Cover photograph: Torrmal · CC BY-SA 4.0 — A shared meal at the former Couchsurfing headquarters in San Francisco

Hospitality Exchange

Compiled from Trustroots Wiki (formerly Couchwiki) and related projects: Casa Robino, ideas.trustroots.org, hospitalityguide.net (CC-BY), and — with permission — OpenCouchSurfing.

About 30 named people have edited the wiki chapters in this edition, plus anonymous edits. Trustroots Wiki as a whole has several hundred accounts with edits; this book only reprints a slice. Other sources in the volume have their own authors.

License of this book: CC-BY-SA-4.0. Software discussed later remains AGPL (Trustroots), GPL-2.0 (BeWelcome/rox), and MIT (Couchers code, not branding).

This edition starts with practice (how to host and visit on any network), then the networks themselves. Network-specific guidance, history, and governance are grouped with BeWelcome, Trustroots, Couchers, Servas, Hospitality Club, CouchSurfing, or the project they describe. Part III collects country, regional, city, and rural hospitality pages. Part IV looks forward: experiments people can try themselves, related projects, shared software, research, and peer-to-peer proposals. This is not a scrape of CouchSurfing.com. A 2005 Hospitality Club mailing (WikiLeaks file name 2009) is discussed under Hospitality Club; the leaked text itself is not copied into this book.

Part I — Practice

Hospitality exchange is the same motion on every network: say who you are, ask clearly, host when you can, leave the place better than you found it. The pages that follow are that motion without a logo attached — profiles, requests, safety, camps, rural stays.

Which site you use comes after this. If you only read one section before you send a first request, read this one.

Hospitality exchange is more than a "free" bed. It's an exchange, it's about the experience of meeting and spending time with similar minded people. "What can you bring and what can the host offer in the time you share". You should be looking for a host to stay with and not just a couch to use. Hosts in popular cities get so many requests, they have to be selective about whom they choose. But even the single host at a place far away from the touristic hot spot may be picky. All these potential hosts are using the networks for their own reasons, mostly because they want to meet new people and bring the world to their place, but they may also have limited time and space. So: How to make your request standing out and increase your chance to get accepted? Read on!

Some hosts ask that you write requests with a lot of personalized comments about them and their profile. Some even include a codeword that you have to find to prove that you read their profile. Others don't mind that you copy and paste a request to all selected hosts so you can spend more time travelling than writing requests without even knowing which couches are available when you need one. It is important to read the hosts' profiles carefully to determine how personalized they want requests to be.

Before posting a public request to local groups or forums, make sure to check the guidelines and that there is not another sub-forum specifically for that purpose. Some popular cities name such a sub-forum as "Last minute Requests".

Official tips for writing a request on hospitality exchange networks

Most networks have their own FAQ, make sure to read them they may contain some useful tips and special requirements. Examples can be found at:

• Writing your host at BeWelcome Wiki
• CouchRequest tips at Couchsurfing
• add more... (alphabetical order)

How to write a couchsurfing request in other Languages

(Note: This is a wiki, so all pages can be edited at any time, so don't expect word-by-word translations!)

- Comment rédiger une requête de canapé - Come scrivere una richiesta di ospitalità - Wie man einen Host anschreibt http://oldcswiki.couchwiki.org/en/Wie_man_eine_CouchAnfrage_schreibt.html

Saying hello

• Read their profiles!: This will help you better predict the quality of your experience. Also read to see if they have special rules/requirements, e.g. bringing a sleeping bag, no smoking, dates when they are unavailable, limits on numbers of people they can host, needs a donation towards food, or for electricity, or internet, or help in home and family, or is it a shared house or a flat.
• See if you are compatible. Look for a host with similar interests. If you only like museums and your host only likes drinking, there could be a personality clash:).
• Some hosts want to know why you want to surf their couch and not just any couch. When you try to answer this question in your request, you should realize that you are interested in the host more than just their couch. Each host is different. So until there's a field to specify request personalization requirements, just read the profiles carefully.
• Try to contact newer & less busy hosts to increase your chances. Busy hosts in popular cities can get up to 10 or more requests every day
• Realize that some hosts get fewer couch requests simply because they live outside of their main city limits "proper", but they still happen to live very close to the main attractions. Be sure to use the "Within ___ kilometers/miles" of a city when you do a couch search. Often, these hosts are more willing to take surfers simply because they get less requests. You can also just search the region instead of the city, when traveling in more sparse areas.
• If you're traveling with friends, make sure they all have profiles. Your profiles should be linked to each other (as friends or with comments/references) and the single links provided in your request, because this makes it easier for hosts to look at all your profiles. (Group/couple profiles are a bad idea, as all references will be for the group/couple after a split up each of you will loose the history record. So better have all individual profiles, and reference each other.)

Say my name...

• Start with a good impression and say the person's name. Don't start with, "hey man/hi there/hello you/hi" unless you already know them. Sometimes people have a username on CS that is not their real name, but their real name can often be found in their CS references - why not use that and show that you've read that section of their profile, at least. People of Asian background might be uncomfortable with addressing someone by their name the first time they write to you, since, in many cultures, addressing a person by first name is considered rude and too forward. You can work around this by specifically referring to something from their profile to communicate that you read it. A "Hello Mr. or Ms. Surname" will most likely not offend anyone.

• Introduce yourself. Don't tell your whole life story, but try a little harder than just saying, "Hi! I want to surf your couch." Don't copy/paste your request emails to try to get a couch. Hosts have already caught on to this, and your chances of being successful are much greater if you make it clear to the host that you've actually read their profile and want to stay with them, not just stay on their couch.

Timing is everything

• Be as precise as possible about arrival and departure dates/times. If you are hitch-hiking, let your host know and tell them not to wait for you at home because it's impossible to know when you will exactly be there.
• Be aware that people may write dates in different formats. The dates "8/9 to 8/11" could mean 2 days or 2 months, depending on the culture. Instead, use expanded, clear date formats such as: "9-August to 11-August" to avoid confusion. This will make it easy for the host to decide quickly if they can have you surf or not.
• Don't rush. If you need a couch by tomorrow, you are making it hard for yourself. Try to send requests 1-4 weeks before.
• Realize that many hosts will have a hard time accepting couch requests more than a few weeks in advance, due to unpredictable schedules. Many hosts have a "sweet spot" of about 1-2 weeks beforehand. Asking to be hosted months in advance can make a host feel more like a hotel reservation system than a personal residence.
• Don't feel bad about asking more than one host at the same time -- this is not a dating game anyway and also you are not even sure all hosts will respond or even get your request. Mention the range of days you will be in their town and perhaps that you hope to only stay one day per host. Then narrow it down from any positive responses you receive after all.
• In the Arrival and Departure fields of the request form, enter the approximate or exact dates of your whole visit to a place, even though you only intend to stay with a single host for part of that time. Then in the body of your request, ask the host to let you know which dates within that range are available.

Are you for real?

• Make sure you have a complete and detailed profile. Upload more than one picture of yourself - possibly doing fun activities that you enjoy, or places you've already visited. Describe yourself in details, not generalities. This takes some time, but it is worthwhile, especially for those who have few (or no) references.
• Write about what you want to do in the place you are wanting to visit.
• Don't make any demands, but don't be obsequious or give fake compliments either. You will get the most from a visit by adapting to and experiencing what's different about the place. Share what you can and accept what is offered.
• Some networks have specific features that allow member verification that you might want to consider.
  • The verification on Couchsurfing is a bit tricky as it merely means that someone's credit card was used and that there's an address where someone was able to receive a postcard. Being a level 3 fully verified member might help increase your chance of the host accepting you, but it might also decrease your chances with other hosts who are sceptical of the verification process.
  • A better attempt is the member based verification at BeWelcome, which is only done in person. Members can verify each other's ID cards or passports.

Traveling with friends

• If you are surfing together with other people: mention them, introduce them, link to pictures, and try to make them sign up at the network with their own profile. Some people will not host you if your travel partner is not a member as well.

Conclusion

Your success at receiving invitations from hosts depends on a lot of things... Are you smiling or scowling in your photos? Are you pictured doing something fun or sitting in the dark in front of your computer? How did you fill out your profile description? Do you have connections, verification and references within the use network or can link to others?

No prior references/comments? Try to go to in touch with other local members before you start your trip. The bigger networks have local meetings, where you can learn more about Hospitality exchange and harvest some references/comments from real life persons. (Besides: It's fun meeting local members of your network and very often their travelling guests are taking part as well.) Another option is to offer members travelling to your place company, tours or meetings. This is especially usefull if you're completely new or your current living situation prevents you from hosting.

It's OK if you contact several hosts to "increase your chances", but please don't spam everyone in a particular city. Every network has several spamfilters in place and when you send a certain number of messages within a small amount of time you may be automatically identified as a possible spammer and NONE of your messages might go out until they are reviewed by a volunteer to make sure you are not spamming people. How many requests is the right number depends on a lot of things, but 10 requests to an average place with a decent profile and a few days advanced notice is usually more than enough to get one invitation.

Also, it's just polite to write back to everyone who replied to you, to thank them and say you already have a couch if you have already found one. Even if they say "no", reply with a "Thanks anyways" - they will remember your politeness... and who knows, maybe one of their friends may be able to host you.

Remember, read the host profiles carefully and follow any instructions they include when writing your request.

Although most content of this guide seems to be obvious, experienced users of hospitality exchange networks still report they get a lot requests like this:

HI, I'm a cool guy and will crash your couch next week? CU

Probably for most hosts a request like this won't do it. So for those, who have difficulties to imagine how the perfect request looks like, here are some hints.

General information

• Take care about YOUR profile - besides your request that's the only information your host gets to make up his mind about you.
• Read profiles of potential hosts carefully (for your security, for your host, to avoid missunderstandings). A lot of people have a lot to say in their profiles and maybe they contain important hints.
• If your hospex network provides a special way to request a couch use this tool and not regular mail (or explain why not).

Specifics about your stay

• Make your request as specific as possible, i. e. provide dates and length of stay (or at least explain, if you can't). Unlike the travelling guest hosts live there usual allday lifes and are busy with their regular schedule and social life. So accepting a guest means planing around the daily routine, this is much more easy if hosts know what to plan for.
• Special needs (handicaps, special diet, allegies)? Be clear about this. Also check out your potential hosts profile about this.
• What are your interests? It's a difference, to get wasted in the most fancy techno clubs, to have at tight schedule to visit all the historical museums, to be in town for a research, to whatever...

Choice of host

• Do a clever search. The first ten of a list for town do get a lot of request already.Use keywords, age, groups - whatever. You'll find the more interesting people and they're more likely to host you.
• Write personal requests. Noone would blame you for copying and pasting the technical part about dates and specifics, your general travel plan and so on, but always make sure to add some specific to the request. And no, just adding the real name to the "Hi" at the beginning of your request won't do it.
• Read profiles carefully, but don't believe everything you read. If you decide to ignore things in them, a lot of people don't mind as long as you provide a reason for it in your request.

Exchange

• It's not just about a place to crash. But what's than? What do you want to provide, what do you want to learn?

Searching for a couch is one of CouchSurfing's most important functionalities.

In advance: Hosts are naturally concerned about security, and the more that they know about you, the more likely that they will be willing to host you; accordingly, the more detailed your profile is, the better. So fill in your own profile page with interesting (true!) information about yourself, and be sure to upload a photograph of yourself - again, that helps the host to decide yes or no.

Searching for a couch

• If the profile says "Coffee or a drink", that means the surfer cannot host anyone at the moment. But it does mean that they would love to chill with you during the day, show you around, etc, but you just can't crash there.
• Don't just contact the top five hosts in any city - they are probably inundated with requests. Explore the other pages in your search results too.
• Especially with big and popular CS cities, try searching couches further away from the main city area. These people get less requests and are thus more likely to host.
• Be sure to read a potential host's profile thoroughly to understand any conditions they might have set, e.g. only one guest at a time, maximum three nights, vegetarians only, etc.
• Women: choose women's couches, if you feel safer with them. See also the Tips for solo women.

Requesting a couch

• Be specific about your intended arrival and departure dates and times - that helps the host to decide yes or no. (And they don't want to wait for you all day!)
• If possible, send a request well in advance

1. In some cases, you will have to plan a month in advance. Others do not require that much time. Remember: some hosts in popular places receive more than ten requests each week!

• If requesting a last minute couch:

1. Check the last login time and place (potential host who just logged in from the other side of the world is very unlikely to host you)
2. Still read the profile carefully - being in a hurry is no excuse to be ignorant

• A few days before you get there, remind your host you'll be arriving soon.
• If you have special needs or request (i. e. allergies) mention them in advance.
• Try to identify interests between you and your hosts. Many hosts are willing to basically provide a free hotel, but it is more interesting for the host if they know something about your background or can learn something even when you are just stopping in to rest at night.
• Be specific if you have special plans for the city or region.
• Ask about the couch: air-mattress, couch, bed of your own
• Ask about the location of the couch (separate room or couch in a 1-room-apartment/loft).
• Ask if sleeping bag is needed or if sheets are provided.
• Ask if there will be other CouchSurfers or guests at that time.
• Ask about public transportation options. Can you get to the city center without riding with your host? Is there a good train or bus system near their home? Is there a reliable taxi service you can use? (If you are uncomfortable staying somewhere that has no public transport available, you may want to rethink your destination.)
• Ask for needed information (phone number, adress,...)

