A trip to the Ecrins this summer has rekindled the Alpine bug and I'm looking at the possibility of spending a few months there next summer.
In my mind, I have a romantic notion that I will drive down there with a bootload of gear, and walk straight into a characterful but dirt-cheap apartment somewhere in in or near Briançon. The locals will take me under their wing, and I will be best friends with Monsieur le Boulangier before long.
The second part of my plan is that a succession of climbing partners will arrive from England to keep me amused. They will keep me topped up with food, wine and diesel in return for kipping on the sofa.
So I guess the question is: where would make a good base? And what can I realistically expect to pay. I've had a brief look on some French estate agency websites. Even with a pretty good understanding of French, it's difficult to understand what they're offering. It seems that 1-bed new-build apartments (maybe ski chalets?) are going for about €350-€450/ month. Plus deposit, pls agency fees, plus utility bills.
A lot of them seem to be split into 'Locations Annuelles' and 'Locations Vacances' (holiday lets) with not much scope for medium term rental. I think I would prefer a 'real' apartment to a holiday let.
Anyone any experience in this?
