer than a week in one place.

            Your fantasies can come to life – you’ll feel part of the neighborhood.   And a rental’s cost advantage becomes stronger with longer stays.

If you’re independent and know your way around the city or region.

If you’re traveling with a big family or group of friends.

            Lots of private space to spread out, easier with children, and a budget advantage for meals as well as housing.  Even if you don’t cook much, having a kitchen available for drinks and snacks is practical and economical.

If the fantasy is just too strong to resist.   Here’s the view out the window on the street where we lived in Nice.  Our neighbor in Vieux Nice was the Palais Lascaris.

In the next post, I’ll give you some tips on what to pay attention to when booking a rental property.

It's May - let's faire le pont!

It’s May – let’s faire le pont!

There are a few French words or phrases which aren’t in the basic traveler’s vocabulary, but that help make sense of the world you encounter in France.   One of these is faire la grève – to go on strike, which you may be unlucky enough to learn if your trip coincides with one.   That’s another topic.

But faire le pont – to make the bridge – is an expression for the month of May.   It means to take an extra day off from work and make a bridge between the official holiday and the weekend.   For example, today, May 1, is the fête du travail, and a Tuesday, so you might as well have taken Monday off and voilà – a nice four day weekend.

                                         Le pont des arts, in Paris - a favorite pont

May is traditionally an especially good month to faire le pont.  This year’s jours feriés include:

May 1 – fête du travail  (Labor Day)

May 8 – Victoire 1945

May 17 – Feast of the Ascension

May 27 – Pentecoste

May 28 – Pentecoste Monday

That makes three good ponts, plus the weekend of Pentecoste, a pont all in itself.

Though France is technically a secular country (remember the Revolution?), religious holidays still figure on the calendar of legal holidays.  As Voltaire would have said, c'est le meilleur des mondes possibles.

Spring in(to) France...

I've spent the last three weeks in France, mostly acting as coordinator for the photography workshops in Nice and Paris.   When we arrived in Nice, the Niçois were determinedly dining outdoors under the electric heaters, wrapped in their scarves and parkas.  (We thought the weather was fine,  but then, we’re northerners.)  Even sitting on the beach, there was something in the way they dressed that said it was still winter.

 

But in Paris the March heat wave caused spring to burst out early.  The chestnut leaves unfurled, the willows greened and by the time we left, the Luxembourg gardens were flowering, with tulips, cafés and crowds.   Vive le printemps!

 Our last week in France was spent in Montmartre, where we explored for the first time the advantages of the city bus system, rather than just relying on the old familiar metro.   It's slower, that's true, but it's a whole different point of view above ground.   Details to follow.

Les Soldes 2012

SOLDES !

The annual Paris winter sales are running full force now, and continue on until February 14. Similar sales run at approximately the same dates throughout France, so you can go bargain hunting in Nice or Lyons as well. And if you have a favorite French shop, many of the sales are also taking place now online.

Lots of websites -mostly in French- are devoted to bargain hunting strategies and styles. About.com has some good advice:

http://goparis.about.com/u/ua/shopping/Paris-Sales-Tips-Readers-Share-Their-Paris-Annual-Sales-Tips.htm

Bargains in winter also include Paris hotels, with many discounts until the end of March. And for travelers from North America, airfares are at their lowest this time of year.

Shoppers should keep in mind that the sales are twice-annual. Summer sales in 2012 will run from June 27-July 31 in Paris and most of France, July 4 - August 7 in most of Provence and the Riviera.

Bastille Day 2011

Happy Bastille Day

I used to think of Bastille Day as the French equivalent of the 4th of July. The storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789 represents the beginning of the French Revolution of course - Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité.

I've only been in Paris twice on Bastille Day. I usually don't go to France in the summer, when it's crowded, but I was working, once with a huge group, and another time waiting for a group to arrive.

So I happened to have the 14th of July to myself, and I ambled down to the Champs-Elysées to see the parade. I managed to glimpse Sarkozy's head as he rode by, and realized why the smart people brought their own ladders.

Unlike the local parades I remember from my childhood - scouts and fire engines and baton twirlers and horses - the parade in Paris is a military parade, including a dramatic midair parade of fighter planes (three trailing blue, white and red smoke) and a long défilé of soldiers, tanks, guns and other vehicles. Most of which I couldn't see, since I didn't have a ladder with me.

So I wandered around on the side streets and discovered the real
show. Here were soldiers lining up with their vehicles waiting
to join the parade, while families wandered around looking,
chatting and handing the kids up for a ride on the tank. All that
vast show of military might was, for the moment, just another
monumental backdrop in Paris.


I expect this Bastille Day is much the
same, though things are more somber in Paris after the recent death of six young French soldiers in Afghanistan. No one ever
wants to think about what all those weapons and tanks are for.

At the end of the day, there will be fireworks over the Seine, always
a fabulous show. The best views are from the bridges or a boat on the river - failing that, the Place d'Iéna's not bad.

Monet in Paris

If you needed an excuse to go to Paris this winter - the biggest Monet exhibit in 30 years continues at the Grand Palais until January 24, 2011. The exhibit's website is here -

At the same time you can also take in a second Monet exhibit at the intimate Musée Marmottan, running until Februaery 20, 2011.

And if you want to see the huge waterlilies, you will also have to make a stop at the Orangerie.

With both hotel and air prices at their lowest in winter, it's a great time for art lovers.

No visits to Giverny until April, though!

If you plan to be in Provence at the end of September and you're fascinated by things medieval, you're in luck. At Les Baux de Provence, the perched fortress not far from Avignon, this year's medieval re-enactment includes 1000 actors who will re-create the sights and sounds of life in the middle ages, complete with falconry and catapult-launching. The highlight of the show is the full-scale assault on the castle.
Dates are September 24-26, 2010 and tickets are available online at www.culturespaces-minisite.com/baux/

Even if you can't make those dates, you can still visit and see the catapults catapulting every day until the end of September.




While you're in Les Baux, it's really worth a stop at the Cathédrale d'Images, a multi-image sound and light show in the old quarries at the foot of the village. Never mind that it sounds like one of those tourist things you wouldn't do - the brochures don't do it justice. The current show is a voyage to Australia, the next show, coming in winter 2011, showcases the art of Leonardo da Vinci.



Finally, for lovers of fine cuisine, there's Oustau de Baumanière, a Michelin-starred restaurant with wonderful food and an elegant setting. I was able to participate in a cooking class here not long ago - a mouth-watering behind the scenes experience. Not only did we get to see the skill and work that go into the preparation of the dishes, but we got a chance to see all the goings-on of a restaurant kitchen getting ready for serving a great meal. Cooking classes can be arranged for small groups at Oustau de Baumanière, depending on the time of year.