1. If possible, you could ask your host to meet you in advance at any certain place.

• Also look at tips about Keeping in touch cheaply when travelling

Changing plans

• If you change your plans and don't plan to arrive after all, tell your host as soon as possible. Hosts are generously providing their couches for you! Be respectful of their lives and plans!
• DECLINE A HOST IF YOU DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE. It is OK to do this! You are allowed to change your mind, but be respectful and let them know in advance of your decision.
• Have a back-up plan! Have addresses and phone numbers of a hostel in the surrounding area, just in case.

Asking more than one host at the same time

Asking more than one member for a couch increases your chances to finally get a couch when/as you want it. This is quite ok, especially when you're in a hurry or your dates are fixed. But please keep in mind: When hosts agree to host you then they will definitely have made changes in their schedule - just for you. So

• Don't flood the community with requests. Try to filter out only a few hosts-to-be by carefully reading profiles.
• Decide as soon as possible for one host.
• Tell any other immediately that you will not make use of their offer. Don't let somebody prepare your stay in vain. Remember: you had time enough to ask, they invested their time to think about it and to give you a positive response. So whatever hurry you are in, you must have the time to write at least a short message.
• Maybe you can „meet them for a coffee or a drink” instead.

(couchsurfing.com/groups.html?group_category=1 Groups related to the city, region or country are not recommended to search couches. But in case of emergency [budget traveling is not an emergency] it's an option to ask around there if people are interested in hosting you.)

Travelling from one couch to the next

• If you are leaving your host, make sure you have planned the next segment of your trip properly (by rideshare, bus, train, etc.)
• Consider having a plan to contact your former host upon arrival at your new destination. Before you leave, set a latest possible time with them by which you should have got into contact to let them know you're ok. That way, if there is no sign of you by the decided upon time, your former host can probably act immediately in case something has happened.
• Contact your new host in advance: fix dates, set time of arrival, tell them about the method of arrival, etc
• Always get the address of a hostel in the surroundings, just in case.
• Find out who the ambassadors in the area are. Even if you're not surfing with them, they can be a valuable resource to you.

No host or other accommodation is available?

Stay at a hostel or look for a camping site. I. e. check out these sites:

• http://www.hostelworld.com/
• http://www.hostelworld.com/en/index.html
• http://www.itravelnet.com/ directories/camping.html

Having a filled out profile can drastically increase your chances of finding a host. It also makes it easier for potential guests to see what kind of person you are. Ideally it should show a bit of your personality, and what kind of guest and or host you will be.

Though much of this advice can be used on any hospitality exchange platform this wiki will use the Trustroots profile as an outline for what should be included in a profile.

About me

You can put anything you want here, what you get up to in your daily life, what kind of trip you are on, what you find most important when meeting other people, anything as all as long as it's a reflection of who you are as a person. Some people like long detailed profiles, other people like to share succinct information, there is no wrong or right. You can update your profile is often or as little as you like.

Accommodation

Write what kind of place you can offer your guest. - how is the accommodation, a bed or a place where your guest can roll out their sleeping bag, a separate room, a place in the living room or a shared room? - What can you offer in a practical sense, can people do their laundry, is there wifi, do you expect to share food or will your guest have to provide their own food? - Is your accommodation wheelchair accessible, are there any other issues that could impede a person with a disability? - How can your place be reached, is there public transport, if so what kinds?

Hospitality exchange is always a two-way street. You receive and you give. If you can't host at the moment, please make sure you explain why so it's clear you're making an effort. When you can't host it's always possible to create a meet-up. This way you can still offer to guide someone in your city, have a drink and hang out.

Meet Up

Another way to participate on Trustroots is to create a meet up. This can be while you're traveling but also when you're at home. It's a good way to show other members you're active. If you can't host, creating a meet up will make sure you do show up on the map so members can contact you. A meet up can be offering to guide someone, have a drink, share a meal, organise a weekly boardgames night or simple to hang out. A meet up will stay visible max one month. You can create more than one meet up. Convenient when you're traveling to different places.

Circles

Circles are a way to find other users with similar intrests. By joining a few circles other people will get an indication of what your interests are.

Experiences

After having met another Trustrooter you can describe your experience. The experiences on your profile will give an indication of what kind of guest or host you are, and what other people could expect when meeting you. For more information on the uses of experiences and how you can write them see experiences

Contacts

Once you have stayed with a person, or met another trustrooter in some other way you can add them as a contact. It will make it easier to stay in touch.

Trust is one of the pilars of our community. We encourage our members to travel, meet, share, learn and connect with eachother. It’s always exciting to meet new people and through our platform true friendships have been formed. The world of hospex is unique in the travel scene. You’re part of a community which believes that helping out/meeting a stranger, can be the best thing you ever did. Our community is full of travellers of all shapes and sizes. Our circles are fields of interests where you can easily find like minded people. Our meet up function is created so besides hosting, you can actively create local events or meet up with travellers around. Your profile and activity is a reflection of what you have to offer so if you can’t host (temporarily), be sure to use our meet up function to connect with members nearby. Although we prefer to trust the good in people, our platform is open to everyone to join so we can’t guarantee safety. There’re however a few simple steps you can go through in order to make this platform -and keep yourself- safe.

Hosting & Being Hosted

Before reaching out:

1. Make sure your profile has enough information about who you are, what you prefer and in case you have a specific lifestyle, make sure this is mentioned on your profile. Trust goes both ways so your profile should reflect you.

2. Read all information on someone’s profile. If there’s a lot of information that means someone made a big effort which means it’s important for them, so be sure you make an effort in going through all of it.

3. See what other members wrote about their experience with the member you want to get in touch with. Keep in mind though, experiences have two sides, there’s no right or wrong, it’s simple someone’s opinion.

4. You can see on someone’s profile who they have as contacts and read those people’s profile too. Contacts could be members who have met eachother, know eachother through the platform and even close friends.

5. Check the date when the person joined and when their contacts joined. Sadly some members make fake profiles to increase their contacts and make it seem like they’re active in the community.

When reaching out:

1. Remember if you use another way of communication outside the platform, our safety team isn’t able to help out in case of emergency.

2. Be sure you’re clear about why you reach out and don’t be afraid to ask specific questions to make sure you’re on the same page.

3. You can always suggest a videocall using meet.jit.si/(add anything here to make a new meeting). This way you have a better idea of the member you’re about to meet and a call can be a good way to get eachother a little bit better upfront.

4. So many people, so many personalities; simple because we’re all on the same platform, doesn’t mean we all have to get along. If you don’t feel comfortable at any moment, am in doubt, there’s no harm in cancelling. We do prefer our members to leave their comfortzone somewhat since it mostly results in the amazing experiences, however be sure you know your own bounderies and don’t be afraid to act. On the platfrom there’s always the option to block a member or if needed: report them.

When meeting

1. Always be respectfull and aware of possible (cultural) differences. Communicate when in doubt to avoid confussion.

2. Like trust, respect goes both ways. Remember when you’re a host, in what position your guest is in and visa versa.

3. Be sure you communicate your bounderies but remember that a difference in values doesn’t mean one person is right and the other is wrong.

4. Have a back-up plan. It might give you more comfort knowing there’s always a solution in case of emergency.

5. Always look up how to get in touch with authorities when visiting a foreign land.

After meeting

1. Always write and share your experience on the platform. The same experience can be different for both parties. By sharing them, we can learn from eachother and therefore make the platform as safe as possible.

2. If you didn’t have a positive experience, but you don’t need the Safety Team to step in, please do share this with the person in question before writing your experience on the platform. Misundertanding can happen and it would be unfortunate if someone didn’t get the chance to explain and instead would read about it online. Bare in mind your norms might be different from the member you just met. Realise there's no right norm so if you for example find it messy, that might be saying more about you than about the other person. Realise someone did you a favour by hosting/meeting you and be respectful when writing about your experience.

3. If you have an unpleasend experience where someone crossed your bounderies, you didn’t feel save and want to talk about it, you can always reach out to our Safety Team and report a member. IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW HAVE WITNESSED OR BEEN VICTIM OF A CRIME, PLEASE REPORT IT TO THE POLICE IMMEDIATELY!

Tips for women travelers

Especially women have to take care of safety, read more here.

What could possibly go wrong?

Unpleasant experience

Unpleasant experiences vary not a big deal (e.g. staying in a dirty place or loud guests or hosts at night) to much worse. We want to build features that allow people to rate their experience and later use that rating information so that similar (based on tagging) people will not have unpleasant experiences again with that person. E.g. very clean people will automatically avoid very dirty people, and party people will not easily be connected to people who prefer tranquility over Dionysian celebrations. Unless they choose otherwise of course, a conscious decision.

Violence

Violence is an extremely unpleasant experience (for most people).

We expect that most inherently violent people will cause unpleasant experiences before actual violence occurs. And that our system to prevent unpleasant experiences will also prevent violence.

There are some interesting cases, such as the famous Venetian wrestling contests - enforced by the host among various guests. A lot of people will consider this violence. We agree. But if it's obvious to potential guests that this is going to be their experience they should be free to go ahead.

Sexual abuse and harassment

This mainly affects solo traveling women, please read more here.

Safety team

Back in 2014 we didn't think building an extended dedicated safety team is the solution. Prevention is key. As soon as there is sign of a person showing violent behavior their trust rating should go down which leads to some kind of seclusion.

In 2018 we thought it's good to start building a team of people working on this (see also https://meta.trustroots.org/c/safety). Since 2019, our support / safety team consists of two people. More volunteers are welcome. Especially having a female point of view would be great in this team! If you are interested, join the volunteer chat.

In 2020, the safety team grew to four people and they started having regular meetings:

2023 the safety team currently exists of three people.

More safety advices

There is a very good article about safety on BeWelcome, http://www.bewelcome.org/safety.

A host is a member of a hospitality exchange network who is willing to offer another member of the network a place to stay or sleep in their home. The sleeping arrangements and accommodation provided by a host is often refered to a couch, even if it not in actuality. Hosts are typically willing to host other members under the pretext of cultural exchange, sharing, and mutual respect but freeloading is frowned upon. Hosts should not expect money or payment for their services. However, they may be reimbursed by their guests for any expenses, such as food.

See Also

How to be a good host

Profiles are the main point of information about each other. So it's an important task to fill out "YOUR" profile.

General

• Tell something. People make up there mind about you from your profile as they don't have any other information untill you meet in real life.
• If you have habits or needs, that could cause trouble mention them (or note them in your request / reply to a request).
• If you're a member of a hospex network most people would already guess you're openminded, want to meet people and like to travel. Writing this down is redundant information (although it tells something about you).

Privacy

• It's the internet. So be careful.
• Explore the privacy settings of the hospex site. Some may allow you to show your profile only to other logged in users. Very often mandatory fields from the registration can be set to hidden as well.
• Sensible information does not belong on a public page. (It's your decision what's sensible and what not.)

Pictures

• Some people have a simple rule: no real picture, no couch.
• Some networks allow to block profiles without a picture (or you simply need to upload one).
• People definetly look at the pictures, so choose wisely.
• Pictures tell different stories than (profile) text and a lot of people prefer them.
• It's the internet. Once released, you can't get it back. Some networks protect pictures from searchengines, but you'll never know.
• Unfortunately pictures of blond females tend to generate a specific kind of unwanted mails. ("Hiding" your real picture in your gallery and using a non-blond image for your profile helps in most cases.)
• If a picture offends you, click on too another profile. Don't cry for the authorities and start a flame war.

Empty profiles

If you stumble upon a member with an empty profile, i.e. no pictures, no description, ask him or her to fill in some more info into their profiles. If the person has problems filling in the profile, you could offer some help if you're geographically close. At couchsurfing you can pre-emptively block couch requests from members with empty profiles ("Edit my profile" page, "Privacy" tab: choose "Yes" for "Contact by complete users only?" Members with empty profiles will then be unable to get "Couchsurf with.." or "Contact" links when they reach your page.) Additionally, a note on your own profile explaining that only members with completed profiles will be able to contact you, may (one hopes!) encourage people to fill theirs in.

Copyrights

The networks claim very different rights for the stuff you upoad or create on the pages. Usually you agree by accepting the terms of use to this. From plain stealing to open licences you could find everything. So it's a good idea to inform yourself about the actual status. In anycase think twice before giving away valuable pictures, text an other stuff.

Also see

• Freeloaders
• Brand New Members

The concept of Hospitality Exchange, also known as “accommodation sharing”, “hospitality services” (short “hospex”), and “home stay networks”, refers to centrally organized social networks of individuals, generally travelers, who offer or seek accommodation without monetary exchange. Generally, these services connect users via the internet.

