France Vacation Rentals - Rhone Valley and French Alps

The Rhone River runs through the center of the Rhone Alps (Rhône-Alpes) region and the Alps (bordering on Switzerland and Italy) run along the eastern part. See the historic cities of Lyon, Vienne, Grenoble, and Chartreuse. Hike in the French Alps. Beaujolais wine is produced north of Lyon and Evian water comes from the mountains on the southern shores of Lake Leman across from Switzerland. Regions - Rhone Alps (Rhône-Alpes)

Local Agencies - Farms - Agencies - Directories - Tourist Offices

Local Agencies

Vacation rental agency with head office in the country where they offer vacation rentals. Usually you find the best prices with local agencies.

Urban Sejour

Local Agency based in France

Apartments and B&B rooms in the city of Lyon (2nd largest city in France) and nearby. Most have internet access (broadband).

Listings for France: Rhone Valley and French Alps

Features: good photos, location maps, prices listed

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Farms

Apartments, cottages or houses in the countryside on a farm, estate or in a hamlet, run by one owner. These may be converted outbuildings.

*Gites de France

Official website listing gites throughout France. Like the Agriturismo in Italy, they offer B&B or vacation rentals (self-catering) options on farms in rural areas throughout France. Book directly with the owner. This site rates them by quality of the place (with ears of corn). There are Gites sites for certain regions of France but this main site links to them when searching.

Listings for France: All Regions

Features: location maps, prices listed, star ratings, availability calendar, Some areas have online booking

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Accueil Paysan

An association of rural farms that provide farm holidays including accomodations. Gites are available on some of the farms. Others only provide meals or rooms. Most of the site is in French. Contact the owner directly.

Listings for France: All Regions

Features: good photos, location maps, prices listed

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Bienvenue a la Ferme

An association of farms with accommodations set up by the Chamber of Agriculture. They have various types of accommodations from camping to gites.

Listings for France: All Regions

Features: location maps, Links to farm websites on google map

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Gite.com

A directory of selected gites in France. Rentals are directly with the owners but this site has better quality photos and layouts than the normal home rental site.

Listings for France: Aquitaine, Brittany, Burgundy, Languedoc-Roussillon, Loire --> <--

Features: good photos, location maps, prices listed, customer reviews

Reviews: SlowEurope (2)

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Agencies

Vacation rental agencies not based in the country where they have their properties. Usually based in the US or the UK. They may represent local agencies.

At Home in France

Agency based in United States

Personally selected rentals available in several regions of France.

Listings for France: Aquitaine, Burgundy, Cote d'Azur, Languedoc-Roussillon, Par --> <--

Features: good photos, prices listed, US check

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Belvilla - France

Agency based in Netherlands

Vacation rentals in Europe (2300+ in France). Agency, based in the Netherlands, has been in business for over 30 years. Other websites represent their database. Belvilla is part of the @Leisure group.

Listings for France: All Regions, Paris

Features: good photos, location maps, prices listed, customer reviews, availability calendar, online booking, guest comments may be in Dutch, credit cards

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cottages4you

Agency based in United Kingdom

Vacation rentals in most of Europe - United Kingdom (England, Wales and Scotland), Ireland, France, Italy. Part of The Hoseasons Group.

Listings for England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales - France listings --> <--

Features: good photos, location maps, prices listed, star ratings, customer reviews, availability calendar, online booking, credit cards

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Cuendet

Agency based in Italy

Large agency based in Italy, part of the Wyndham group, with vacation rentals throughout Italy and France (thousands of properties). They represent many farms/estates with cottages and apartments, also have villas and smaller houses. Some other agencies represent their database (you will see the same listings on many other sites). Catalog available.

Listings for France, Italy - France listings for: Aquitaine, Burgundy, Cote d'Az --> <--

Features: good photos, location maps, prices listed, star ratings, availability calendar, online booking, credit cards, PayPal

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Dominique's Villas

Agency based in United Kingdom

Agency specializing in large villas and chateaux. You can search for properties with pools or tennis courts.

Listings for France: Aquitaine, Burgundy, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Loire --> <--

Features: good photos, location maps, prices listed, customer reviews, availability calendar, online booking, credit cards

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Drawbridge to Europe

Agency based in United States

Vacation rentals in Italy, France, Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Agency based in Oregon.

Listings for France, Germany, Italy - France listings for: Aquitaine, Cote d'Azu --> <--

Features: good photos, prices listed, customer reviews, can create a shortlist

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France Homestyle

Agency based in United States

Vacation rentals in most regions of France. Agency based in Seattle.

Listings for France: Alsace, Brittany, Burgundy, Cote d'Azur, Languedoc-Roussill --> <--

Features: good photos, location maps, prices listed, customer reviews, availability calendar, credit cards, US check

Website - Facebook
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FranceBy.com

Agency based in Italy

Apartments, villas, farms/estates, hotels and B&B in France. Best Price Guarantee - lowest price for the property. Part of the WorldBy.com group (based in Italy) - for France they run several websites (FranceBy.com, ParisBy.com, RivieraBy.com).

Listings for France: Alsace, Aquitaine, Champagne, Cote d'Azur, Loire Valley, Pr --> <--

Features: good photos, location maps, prices listed, customer reviews, good search engine, credit cards

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French Country Cottages

Agency based in United Kingdom

Vacation rentals in all of France. Agency has been in business for over 30 years and is now part of The Hoseasons Group. Great variety of cottages, many well-priced.

