There is no shortage of fun and unusual places to stay in France. In this lesson, we’re going to travel vicariously and explore various types of accommodations, from old-timey luxury hotels and castles, to barges, to treehouses for nature lovers. 

For those who want to immerse themselves in history and travel back in time, why not try the castle experience? In his video, Daniel Benchimol will take you to the Château d’Urtubie in the Basque country, which is now un hôtel (with a silent h in French) and un monument national at the same time:

Je vous propose de découvrir un château extraordinaire, le château d'Urtubie, qui est à la fois un monument national, mais aussi un hôtel.

I invite you to discover an extraordinary castle, the Château d'Urtubie, which is at once a national monument, but also a hotel.

Captions 2-4, Voyage en France Château d'Urtubie

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What’s more, you get to sleep in the oldest part of the castle, dating from the fourteenth century. Can you guess where the English word “chamber” comes from?

Alors les chambres sont dans la partie la plus ancienne du château.

So the rooms are in the oldest part of the castle.

Caption 16, Voyage en France Château d'Urtubie

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Take the opportunity to discover the history of the castle and of the family who has lived there for many, many générations—vingt-quatre (twenty-four), so far:

Alors ça permet effectivement découvrir l'histoire de ma famille, bien évidemment, puisque ma famille est là depuis vingt-quatre générations

Well, indeed it allows people to discover my family history, of course, since my family has been here for twenty-four generations

Captions 22-23, Voyage en France Château d'Urtubie

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For those seeking the luxury of yesteryear with a touch of glamour, l’Hôtel Negresco in Nice is the place for you. It’s le dernier palace à la française (the last French-style luxury hotel) that is still privately owned:

Bref, c'est un lieu historique pour la ville de Nice mais aussi pour la France car l'hôtel Negresco est le dernier palace à la française, le dernier hôtel de luxe qui appartient à une famille française et non à un groupe d'hôtels, souvent international.

In short, it's a historic place for the city of Nice but also for France, because the Hotel Negresco is the last French-style luxury hotel, the last luxury hotel that belongs to a French family and not to a group of hotels, often international.

Captions 17-23, Le saviez-vous? L'hôtel Negresco - Part 2

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L’Hôtel Negresco attracts prominent figures, artists and celebrities from all over the world. For example, Salvador Dali often visited accompanied with his guépard de compagnie (pet cheetah):

Salvador Dali par exemple y venait fréquemment. Il y venait, accompagné de son guépard de compagnie.

Salvador Dali, for example, came here frequently. He came here, accompanied by his pet cheetah.

Captions 8-9, Le saviez-vous? L'hôtel Negresco - Part 2

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For a quieter, low-key experience, how about spending the night in a traditional fishing boat–turned houseboat called une toue, typical of the Loire Valley:

Cette toue cabanée est un bateau à fond plat qui servait à pêcher le saumon sur la Loire.

This houseboat is a flat-bottomed boat that was used to fish for salmon on the Loire.

Captions 21-22, TF1 Info Week-end à Angers et son trésor médiéval - Part 2

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This toue is tout confort, meaning it has been refurbished to include all the comforts of home:

C'est vrai. C'est tout confort.

That's true. It has every comfort.

Caption 25, TF1 Info Week-end à Angers et son trésor médiéval - Part 2

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Other utilitarian types of boats called péniches (barges), used for transporting goods along rivers and canals, have been repurposed to house people. Some péniches are available for rent, while others are permanent homes:

Vous habitez tous les deux dans le bateau, c'est vrai? -Oui. -D'accord. Comment c'est de vivre à bord d'une péniche alors ?

You both live on the boat, is that true? -Yes. -OK. How is it living on board a barge, then?

Captions 31-32, Voyage en France Saint-Mammès

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You can opt for a larger vessel called un bateau hôtel (hotel boat) that includes cabines (cabins), offering des croisières (cruises) along canals and rivers:

Le Princess, c'est un bateau... -C'est un bateau hôtel... Avec des cabines... -donc qui fait des croisières, voilà.

The Princess is a boat... -It's a hotel boat... With cabins... -so, which does cruises, right.

Captions 60-61, Lionel L'écluse de Réchicourt-le-Château - Part 1

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Back on land, nature lovers might prefer un gîte d’hébergement insolite (an alternative accommodation facility) such as une cabane perchée (a tree house). Or, you can enjoy the forest without having to climb a tree by staying in une chambre d'hôtes (bed and breakfast) or un chalet instead:

Donc je gère un gîte d'hébergement insolite sur Arbonne-la-Forêt qui est un petit village à dix kilomètres de Fontainebleau, qui est spécialisé dans de l'hébergement en nature au cœur de la forêt, avec cabanes perchées, chambres d'hôtes et chalets.

So I manage an alternative accommodation facility in Arbonne-la-Forêt, which is a small village ten kilometers from Fontainebleau, which specializes in accommodation in nature in the heart of the forest, with tree houses, bed and breakfasts, and chalets.

Captions 2-8, Sandra Gérante de "Gîte Arbonne"

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Of course, you can always fall back on the more budget-friendly option, le camping. This nice campground is on the banks of the Seine:

Donc si vous êtes à la recherche d'un camping sympa sur les bords de Seine, eh bien vous pourrez trouver cette alternative à Maisons-Laffitte.

So if you are in search of a nice campground on the banks of the Seine, well, you will be able to find this alternative in Maisons-Laffitte.

Captions 33-34, Voyage en France Maisons-Laffitte - Part 4

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Instead of sleeping in un camping, you might prefer to go underground, literally, and spend the night in une maison troglodyte (a cave dwelling). Rest assured, they have all the modern trappings:

Et une des particularités de cette ville, c'est d'avoir des logements et des maisons troglodytes.