History

In 1949, Bob Luitweiler founded the first hospitality service called Servas Open Doors as a cross national, non-profit, volunteer run organization advocating interracial and international peace. In 1965, John Wilcock set up the Traveler's Directory as a listing of his friends willing to host each other when traveling. In 1988, Joy Lily rescued the organization from imminent shutdown, forming Hospitality Exchange. In 2000, Veit Kuhne founded Hospitality Club, the first widely known Internet-based service (many others existed since the late 90s but never reached the high number of users that HC reached). In 2004, Casey Fenton started CouchSurfing, now the largest hospitality exchange organization.

How they work

Generally, after registering, members have the option of providing very detailed information and pictures of themselves and of the sleeping accommodation being offered, if any. The more information provided by a member improves the chances that someone will find the member trustworthy enough to be their host or guest. Names and addresses may be verified by volunteers. Members looking for accommodation can search for hosts using several parameters such as age, location, gender, and activity level. Home stays are entirely consensual between the host and guest, and the duration, nature, and terms of the guest's stay are generally worked out in advance to the convenience of both parties. No monetary exchange takes place except under certain circumstances (e.g. the guest may compensate the host for food). After using the service, members can leave a noticeable reference about their host or guest.

Instead of or in addition to accommodation, members also offer to provide guide services or travel-related advice. The websites of the networks also provide editable travel guides and forums where members may seek travel partners or advice. Many such organizations are also focused on "social networking" and members organize activities such as camping trips, bar crawls, meetings, and sporting events.

Some networks cater to specific niche markets such as students, activists, religious pilgrims, and even occupational groups like police officers.

Benefits

Monetary savings

As these networks provide accommodation at no charge, monetary savings can be significant.

Local contact

Hospitality exchange gives travelers the chance to experience what life is like for people living in other places. In addition, making interpersonal connections and fostering understanding of different cultures may in the long run also be important to international relations. During hospitality exchanges, hosts may show off their local knowledge and exciting places “off the tourist map”. Not only may travelers get a distinct experience, but they will also get a feel for the everyday lives of local residents.

Reciprocity

These systems foster richer and more convenient travel experiences not so much on the premise of altruism, but on the basis of social exchange theory. Implicit in the agreement to host travelers is the ability to ask to be hosted by them in the future. If one enjoys having interesting guests in their home, this works out well for both parties. It works comparatively better if you are visited by travelers from a locale you find particularly attractive. Thus, hosting someone from New York City in Gainesville, Florida seems to be an unbelievable opportunity. Moreover, if you are a Westerner visiting someone in a developing country, your stay might be the only way that this individual or family could afford a trip to a rich nation. This may mean more than just a relaxing vacation for such disadvantaged parties.

Ecological sustainability

Accommodation sharing reduces the demand for hotels, which, depending on the location can be detrimental for the environment.

Drawbacks

Lack of guarantee

There is no contractual agreement between users in these systems. Reservations are made, but if they are for some reason broken, there is no higher authority to which one could plead for a refund or other compensation. The only repercussion will be the poor rating you give that user and your only consolation will be that your warning will deter others from visiting or hosting them. For those who feel insecure unless their travel arrangements are written in stone before departure, this system will not be comforting.

Potential interpersonal conflict or awkwardness

There is a chance that guest and host will not get along. Perhaps there will be scheduling or ideological conflicts. Maybe you will find that hosts or visitors have misrepresented themselves. Perhaps the experience will not live up to your expectations. Intense interpersonal communications in advance and a flexibility once you have arrived is your best bet. These experiences require additional planning and courtesy towards the demands of your host. Thus, your living conditions, length of stay, and overall experience will be circumscribed by the living conditions you enter into.

Digital divide and demographic segregation

As use of these services generally requires access to the internet and knowledge of the English language, the sample population found in searches of these databases is really much less diverse than a geographical representation of worldwide users might suggest.

Security

Staying in someone's house, or inviting people into your house leaves open the possibility of being taken advantage of.

Example networks

There are countless websites that serve the idea of hospitality service, with new ones appearing as this phenomenon becomes more popular. While this page is not intended to be a directory listing, here is a small sample of the well-established and long-standing networks:

• CouchSurfing - A very active network with over 14 million members in more than 200 countries
• BeWelcome - An active network with over 115.000 members in more than 200 countries
• Trustroots - An active network with over 34.000 members
• Hospitality Club - An out-dated network with over 790.000 members, but most of them not active any more
• Servas International - Human rights and global peace oriented since 1949. A relatively small network now with over 15.000 members(?) with a very long history

Specialized networks

Some networks offer specialised hospitality services. There are at least 15 (specialised) hospitality services.¹, here are some examples:

• The Affordable Travel Club 1 Hospitality Exchange Club with 2000 members worldwide for people 40+
• Lesbian and Gay Hospitality Exchange International 2;
• Warm Showers - Hospitality network towards touring cyclists;
• Dachgeber3 - Hospitality network towards touring cyclists in Germany with about 3000 members. (See our German article Dachgeber.)
• Pasporta Servo4 - for Esperanto speakers;
• WWOOF5 - "Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms", help on the property is exchanged for food, accommodation, education and cultural interaction;
• HelpX6 - "Help Exchange", help is exchanged for food, accommodation, experience and cultural interaction;
• Homeshare International 7 - charity organisation providing exchange of housing for help in the home.
• Ridester8 -- ride sharing for travelers.

References

External links

• Article on www.wikivoyage.org

Unfortunately there seem to be some people who are trying to abuse the system. First of all: If you suspect someone is trying to freeload, feel free to say "No!" But, "the only way to solve problems is to first voice them." (Kate L.) Try to find out the reasons for a special way of behavior and decide case by case how to handle freeloaders on CouchSurfing.

What is a freeloader?

Freeloaders are people who only use CouchSurfing as a way to stay for free at someone's house. These kind of people do not care that much about the people hosting them. The most important thing to them is saving money, rather then to respect were the couchsurf community stands for.

Freeloaders spend their money only for their own pleasure, without sharing or at least as little as possible. Telling you they run out of cash, have been robbed, or other sad/ interesting stories, making you feel sorry for them or willing to support them.

As well there are Freeloaders traveling without money or just a little, for real. Those freeloaders know that there is always somebody (mostly starters or naif people) willing to host them. Some Freeloaders, but other guests as well, don't interact with their hosts, don't even try to, known as the Couch-Potatoes. As a matter of fact they might leave your house without a word of thanks.

Another excuse is that they hate money telling you that money is not important to them at all. They want you to believe they really hate it and there should be a way different system according them. Think again!! Taking them in they do not care about money as long as you pay for them. People living on you! You will recognize them soon enough!

Finally there are the experienced freeloaders, using all the techniques above, with their best smile and a helping hand. They are the best actors. It is hard to recognize them but one thing is for sure.…. They try to safe money were ever they can, starting being your guest!

Most freeloaders do not have a confirmed account (Green Lock) Their Profile tells you just a little or a lot of made-up stuff. It is wise to Google you guest before taking him in by using the information mentioned on his profile.

Like by Name, Nickname in combination with EMAIL, Town hobby other profile's etc. If nothing shows up, and you are not sure about, you better refuse the person. and tell him first to update his profile. The profile pictures of course has to correspond with the person asking for a couch, once you meet him in real life time. Otherwise meet in public first.

Now remember this! If you go for a vacation you always know how to contact home/ family, how to contact your bank, how to use money-transfer-services, how to contact your embassy. You always have the responsibility to have an extra budget in case a host is not able to host you for what reason. If you have no possibilities to travel or do not know how to coop with changing, you should never lean on other people's goodness, and delay your plans until you can!

Then there are COUCHSCROOGERS ( See How to handle Couchscroogers

A couchscrooger is someone taking in guests, but not willing to be involved otherwise, not sharing their culture, not trying to give the guest a feel like home feeling. Complaining on everything, offering nothing! Creating very complicated rules and demanding too much. They are couchpotatoes on their own couch.

CouchSurfers report requests for couches that just annoy them. CouchSurfing is a homelessness site so be patient and try to find out more. You can't lose very much by being friendly to a person you don't know (yet?).

Warnings in the profile

Putting aggressive warnings against copy-paste messages seems to be a rather negative way of dealing with the issue of bulk requests.

It is understandable that people get extremely annoyed, specially in popular destination cities, by getting messages from members that just want free accommodation.

But this shouldn't be the solution. The profile is a precious space for communication with other members and for making nice contacts.

It seems best to deal with the messages one by one, without exteriorizing anger in the profile.

Moneyless doesn't mean freeloading

There are quite a few people who live completely without money, or with very little. They are not necessarily freeloaders. A lot of people "give back" in other ways such as bringing in food through dumpster diving, helping out with tasks or fixing your computer. It's good to be considerate of moneyless people. They shouldn't be confused with freeloaders, also, most moneyless people manage to survive because they are nice and do NOT behave like freeloaders. There's a whole website about living this way: Moneyless.org

Also See:

• Brand New Members
• Empty Profiles

What is a Couchscrooger?

• A couchscrooger is someone taking in guests, but not willing to be involved otherwise,
• not sharing their culture, not trying to give the guest a feel like home feeling.
• Complaining on everything, offering nothing!
• Creating very complicated rules and demanding too much.
• They are couchpotatoes on their own couch.

How to deal with Couchscroogers?

• Always be polite
• You never know why people react that way.
• Maybe you are way different as the person they had expected.
• Other things came up and they do not know how to handle that cooping with you being there.

• Some Couchscrooge are the kind of Homey freeloaders.
• They consider themselves as the generous host offering you a place to sleep.
• Now, according them, it is your time to show your generosity, by paying all the food,
• spending's at a night out etc.

Other people do not realize they are acting that way. As well their mood might change and your visit ends up into a wonderful friendship.

Knowing that you are not going on a vacation spending your time with a scrooge, it is not always that easy to find yourself another place.

No matter what, stay calm and be correct. Make the best of it yourself. Unless they are really unfair, in that case you are able to give a negative advice. If the host is rude you are able to complain with the community.

Organizing a meeting or camp for hospitality exchange people is not too difficult, but some things should be taken care of.

Types

There are different types of camps/meetings. Depending on the time you have and the amount of people.

• Regular Meeting / One day
  • The best ones are the spontaneous ones when you have a guest over, just SMS to several people in your town if they would like to meet up the same evening..
• Camp / Several days
  • Camp -Style Several (organized) activities
    • Look for a big place to where people can camp & be

• • 'Home'-Style
    • People from your town take several guests
    • Central meeting place
    • Several (organized) activities

Structure

There are different Types of meetings. Interesting is to split those ones up and think about different structure they could have.

• • 'Party'-Style
  • 'Workshop'-Style
    • 'Lectures'
    • 'Open Space Technology'

Preparation

Before you announce, pick a good date. Make sure people will be able to come, e.g. choose a date during holidays. Once the date is chosen some travellers might have planned to change their itinerary, or even booked flights, so it's definitely not a good idea to change the date later on.

Also find some people close to you to work on the camp together.

Activities

When you organize meetings/camps over several days with a large number of participants is it excellent when you organize different activities where people can participate in. The normally big party crowd gets split up. Throughout different activities and interaction in smaller groups people will to get to know each other easier.

• Workshops
• Citytours
• Games

Jigsaw Set Ups are especially recommendable and to aspire.

Announcements

• announce your meeting on many sites
  • the Hospitality Club forum
  • couchsurfing.com/meetings.html the CouchSurfing meet functionality
    • to make your life easier you can have your message sent to all members of a specific group
  • you can use the space on this wiki
  • contact some, or all, active members in the region where you organize your meeting
  • try to contact some active members in other regions, such as other people who are organizing large meetings, this way people who attend that meeting can be informed about your meeting

Budget

• try to make sure it won´t be too expensive
  • many people will come on a very low budget

Camping

• when there is outside camping involved
  • try to arrange some spare tents or a place inside where people can sleep, not everyone brings his or her own tent

For a big camp you can set up a seperate website, where people (independent from the networks), can register.

Successful camps

• If the desired page is already a "red" link somewhere, just klick it with your mouse and you're in the process of creating a new page. Yes, it's that easy;)
• If your page isn't linked so far, go to an existing page from where you want to link your new page and add a link like [[your link]]. After saving the page your new link will appear in read color.
• Using Templates

Templates are nice as they save a lot of work and make similar pages look the same. In general it's just using within your page, additional info can be found on the template pages:

• • For Countries you can use template for country headers
  • For Cities you can use template for city headers
• A suggested structure for regional guides is:
  • World Regions (more a structure)
    • If suitable: Country Groups (Like Oceania, Baltica, Arabic Emirates?)
  • Countries
    • If suitable: Areas (USA -> California, Germany -> Bavaria)
  • City
    • If suitable: City Parts (Hamburg ->Altona, New York ->Brooklyn, Cairo ->Giza)

Hospitality exchange networks have been around for a while.

