Arthur Frommer Online: European farmhouses are a last alternative to those overpriced hotels

Mar 31, 2008

European farmhouses are a last alternative to those overpriced hotels

You can stay at a working European farm for far less than the cost of a hotel. It's called Agritourism, and it's a booming part of the European scene that is, sadly, seldom used by Americans. For as little as $30 to $70, two persons can get a comfortably rustic room in the farmhouse itself or in a converted outbuilding. Breakfast -- of the heartiest, freshest farmers' variety -- is almost always included, and you can often get inexpensive, rib-sticking dinners as well.

Some agritourisms invite guests to try their hand at agriculture -- a highlight of my (then five-year-old) granddaughter Veronica's farm-stay trip to Ireland a few years ago was getting to gather the eggs from the chicken coop each morning.
While there are only a few central sources of agriturismi, the website of the European Federation for Farm and Village Tourism (www.eurogites.com) links to about 20 official agritourism organizations around Europe, and the independent website BeyondHotels.Net (www.beyondhotels.net) has a section on agritourism with more than 50 links to resources in various European countries. Among these are: www.bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com (France); www.irishfarmholidays.com (Ireland); www.terranostra.it, www.turismoverde.it, and www.agriturist.it (all Italy); and www.farmstayuk.co.uk (the United Kingdom).

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Labels: accommodations, europe