France Accommodation Guide
- Alex Johnson
- Mar 3
- 9 min read
Updated: Jul 23
Special places to stay in France for a wine loving motorcyclist
I've traveled in France more than any other country; I even got married there. I've curated a list of the most interesting places I've stayed, which are well-suited to those traveling by motorbike. I mostly use Booking.com and try to keep the cost below £100/€120 per night max. Often, there are good discounts if you book within 24 hours of arrival. I try to find places with a bar and restaurant in or around where I'm staying and somewhere safe to park the bike.
REGIONS
I've roughly split up France into four quarters for convenience and you can also view the accommodation options on the map.
North West
Château de Beaujeu
Location: 15 mins west of Sancerre, Loire
How Much? I paid €128 for double room with breakfast included
This is a jaw-dropping place to stay. It's a family-run guesthouse that also hosts weddings. Don't expect a sterile, hotel-like level of polish; it has an authentic rustic feel, and as it's someone's home it maintains all the charm.
I had such a memorable stay here. I arrived very tired around 7:30 pm and asked the bubbly lady of the house what the nearest dinner options were. I was told the local town would have nothing open, and Sancerre, 15 minutes away, is where most people go. I was however asked to join the family and a couple of other guests for dinner. They don't normally offer guests dinner, but they took pity on me (as I looked non-fussy and the lady's brother is a fellow biker), and there was a very genteel Dutch couple also (a former cavalry officer/businessman and his wife, who had been an au pair in the chateau 60 years before and hadn't been back since). I came down for dinner in the dining room, and the four daughters were all lined up dressed as princesses. It was all very surreal, but it was a very fun evening, and they showed me around the chateau's wine cellar too.
After a nice breakfast, I set off on a nice short ride to the famous wine town of Sancerre, sitting proudly on a hilltop. There are plenty of winery tasting rooms in the town, and it's a great place to stop for lunch.
Last visited: July 2023
Chambres d'hôtes - Ile du Saule
Location: Saumur, Loire
How Much? I paid €104 with breakfast included
This B&B is a former Napoleonic postal relay station, and I believe the rooms are in the old stable block. It's run by a lovely couple, and I had a great homemade breakfast served out in the garden each morning with their friendly dog for company. It's located about 2 km out of town on some farmland, so your bike will be safe there, and you can have a nice stroll into town.
From past experience there's not much off street parking in Saumur. If this place doesn't appeal to you or you want to be closer to town then I'd have a look on the south bank of the island (just east of the bridge). There are some nice looking places to stay there (have a look at Aux Marquises and around). Make sure to visit Le Quai des Brunes, a type of beach bar (the French call this type of thing a 'guinguette") on the island looking across at the castle - it's a great place for a few drinks and snacks in the evening.
If you go to Saumur in July/August there's a wine festival (Festivini) with a weekly wine tasting on the rooftop terrace of the theatre with amazing views over town and the the Loire. There's also loads of events on around Bastille day - I went to a white dress sparkling wine night at the castle (La Nuit de la Bulle) and then there's fireworks and a military parade on Bastille day itself.
Saumur is a great place is visit and is ideally situated if you're coming or going via a ferry around Caen/Cherbourg. It's known for it's sparkling wine "Cremant" (I bought my wedding wine from the winery Langlois-Chateau here) and they make some excellent red and white wine too.
Last visited: July 2023
North East
Champagne Joseph Desruets
Location: Hautvillers, Champagne (Just north of Epernay)
How Much? I paid €84 for double room
The Champagne region is the ideal stop over point for your first night if you're getting into Europe via Calais. Hautvillers is the prettiest village in Champagne that I've come across and was the home of the famous monk Dom Perignon who lived and worked in the abbey in the village.
Last visited: June 2025
Domaines Jean Sipp
Location: Ribeauvillé, Alsace
How Much? I paid €110 for the larger double room (Clos Ribeaupierre), there's a smaller double room (Kirchberg) €95
Last visited: June 2025
Vineyard Apartment in Kaysersberg (Domaine Kirrenbourg)
Location: Kaysersberg, Alsace
View On Map | View on Booking.com
How Much? I paid €125 for large apartment
Last visited: June 2025
South East
Chateau de la Chapelle des Bois
Location: Fleurie, Beaujolais
How Much? I paid €110 for double room (it was huge) with breakfast included
This unpretentious chateau, which I like to call the "Barbie Chateau," is located on the edge of the pretty town of Fleurie (one of the cru villages in the Beaujolais wine region). Having ridden around most of the cru villages in Beaujolais, Fleurie is the one I would base myself in. The chateau is up a long gated driveway, so your bike will be far away from prying eyes, and it's also on the edge of town, so it's nice and quiet.
The room was massive, with a bedroom, living room, hallway, and bathroom. It's situated next to vineyards, and you can have breakfast outside the front of the chateau in the morning.
I arrived tired after a lovely ride over the hills from the northwest and down through the vineyards into town. I picked up a good bottle of local wine in the Caves wine shop in the middle of town. I had planned to stay in, but the sound of a brass band lured me out. Walking into town, I discovered there was a heaving night market with a full brass band outside the front of the town hall. This night market is on every Thursday in July and August (read more).