Non-profit networks

• Servas is the oldest hospitality exchange organization. Setup in 1948 by Bob Luitweiler, it was originally called 'PeaceBuilders'. read more - Servas
• Hospex was the first Internet based hospitality club, established back in 1992. Not active anymore.
• BeWelcome was started in 2007. read more
• Global Free Loaders
• Trustroots.org, started in Dec 2014. Non-profit and open source.

Commercial general networks

• CouchSurfing was started by Casey Fenton in 2003 and is currently the largest hospitality exchange network. Also the term "couch surf" has been around for decades, it used to mean staying on friends' couches. CouchSurfing is credited with changing the meaning to include international hospitality exchange. read more
• Hospitality Club is the successor to Hospex and Travelhoo, founded in 2000 by Veit Kühne and grown after merging with the Hitch Hikers Database, a global site based in Lithuania which originally had a dispute with Veit who copied parts of their website. read more - Hospitality Club
• BeLodged
• Stay 4 Free
• Tripping
• Horizon 1 - Hospitality Exchange within your own networks (friends, friends of friends, and people in your communities)

Specialized networks

• Dachgeber (a still paper based, mostly german network for cyclists)
• Gig Swap
• Warm Showers (hospitality network for cyclists)
• Organic Farming^wiki
• HelpX.net (help exchange network)
• Workaway (work in exchange for hospitality)
• Volunteersbase (non-profit work exchange for hospitality)

References

• More about hospitality networks.
• Graham, G. Scott (2015). Work Exchange: A Handbook for Hosts (Kindle ed.). Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Academic research about Hospitality Exchange

Organisational critique

• on CouchSurfing

Comparison lists

• Comparison table by BeWelcome
• Comparison table by Trustroots Foundation

}}

This page has been started for the Anarchist Couchsurfing Requests group needs.

Here you’ll find and add inforations about anarchist hosts, worldwide.

Organise for Anarchy!

{| align=“right” | TOC |} == Worldwide == Even if the [http://ayp.subvert.info/ Anarchist Yellow Pages] are not directly meant to find an anarchist host, you might be interested to check it out. == Africa == == North America == === United States === ==== New York ==== My name is Dave, and this here is my profile: couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=JUNI0U I live in ALBANY, not New York City. Check out my profile for more info.

== South America == == Asia == == Europe == === Denmark === ==== Copenhagen ====

Im Steph, not a native dane but I will live here until november 2010 I think. I am vegan, involved in different projects here- including an antifa cafe and a new social centre.

I live in someone elses apartment, we have room for probably 2 people. Its a small place. We like interesting visitors. We like to dumpster dive, see bands, talk, drink…

I speak english and hmm questionable danish:) I can read some swedish. Jens speaks danish, english and some swedish and german.

=== Portugal === ==== Lisbon ====

[http://escotilha8.hipercubo.net escotilha8] is an anarchist hosting house. Me and some others run this place, we have an average of about 4 people every day, maximum 15. check my profile for a description of what’s available.

=== Sweden === ==== Stockholm ====

Anarchist Couch available in Stockholm, Sweden periodically: Johannes Genberg

I’m a 30 year old anarchist living in the cold capital of Sweden. So if you are passing by here I might be able to host you. I work as a subway driver on odd days and hours so it’s sadly not a done deal (and I’m also active in the Swedish syndicalist union SAC which sometimes occupy my spare time). And my place is a one-roomer. But I love a philosophical-political discussion any day so if you like talking about what an anarchist society could look like I’m always up for it!

I’m not vegan or vegetarian. I speak Swedish, English and Japanese　（日本語）. I live close to the subway (only 25 minutes to down town).

=== Slovenia === ==== Celje ====

Hey there, people of good will! I’m 33 year old deadbeat, out for freedom, social justice and good old fun. revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having, i say. Actually i say it in a somewhat more vulgar manner. Oh, and here’s my profile. I’m 188, 120kg and they call me grizzly. We grow anarchists big in our country, it seems, as i have a similarily sized friend from Maribor, and he may well host some of you travelling anarchists out there. Actually, i can pretty much link you up with folks all over our small country, if you wish. But i can only speak for myself, hence no other profiles, right?

So, i can offer a couch, a vegetarian (well, i do eat fish…) meal, fun with my doggie, a wild night out, and lung cancer, possibly, as i’m a chain smoker. There’s more info with my profile, so check it out, if you’re travelling through our so-called subalpine paradise.

=== Germany ===

==== North ==== ===== Bremen ===== AC availabe in Bremen. My name is Martin. Maybe I can show you some interesting places here. Feel free to contact me: couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=2QGVSQP

==== South ==== ===== Bavaria ===== ====== Allgovia Region near Munich ====== Hey it’s Arne from Germany…please feel free2ask -> http://tinyurl.com/CS-anarchist-locator

==== East ====

==== West ====

== Oceania ==

Hospitality exchange works because people somehow know how to be a good guest.

You don't need to stay with someone to use hospitality networks! You can always email people just to offer a coffee or beer, or ask if they can show you around their hometown. It is very important to remember that the whole idea of hospitality exchange is new to many people. It is up to you to build up trust. Different people warm up to others at different rates. Please be respectful of this.

Tips from single networks "how to be a good guest"

• Bewelcome: Being a good guest
• Couchsurfing: Tips to be a Great Couchsurfer!
• ...

Languages

- Ova stranica je dostupna i na srpskom, kliknite ovde! - Traduction en français: Cliquez ici! - Questa pagina è disponibile anche nella versione italiana Come essere un buon ospite - Эта страница также доступна и на русском языке, жмите сюда!.

General Tips

• If you haven't yet read how to write a couch request, please do so before you start search for a host or someone to meet.

• Hospitality exchange is not the same as a hotel. You should be looking for a host to stay with, and not just a couch to use. Hospitality exchange is also about the experience of meeting and spending time with people, so try to choose compatible hosts. Don't forget that while you are traveling, your hosts have their own work, school, and daily schedules to keep.

• "Spread the love around": Less days with more hosts is better than more days with less hosts. You get to meet more hosts, see more places, and don't become a burden or bore returning night after night to the same host. Try 'one night max per host' on your next trip and see if it makes your travel more lively.

• Appreciate the hospitality, time, and effort spent on your behalf.

• Communicate clearly. Be clear about the dates you are arriving and leaving. Use formats like "9 August", instead of "9/8" or "8/9". If possible, share chat accounts, personal e-mail addresses, Skype, additional phone numbers, as backups for the network message system. If you can, confirm your arrival the day before. Don't overstay; leave when you said you would.
• Plan to be self-sufficient for meals: either bring food with you (e.g. sandwich fixings, cereal for breakfast), or be prepared to eat out. Your hosts may invite you to share their meals, but are under no obligation to do so. (Hosts themselves may be on limited budgets, or have different dietary preferences.) If you're invited to join them for a meal, offer to help in some way: with the preparation, washing-up, or by buying some of the groceries for the meal.
• Be flexible. You may have to hang out for a few hours at a cafe until your host gets off work. Your host may not be able to give you a spare key, so you might have to be out of the house while they're at work or school. Arrange your schedule around theirs. Being flexible and having good communication with your host is critical for a positive experience.
• Gifts. The entire idea of hospitality exchange is that you can stay, for free, as a guest in a person's home. That being said, however, gifts from home are generally welcome and may even be culturally required. But try to do better than cheap, dollar-store souvenir trinkets. And be sensitive to individual and cultural differences: for example, some hosts don't drink (so don't bring them a bottle of wine); or certain flowers in some cultures are associated with mourning. Read your hosts' profiles to get a sense of what they may like; chocolates, fruit, pastries, or baked goods from a local bakery, are often good standbys. If you have the skill and time (and your hosts agree), you could even offer to cook a meal for them (see section below). MP3's shared, books left behind or lent, can cost you nothing to leave behind, but leave a nice lasting impression.
• Money. You should have funds to pay for travel-related expenses: budget for food, local transportation and other costs (museum entries, etc.). Hosts should not be expected to provide anything except a place to stay for the night. If your host provides you with meals, entertainment, or transportation, offer to compensate them: offer to buy groceries, pay for your share of the tickets, or re-imburse them for fuel costs. If your host will not accept payment, then a "thank you" in some other form - whether a gift, a cooked meal, a chore done (e.g. shovelling snow from the sidewalk) or shared skill (e.g. fixing their bicycle) - would be nice. Don't take advantage of the generosity of your hosts; don't be a freeloader.

• Local Information - Your host is a valuable source of information. You can find out how to get around (cheaply!), where the nightlife is, how to meet other local people, how to deal with the authorities, and what you should see in the area. Ask! However, be aware that your host is not a free tour guide or travel agent, and may be busy with work and other commitments, so don't bombard them with constant questions.
• That said, try to have some idea of what you want to do in the area if possible by checking out a guidebook or the city's tourism site before you arrive. While hosts usually have many ideas, you shouldn't expect them to provide you with an itinerary.

• If a host is unable to offer you a couch at the time that you need it, please acknowledge their response with a "thanks anyway..." or something along those lines. You never know... maybe they will host you in the future.
• If a host offers you a couch, and you choose not to accept it, you have to let them know. At least send a polite note saying "thanks, but I've found another place to stay...". You might like to add, "..maybe we can meet for coffee or a drink?" - but do so only if you genuinely have the time and desire to meet.

Along the way

• Don't pick the fruit. It may seem to grow wild to you but it may very well be the hard work of your host's neighboring farmers. One or two such incidents is all it might take to get guests banned from the whole area.

During your stay

• Appearances & Cleanliness: A whole division of the backpacker world seems to think looking dirty and being stinky is cool, but it does not make strangers want to share their living spaces with you. So shower: but also check with your host as to when it would be a good time to do so. Some hosts may live in areas with water-use restrictions; or have limited hot water; or have only one shared bathroom and several people who all need it at the same time in the morning.
• Toilets: Some sewage systems are not designed to take tampons; others may not take toilet paper (for example, you may be expected to clean yourself with water, or to put toilet paper in a special bin for other disposal). If in doubt, ask beforehand. (In some cultures, it may be polite to talk about such subjects only with a member of the same sex. Or not raise the topic at all. But it may be better to risk being rude, than to clog the only household toilet.)
• Keep your footprint small: Remember to be as tidy and use the least space possible - perhaps try to fit all your belongings in one square meter! Some couchsurfers suggest not leaving accessories in the bathroom. But, if you do so, keep them (makeup, shampoo, soaps) neatly bagged. This is especially important if your host's place is small (one-room 20 square meters flats are common in main European cities such as Paris or London)
• Adapt to your host's rhythm at home: Is the "couch" in a "high traffic" area for the household? If so, do people tend to stay up late, or wake up early? Be sensitive to your host's style, preferences, and schedule, and everyone will enjoy the experience. If you go to a party host, then sure, party on! (Only at their invitation, of course.) If you go to a family, take it easy.
• Schedules: Your hosts probably have fixed work or school schedules. Before or at the beginning of your stay, ask what schedule they keep. Allow time in your schedule to spend time with them. Even if you have a separate room, don't sleep all morning unless it is compatible with the household schedule. If you are badly jet-lagged, let your hosts know, and check if it's okay if you sleep in.
• Bringing guests back: It is never acceptable to bring back guests to the host's house without getting explicit permission first. You should not ask to bring back a guest that you have just met as the host may feel uneasy about having to refuse. Expecting to bring back a guest "to spend the night with you" is nearly always considered extremely inappropriate.
• Door keys: Hosts decide whether or not to lend a spare house key to their guests. Some do. Others prefer that guests be in the house only when someone else is at home. Yet others lend a house key, but request that guests be back by a certain hour (to avoid waking the household upon return). Respect your host's wishes. If he/she is gracious enough to lend you a spare door key, it is not a free ticket to stay out as long as you want, especially if you plan to go out at night without them. Check to see what would be a reasonable and convenient time for you to return. Call them if you are unexpectedly delayed.
• Door locks: Ask about the host's door-locking policy, and how the door lock works. You don't want to accidentally lock your host (or yourself) out of the apartment! (In some countries and communities, people don't lock the doors from inside, because it is not needed. In some rural areas, some houses might not even have doors.) Be sure to confirm with you host how you can leave early without him/her available to unlock an exit door!
• Cooking: If you have the skill and inclination, and the host would like enjoy it, offer to cook for your host. Making dinner is usually appreciated, but hard to pull off if you are only stopping for a night. If you are staying for a few nights, those later in your vist may be better ones for you to cook: by then, you'll have a chance to check if your host has the necessary spices, condiments and other ingredients; and if not, for you to buy them. Your hosts will also know at least a bit about you, and be comfortable with you in their space (since some people are very particular and picky in their own kitchens).
• Helping out: When you eat together, offer to wash dishes. Nothing is better for a couch surfer than doing the dishes. This is especially appreciated when you are staying at a shared house and you only know one of the renters, or if you have been hooked up with this couch by a 3rd party. Everyone likes to have a clean kitchen, even if they are too lazy to deal with it. And cleaning the kitchen is usually "safe": people are unlikely to be offended by your help there, and you can usually figure out where things go.
• If borrowing something from your host (with permission beforehand, of course), try to return it in better condition than you found it: e.g. re-fill the fuel tank of a motorbike, oil the chain and pump up the tire of a bicycle. At least return what you've used clean and in good condition.
• PC and Telephone: Don't use your host's computer or telephone unless he/she gives you explicit permission. Offer to pay for all phone calls. Don't download any programmes onto their computer. Check to see if they prefer the computer logged off, shut-down, or left on when you finish using it.
• Electrics: Check your host's preferences about having things like lights, fans, and air-conditioning left on or off.
• Leave the house: It is expected that you are traveling to see the area you are visiting. Do venture outside, and be prepared for temperature extremes of the region you are in. Have an idea of what you can do in the area and don't expect to be in your host's home for most of the day or every day.
• Staying on longer: You should always ask permission, as far in advance as possible, if you want to stay on longer than initially agreed and not just assume it will be okay. If no agreement is made initially, try to let the host know as soon as possible when you are intending to leave and check that it is okay. Do not outstay your welcome, be conscious of signals that you may be staying too long even if your host doesn't explicitly say so. Never question or try to overturn a request by your host that you need to leave or that they can't host you for any longer.
• Clean up after yourself: If you bought food please take it with you when leaving, unless your hosts would like it.
• '''Say "thank you" when you're with your host, but also after you leave.

