Gîtes in France are more than just holiday rentals – they’re a way of slipping into everyday French life. Our gîtes are part of our wider collection of handpicked places to stay in France, chosen for their character, location and the hosts who genuinely love where they live. 

You might wake to church bells from a 19th century barn in a sleepy Dordogne hamlet, where welcome hampers brim with local cheeses and still-warm bread, or throw open shutters onto lavender fields in Provence. Whether you’re after long, lazy French gîte holidays with a pool or something unique, like a Burgundian winemaker’s cottage surrounded by legendary vines, you’ll find self-catering places that are perfectly suited to slow, local-feeling stays. 

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Shortcut to special places

Carefully selected self-catering homes, hotels, pubs and B&Bs

Personally inspected

We've visited every place and chosen them for their warmth and character

UK & Europe

Our collection spans the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal

No fuss from us

You book direct with the owners, with no fees or fuss from us

 

Our most popular gîtes in France

Gites Boutique - Gallery

Gites Boutique

Villamblard, Dordogne

 

How we find France’s most special places

Our team travels across France each year, meeting owners, sharing meals and checking every detail in person. We’re not box-tickers. We’re travellers looking for that unmistakable moment when a place feels both beautifully French and genuinely welcoming. 

It might be a host who insists you taste the tomatoes lovingly grown in their own garden, or a family-run hotel with a restaurant loved by locals. This human, personal approach is how we curate France’s most characterful places, and why you can trust our collection to deliver. 

Why book your French gîte with Sawday’s?

✓ Book direct with owners. You deal person-to-person with the people who run the place, getting fair prices and honest, detailed answers to all your questions. 

✓ We champion independent hosts and family businesses that care about their landscapes and communities, so your stay supports the France you’ve come to love. 

✓ We have 30+ years’ experience finding special places to stay in France. Every place in our French collection is inspected for atmosphere, character and a genuine welcome – the things that turn a good holiday into a great one. 

A few articles to inspire your next french gîte holiday

What is a gîte?

For some, the word gîte conjours a slightly hazy image. It’s definitely a self-catering thing in France, it has an air of simplicity to it, perhaps, but what does it really mean? 

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‘A gîte lets you feel like you’re living like a local’

Rupert Springfield writes from his gîte in the Dordogne about the evolution of the gîte and tips for making the right choice for your holiday.  

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Bad French, wonderful France – my first ever gîte holiday

Chris, from our very own team, recalls eventually finding then instantly falling in love with, his first ever gîte.

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A local’s guide to the Dordogne’s markets

We spoke to gîte owner, Judith Lit, about the pleasures of eating with the seasons in the Dordogne. Here she shares her recommendations for the best markets to find local cheeses, honey and oils for your gîte stay.

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The best gîtes in Normandy and Brittany for foodies

From Normandy to Brittany, across the stretch of France’s north-western edge, there’s a menu that has been savoured for centuries – crêpes and galettes, cidre and calvados, and shellfish.

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10 large gîtes in France with pools, for the ultimate celebration

From the Swiss border to the shimmering west coast, to where la République ends on the warm shores of the Mediterranean Sea – France, from coast to coast, heartland to mountain top, is an unforgettable sight.

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