And one of the peculiarities of this town is having cave dwellings and houses.

Captions 9-10, Voyage en France Carrières-sur-Seine

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To sum up the incredible choices available, here is a list of useful terms mentioned in this lesson:

un château: a castle

une chambre: a room

un logement: an accommodation, dwelling

un palace: a luxury hotel

un gîte d'hébergement insolite: an alternative accommodation facility

un bateau hôtel: a hotel boat

une cabine: a cabin

une croisière: a cruise

une cabane perchée: a treehouse

une chambre d’hôtes: a bed and breakfast

un chalet: a chalet

une péniche: a barge

une toue cabanée: a houseboat

une maison troglodyte: a cave dwelling

We hope you will take up this invitation au voyage as Baudelaire would say. Meanwhile, feel free to travel vicariously through Yabla's travel videos. Thank you for reading, and bon voyage!

In English, we like to mark the passage of time with words such as “for" or "since.” Depuis is the general equivalent of these words in French, but often the translation isn't as straightforward as it might seem. As always, grammar and context come into play. So without further ado, let's explore how to use the preposition depuis (since, for).

Depuis + a period of time or a point in time is equivalent to “since” or “for” when talking about an action that started in the past but is still ongoing. In English, we have a specific tense for this situation: the present perfect continuous ("I have been doing X for/since Y"). French just uses the simple present with depuis:

Je crée et produis des boutons de manchette à Paris depuis sept ans.

I've been creating and producing cufflinks in Paris for seven years.

Caption 3, Samuel Gassmann Créateur de boutons de manchette

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Il habite à Paris depuis deux mille douze.

He has been living in Paris since two thousand twelve.

Here is a more complex example where the present tense is used in the main clause followed by a dependent clause in the passé composé (compound past tense):

C'est un sculpteur polonais qui a vécu en France depuis mille neuf cent soixante-dix-neuf.

It's a Polish sculptor who has lived in France since nineteen seventy-nine.

Caption 5, Lionel Le Musée du Calendrier de la Paix - Part 4

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Indeed, while depuis usually goes with the present tense, there are instances where the past tense is required. For example, in the construction depuis que (since) + a subordinate clause, the main clause (the sentence that comes before depuis que) remains in the present tense, but the subordinate clause (what comes after depuis que) is in the past tense. In the example below, the main clause comes last, but the order could be reversed:

Depuis que leur fille a intégré une grande agence de marketing... Gilles et Anna ne la voient qu'en coup de vent.

Since their daughter joined a large marketing agency... Gilles and Anna only see her in a whirlwind [briefly].

Captions 16-18, Le Jour où tout a basculé Mes parents se préparent à la fin du monde - Part 3

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When talking about two concurring events in the past, the ongoing or background action will be in the imperfect tense, while the more recent action or interrupting action will be in the passé composé:

Il jouait au foot depuis des années quand il s’est cassé la jambe et a dû abandonner. 

He had been playing soccer for years when he broke his leg and had to give up.

If the subordinate clause (after depuis que) is in the pluperfect tense, the verb in the main clause will have to be in the imperfect tense:

Depuis qu'Hugo et Gaël avaient monté leur groupe, j'étais leur première fan.

Since Hugo and Gaël had formed their band, I was their number-one fan.

Captions 1-2, Mère & Fille L'arme absolue

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However, sometimes the passé composé is required instead, for example when depuis is preceded by a negative clause. Going back to our soccer example, we can assume that the action was completed in the past, as the player n’a pas rejoué (hasn’t played again) for a number of years: 

Mon frère n’a pas rejoué au foot depuis son accident.

My brother hasn’t played soccer again since his accident.

 

En fait, il n’a pas joué au foot depuis au moins cinq ans. 

In fact, he hasn’t played soccer for at least five years.

Here is a different example with a negative sentence with depuis that, this time, requires the imperfect to indicate that something has always been that way, from the beginning (depuis le début):

C'était absolument pas du tout ma tasse de thé depuis le début.

It was absolutely not my cup of tea at all from the beginning.

Caption 17, Micro-Trottoirs Sacrée France Gall

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Finally, here is a tricky example involving the expression depuis le temps que, which one might be tempted to take literally to mean “since the time that.” However, this is not the case. The French use this idiomatic expression to say that they’ve been meaning to do something for a long time but never got around to it and wished they had:

Depuis le temps que j'ai envie de parler de littérature sur cette chaîne YouTube, je crois que depuis le début j'ai envie de faire cette vidéo.

I've been wanting to talk about literature for a long time on this YouTube channel, I believe that from the beginning I've wanted to make this video.

Captions 1-4, Français avec Nelly 10 livres faciles à lire en français - Part 1

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In fact, Nelly even wonders out loud why she did not do it plus tôt (sooner):

Pourquoi je ne l'ai pas fait plus tôt ?

Why didn't I do it sooner?

Caption 5, Français avec Nelly 10 livres faciles à lire en français - Part 1

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Speaking of questions, depuis usually goes with the present tense in the interrogative form, as in depuis quand (since/from when):

Depuis quand date la première écluse ?

When does the first lock date from?

Caption 21, Lionel L'écluse de Réchicourt-le-Château - Part 1

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As in English, depuis quand (since when) sometimes comes with a good dose of sarcasm to question a sudden and sometimes unwelcome change of behavior. In this video, when Barbara decides to go out on a weekday, her mother challenges her decision:

Ah ouais, et depuis quand on sort en semaine ?

Oh yeah, and since when do we go out on weekdays?

Caption 62, Mère & Fille L'arme absolue

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Whether you’ve been learning French depuis des années (for years) or whether you're a beginner, it's never too late to start exploring our videos. And stay tuned for our next lesson on equivalents of depuis. Thank you for reading!