'''

After leaving

• Hospitality exchange works works because people can trust others. That's why it's important to leave comments (=references in CS talk:). If you have a bad experience, this is even more important, though might be more difficult. Just remember that other CouchSurfers depend on you leaving comments.
• Say "thank you". Either the old fashioned way, with a card, postcard, or letter from a later destination, or from back home. Or, if you're not into sending "snail mail" anymore, at least e-mail a "thank you" note.

Cultural Differences

Violating customs can cause offense. Read ahead of time and find what is appropriate, and what are considered "local sensitivities". Ask your host what is expected, or assume the most conservative scenario. Be well-informed in advance, so that you do not inadvertently find yourself embarrassed. For instance:

• Remove your shoes outside the door in Japan, and you eat with your right hand only in some parts of the Middle East.

• Avoid conversation topics that are taboo or poor taste to discuss. These subjects are things like: (homo) sexuality, religion, politics, war, genocide, minorities. These are probably not the best topics to discuss in casual or public environments. Save these conversations for your close friends, and not for people you have just met. This is a good social relation tip in general, actually.

• Hindus don't eat beef, as cows are considered sacred. Muslims generally do not eat pig related food products (as do some Jews).

• Sometimes, romantic couples may need to sleep separately.

More info:

• India
• Netherlands

See also

• How To Write A Couch Request
• How To Be A Good Host
• How to handle Couchscroogers
• How to handle freeloaders
• Tips on starting a conversation with a stranger
• How to Be a Good House Guest at wikiHow

How to be a good host.

For many travelers, the first priorities are finding somewhere safe, welcoming, and clean. (Or at least reasonably clean!) As part of the Couchsurfing community, your guests will probably also hope to learn something about your country or hometown; not just seeing the “tourist sights”, but also learning about your life and culture.

Languages

- Questa pagina è disponibile anche nella versione italiana Come essere un buon ospitante. - traduction français ici. - Topik ini tersedia dalam terjemahan Bahasa Indonesia pada artikel berjudul Tuan Rumah.

Before your guests arrive

• Check with the other people in your residence. Well before your guests arrive, clear their visit with the other people sharing your place: housemates, spouse, family. Make sure there are no date conflicts; show them the guest profile; Before you finalize any plans, be sure their visit won’t present any problems - you don’t want your guests to be in the awkward position of arriving to find an unwelcoming household. Depending on your situation, you may also need to inform your concierge or landlord.
• Exchange alternative means of contact: Share your, MSN messenger, personal e-mail addresses, Skype, additional phone numbers, as backups to the CouchSurfing message system -- which could very likely become a single point of failure (a well known risk of computers), and tangle guests' plans waiting for your reconfirmation, (and even lead to negative references about your perceived lack of response). Note that you need to do this in your very first reply to a couchsurfing request! Seasoned hosts and surfers leave permanent mention of an alternate contact method right there on their profiles, lest they forget to append it to messages, or -- just in case anyway. Also we've seen members who for some reason or another or through their own choice had their profile disappear. Upon which their friends realized they now could find absolutely no other way to contact them! So it is always a good idea to have the "My Website" etc. items on ones profile filled in, so your pals will already be familiar with alternative channels just in case this single point of failure fails! P.S., OK, you did all the above, now also don't forget to fix and test your doorbell -- your guests might not have brought a tent!
• Arranging to meet: If they know when they’re arriving (e.g plane/train/bus on a fixed schedule), email your guests clear instructions for how they can meet up with you: day, date, time, place (with both street address and intersections). Remember that visitors may not know prominent landmarks and main streets. If you regularly use one mode of transportation and your guests are using another, remember to allow for different travel times or routes. Be there to meet them, when and where you’ve said you’d be. As a backup, in case of delays or emergencies, get their mobile phone number if available, and give them yours.
  • Have an alternative strategy if you can’t be home to meet them when they arrive in your city. Propose a specific meeting time/place (e.g. your workplace). Keep in mind that they may be carrying a heavy backpack or luggage. It would be unfair and perhaps painful to ask them to walk a very long distance to meet with you.
  • Be flexible: Some people, especially in the Couchsurfing community, don't have a fixed travel plan. They don't know what time or even date they will arrive. If you’re flexible and willing to host them, tell them to at least call you again one or two days before they will be arriving. Bear in mind that it is impossible for hitch-hikers to guarantee their arrival time. A good strategy may be to give them your mobile phone number and get them to call or SMS/text message you when they arrive in your city.
• Clarify the duration of their stay: if they’re staying "until Monday", what exactly do they mean: Monday morning? Or are they including a Monday overnight stay?
• Discuss schedules: Will guests have to be out of the house while you’re at work or school? Is the "couch" in a "high traffic" area for the household? If so, do people tend to stay up late, or wake up early? Are there only certain days when you’ll be around to meet them?
• Accurately describe the accommodation you can offer, the people sharing your house, any restrictions or preferences; for example regarding: smoking, drugs, alcohol, gender of guest, numbers of guests at a time, presence of pets. Also note any other special points: Will your guests have to bring sleeping bags or towels? Will they be able to use your kitchen to prepare meals, or will they have to eat out?
• Describe your neighborhood, particularly its distance from the city center, and traveling time by public transit. A great way to offer peace of mind to your incoming surfer would be to have photos of local landmarks in a gallery in your CS profile.

Make your guests feel at home:

• Make time for your guests. For many hosts and guests, the best part of CouchSurfing is the chance to meet people and learn about their lives and cultures; if you’ll be busy with work and other commitments, let your guests know that ahead of time. Perhaps, if appropriate, you could invite your guests to join you in some of your daily activities. Maybe they can come and sit in your academic class. Maybe you can get another ticket to that concert you're going to. Even if they aren’t interested in the offer, they’ll appreciate the gesture. Try to allow for at least some time together. Value and celebrate the opportunity to meet fellow travelers.

• Be considerate. Consider what your guests might need, or even ask them directly and respond accordingly.
  • For the travel-weary or jet-lagged: a cup of tea, warm shower, quiet spot for a nap.
  • For the budget-traveler: tips on local markets and access to your kitchen.
  • For many travelers: a brief orientation to your hometown (see #Preparing an information package for your guests).

• Be welcoming. Small gestures can go a long way: a cleared shelf for their belongings; a small garden-picked bouquet near their couch; learning a few words in their language. You’re delighted to have them visit you, so find ways to show it!
  • CouchSurfing guests are expected to be responsible for their own food, but an offer of a home-cooked meal will rarely go amiss. If you go out to eat, and are feeling generous, offer to pay for their meal... traveling is hard on the wallet! If - for budgetary, scheduling, or culinary reasons - you don’t share a meal, at least offer them tea, coffee, etc.

• Communicate. Even if there’s a language barrier, do what you can to include your guests in the general conversation. Speak in their language if you can. If they don’t speak your language fluently, speak more slowly (don’t drag the syllables out so the words get distorted; pause more frequently so they can mentally translate the words you’ve said). People will usually be able to understand much more than they can say. In any case, smiles and a welcoming attitude speak volumes.

• Learn from your guests. Have a healthy, respectful curiosity about their lives and homes. If you speak different languages, learn a few words in theirs. Listen to stories about their travels. Find out about their favorite books or films. Ask them to tell you about writers, musicians, and artists from their culture or hometown. Practice active listening.

• Be a resource for them. You have "insider's knowledge" of your hometown; let them know you'd be happy to share it with them: favorite non-tourist spots, good cheap restaurants, how much to pay for a local item (or taxi fare).

• Share laughter.

Avoid miscommunication and misunderstandings

• Be culturally aware.A small sample of practices that may vary from culture to culture: table customs and manners; gift-giving customs and taboos (some flowers may be associated with mourning, for example); greeting etiquette (handshakes, kisses, hugs, no physical contact at all?); attitudes towards punctuality; acceptable topics of conversation; personal space; degree of physical contact; degree of eye contact during conversation; acceptable levels of loudness when talking; the role of women in society; attitudes towards hospitality (e.g. your guests may be from a culture where guests are given the best room in the house, etc.); frankness and directness in personal conversation; who pays for the bill after a shared meal; attitudes towards alcohol use; attitudes towards pets; food taboos and restrictions; modesty in clothing or behaviour; expressing disagreement in discussions.

• You can do some homework ahead of time: research your guests’ home countries and cultures. Try these subject headings in your public library’s catalog: “Etiquette - [name of country]”, “Business etiquette - [name of country]”, “Intercultural communication”. Go online, and see what cultural differences strike expatriates and visitors.

• Be clear. In forestalling major misunderstandings, the best place to begin is with a thorough, accurate profile, and through your preliminary e-mails with your guests. See above "Before your guests arrive" section.
  • Besides an exact address, have an e.g., Google™ Maps link ready to give to guests. You must admit e.g., http://maps.google.com/maps?q=loc:24.18170,120.86604 pinpoints one's spot rather exactly. See all the http://mapki.com/wiki/Google_Map_Parameters.
  • During the visit, you can continue to avoid misunderstandings by staying clear and polite: if phone calls are expensive and you’d like to be reimbursed, let your guests know that beforehand. If you aren’t comfortable letting them use your computer, give them directions to a local internet cafe or library. If they’re welcome to share certain edibles/potables only, make that clear: “For breakfast, you’re welcome to try these cereals; but I’m saving the eggs for later”; Or suggest what they can use: “There’s bread and cheese on this shelf if you’d like to make a sandwich”.

• Guests should expect to be responsible for their own food/meals, but there may be occasions when you share a restaurant meal. You are not obliged as a Couchsurfing host to pay for your guests. But be aware that - as mentioned above - different cultures may have different expectations and etiquette regarding who pays for a shared dinner. For example, in some cultures, the person who issues the invitation is expected to pay. If you’re asking your guests to join you, but expect them to pay their share - tactfully clarify it at the time of the invitation. If you’ve already arranged to go to a specific restaurant (say, with friends), give your guests an estimate of the meal costs. Your guests may be traveling very frugally and prefer to cook their own food; or - if you haven’t chosen a restaurant yet - they may prefer a more modestly priced one. (Of course, if you can afford it and wish to treat your guests, they'll probably be delighted!)

• Hosts decide whether or not to lend a spare house key to their guests. Some do. Others prefer that guests be in the house only when someone else is at home. Yet others lend a house key, but request that guests be back by a certain hour (to avoid waking the household upon return). As a host, it's your call - decide what you are comfortable with; and let your guests know.

Pointers on safety

• Couchsurfing should be a safe experience for guests and hosts; please read the section Decide how open your home will be at Safety for hosts.

Help to build a global community

• Syracuse Cultural Workers’ poster How to Build a Global Community

Think about it. Embrace its spirit. - Let it inform and enrich your Couchsurfing experiences!

Preparing an information package for your guests

If you include any - or even all, if appropriate - of the following, your guests will appreciate it. If you’re really organized, file it in a binder, as many hotels/motels do. Business cards, brochures, or website printouts can be a quick way to get an info package together. Whatever storage or filing method you choose, keep it handy so you can easily find pieces, remove outdated items, or add more stuff.

If your guests are there only at times when you're at home, some of these sections won't be relevant.

You can include:

• A local tourist/guidebook for them to borrow and consult while staying with you.

• Maps of your hometown for them to borrow: transit maps, tourist maps, cycling maps, your immediate neighborhood.

• A list of emergency phone numbers: fire, police, ambulance. Your own address and phone number. Other safety tips as necessary: are there areas (in town or near your home) that visitors should exercise caution when visiting - or even avoid altogether?

• A list of nearby shops and services: laundromats /launderettes, groceries, or markets, pharmacies, gas/petrol stations. Places of worship, for different faiths and denominations. Nearest walk-in clinics, both medical and dental. Nearest photographic outlet for processing either film or digital images. Try a Google Maps printout of your neighborhood.

