Peut-on louer un gîte pour une seule nuit ?

Non. Un gîte se loue à la semaine ou au week-end, jamais à la nuitée. Si vous cherchez une étape d’une nuit, c’est vers la chambre d’hôtes qu’il faut vous tourner.

Le petit déjeuner est-il compris en chambre d’hôtes ?

Oui, toujours. Il fait partie de la prestation, au même titre que le lit fait et le ménage. C’est l’une des différences les plus nettes avec le gîte, où vous gérez vos repas de bout en bout.

Combien de chambres peut compter une chambre d’hôtes ?

Cinq au maximum par maison, pour quinze personnes au total. Au-delà de la chambre seule, on parle de maison d’hôtes. Les pièces à vivre, elles, restent partagées avec les propriétaires.

Gîte, meublé de tourisme, location saisonnière : quelle différence ?

Aucune. Les trois termes désignent le même hébergement, un logement meublé et équipé dont vous avez la pleine disposition. Seul le registre change, le langage courant d’un côté, le vocabulaire administratif de l’autre.

Que veulent dire les épis des Gîtes de France® ?

C’est le système de classement du réseau, de 1 à 5 épis. Il concerne plus de 56 000 logements en France. Le principe est celui des étoiles à l’hôtel, transposé aux hébergements du réseau.

Peut-on rentrer à n’importe quelle heure en chambre d’hôtes ?

Vous dormez chez l’habitant, donc mieux vaut prévenir si vous rentrez tard et éviter le bruit. En gîte, la question ne se pose pas : vous allez et venez comme chez vous. C’est la contrepartie du partage des pièces à vivre.

Gîtes or bed and breakfast: what's the difference?

Do you know the difference between a gîte and a bed and breakfast? Find out here!

3 min readBy the StyQR team

1Gîtes
2Bed and breakfasts
3Frequently asked questions

When it comes to going on holiday, you have an endless choice of options. In France, though, two terms come up again and again: gîtes and bed and breakfasts. They are often confused, yet each has its own characteristics. Discover them here.

Provençal house with pink façade and white doors behind a Mediterranean garden of olive trees and palms

Gîtes

A gîte is a house (or a flat) that you have entirely to yourself. It is also referred to as furnished tourist accommodation or a holiday rental.

It must be:

Furnished
Fully equipped
Let by the week or for the weekend, but never on a nightly basis

You will find several types of gîte: rural gîtes, and also eco-gîtes. The latter appeared with the rise of sustainable development and are in very high demand.

Among the best known in France are the Gîtes de France®, with more than 56,000 properties graded from 1 to 5 ears of corn (the equivalent of stars).

Breton stone and brick villa perched on a cliff above a beach at low tide

Bed and breakfasts

A bed and breakfast, on the other hand, is accommodation in someone's home. Also known as a B&B, it consists of a private bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, inside your hosts' home. You therefore do not have the place entirely to yourself.

Here are its main features:

Let by the night
Breakfast always included
A maximum of 5 bedrooms per house and 15 people in total (in which case it is known as a guest house)
Hotel-style service: beds made and rooms cleaned
The living areas are shared

It is a great way to discover the local culture, enjoy home-made food and meet new people!

Do bear in mind, however, that one of the main rules is respect for the owners. In a gîte you can come and go as you please, but in a bed and breakfast it is best to let the owners know if you will be back late, and to take care not to make any noise. And there you have it! You now know everything there is to know about the difference between a gîte and a bed and breakfast. And if the subject appeals to you, you can also learn more about the Gîtes de France® label.

The table below sets out the points on which the two formulas genuinely differ.

Criterion	Gîte	Chambre d’hôtes (B&B)
Type of accommodation	A house or flat that is entirely yours	A private room with bathroom in the owners’ home
Rental period	By the week or the weekend, never by the night	By the night
Breakfast	Not included, you handle your own meals	Always included
Beds and cleaning	Up to you	Done by the owners
Living areas	Yours alone	Shared with the owners
Capacity	The whole property is yours	Five rooms and fifteen guests maximum
Other names	Meublé de tourisme, seasonal rental	B&B, maison d’hôtes

Frequently asked questions

Can you book a gîte for just one night? No. A gîte is rented by the week or for a weekend, never by the night. If you only need one night’s stay, a chambre d’hôtes is what you are looking for.

Is breakfast included in a chambre d’hôtes? Yes, always. It is part of the service, along with the bed made up and the room cleaned. That is one of the clearest differences with a gîte, where every meal is on you.

How many rooms can a chambre d’hôtes have? Five per house at most, for fifteen guests in total. Beyond a single room, the place is called a maison d’hôtes. The living areas stay shared with the owners.

Gîte, meublé de tourisme, seasonal rental: what is the difference? None. The three terms describe the same accommodation, a furnished and equipped home that is entirely yours for the stay. Only the register changes, everyday speech on one side, administrative vocabulary on the other.

What do the Gîtes de France® épis mean? They are the network’s rating system, from one to five épis, the wheat ears you see on the listings. More than 56,000 properties in France are graded this way. Think of hotel stars, applied to the network’s accommodation.

Can you come home at any hour in a chambre d’hôtes? You are sleeping in someone else’s home, so let your hosts know if you will be back late and keep the noise down. In a gîte the question never comes up, you come and go as you please. That is the flip side of sharing the living areas.

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