The idea of a self catered vacation - renting a local home or apartment by the week or month in Europe - is catching on big time, especially in places like Italy and France.
Self catering can save you money, especially if you eat some of your meals in, and allows you to explore an area more fully than you might if you were stuck in hotels. You'll can have the experience of going to the local open air market and actually planning a meal rather than just gawking.
Most vacation rentals offer excellent examples of traditional construction, often featuring recent restorations that bring out the finest details of local housing construction combined with modern facilities.
How do I start my search vacation rental home or apartment?
First, consider where you'd like to be. Say it's Tuscany. If you haven't a favorite town, then that's ok, your next decision is country or city? In Italy, for example, there are a huge number of large houses for rent as vacation homes in the countryside. But the country houses are often remote and quite large. I'll give you some examples and explain some things about country and city homes you'll want to consider.
A House in the Country
Many people have found farm houses and restored them (sometimes to the ire of the locals, who see their traditional small farms selling out to tourists and destroying a way of life that's existed for centuries). The houses tend to favor people traveling together in packs (ok, groups then!) as they often feature three to six bedrooms. Sometimes the owner will wrestle with the local planning commission and eventually get the go ahead to split a structure into two or more units. This is difficult to do in Italy, because there's a law that says that under most circumstances a building must retain characteristics of its primary usage--but then again it's Italy, so nothing's impossible either.
A case in point is Calboccia, pictured above. Calboccia was a derelict farm house on a hill, overlooking a valley between Tuscany and Umbria. The property also included a typical tobacco drying shed. The owner, an American living in the San Francisco Bay Area, restored and converted the large house into two apartments called "sotto" and "sopra", the Italian words for below and above. The tobacco shed took many years to get permission to change, but it's now a charming cottage called "Essiccatoio," the drying shed. (In this area, farmers traditionally raised food crops to feed themselves and maybe a few other families--tobacco was the main cash crop.)
The house has many fine details--like the traditional massive-beamed ceilings and a dramatic fireplace in the upper unit--and features a terrific view out the front. Like most country houses, you'll definitely need a car. It's accessible from the highway on a narrow, uphill "strada bianca" or white gravel road. You'll likely need to stop for sheep. Calboccia is typical of the type of country accommodations you'll find in Italy and France.
Smaller homes are more difficult to find in the country. If you're looking for a smaller unit to rent and you're lucky, you may find a "rustichino" or rustic outbuilding which has been restored as a home. An example is the aptly named " Rustichino" in Chianni, in the province of Pisa, Tuscany. Here an old barn (probably more of a storage shed) has been "restored" (probably fully rebuilt) as a lovely, two bedroom rustic home. Even better is the fact that it sits on the edge of a thriving village where you'll find all you need for a meal out or a meal prepared in Rustichino's very functional kitchen.
A house in the city
City homes are more expensive and slightly more difficult to find. You'll come across many apartments, however, and they'll likely be small--big enough for a couple and maybe a kid or two. There may be bargains to be had, the market prices can vary wildly depending on the targeted clientele. And, in the end, a small apartment is still likely to offer more value than a week spent in a city hotel.
Click next to find out about payment issues for your self catering vacation, as well as tips on what to look for and hints on what to expect in the way of furnishings, kitchens, eating areas and more.
