France in May: Hotel reservations required?

Easiest way to check is to look up some of these hotels on a site like booking. com for the dates you have in mind. They often note what percentage of their sites are booked in the area for those dates.

Note that the hotels "in the books" may sell out faster just because they ARE listed in the books.
Is there a reason you do NOT want to book ahead?

If it was my trip I'd make reservations. May, to be sure, is not high season. But you don't have the only copy of the RS or Lonely Planet book. Lots of other people are looking at those same books and thinking about those same carefully vetted places.

We've traveled in Italy and France w/o reservations, it can be done, even in more popular times of the year. And sometimes the 1st or 2nd place you walk into has an opening. As the world becomes more connected, though, its easier to find and book in advance places not in guidebooks. Its no fun on a rainy day (or blistering hot one) to be walking around town with all your luggage trying to find a place to stay. These days I've decided it isn't worth it; you can of course decide differently.

Making reservations does kill the joy of being footloose and fancy-free, staying in a town until you've decided you've stayed long enough and then moving on to the next, chasing the good weather or a tip from a travel acquaintance who was just in a place they loved. And you can still travel that way, as long as you're willing to accept the rising risk of having to spend a few hours looking for a place to stay, perhaps even moving on to another town if it turns out you've stumbled onto a festival time or are just unlucky that day.

They say travel reveals someone's real character, although since you've tied the knot I'm sure you've made a good choice ;-) Trust, though, that if you travel w/o reservations you'll have at least one or two opportunities for true feelings and outlook to show.

I do not enjoy showing up in a city and looking for a place to stay. I feel like I get the most value for my money when I book in advance, when I have the luxury of sitting at my computer, checking reviews, prices and locations. If I arrive in a town after a day of transiting, I am not at my finest. I would not find it fun to be walking from hotel to hotel, looking for available rooms. I suppose you could arrive in a city, hang out for an hour or two, and then hop on your phones in a coffee shop, check Tripadvisor for reviews, prices and availability and book at that point. But it does't seem appealing to me. I do a lot of research for maximum quality and value at minimum price and I feel like that's best done in advance.

Well.. there are a few holidays in May.. so I would look at your dates and see if they coincide with any of them.. locals take long weekend holiday breaks too.

Also.. check for whats going on in town.. if there are events or festivals .. you will find a hotel room.. but perhaps on the outskirt or some tourist motel outside town.. is that what you want for your honeymoon?

My dad and rented a car about 10 years ago and drove around for three weeks.. we always found "a" room. . but often it was as I described.. on outskirts or motel like.. not the cute ones we saw sometimes.. those ones were always filled ( because usually they are small )

Choosing RS book hotels.. or any guidebook does put you at a small disadvantage too.. thousands of folks read those books.. with same idea to use those hotels..

I would look at some of the places you are going.. Lyon for instance.. and go on a site like booking.com and see what they have in your price range for your dates, and read the reviews ( on booking.com you can read reviews that are verified as being submitted only by actual guests that booked and stayed there ) you do not have to book them via the site..( although I have many times they are reliable and show good rates).. now.. even if it appears a hotel has no vacancies for your dates on the site.. still contact hotel directly.. they only book so many rooms via the booking site.

I have stayed at a wonderful hotel in Lyon.. dang.. forgot the name but will get back to you with it.. it included breakfast.. and get this..everynight you got a free glass of wine and cocktail snacks.. my daughter and I made the snacks our light dinner sometimes.. such a deal.

Excellent location too... close to old town.. but not right in middle of it.. beds were comfy and bathrooms had large modern showers..trust me this is a rarity in small hotels..lol

OKKO hotel.. deals from 177 a night ... ( hotel in Lyon)

You'll get the bargains by booking now. There are great B&Bs at low rates but with few rooms. It's an opportunity to interact with locals that you won't get at hotels.

We have done it both ways, but now pretty much make reservations in advance. I quickly began to resent--a lot-- the time I was spending looking for a room when I could have been taking those hours to do what I really wanted to do. Pat offers excellent advice. There are many holidays in May, and one day holidays often morph into long weekend holidays which can jam things up. I never heard of Whit Monday until we tried to rent a car in France. Congratulations and safe travels.

