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Gites
and cottages by region
GITE
and B&B OWNERS:
If
you are the owner of a
gite, cottage or B&B in France, your gite or rental
property could feature in the
Gitelink directory providing that your website is subfficiently
informative and your gite meets the Gitelink standards. If you have a
gite but no independent website, please enquire.
Click here to
add your gite or B&B to Gitelink
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Preliminaries:
before
you travel to France
- ID:
to
travel to France,
passengers from other European countries must be in possession of a
valid ID card. For countries outside the European Union, and EU
countries like the UK where there are no ID cards, a valid passport is
required. For many countries outside Europe, a visa is required. For
further details consult this official
French foreign ministry website in
English.
- Reaching
France by car:
if you plan to travel by car from the UK on a busy weekend, pre-booking
your Channel crossing (Tunnel or Ferry) is essential; but at
other
times, you can normally just turn up and buy a ticket. However you may
do well to check up in advance on special offers, and compare prices
from different operators. Click here to compare ferry price
offers and book online.
- Reaching
France by air:
there are a large number of regional airports in France, with flights
from the UK and other countries. You can find a list of appropriate
regional airports on the regional directory pages of the Gitelink
France directory.
- Currency: France
uses the Euro. The easiest way to get holiday money (and often the
cheapest) is to withdraw euros from an ATM (hole in the wall,
cash dispenser) as soon as you reach France, or even in the
departure area at a major
UK
airport. Most French ATMs accept foreign cards
(Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, etc).
- Booking
directly; gites, small hotels, campsites. If you need to
make a deposit for accommodation, some premises
will accept credit cards or Paypal; but for those that do not, it is
usually possible to make an "IBAN" transfer, which is quite simple and
not expensive. Ask your bank for details.
- Health: visitors
are strongly advised to make sure that they have health insurance cover
before travelling to France or any other foreign country. For France,
UK visitors should obtain the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC),
which has replaced the old E 111 form; see this UK Department
of Health webpage for
further details.
- Accommodation: there are
hundreds of internet sites offering direct booking for hotels, but
beware of sites supposedly offering the "cheapest deals". Check out a
few
sites before you book. For holiday cottages, try the Gitelink directory of holiday cottages, which has
a good list of holiday cottages throughout France, many with
English-speaking owners.
- Driving
in France:
Technically, if you have UK registered car, you do not need a
green card to travel to Europe, just your UK car insurance certificate.
Your insurer should be able to provide you at no cost with a "European
accident statement form", which should be used in the event of an
accident. However, it may well be that your standard UK insurance only
provides you with third-party cover once outside the UK; in this case,
if you want full comprehensive cover, you will need to get the extra
cover from your UK insurer for the time you plan to stay abroad.
Consult your insurance company on this matter, or the AA.
Click here for more useful tips
and information about driving in France
- Mobile phones:
if you are planning on remaining accessible via your UK mobile phone
while abroad, make sure that your phone is able to connect to French
networks for both incoming and outgoing calls.
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Holiday travel insurance:
it is always advisable to be insured when you travel. Many people have
existing policies, or even credit cards, that include travel insurance,
but it is always a good idea to check. Make sure that you have accident
and emergency cover, including civil third party liability cover (for
humans, as well as your car).
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