• Neighborhood eateries, coffee houses, tea shops, pubs: Whether in a typed list, collection of business cards. or sample (takeout) menus. Again, try a Google Maps printout. Recommendations and comments are always appreciated too.

• Transit information. How much is bus fare? How do you get to and from downtown? Remember that landmarks (main intersections, etc.) that seem obvious to you, are not necessarily so to visitors.

• Tourist information. Brochures from museums and art galleries. Fliers from the local tourist center. Local history books, nature guides to native trees, plants, animals, photography books of the region.

• Event information. Is there a free street festival coming up? A special concert that your musically-inclined guest may want to know about? An annual parade that will tie up traffic for the whole day?

• Internet use: If they don’t have use of your computer or Internet service, where is the closest Internet cafe? Or library with free Internet? Or free WiFi zone?

• Telephone use: Let your guests know whether they can use your phone, and any related restrictions. Is there a charge for each local call? Is it per-minute or per-call? Will they be able to make long-distance/trunk calls from your phone? If not, where is the nearest pay phone that will make international calls? What do the dial tones, busy, and ringtones sound like? (These aren't the same everywhere; it may be obvious to you, but not to your guests, especially if they're traveling across continents.)

• Idiosyncrasies of your house: if your smoke alarm is particularly sensitive, can they switch it off if they burn the toast? Can guests use particular appliances (microwave, washer/dryer, dishwasher, kettle), and if so, are there particular instructions? What goes in the recycling bin(s)? What gets composted?

• Fitness/recreation: Is there a nearby swimming pool/ fitness center that offers day rates (or is even free)? Brochure with the gym schedule? What’s a safe jogging route in your neighborhood? Is there a bike-rental facility?

• "Early checkout": If they have to leave unexpectedly (ongoing flight is earlier than anticipated; the offer of a ride suddenly comes through), what should they do? Is there a neighbor who can take the key? A locked mailbox into which they can slip it? Can they drop it off at your workplace? (Note: Hosts are not obliged to lend their guests a spare key. Some hosts ask that guests leave the house when they themselves are at work/school. It's the host's call, and can vary with his/her own comfort levels and the situation.)

• Your own contact numbers: cellphone, work phone, personal messaging/digital device. Your full name, if they need to call you through a switchboard at work.

• Specialized interests: do you have particular area of interest you'd like to share? Include it for like-minded guests: second-hand bookstores, Belgian chocolate shops, quirky museums. Or just somewhere that makes your hometown special, but which won't appear in the tourist guides: a lovely park, favorite bike route, local art installation.

One host, two locations

Let's say you are a host with two residences. Half of each week you are in one, and the other half at the other?

Official answer (discuss).

See also

• How to be a good guest
• How to handle Couchscroogers
• How to handle freeloaders
• Safety for hosts

Part II — Networks

The practice is shared. The clubs are not. Each network has its own history, software, and habits — BeWelcome’s membership democracy, Trustroots’ circles and map, Couchers’ newer non-profit stack, Servas on paper, Hospitality Club as a founder’s site.

Chapters sit under the network they belong to. A list of projects and a short note on how the free networks are built come last. This book is not a scrape of CouchSurfing.com.

Be Welcome is a project aiming to connect people from all over the world through hospitality exchange and to allow them to learn about other cultures, countries and traditions. It was founded in 2006 by volunteers of Hospitality Club who experienced the limits of decision making, transparency and legal structure within the management of HC. Thus an official NGO was founded in July 2006. First called HCvol it's final name is BeVolunteer.org.

The first beta website of the project BeWelcome was launched in February 2007. A second upgrade was carried through at the end of June 2007, the third and actual Version was introduced in the beginning of December 2007. In 2007 various volunteers of CouchSurfing, spreading "Open CS" also joined the volunteers network.

Check http://www.bewelcome.org

Why use BeWelcome?

BeWelcome has a few nice things to point out:

• A good reply rate to accomodation requests (afaik)
• A quite responsive community of volunteers
• Openness for ideas from the community.
• If you like the interface, that's one more point. If you don't, well, then not.

Why would someone not use BeWelcome?

• not as many members as some other networks. You don't get that many requests, and you don't have that much choice in small places.

History

See History of BeWelcome

Philosophy

See Philosophy of BeWelcome

Forum moderation

BeWelcome is quite an open and transparent organization compared to CouchSurfing and Hospitality Club but there have been some alleged cases of censorship in BeWelcome, in ocasions where the moderation team aplied the forum rules and this decision was disputed by the ofenders. Read more here.

Promotion kit

• an A4-BeWelcome poster to put to the walls (pdf)

References

The Software which runs BeWelcome1

Article on BeWelcome 2

Wikivoyage about BeWelcome 3

Canvi article about BeWelcome (Catalan) 4

Indymedia article about Media and BeWelcome 5

more?

: From http://www.hospitalityguide.net/hg/wiki/index.php?title=BeWelcome&action=edit&oldid=5616

The beginnings of BeWelcome and BeVolunteer can only be told alongside a history of Hospitality Club, since this is where all the founders started and learned to love the idea of hospitality exchange. More detailed history can be found on https://www.bevolunteer.org/about-bevolunteer/history/

July 2000

Together with his brother Kjell, Veit Kühne founded the Hospitality Club, inspired by other hospitality exchange networks like SERVAS.

2002-2005

The later founders of the future "HCvol"/"BeVolunteer" started volunteering for Hospitality Club, covering all areas of Hospitality Clubs volunteering from programming, spam checking, accepting members, forum moderation, translation to service for Hospitality Club members.

in 2005

Some of the core volunteers from the Hospitality Club - the ones who had been working so closely with Veit for years - started to question Veit about some processes which were obviously missing in the Hospitality Club. These special topics were the following:

• the absence of any legal status for the Hospitality Club
• the absence of any democratic system in the way of taking decisions, at any level
• the absence of any transparency in the management of finances, at any level

Other aspects were pointed out too: feeling of manipulation of volunteers, lack of transparency on Hospitality Club policies for members...

Those shortcomings became even more problematic to the founders of HCvol since the Hospitality Club could not be considered a baby anymore but a real project that was actually growing very fast. Concerned volunteers felt the responsibility to work on these topics so they could evolve and, with some time and efforts, be implemented in Hospitality Club.

However, Veit never focused on these problems but tried to make volunteers stick to concrete work instead. He refused to debate and chose neither to involve nor to inform even the most committed volunteers on those issues.

December 2005

After many futile and highly frustrating attempts to push the above mentioned issues further in personal conversations, the time was there for more concerted action. A "manifest" was sent to Veit Kühne requesting him to work with the concerned volunteers on the mentioned points, or those volunteers would stop all their work for Hospitality Club. Regardless of that action, those volunteers were - and still are - totally in love with Hospitality Club, and never stopped working, but motivation was decreasing.

February 2006

Finally after 2 months of silence, Veit disclosed his position: NO WAY would he accept that manifest. It was clear for him: never would Hospitality Club offer transparency about money management, never would Hospitality Club be managed by a democratic structure, and for the legal status he suggested a company status or even worse, something based in the shady tax heaven St Kitts & Nieves.

25th of february 2006

A meeting in Dresden was arranged, to discuss problems and find a new way of structuring Hospitality Club volunteer teams and rework procedures. Only an inner circle of Hospitality Club core volunteers was invited. Many attended, some coming from 1000 km of distance, to help solving these ever growing problems in Hospitality Club and the big lack of motivation after the manifest was turned down. Two later HCVOL founders, Matthias and Marco, took part in the meeting. Two and a half days of heated debate revealed that there was no room for compromise from Veit Kühne´s side, as he did not give in on any topic. At the end of the meeting, Veit Kühne finally accepted to consider an external audit for finances inspection; he set a board of 5 persons chosen by him, and in which he would keep a veto right, to take strategical decisions - but explicitly NOT empowered to discuss finances and the possibilities of creating a legal organization - anything discussed in that board was to keep secret; he considered establishing a legal team to work on defining, what would be the best statutes for Hospitality Club and he talked about creating a page explaining his point of view on Hospitality Club policy.

For some of the concerned volunteers this was still not enough, and so unacceptable.

For others it was already a good evolution, even if not enough.

The problem, however, was that none of the good intentions have ever been implemented. The board had one or two skype conferences, where nothing was achieved. Afer six months, the board was officially dissolved. Two later HCVOL founders, Pierre-Charles and Marco, were members of that board.

But there was still the hope that Hospitality Club could evolve to become the organization that is worth its incredible members!

March-April 2006

A group of highly involved Hospitality Club volunteers decided to set up HCvol, in order to build a space of communications for volunteers, independent from Veit Kühne´s control. The underlying main point of criticism of Veit Kühne was that he wanted to prevent real communication between volunteers, in order to prevent them from discussing what he decided - be it good or bad. The founders of HCvol considered it unacceptable that Veit Kühne´s had blocked many issues for so long even though whole teams didn't agree with his position.

Is HC Veit Kühne´s thing?

The underlying idea of HCvol is the question whether the Hospitality Club was `Veit Kühne´s´ thing'. The conclusion that Hospitality Club was rather the volunteers' thing, if not the members' thing, was quite obvious. Consequently the Hospitality Club should be owned by a legal non-profit organization composed of the ones who build Hospitality Club everyday: the volunteers. It is true that Veit invented the Hospitality Club and there is no denying of him having done enormously great things for it. But great inventions transcend their inventor...

The mere thought of all the volunteer work being used in the future for one man's interest was unbearable for the founders of HCvol. Trusting Veit Kühne was not enough. Building a future for HC was ensuring that the possibility of Hospitality Club being sold or used in a commercial way could never come true. This seemed more important than improving HC website or accepting more members.

July 2006

HCvol being set more or less it was introduced to Veit Kühne. There were many hopes that Veit Kühne would accept that proposal of a new organization, or at least evolve in that direction. Veit Kühne´s radical answer soon destroyed those new hopes: NEVER.

Never democracy, never transparency.

Some of the HCvol founders, who had given so much of these last years for HC were even threatened to be kicked from Hospitality Club 1, and told that their only aim was to gain personal power.

September 2006

Since nothing was moving in Hospitality Club, it was felt that a real counter-power had to be built. It was evident that having a place for the volunteers to work out of Veit's control can only be a very productive thing. Only by word of mouth many volunteers had found their way to HCvol and started to use the forum extensively for all kinds of discussions.

October 2006

Since October, HCvol is an official organization, and so submitted to democracy and transparency. A group of 9 worked a lot to set an organization as basis of work in HCvol. They (minus one founder) constitute the first "Board of Directors" (which we call the BoD), whose role is to meet weekly in order to take any needed decision, to organize HCvol so volunteers can work well, and to make sure no abuse takes place. As soon as HCvol will contain a bigger group of volunteers, there will be a General Assembly and a BoD will be elected by HCvol members.

In the middle of the month, there was a (last?) big hesitation. Wasn't the whole project a huge waste? Wasn't there any way to work on a really new project with HCvol, but including HC members? So the BoD suggested to Veit that HCvol start developing a project on a new site (new website) but that the Hospitality Club database be shared. In exchange HCvol members would help maintaning the [http://www.hospitalityclub.org| Hospitality Club site] for a limited period of time. So the HCvol site would have been like a test site, a new site, which Hospitality Club members could have used if they wanted. It would have been difficult technically, but possible. After lots of hours of discussions one of the HCvol BoD members told Veit about that idea. Well, we understand why he refuses, but for the members, however, we would have liked that compromise.

January 2007

HCvol is renamed BeVolunteer and is totally dedicated to its project, BeWelcome2.

The majority of the topics touching the creation of that new platform are being discussed among the volunteers, decisions are taken and all the teams and routines are set.

CouchSurfing volunteer exodus

During mid-2007 many former Couchsurfing volunteers began volunteering for BeWelcome instead, including 3 of the 4 former Couchsurfing core developers active during the short-lived CS 2.0 experiment. Begun following the termination in July, 2006 of the [http://www.couchsurfing.com| CouchSurfing website] by its owner, Casey Fenton, following a major loss of data, the main emphasis of CS 2.0 was to be decentralized volunteer participation -- Couchsurfing was no longer to be dominated by one person. But during the following year, when many selfless volunteers answered the call and helped take Couchsurfing from the edge of ruin and marginal financial stability to thriving success with a budgetary surplus, Casey Fenton and his hand-picked associates, mostly in secret, organized a top-down pyramidal corporate structure with paid employees, all of whom are close associates of Casey Fenton. Independent-minded volunteers who raised questions about the integrity of the managerial processes, or questioned Casey Fenton´s unaccountable and privileged position within the community, were blacklisted and encouraged to leave. Casey Fenton turned out to be much like Veit Kühne. Some of the major issues prompting the exodus were secrecy, unaccountability, unfair treatment of volunteers, unkept promises and an extremely oppressive, one-sided non-disclosure agreement.

Thus, many former Couchsurfing volunteers share common values with the founders of BeVolunteer, and appreciate the work they did in establishing a new home for those in the hospitality community who support the enlightened principles upon which BeWelcome is founded.

