Travel Tips--Hotels, Restaurants and Shopping

General Web Helps

• www.viamichelin.com
• www.tourisme.fr
• Both have English language pages.
• Remember, the Department Code for the Meuse is 55.
• Hotel and Restaurant Guide, Lorraine Tourist Office:  http://www.crt-lorraine.fr/pages/fr/161.htm

Hotels

• Outside of Verdun, it will be quite difficult to find a hotel owner who can/will speak English with you.  The expectation is that visitors speak French.

• Not all hotel rooms in France come with toilets and baths or showers.  In small country hotels, you may still find these “shared” services down the hall.  It is best to ask when booking whether your room has a shower (douche) or bath (baignoire or bad)  Bear in mind that you will probably pay a small premium for a room “avec bad” or “avec douche” or “avec toilette.” (avec = with)

• When leaving the hotel, leave your key at the front desk or with the owners.  European travelers DO NOT take their key with them when they go out for the day.
• If you plan on returning to the hotel late, ask for a key for the outside door.  In many small town hotels, the proprietors lock the outside door some time around 11:00pm.
• Bring your own washcloth.  Europeans travel with their own washcloths, and hotels do not generally provide them.
• If you are staying more than a week, you can generally ask the hotel owner to do your laundry, but make sure to arrange this in advance.
• In almost all cases, your hotel charge will include a little breakfast (petit déjeuner), which generally consists of croissants and/or baguettes with butter and jam and coffee/tee/hot chocolate--the French version of the continental breakfast at many moderately-priced hotels in the U.S.

Gîtes Ruraux (Rural Guest Houses)

• Visitors traveling in a group and staying in the region for a few days, might want to explore the rural Gîte:  an independent house or lodging situated near a farm or in a village.  It is generally designed and equipped to accommodate 6-10 people during any season at week-end or for several weeks.
• Readers can find more information on the national website for the Gîtes de France:  http://www.gites-de-france.fr.  There is an English language section.
• Readers can also order a highly detailed brochure (printed annually) listing details of all Gîtes Ruraux in the area:  Gîtes de France, Les Guides Départmentaux 2004, Lorraine, Meuse.  This can be ordered directly from the Gîtes organization of the départment:  gites-de-meuse@libertysurf.fr.
• The brochure is printed in French, English and German.  It lists size, rooms, rates, languages spoken by the owners, etc.

English Speaking Guest House--Montfaucon

• English owners, Malcolm and Madeleine Steel operate a guest house (chambres d'hôtes) in Montfaucon.
• Their website is:  www.saintcrispinguesthouse.com.
• Note:  This chambres d'hôtes has been sold to Belgian investors in late 2008.  I believe it should re-open in 2009.

Lunch

• Most serious battlefield visitors go to the local store, butcher, and bakery in the morning and get enough supplies for lunch in the field.  This reduces needless drive time and restaurant time during the day, when visiting sites.

Dining Out

• However, they do go out for a traditional French dinner in the evening.
• As a general rule, dinners start later than in the U.S.  Most locals do not go out to dinner until around 8:00pm.
• Also, the French enjoy their food, and the typical dinner is 4-5 courses, with intervals in between courses.  It is not uncommon for dinner to last two hours or more.
• Many hotels offer dinner too.  If you are going to eat dinner at your hotel, it is very polite and important to let your host know this in the morning.  Why?  Small hotel owners shop for their food during the day.  They do not keep large amounts of frozen or refrigerated food on hand.
• If you have a large group and you plan to visit a restaurant in a small town, it is also considered polite to advise the owners some time during the day.  This is not necessary in larger towns and cities like Verdun.

Shopping

• Certain cultural norms about customer service are described on the cultural topics webpage.
• Below is a list of useful shops for the battlefield visitor.

Boulangerie/Boulanger	Baker
Boucherie	Butcher Shop
Maison de la Presse	Newsstand.  Will also have IGN maps, books, postcards, etc.
Marché	Market
Pâtisserie/Pâtissier	Pastry Shop.  My favorite French shop!
Pharmacie	Drug Store--as in for prescriptions.  Will likely not contain consumer products or toiletries.  However, pharmacists can usually treat minor wound without a doctor.
Salon de Thé	Tea Shop, typically a room off of a pâtisserie where customers can sit a tables to eat their purchases.
Supermarché, Hypermarché	Supermarket, Hypermarket.  There are several located on the outskirts of Verdun.
TABAC, Papèterie, TABAC-JOURNAUX	Tobacco Store, stationery store, newsstand.  Also sells stamps.  When part of a newsstand, they may sell IGN maps, regional books and similar items.

• Most travelers I know that visit the sector for any length of time stock up on non-perishables at the hypermarkets (which also offer fairly inexpensive gasoline prices) on the outskirts of Verdun.  They then buy their daily food items from the local shops in the morning.

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