Last visited: July 2023
Auberge du pont de l'Abîme
Location: 20km south of Annecy, Haute-Savoie
How Much? I paid €125 for a quadruple room with a view of the bridge and breakfast included
This guesthouse is gorgeous (pun intended) and is located next to a gorge and a pretty 19th-century suspension bridge going over it. When I visited, they had only recently started accepting guests. The accommodation was somewhat basic, think ski apartment, but it was roomy and had a balcony with stunning views looking down onto the bridge and the gorge. The auberge has a very good restaurant that serves tasting menus and was very busy. Having had a massive lunch, I opted to have a cheese & charcuterie board on the terrace looking onto the bridge. They've got a nice wine and beer list also, so you're all set to sit out and watch the sunset over the bridge. You can then have your breakfast sitting out on the terrace again the following day.
The location of the auberge is perfect for bikers as you're all set to spend the following day riding through the stunning roads of the Massif des Bauges, Chartreuse Natural Park, and the Vercors.
Last visited: July 2023
St-Alban Hotel & Spa
Location: La Clusaz ski resort (Between Annecy and Chamonix)
How Much? I paid €125 for large apartment
Last visited: July 2025
Eden Hotel
Location: Les Praz, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
How Much? I paid €130 per night for a room with a nice mountain view
This is now my go-to place to stay in Chamonix. I've now stayed here 4 times in both summer for biking/hiking and winter for skiing. It's a pretty and very comfortable hotel with lovely mountain views, a bar (including snacks), and a good breakfast. I parked my bike around the side of the hotel, but you can pay to put it in the underground car park if needed. The hotel is in the small village of Les Praz, which has a few bars and restaurants, but it's a nice 30-minute walk into Chamonix if you want to head into town. Last time I visited they gave me a free train pass to get me into Chamonix proper and then I walked back (40 mins).
Last visited: July 2025
Ferme de l'OaDie
Location: Outside Die, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
How Much? I paid €80 for a night in a glamping tent (cheaper if you book direct), breakfast is an extra €9
This option may not be for everyone, but I had a really memorable stay here. After a fantastic day riding south through the balcony roads of Vercors, I ended up stopping at this organic farm just outside the town of Die (known for its sparkling wine production). Accommodation had been very scarce in the area, so I thought I'd try out glamping in a tipi on this farm (you're also able to pitch a tent here). The location is amazing, with spectacular views of the Vercors, and the neighboring farms are vineyards.
The farm seems to be run solely by the rather stern but pleasant woman Valerie, who kindly suggested some fantastic biking roads in the area for the next day. She also told me to be quiet on the bike as the sound carries throughout the valley, so I suspect if you arrived on a KTM with a noisy aftermarket exhaust, she might bury you in one of the fields. It's very much a working farm, Valerie and some student interns (WWOOFers) from Paris learning how to farm organically, seemed to be busy working from early morning until after 10 pm every day. The farm has crops, horses, chickens, a pair of gorgeous wolfhounds, and some lovely cats. When I booked, I was asked if I wanted dinner (€20), so arriving late, I immediately joined dinner with the host, the WWOOFers, and a couple of families who were staying there. This was nice as I was traveling solo and I met some lovely people.
The canvas tent was very comfortable and spacious. There's one shower for the whole farm which adjoins the main cabin, and the toilet is a compostable one in an outhouse, so it may be a bit of a shock to the system if you've been solely staying in chateaux up to this point in your trip. I was told to book directly as the price is much better and to stay 2 nights (as it's better for the environment not to be washing sheets after one use).
Last visited: July 2023
South West
Château La Loge
Location: Villematier, 40 km north of Toulouse
How Much? I paid €85 including breakfast
After spending some time trail riding in the Pyrenees, I left Andorra and rode north to the Toulouse area. Just north of Toulouse city is the relatively unknown wine region of Fronton, which produces mostly red wines from their Négrette grape. It was here that I stayed in the small winery of Château La Loge, run by a lovely chap Max and his wife (whom I didn't meet). Max is a fellow biker, who chucked in a job working in the city to start this winery and guesthouse.
The farmhouse is rustic and comfortable with 4 guest rooms, all with a balcony (I believe) overlooking the vineyards. It's a very peaceful location and I saw numerous kestrels flying around the winery. Breakfast comprised fresh baked goods with homemade jams, yoghurt, cereals, etc. You'll need to go into a nearby town for dinner, but there's plenty of nice organic wine to buy at the winery. Your bike will be safe parked here as you're in a gated winery.
Last visited: July 2023
Château de Mavaleix
Location: Chalais, Perigord
How Much? I paid €86 for a double room in the auxiliary building including breakfast
This option comes with a warning. I stayed in the auxiliary buildings (not the main chateau), and the rooms are dated, the decor is awful, and some of the lights didn't work. However, I'd still come back to stay here again, so I'm recommending this place as there's a bit of a dead zone in terms of interesting places to stay around here, and it's convenient if you're riding to/from Spain / southwest France.
The chateau is run by a hardworking, eccentric Dutch man who I enjoyed chatting with. I was a bit disappointed I wasn't staying in the main chateau, but at €86, I can't complain, and my room had a nice view of the chateau instead. Apparently, you can stay in the chateau, which has rooms and apartments, and they do weddings there in the autumn. A big plus for this place is the restaurant; the food was excellent, and I had a lovely dinner of scallops and a veal chop. Service here is notoriously slow however (if you check other reviews you'll see) but I was happy to wait and drink some Leffe. The breakfast is good also.
Last visited: July 2023