October 2007

BeWelcome.org becomes the first Open Source Software 3 hospitality website, by unanimous vote of its developers. See the Press Release (PDF)

Here we are, now.

BeWelcome has been around for a couple of years and thanks to an ongoing range of missteps at the currently biggest hospitality exchange network it's growing faster. See http://www.bewelcome.org/statistics for a detailed overview. As of December 2012 there are more than 28,000 members.

''' Full of motivation to BUILD something, our minds free of conflicts from the past, and full of our experiences and hopes.

Go through all this information about BeVolunteer to discover its projects and how it all works! '''

References

The Software which runs BeWelcome4

Article on BeWelcome 5

Wikivoyage about BeWelcome 6

Canvi article about BeWelcome (Catalan) 7

Indymedia article about Media and BeWelcome 8

more?

: From http://www.hospitalityguide.net/hg/wiki/index.php?title=BeWelcome&action=edit&oldid=5616

Goodwill

Goodwill is the precondition for any cooperative work. It enables us to face some minor/medium problems between us without getting under pressure or questioning our common goals. We are all here with the same aim, isn't it? However, this should not be misunderstood as a free ticket for the refusal to learn and improve. Things done with a good intention might still be bad for others. So we should see goodwill as a necessary condition, but not a sufficient one.

Altruism

We are not working in BeVolunteer for personal glory or enrichment, but to spread the words of hospitality as a great idea, and to provide the tools to help this idea come true all around the world. Our highest goal is the welfare of the whole community, not personal benefits. And the other way round, according to our statutes, money can never give any priviledge in BeVolunteer. Still, it is up to us to enjoy our own-enrichment we gain through the network...

Trust and courage

Trust starts within ourselves. We believe in ourselves, our values, our community and our goals. We are not afraid of other people and communities but curious to get to know them. We trust our future because it is us who create it! The trust in ourselves is the basis for courage. There is no reason to hide or to be afraid, we are here to bring light into our lives.

Ambition and excellence

Ambition is mainly not a negative thing. We have big goals and are impatient to turn them into reality. We are not dreaming as if we would live forever, and do not live as if we would die today. We are here to live our dreams! This is our ambition, we are not afraid of big ideas, but greedy to make them come true.

Voluntariness

In contrast to businesses, we do not require commitments. Our enthusiasm for hospitality is a higher guarantor than any commitment. We work voluntarily, that is why we love it so much.

Transparency

Trust and transparency condition each other. No trust without transparency, no transparency without trust. Transparency is a joy for the sincere, and the ruin for the malicious.

Diversity

We are here to reduce distances, to cross borders and to unify people who share our values. However, we are not here to equalize and standardize people and cultures. We appreciate the precious value of variety, the right of being different and how diversity is able to freshen up and open our minds.

Participative, well-fortified democracy

As an organization, we have a democratic structure. Democracy guarantees many of our values, and in particular prevents the abuse by a few mighty individuals. At the same time, we are not naive but aware of the drawbacks of an exaggerated interpretation of democracy that undermines the functioning of its elements. A democracy deserves its name only as long as it is capable of acting for the welfare of its individuals. A good way of keeping a democracy working well is to enforce the principle of subsidiarity: Discussions, decisions and actions are done on organizational levels only as high as necessary but as low as possible, i.e. individuals first, then teams, then Board of Directors (BoD), then General Assembly (GA). So the best way to describe our structure is neither a representative nor a basic democracy, but a participative one.

Friendship

Friendship is not something that obeys to any rules or statutes: friendship results from the delight you have while spending time with other people. We hope you find a lot of them in BeVolunteer!

Couchers.org is a relatively recent hospitality exchange network. It is open source, non-profit and free.

CouchSurfing

CouchSurfing.com is the large commercial hospitality site most people have heard of. This book does not reprint that site, member profiles, or its branding.

What belongs here is history and a how-to that still applies on other networks: searching for a place, writing to a host. OpenCouchSurfing (2007) argued for a more open organisation; the campaign’s full essays are not copied until authors grant a free license. BeWelcome, Trustroots, and Couchers.org sit downstream of that fight.

This is a step-by-step guide aimed at beginners and first-time users of CouchSurfing. In this guide we will show you how to search for a couch, or a place to stay with a host on the CouchSurfing hospitality exchange network.

Step 1: Fill out your Profile.

Fill out your Couchsurfing profile. Tell your potential host who you are, and what you are about! Write about your interests, your experiences, and your motivations. It doesn't have to be an essay - the important thing is to give it a try. Upload a profile picture, preferably one which shows your face. You are unlikely to find a place to stay without a fully filled in profile page. If you need more information, see How to fill out your profile.

Step 2: Where would you like to go?

• At the top of every page you will should find a search bar with the words "Where would you like to go?".
• Type your destination into the search bar, then click Surf or hit Enter.
• In this example we have used Paris, France as an example.

Step 3: Find a place to stay

The CORRECT way ✔

• Searching for your destination takes you to the place page associated with your destination. In this example, we are taken to the place page for the Paris area.
• At the top of the place page for your destination you will find a box with the text Find a place to stay for [ ] traveler(s)

• Select the number of people that require a place to stay and click Go! or hit Enter.
• You will be taken to the Couch search results page.

The WRONG way ✘

• The place page also acts as a hub for the local community. To the bottom of the Find a place to stay section is the conversations section.
• The conversations section is a public forum where locals and travellers can discuss the local area, for example, to arrange meetups or discuss events that may be happening.
• Do not post a request for a couch in this section.

• For more details see community guidelines.
• Why? Safety: by posting in a public forum, you are inviting strangers to contact you.
• Why? Simple courtesy: it is more polite to ask people directly for their hospitality. You will be more successful finding a place to stay through personalized messages.
• Why? Spam: Thousands of people are looking for hosts. Filling up the conversations forum prevents the local community from using the forum for legitimate uses.
• If you still decide to go ahead: your post will most likely be flagged and then deleted.

Step 4:

• You now arrive at the Couch search page. Here you can browse the available hosts, and click through to visit their profiles.
• This is the most important part of your search. Look through the list of available hosts and decide who you would like to stay with.

• A brown couch (right of the username) symbolises that the member has a couch available.
• You can use the filters (bottom left corner) and the sort these people by: menu (top) to further refine your search.
• Visit the profile of a potential host and read their profile thoroughly.

Step 5: Read a profile!

Step 6: Send a Couch Request

Step 7:

OpenCouchSurfing

OpenCouchSurfing.org was a 2007 campaign for a more open CouchSurfing organisation. The site was archived in 2012. Full essays from that campaign are not copied here until individual authors give permission (preferably CC-BY or CC-BY-SA). Grants are logged in the repository SOURCES.md.

Meanwhile: the campaign concluded that openness would not come from inside CouchSurfing core, and pointed people toward more open alternatives such as BeWelcome.

The Hospitality Club was an international, Internet-based hospitality service of appr. 553,000 members in 226 countries² Its members use the website HospitalityClub.org to coordinate accommodation and other services, such as guiding or regaling travelers. Hospitality Club is currently the second largest such hospitality network, after CouchSurfing.

In terms of development the site has been pretty stagnant for many years now.

History

Hospitality Club was founded by Veit Kühne in 2000³ with the help of friends and family⁴ as a general-purpose Internet-based hospitality exchange organization. The organization, open to anybody, followed from a similar network organized by Veit Kühne exclusively for members of the student exchange organization AFS. The concept for Hospitality Club was inspired by the SIGHT hospitality network of Mensa and it is the successor of Hospex, the first Internet based hospitality exchange network, established in 1992 and with which it joined forces in 2005.⁵ Membership has since increased dramatically.

Functioning

Membership in the organization is free and is obtained simply by registering on the website. The core activity of the organization is exchange of accommodation. Acting as a host, a member offers the possibility of accommodation at his leisure. As a guest, a traveler may find possible hosts and contact them through the website. No money is involved — guests and hosts do not pay each other. The duration of the stay, whether food is provided for free, for a fee or not at all, and all other conditions are agreed on beforehand to the convenience of both parties.

After meeting, the host and guest may comment about each other. This provides a means to establish reputation which is the main security measure. Users have to provide their real identity, which is screened by volunteers, and protected against changes.

Apart from accommodation, members exchange other forms of hospitality, such as guiding visitors or providing travel-related advice. There are also wiki-like Travel Guide sections and forums where members may seek partners for travels, hitchhiking etc.

Volunteers within the club often arrange meetings or camps which are events that last several days that bring people together.

Organization and policies

The club is based on the work of hundreds of volunteers around the world. The motivation behind it is the idea that bringing people together and fostering international friendships will increase inter cultural understanding and strengthen peace. It is one of the largest hospitality networks, and there is a mission to find 1,000,000 friendly people.

There is no registered organization behind the website in Germany or other countries, and the domain name is directly registered to the founder of the site, Veit Kühne.⁶, who is working full time on Hospitality Club.⁷ Veit has acknowledged that there will be no official structure for decision taking and that final decisions will always be with him.⁸

As for financial sustainability, the site contains advertising in the form of Google's AdSense.

The policy of the organization explicitly forbids alternative uses, such as dating, job-seeking, commercial use, and website promotions.⁹ In order to protect members' mailboxes from spam and to keep trust in the network at high levels a volunteer team scans the messages being sent across the site. Members may also opt-out of this service and receive all messages directly. The website includes a Forum with certain rules - for example it is forbidden to post personal data of other members, and volunteers prefer not to discuss the organization's strategy on the forum, but encourage members to contact them directly.¹⁰

As a result of a disagreement between Veit Kühne and active Hospitality Club volunteers on various club policies, another hospitality exchange network, BeWelcome, was created in 2007.

External links

• Hospitality Club website
• Hospitality exchange organisation grows to 100,000 members at Wikinews

References

• Detailed Volunteer Information

See also CouchSurfing censorship

Hospitality Club has been managed like a proper dictatorship since its inception. This includes the practice censorship.

Removal of profiles

guaka (talk)'s profile was removed in February 2008. He received a message "you seriously abused our rules as outlined on rules.hospitalityclub.org, therefore we had to terminate your membership to protect other members and our network Greetings, the Hospitality Club Abuse Team". And that's it. The profile deletion was probably for a link to BeWelcome on his profile. Several other BeWelcome volunteers saw their profiles on HC blocked.

Removal of messages

As of August 2006 Hospitality Club was still censoring its users. Messages containing the word "CouchSurfing" are considered "website promotion", which is considered spam, and thus deleted. Here's what Guaka got when he sent a message, only containing "Check out CouchSurfing my dear!", to amylin, who has her spamfilter turned off. Note that this is a big improvement from before, since members are actually informed about this censorship.

Hospitality Club Spamfilter: your message to amylin has been rejected

this is a semi-automatically generated message from the Hospitality Club spamfilter. If you believe that it is an error, please DO NOT reply to this message, rather contact the Hospitality Club Administrators who will take care of your issue by clicking here: http://secure.hospitalityclub.org/hc/contactmember.php?to=22777. However, since we volunteers all have a huge workload, please make sure to read the spam info at http://secure.hospitalityclub.org/hc/stopspam.php first which might already answer your question.

Thanks a lot for your cooperation!

The Hospitality Club http://www.hospitalityclub.org ...bringing people together!

==================

We contact you because of the following issue: you sent one or more messages through the Hospitality Club which promoted websites (see your original message below). As is marked clearly on every message form and in the Rules (http://rules.hospitalityclub.org/) we consider these messages spam. Because of this our spam checkers stopped them, they were not sent out. If you want to promote your site a bit you can post in the Forum Topic "Links, Links, Links" (http://secure.hospitalityclub.org/hc/forum.php?SelectedCategory=21) or use other more appropriate channels on the net. Thanks a lot for your cooperation!

Greetings from the Hospitality Club Spam Checkers

Example of your original messages:

Date & Time: 2006-08-24 03:42:28

Check out CouchSurfing my dear!

-- The Hospitality Club ... bringing people together!

http://www.hospitalityclub.org

More to find out

It doesn't need an Internet-aware person to realize there is something wrong when a message with another web site in it gets censored. Possibly 30% of normal messages by normal people contain a link or a mention to some other website.

Let's see what happens with messages mentioning other websites such as:

• "Do you think I can buy a sleeping bag on Ebay while I'm here?"

: Safely arrived.

• "You can use Google Maps for understanding which cities are closer"

: Safely arrived.

• "Have you ever used hitchhiking.wikia.com?"

: Safely arrived.

• "Have you seen globalfreeloaders.com?"

: Safely arrived.

• "This is where I live (with link to Google Maps)"
• "I often use Flickr, I'll upload my photo there (link to your page on flickr)"
• "I bookmark my links on del.icio.us, see (link to your del.icio.us page)"
• "Do you use skype? You can download it for free at www.skype.com"
• "Do you use yahoo messenger?"
• "Have you seen servas.org?"
• [paradoxical]
  • Q: "What is you blog address?"
  • A: "I would like to tell you but in this case my message will be considered spam and hence deleted, don't you know that web addresses cannot be comunicated on the web?"

