French accomodation

[chevo]

Next year my wife and I are going to spend 5 weeks touring in Provence. We are currently trying to decide which time of the year would be best to go. We have heard that accomodation may be hard to find in July/August without fully pre-booking before we go. We would prefer to book on a daily basis so we can have the flexibility of staying longer in places which appeal to us and not have to rigidly stick to a schedule which may prove to be too demanding (we have not been to this area before).We would also like to intersect the Tour de France route if possible. Also is the Summer temperature in this region too hot for comfortable touring? Thanks for any advice.

[byron27]

Next year my wife and I are going to spend 5 weeks touring in Provence. We are currently trying to decide which time of the year would be best to go. We have heard that accomodation may be hard to find in July/August without fully pre-booking before we go. We would prefer to book on a daily basis so we can have the flexibility of staying longer in places which appeal to us and not have to rigidly stick to a schedule which may prove to be too demanding (we have not been to this area before).We would also like to intersect the Tour de France route if possible. Also is the Summer temperature in this region too hot for comfortable touring? Thanks for any advice.
Hi,
I toured around provence in 2001 in july and had the time of my life!, im sure you will too.
A number of points:

1. Accomodation in any town supporting a tour stage will be booked solid and i found it was best to just ride to the stage from a location a few kilometres away. I made the mistake of going to the alpe d'huez without accomodation and ended up sleeping in a park in the rain!.
2. I took a sleeping bag and sleeping mat and many times just turned up at caravan park late in the day, paid 4 francs and slept under the stars. At this time of the year, it very warm and sleeping outside is fantastic.
3. Maybe book accomodation in a large town a few days before you expect to arrive. This will save you a room just in case and you can always cancel your reservation.
4. Im from Perth, Australia and im fairly used to hot temperatures (35-40 degrees celcius in summer) so the heat wasnt an issue for me. Even though, i used to wake up early and get out on the road by 7am and ride through to lunch or thereabouts, find a good pub or restuarant and dine and drink the afternoon heat away. It can get very hot, but nothing that is too oppressive.

Have a great time!