Villas and Gites in Île-de-France

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Located north of the centre of the country, Île-de-France is both France's wealthiest and most highly populated region. It started life as the District de la Région de Paris in 1961, but assumed its current moniker in 1976. Despite that, many people still refer to it as the Région Parisienne. It has a mild, temperate climate, and the rainfall is spread evenly throughout the year, averaging around fifty millimetres per month. Summers are cool and winters are cold. 

View villas and gites in Île-de-France.

Located north of the centre of the country, Île-de-France is both France's wealthiest and most highly populated region. It started life as the District de la Région de Paris in 1961, but assumed its current moniker in 1976. Despite that, many people still refer to it as the Région Parisienne. It has a mild, temperate climate, and the rainfall is spread evenly throughout the year, averaging around fifty millimetres per month. Summers are cool and winters are cold.

Where to stay

Eiffel tower, Paris, France

If you’ve never tried a gite holiday, then now is the perfect opportunity. Gites in Île-de-France are everything you would expect from a sophisticated country that knows how to look after its guests. Staying in a gite allows you to be the master of your own destiny, as you can plan each day to suit your own whims and desires. Alternatively, book accommodation in one of the many Île-de-France villas. Well appointed and comfortable, they offer the same freedom to do as you please.

Where to go and what to do

Paris, with its myriad of well-known attractions, is an obvious place to go, and a whole two-week holiday could be spent in that city without seeing and doing everything you want. However, there is more to the region than just the capital.

Ten kilometres to the south of Paris lies Sceaux. Situated on a hill, it’s the home of a château that was built in the middle of the nineteenth century. The park that surrounds the château is said to be one of the most beautiful in the region, while the château also boasts a museum dedicated to the history of Île-de-France. In its gardens, there’s a breathtaking water cascade tumbling into a huge octagonal pool.

Also south of Paris is Larchant, an old fortified town where people go on pilgrimages to pay homage to Saint Mathurin, who was born there in the third century. Six French kings made the pilgrimage, and nowadays, it takes place at Whitsuntide. The church contains works of art from the Roman and Gothic periods alongside a number of wall paintings from the twelfth century.

At Gisors, to the north-west of Paris, at the meeting point of three valleys, is a ruined castle that was, in its day, one of the strongest fortresses in the whole of the country. Nowadays, visitors can see the remains of its keep and twelve towers.

Cuisine

The region is home to a thousand gourmet delights, and it’s possible to find almost any French food you want. However, there are a few specialities that are a feature of the area. To start with, there’s Cuisses de Grenouille, or Frog’s Legs. There’s more than one way to prepare this delicacy, but one of the most popular methods is to dip the legs into a mixture of flour and garlic and then fry them in olive oil or butter. While the thought of eating them may not appeal to everyone, connoisseurs of the French table swear by them, so take a deep breath and plunge right in. Bread is a very important part of French gastronomy, typified by the Baguette, or French Stick. This is seen and eaten everywhere, usually accompanied by paté or cheese, or in the case of breakfast, spread with jam and butter before being dipped into a bowl of coffee or hot chocolate. Another product much appreciated by residents of Île-de-France is the Saucisson, or dried sausage. While it is widely available in supermarkets, it’s best bought from a market, where the mass-produced, industrial versions give way to the individual farm-produced varieties.

View villas and gites in Île-de-France.