Apartment in France for 1-2 months | The Boneyard

Apartment in France for 1-2 months

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Hope to rent an apartment in France for extended stay, 1-2 months, next summer or fall. Has anyone done something similar? I have questions about finding a place- would I use VRBO or Airbnb, or would you recommend contacting local agencies that know about available places are available? Thanks!
 
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Hope to rent an apartment in France for extended stay, 1-2 months, next summer or fall. Has anyone done something similar? I have questions about finding a place- would I use VRBO or Airbnb, or would you recommend contacting local agencies that know about available places are available? Thanks!

I have rented places for 4-6 weeks at a time in a few places. I hate Airbnb these days, but many do offer solid discounts if you book for a month+ at a time.
 
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I got lucky last year and made a friend just outside Paris. I've stayed with her 4x since, most recently for 3.5 weeks in July. I have heard lots of problems with Airbnb in France, so my recommendation is to look for superhosts only. Good luck! Where do you want to stay? I also have a friend in Provence, so I stay there now and then, just a few days at a time. It's good to have friends!
 
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You can find cheaper than Airbnb. Gonna be 40% more expensive. Gotta find a local agency.
 
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Haven’t been to France but I’ve gotten out of the fees twice and gotten some good rates by messaging air bnb hosts, starting a convo and then offering to pay them through venmo, cashapp direct instead of through the site. Of course some trust is involved here
 

HuskyHawk

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Hope to rent an apartment in France for extended stay, 1-2 months, next summer or fall. Has anyone done something similar? I have questions about finding a place- would I use VRBO or Airbnb, or would you recommend contacting local agencies that know about available places are available? Thanks!
“France” is a big place. Where are you talking about going.
 
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France interests include Brittany, Provence and Paris, of course. Retirement is next year so that is why I'm thinking about this. I also would consider swapping homes with someone wanting to visit US and will probably check some of those agencies that help coordinate that.
 
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I got lucky last year and made a friend just outside Paris. I've stayed with her 4x since, most recently for 3.5 weeks in July. I have heard lots of problems with Airbnb in France, so my recommendation is to look for superhosts only. Good luck! Where do you want to stay? I also have a friend in Provence, so I stay there now and then, just a few days at a time. It's good to have friends!

Lots of good reviews > superhost IMO.
 

87Xfer

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local agencies are the way to go in my opinion, at least in the South of France
 
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Are any of those home swap agencies legit? Anyone have any experience with them?
 

HuskyHawk

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France interests include Brittany, Provence and Paris, of course. Retirement is next year so that is why I'm thinking about this. I also would consider swapping homes with someone wanting to visit US and will probably check some of those agencies that help coordinate that.
We had very good luck back in 2019 using Air BnB but that was for a few days. Honfleur (which is fantastic) and Tours (very nice). I like Brittany for proximity to Paris, London and even Belgium.
 
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“France” is a big place. Where are you talking about going.
France is huge, it’s bigger than every state in the lower 48 except Texas, and it’s pretty close to that too.
 
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We had very good luck back in 2019 using Air BnB but that was for a few days. Honfleur (which is fantastic) and Tours (very nice). I like Brittany for proximity to Paris, London and even Belgium.
My favorite is the Dordogne River region, best food in France, very scenic too, from the central massif to the Bay of Biscay.
 
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Any particular town you recommend as base in Dordogne region?
Bordeaux is good starting point, and then work your way up the valley. I was there way back in the early 1970’s, and I went back 25 years ago with the wife and kids in tow. The best way to see the whole valley is to take one of the river cruises that start in Bordeaux. The headwaters of the Dordogne are 6000+ feet up in the center of the country or there abouts.
 
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My wife is partial to Aix, as she spent her junior year in France there (almost 40 years ago), and Provence is a nice area in general. I'm looking in two areas- near Nice (Villefranche-sur-Mer) and Brittany (maybe St. Malo).
 
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My wife is partial to Aix, as she spent her junior year in France there (almost 40 years ago), and Provence is a nice area in general. I'm looking in two areas- near Nice (Villefranche-sur-Mer) and Brittany (maybe St. Malo).
Stayed in Villefranche two months ago at an Air B@B. My first ever. Had a really good few days there, and would gladly go back for more time.
 

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