So what is a Gîte?.... A Gîte, (pronounced 'Jzeet') is a type of holiday accomodation found in French speaking countries and regions, principally France, Belgium and French speaking Canada.
The term has a fairly broad meaning and generally needs qualifying by additional terms, for instance a 'Gîte de Sejour' or a 'Gîte d'Etape'.
It is usual for the owner of a Gîte to live close by, the owner may offer a welcome and basic assistance to guests or may offer breakfast, evening meal and a bar, it all depends on the type of establishment and it should not be assumed that because one Gîte de Sejour has a bar that another will have one too - Gîtes are as varied as the owners who run them - usually the brochure or website will define what is actually offered.
A number of classes of gîte are defined and graded by Gîtes de France - these are...
Gîte Rural: Usually self-catering, located in the countryside, sea or mountains
Gîte d'Etape: Etape is 'stage' this reflects the idea of walkers staying overnight in a series of Gîtes along their hike or as the French call it 'randonnée'. However this meaning is largely lost, the author ran a forty bed Gîte de Etape in the French Pyrénées and the vast majority of walkers stayed for five or six days returning each evening to the Gîte after their days walking
Gîte de Sejour: Typically caters for stays of more than one night, often providing evening meal and breakfast, sometimes also a bar and lounge or TV room for clients.
Gîtes d'Enfants: Holidays for children. During the school holidays host families provide lodging for children of various ages with a wide variety of activities. Children's gîtes are regulated and inspected to ensure a safe and secure environment for each child - fire alarm sensors in every bedroom mandatory.
Gîte Equestre: A staging post for people or groups travelling across France on horseback; or gite offering stabling for horses or hiring horses.
At the end of the day it is very useful to be aware of the differences in Gite classifications but Gites vary as much as the people who run them so the only way to really get an idea of the activities and style of a particular Gite is to visit.
Chambre d'Hôtes: Bed and Breakfast the French way. Often confused with Gites and for convenience often thrown in the same category. Some sources say that the difference is that owner lives in the same building as the guests but this is also true for many types of Gite. It is probably fair to say that a Chambre d'Hôte is more likely to be large domestic house with little or no structural alterations to define the limits of guest and host living spaces.
