Napoleon famously called the English a nation of shopkeepers. The French on the other hand, are a nation of hoteliers and there are a million places to stay in France just to prove it. Most of them cost a fraction of what you'd pay in England, which explains why Napoleon couldn't afford to invade. This page can do justice to only a small handful of the possibilities and we've chosen budget hotels, bed & breakfast places, plus some personal recommendations. Campsites aren't featured yet but YOU could change all that...

Budget hotels

The network of Campanile motels/hotels covers the whole of France and they are usually well placed for the autoroute. They are cheap - between €40 - €60 per room per night - bed & breakfast stopovers rather than romantic hideaways. The IBIS chain is more up-market at around €60 per room per night and the hotels are often located in city centres.

   Info & reservations > Campanile > IBIS

Bed & Breakfast

If it is a romantic hideaway or just something out of the ordinary you want, look no further than Alastair Sawday's Special Places to Stay series of guidebooks [specialplacestostay.com] which feature a rich and eclectic mix of chateaux, gites, farmhouses, mills, manoirs and mansions.  For €60 you can stay a night in a charming chambre d' hôte in Bourges (see below) or for €100 you can repose in the sumptuous salon of a 17th century chateau in Normandy. The  guidebooks feature a more comprehensive list of properties than the web site - it's cheaper to buy the guides via Amazon.

   Alastair Sawday > Search the site > Buy the guide! 

Recommendations

    Bourges > Bonnets Rouges > Reservations