Fall travel is on the rise, and HomesAway offers more than 60 properties in France, Spain, Italy and Scotland. Fall rates are reduced 10 to 30 percent, and many villas are near Europe’s most exciting fall festivals.
Escape to Europe for the perfect post-Labor Day getaway. Fall travel is on the rise according to USA Today, and HomesAway offers more than 60 properties in France, Spain, Italy and Scotland. Many villas are near Europe’s most exciting fall festivals. Guests may partake in extravagant celebrations and retreat to luxurious villas just beyond the edge of the revelry. HomesAway’s signature Local Hosts customize each visit and give guests an insider’s view to festivals and events.
Sweetening the deal, weekly rates in September and October drop 10 percent from the summer high season. Select HomesAway villa owners offer further discounts on their properties, (up to 30 percent) during the final weeks of the season. Prices start from US$6,300 for a week’s stay.
The following are some of Europe’s best festivals celebrated near HomesAway properties:
Vendange, Fall 2006 – Autumn in the French countryside means crisp air, the earthy smell of soil, and purple-stained feet. Each region celebrates vendange with different flavor, and Burgundy rejoices with verve and gusto. Stay in the beautiful, countryside Chateau du Notre, and ask the Local Hosts for their favorite winery that allows you to participate in the crush. www.homesaway.com/burgundy.cfm
Vuelta a España, Aug. 26 – Sept. 17, 2006 -- Spain’s version of the Tour de France, this high-profile cycling race traverses the Iberian Peninsula and is celebrated by small towns and cities along the route. HomesAway villa Santa Cristo is tucked in the hills near Granada and is a within a few miles of where the Vuelta will pass this year. www.homesaway.com/andalusia.cfm
Doric Festival in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Sept. 29 - Oct. 15, 2006 – Join northeastern Scots as they celebrate their language and heritage in villages across Aberdeenshire. Enjoy workshops on Ceilidh dancing, sea songs and storytelling, and concerts by Scottish music masters. North of Edinburgh, HomesAway’s Meikloeur Castle offers a lavish retreat from the festival, not to mention your own 18-hole golf course. www.homesaway.com/perthshire.cfm
EuroChocolate Festival in Perugia, Italy, October 20-29, 2006 – This annual event attracts 300,000 sweet-toothed visitors who devour 50 tons of decadent chocolate over nine days. The festival includes chocolate tastings, chocolate sculpture exhibits, film screenings, nutritionist lectures, and theme shows and workshops. HomesAway villa Casa Trastevere is a short drive from Perugia and features a beautiful pool to lounge beside after indulging in the festival. www.homesaway.com/umbria.cfm
Beaujolais Nouveau Celebration in Burgundy, France, November 16, 2006 – About two months after the exciting vendange (the wine harvest), the first wines uncorked in southern Burgundy are greeted with cheering toasts and dancing in the streets. This celebration is not to be missed. Stake out a spot at a good bistro in Lyons or Dijon with a glass ready for the first barrel to be opened. HomesAway’s Chateau du Notre is at the heart of the action. www.homesaway.com/burgundy.cfm
The National White Truffle Show of San Miniato, Italy, November 2006 – The white truffle is a fungus so rare and exquisite in taste that there is a black market for the delicacy. The Tuscan town of San Miniato produces 25 percent of the world’s white truffles, and the November Tartufo Show brings the hills alive with music, theatre, craft markets and, of course, truffles on local restaurants’ menus. Nearby Villa Nel Bosca is a 17th century farmhouse nestled in 3000 acres of wooded hills, olive groves and meadows perfect for a truffle hunt of your own. www.homesaway.com/tuscany.cfm
HomesAway has been described as one of the top villa rental companies by Travel + Leisure, The Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, Virtuoso Life and Traditional Home Magazine, among others. HomesAway Vice President Maija Palkeinen was named one of Condé Nast Traveler’s Best Villa Rental Agent.
