| The following information may be useful to those planning to attend the course which is held in the Casino in the centre of La Bourboule. |  |
Hotels in La Bourboule
| The following information may be useful to those planning to attend the course which is held in the Casino in the centre of La Bourboule. | |
There are many hotels in La Bourboule and the tourist information website is a good source of information. The following shortlist is based on experiences in 2004. There are also a campsite on the southern outskirts of the town and about 15 minutes walk from the Casino - there are usually some students who camp. Hotels are well signposted.
Some hotels have their own car park and some do not. There is plenty of free parking in the town although you may not always find a space outside your hotel.
Instruments can be safely left locked up at the casino at lunchtime and overnight so that there is no need to carry them each day.
| Perriere
A large hotel about 2 minutes from the casino and opposite the park. Several students stayed here and thought it was good. |
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| Les Fleurs
A hotel on the northern outskirts of the town and 5-10 minutes walk from the Casino. Good reports and they do fish and vegetarian meals. Addendum (2006): now under new management. |
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| Les Sources
Tucked away in a quiet corner in the centre of town just 2 minutes walk from the Casino. Simple and cheap but highly recommended. You need to speak a little French but the owners and staff are so pleasant and helpful - they found time to come to one of our concerts even though the hotel was fully booked every night. Addendum 2007: Very popular! |
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| Le Parc des Fées
Included because it is right next to the Casino which can be seen on the left of the picture. Looks pleasant but no students stayed there.
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| Le Charlet
About 2 minutes walk from Casino and very nice. Also has apartments which are good. Has wide range of facilities including swimming pool, gym, hammam (Steam room), jacuzzi. |
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It is quite feasible to book just bed; bed and breakfast; b&b plus evening meal (demi-pension); or b&b plus lunch and evening meal (pension). There are plenty of good restaurants in the town. Students perform in one or two evening concerts and there are many other excellent free concerts to go to. It is possible that some of these may conflict with your evening meal but if you are on demi-pension it should be possible to have your meal that day at lunchtime instead of the evening.
A typical day consists of recorder technique (15 minutes) and playing from 9.00 to 12.30; picnic in the park; sightseeing or optional playing from 2.00 to 4.00; recorder groups from 4.00 to 5.30; informal concert till about 6.15; evening meal and then go to a concert or stroll around town where there is usually plenty to see (free entertainment by bands, choirs, dance groups etc.)
Most hotels had some vacancies each night, if you arrived early enough. Probably best to book in advance (internet, e-mail or post) and pay deposit by credit card, if acceptable, or else by bankers draft in euros (most banks charge around £10 for this). There are plenty of cash machines in the town, including one in the casino.
| Normally students get together in the local park or further afield for a picnic lunch which is very enjoyable - there is an excellent patisserie and a supermarket where one can buy something on the way to the picnic. |  |
This is a lovely area of France, especially if you like walking, and it is well worthwhile staying a bit longer to do some sightseeing. There are lots of waymarked paths and guidebooks. Being a mountainous area, the weather varies from cool and wet to hot and sunny - come prepared for anything!