When we first started going to France, about 30 years ago, we would generally just make reservations by calling ahead the night before to the next town, or even just showing up in a town. Then we started renting houses by the week instead. But when we had free days, we started to book most of them well in advance. Now we generally book everything well in advance. I don't know if it's because we're getting older, or because it's so much easier to do research and pick places in advance.

One problem you find in May is that some hotels are still closed for the season -- we once wandered from hotel to hotel in the area near Oradour sur Glan finding none with rooms until finally in desperation stumbling on a weird place with a column in front with a giant mosquito sculpture on it. The beds were poured concrete platforms with a foam mattress on top. Adequate but not the charm I usually manage when I book ahead. Since you know where you want to be I'd reserve. The other downside of not reserving is that is chews up a lot of time on a short trip trying to find something open.

I am great at getting really nice hotels and apartments when I plan and reserve -- my personal track record of just picking up places on the road has yielded all of my stories of travel grimness and disaster.

Hotels are not likely to be closed both because of the number of French people traveling for May holidays and because most of your destinations are cities, not villages. If you are driving, that makes it easier to be flexible, and there are plenty of nondescript chain hotels that you can fall back on.

But if you take trains from Paris to Lyon, Lyon to Arles, and to your return airport, then you also benefit by booking those now (best price if you're buying tickets or best availability if you're buying passholder seat reservations); see info on both.

Most hotel reservations can be cancelled without penalty up to a day or two in advance, so confirm that feature when booking.

Just as someone mentioned in an earlier response, the French have several holidays in May themselves, so be careful in case your dates coincide with any of the long weekends that will have people out in the countryside or down south or wherever! As someone mentioned, check booking.com for your dates now to see what is availalble.

Pat said: "still contact hotel directly.. they only book so many rooms via the booking site"
Yes, this was recently the case for me, with a much recommended hotel in Vézelay. Booking.com showed no availability for the date I wanted, but an email elicited several room options. I wrote in French but it turned out that the person responding to booking enquiries was English, so no problem ensuring that i understood their terms.

I often travel without reservations and find it fits my style of travel... spontaneous and I dislike a strict itinerary. I have done this in May in France many times and always find very reasonably priced rooms, and sometimes they are cheaper than what is on the internet, as they want to fill the hotel. Sometimes I am fussy about the location of my hotels, but often I am content with a nice, clean room. I usually have a car and that makes it easy to travel spontaneously. I also would not want to be wandering around a town with my luggage trying to find a hotel. With the car, if a town is filled, I can just drive on... not so easy with the train. If I know I am going to be in a particular town on a certain day I will sometimes make a reservation. Especially if I have a favorite hotel , but if I am on a road trip, I will just go with the flow.

Excellent answers. I would only ask - how good is your French? We've done it both ways (reserve ahead and book-as-you-go) and I will say that my limited French can make it difficult to negotiate a reservation over the phone in France.

Bob. that's why I bring my wife along:-)

Ahhh, the secret ingredient. Good for both of you. It may be why my wife brings me along as well but if so, she's not getting a very good deal. My French is barely passable. I can do many simple straightforward transactions but once we get into a real conversation I am quickly in over my head.

So then I'd say to do what the other posters have suggested. Check for holidays and local events first. I don't see why you can't use guidebooks or websites as resources even if you're calling on the fly. You won't very often be arriving in town with no place to stay, since you'll generally know at least a day in advance (or earlier that day at the least) that you're planning to move on. Being in a car makes it easier than train (or bus), as the other posters have pointed out.

I hope you both enjoy your late honeymoon.

But what do all of you really think? :) Seriously, thank you all for the advice, we will book in advance. We are traveling primarily by rail and I agree the thought of hauling luggage around is not appealing. This is my first trip to western Europe (went to Slovenia in 2006) and wasn't sure what to expect. Thanks again and we'll post a trip report after we return.