Listings for France: All Regions, Paris

Features: good photos, location maps, prices listed, customer reviews, availability calendar, online booking, credit cards, PayPal

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Interhome

Agency based in Switzerland

Agency based in Switzerland with listings throughout Europe. Variety of places and prices - over 30,000 vacation rental properties in 21 countries (mostly Europe). Partnered with ResortQuest in the US. They have sites for different countries (country person booking lives in) with prices in their currency. If their listings are represented by another company, the prices are the same. Note that Interhome has local offices in many areas, so it is like dealing with a local agency.

Just France

Agency based in United States

Vacation rentals throughout France. Most are large, high-end properties. Agency based in Pennsylvania.

Listings for France: Aquitaine, Burgundy, Cote d'Azur, Languedoc-Roussillon, Loi --> <--

Features: good photos, prices listed, credit cards, US check

Website - Twitter
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Rentvillas.com

Agency based in United States

Vacation rentals in Italy, France, Greece, Spain, Great Britain, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey. The majority of their properties are in Italy. They work directly with owners and represent some local agencies. They have a local representative in Rome. When booking you are assigned a Travel Advisor, so you get personal attention. Agency based in California and has been in business since 1984.

VFB Holidays

Agency based in United Kingdom

One of the longest established British tour operator specializing in French rentals. Wide selection of cottages and villas across France. You can also book short breaks, escorted tours and river tours.

Listings for France: Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Brittany, Burgundy, Corsica, L --> <--

Features: good photos, location maps, prices listed, customer reviews, availability calendar, online booking, credit cards

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Wake Up in France

Agency based in United Kingdom

A wide range of accommodations in Vendee and on Ile de Re as the company Holiday Vendee. They also have rentals in other areas of France as part of Wake up in France. Many of the rentals are in apartment residences. Good selection for families.

Listings for France: Brittany, Corsica, Cote d'Azur, Normandy, Poitou-Charentes, --> <--

Features: good photos, prices listed, availability calendar, credit cards

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Directories

"Rent from Owner" websites with lists of vacation rentals where you book directly with the owner.

Chateau Country

Vacation rentals and B&B in chateaux throughout France (castles, manor houses).

Listings for France: All Regions

Features: good photos, location maps

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Franglo Classifieds

Expats site for France with classifieds for housing (long and short term rentals).

Listings for France: All Regions

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French Connections

Listings of vacation rentals by owner across all of France. You can also book B&B and hotels on the site. You can create a shortlist of the properties you are interested in.

Listings for France: All Regions

Features: good photos, location maps, prices listed, availability calendar

Website - Twitter
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Holiday Velvet

Vacation rentals worldwide. Book directly with the owner. Holiday Velvet acts as an agent for some rentals. Not many properties in some destinations (listings are being added). They take 101 properties per location and work with "seriously committed owners". Also hotels and B&Bs.

Listings for England, France, Germany, Italy, Scotland, Spain - France listings --> <--

Features: good photos, location maps, prices listed, availability calendar

Reviews: SlowEurope (1)

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HolidayLettings.co.uk - France

Directory of vacation rentals worldwide, with thousands of listings for Europe (France +4,000 properties). Good searching (can search for properties with internet access). Book directly with owner. Owned by TripAdvisor.

Listings for France: All Regions, Paris

Features: good photos, prices listed, customer reviews, availability calendar

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HomeAway - France

Directory of vacation rentals worldwide, with over 52,000 rentals in France. Rent from the owner.

Listings for France: All Regions, Paris

Features: good photos, prices listed, customer reviews, availability calendar

Reviews: SlowEurope (2)

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Independent Mountain

Vacation rentals in ski towns in France. Ski in the winter, hike in the summer. Book directly with the owner (sometimes you book thru Independent Mountain).

Listings for France: Rhone Valley and French Alps

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Pure Holiday Homes

Directory of vacation rentals worldwide. Rent directly from the owner. They offer an "owner verification" scheme to prevent fraud. Good search features. (United Kingdom 1400+ properties, France 2900+, Italy 1900+, Spain 1200+, Germany 700+, Austria 700+)

Listings for England, France, Italy - France listings for: All Regions, Paris

Features: good photos, location maps, prices listed, customer reviews, availability calendar, create your own shortlist

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Total France

Expats in France website with property listings (for sale, long term rent and vacation rentals). Click "Classifieds" to see categories or "Property Search" to search by region. Might be a good resource for finding longer rentals.

Listings for France: All Regions

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VRBO - France

Directory of vacation rentals worldwide, part of the HomeAway group.

Listings for France: All Regions, Paris

Features: good photos, prices listed, customer reviews, availability calendar, book with owner

Reviews: SlowEurope (3)

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Your Holiday Matters

This company formed by experienced owners of vacation rentals and B&Bs offers a rigorous accreditation service for vacation rentals and B&Bs in Europe and worldwide. They only accept vacation rental owners who have proven their commitment to providing exemplary customer care and comfortable (from simple to luxury) accommodations; assessment is via a detailed application form, interview exploring how they deal with guests, website check and direct contact with previous vacationers for feedback. Book directly with the owner.