Links

CS groups

• couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=10&post=1013924 Warning about systematic censorship on the HC forum, May 14, 2008
• couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=10&post=542120 HC/CS meeting censorship... November 30th, 2007

Hospitality Club: power and strategy

This chapter is original commentary for this book. It is not a reprint of a leaked email. The primary source is a Hospitality Club internal mailing that WikiLeaks published as veit-hospitality-power-strategy-2009.txt. The file name says 2009; the message itself is dated 19 January 2005, from Veit Kühne, founder of Hospitality Club. Contact details that appear in that mailing are left out here.

What the mailing is

Hospitality Club (HC) grew in the early 2000s as a large internet hospitality exchange, after Hospex and in parallel with the rise of CouchSurfing. Volunteers were arguing about whether the club needed a committee, more “structure,” and something like democracy — comparisons to Servas (1948) came up in the thread.

Veit’s reply is the strategy document people still point to. He treats HC as his club: an internet platform to bring people together, not a members’ association with elected officers. He says there will be no official decision-taking committee while he is involved, and that on “debatable” decisions the last word stays with him. He presents that as a way to avoid power struggles and delay, and as the opposite of what he calls Servas’s “pseudo-democratic setup.” If you want a democratic hospitality network, he writes, join Servas.

He does not argue that volunteers should do nothing. The plan in the mail is to hand off operational slices — translations, accepting members, message checking, specialised technical work — to people he trusts, while keeping responsibility for HC as a whole “for many decades.” A non-profit, he agrees with another volunteer, does not have to be democratic in order to take new members and keep people contributing.

Why it still matters

Later fights in hospitality exchange are the same argument with different logos.

• Who decides? A founder with a veto, a board, a members’ assembly, or the people who write the software.
• Is the network “just a website”? The 2005 mail says yes, in so many words: no committee is needed no matter whether there are a thousand members or a million.
• How do you get labour without a vote? HC’s answer was: listen widely, then decide; give volunteers a piece of the work; do not put the founder’s private planning (a mind map is mentioned) on the public site.

CouchSurfing’s later incorporation, the OpenCouchSurfing campaign (see the chapter in this book), and the founding of BeWelcome (2007) as a democratic GPL network all sit downstream of that question. Trustroots and Couchers.org are later non-profit attempts that still have to pick a governance story: foundation board, volunteer democracy, or “the code is the club.”

This book’s other chapters describe those free-software networks. They do not relicense Hospitality Club’s site, member data, or this mailing. Read the WikiLeaks file if you need the full wording; do not treat it as Creative Commons.

Source

• Veit Kühne, “HC democracy and strategy,” 19 January 2005, published at file.wikileaks.org/file/veit-hospitality-power-strategy-2009.txt
• Context: Trustroots Wiki, A brief history of hospitality exchange networks (CC-BY-SA)

HospitalityGuide.net is a website with info about hospitality exchange networks.

Hospitality exchange networks (from hospitalityguide.net)

From hospitalityguide.net, licensed CC-BY. Attribution: hospitalityguide.net, 2005–. Random Flickr photos on that site are not included here.

Hospitality exchange networks help travellers meet locals: a place to stay, a meal, help with plans, a chance to meet people. They are also called homestay networks. They differ in goals and culture. The aim of HospitalityGuide was not to rank them, but to help people find their way: present the networks, tips, safety, and experience.

The site invited veterans to talk about futures, safety, ideas, and beliefs on an independent platform. BeWelcome was added to its overview in the 2000s. A magazine about hospitality exchange networks was discussed. HospEx Ne>t was the branding for that overview.

Join more than one network if you cannot decide. Think, ask, exchange.

See also

• https://ideas.trustroots.org/comparison-of-hospitality-exchange-platforms/

Servas Open Doors is an international, non-governmental, interracial peace association running in over 100 countries by volunteers. Founded in 1949 by Bob Luitweiler as a peace movement, Servas International is a non-profit organisation working to build understanding, tolerance and world peace.

Servas means "we serve", in the sense of "we serve peace", in the language Esperanto.

It operates through a network of Servas hosts around the world who are interested in opening their doors to travellers, and, 'on the other side of the coin', many open-minded travellers who want to get to know the heart of the countries they visit.

Servas International has consultative status as a non-governmental organization with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, currently with representation at many of the UN's hubs of activity.

There are over 13,000 Servas 'open doors' scattered throughout almost every country in the world.

Programs

Unlike other hospitality exchange networks, Servas makes a clear distinction between travellers and hosts. Participation in the different programs costs, in the United States 85 US$ per year for "international travellers" and 50 US$ per year for "domestic travellers".

External links

• Servas.org
• Members' site

(Each National Servas Country can have its own website, usually reachable from the main international site.)

Trustroots

Trustroots is a volunteer hospitality exchange network run by Trustroots Foundation, a UK non-profit. This wiki — and this book — grew out of that project. The site is free to use. Members have profiles, can offer a place, send messages, and filter people by circles (shared interests). A map shows who is around.

The chapters under this heading are the wiki history, the onboarding guide, circles, volunteering, and a 2020 note on whether Trustroots could “replace CouchSurfing.” How the software is built is in the last chapter of this part. This book does not use the Trustroots tree mark (CC BY-NC-SA) as cover branding.

Circles are collections of people who share an interest. Joining them helps you to find like minded people. It also adds to the picture people get out of you when viewing your profile.

Joining a circle is easy. Just go the [circles] page, see which ones you feel are right for you and click join. If there are any circles you think are missing you can send the volunteers a suggestions.

History

Here's some ideas for names and descriptions that were floating around before Trustroots was launched.

Name for a new Hospex network

We sent out to a bunch of people and asked them to suggest names for the new project. Initially the codebase was just called "Bikeshed".

Initial description

• Community site about sharing (rides, meals, info and whatnot) with hospitality exchange in core. Aims to be little bit hippie and for nomads at the beginning, but also has long term goals to reach more mainstream audiences. Wants to change how people behave by encouraging them to "share".
• Something along lines hitchwiki/nomadwiki BW/CS/FB
• Trust in the core of the site.
• Hospex

History

• Started to collect names: February 18, 2014
• Initially name was suggested on June 10, 2014 by Kasper.
• We finally decided on it on Dec 10, 2014 together with Kasper, Mikael, Callum, Natalia and Carlos.

Mikael did most of the tech and design work. Amazing job. At some point in 2022 or 2023 he dropped out. Kasper was the only person with server access at that point. Since 2024 there is a serious effort to move towards nostr and significantly reduce the dependency on specific people running specific servers.

Name ideas

abunding, abundice, abundness, abundly, abundeous, axessible, axess, trusteous, truestarred, abundhood, bravurance, bravout, yobravo, cobravo, hopbravo, bravohop, bravohopping, Crobbu - "Globe" in Sicilian - all domains available, Something from Tribe?, Something from Share, Bravo variants aren't bad either - sounds a bit tacky - reminds some telly stuff, NomadLink, Nomadity, NomadX, NowMad, NowMads, Roadfriend, Roadie, TrustRoots (suggested by Guaka), Trusty, Mondohop, TrustNomad, NomadicTrust, NomadTrust, NomadRoots

Slogans

• Tribal connection
• Tribal community
• Welcome home

Could Trustroots ever replace CouchSurfing?

Maybe it's not really required or wanted. As of 2022 Couchers.org looks like a good candidate to properly replace CouchSurfing. Trustroots has good potential to innovate in other directions such as decentralization and a wider forms of sharing.

There are tons of things to be done that needs people to make actual time for it.

The question starts with: what was the activity level of couchsurfing pre covid? 1M active monthly? To replace CS TR needs at least 1M members.

Quantitatively

As of July 2020 there are 46k members. So insignificant. If we want to reach 1M in 5 years we need to get to an average growth of 200k per year, or 4k per week. Currently we're at 350 per week. So we need to grow roughly 10x faster.

Qualitatively

This means we'll have to grow massively. For this we need to have the right features, especially references and translations. For this we need developers.

For the growth to be healthy we need to have a good group of people who are able to handle the surge in support requests and related safety issues.

• Release references
• Release translations
• Many happy, productive volunteers who are into do-ocracy
• More coders, higher code pulse and more commit activity
• Outreach on social media (Facebook) and to classic media

A guide to help you (get started)

New to Trustroots, did you just sign up but is this your first time using a hospex site or do you want an easy way to get familiarised with all functions: this guide is your to go! Go through all information one by one, select the chapter you need or go back an forth, there's no right or wrong.

New to Hospex/Trustroots

The concept of Hospitality Exchange, also known as “accommodation sharing”, “hospitality services” (short “hospex”), and “home stay networks”, refers to centrally organized social networks of individuals, generally travelers, who offer or seek accommodation without monetary exchange. Generally, these services connect users via the internet. Read more about it on this page 'Hospitality exchange'.

When joining you agreed to abide to our rules1 that include standards of behavior that apply to everyone. Be sure you're familiar with our privacy policy 2 and our manifesto:

We want a world that encourages trust, adventure and intercultural connections.

Our willingness to help each other is universal. Trustroots is completely free to use and will remain so forever.

We believe in beauty, simplicity and transparency.

We emphasize community.

Your Profile

Your profile is the first impression members get about you when opening it. Having a filled out profile can drastically increase your chances of finding a host. It also makes it easier for potential guests to see what kind of person you are. Ideally it should show a bit of your personality, and what kind of guest and or host you will be.

Check out our wikipage 'How To Create A Good Profile' what you can write on/add your profile.

Editing your profile has five tabs:

• Edit profile (here you can write information and add details about yourself);
• Locations (here you can add info about your location and edit your host/meet up options);
• Photo (here you can add a photo with different tools to choose from);
• Networks (here you can connect other (hospitality)networks to your profile);
• Account (here you'll find all kinds of settings for your profile).

When signing up, the conformation email sometimes might take some time. Please wait 24hours from the moment you registered. Be sure to also check your spam folder and be sure the email address you entered when signing up is correct.

The Circles

Circles3 are unique to Trustroots. They reflect our current community. They say something about a preferred way of travelling, lifestyles or things members are very passionate about. Feel free to join as many as you want. If you feel there's a circle missing, you can send a suggestion to the team. Every year a couple of volunteers go through the list and see which circles could be implemented.

When using the map you can also select circles to find likeminded members more easily. One of our volunteers made a very convenient video about it, which you can check out here 4.

We encourage our members to keep an open mind towards members from circles they aren't member of themselves. We can only expand our horizons if we keep an open mind. Nevertheless we must also realise that some circles that say something about someones lifestyle are a serious indication of what to expect, so be sure you feel comfortable with this or look for another option.

Search

The search option will lead to our map5. This is the feature that is used to find hosts or members that would like to meet up. There're different way to use the map:

• open the map and move around using your mouse (video6);
• search by city (video 7).

There're different filter functions that you can use at the map: circles, hosts/meet ups, online past 6 months and languages. Be sure when you select filters and want to start over, you use the 'clear filter' option. Else there might be one filter still be active which will effect your search results.

How to select members in the map is shown in the video's mentioned above.

Messages

When opening someones profile you'll see the option of 'send a message'. With this option you can privately send a member a message and start a conversation. With each conversation you start you'll see a tip like 'tell your host why you're on a trip'. How you start a conversation is the first impression you'll leave with the other member. If you're new to hospex, be sure to read How to write a hosting request. Above the text box you'll see three automatic responses you can use in the conversation. It always great if you answer quickly so please use them when needed. When you have time you can reply more extensive.

For each message you receive, you should get an email notification. However some accounts flag messages from Trustroots automatically as spam. If you log in and see you received a message but not got an email notifications, still is probably the case. Be sure to mark Trustroots as safe to avoid this in the future. When your browser supports it, you can also allow notifications through your browser. When going to your profile, you can see if your current browser supports this option.

Host

Hosting is what makes this platform possible of course. Without hosts, no options to stay with local while traveling. Since it's called hospitably exchange, make sure you want to offer hosting as much as you want to be a guest somewhere. Start with hosting is also a good way to get some experiences before you hit the road yourself.

If you can't host when joining, be sure to write down why. It's always good for other members to read your reasons because again: it represents you as a person. Your chances to get hosted while don't offer it yourself can also increase if you write down why. Know that if you don't host, you won't be visible on the map so other members can't see you. If you are willing to host: be sure to write down any form of hosting you're willing to offer. Some have a garden and allow their guests to pitch up their end, others can only literally offer a couch and we have members who can't host themselves but have family who is willing to. The better your hosting description is, the better your chances of avoiding miscommunication.

To highlight all that's important when hosting, we would like to refer to our page how to be a good host.

Guest

We have page devoted to how to be a good guest. It seems so logic maybe to most, but it can never hurt to read through the page and see if you read anything you haven't thought of.

Meet

Our meet-up function is a great one to use when you want to meet up with other members that are local, passing by or when you're travelling yourself of course but couldn't find a host. If you're not hosting yourself but you do want to be an active member, this feature is a great tool. A meet up can be offering to guide someone, have a drink, share a meal, organise a weekly boardgames night or simple to hang out. A meet up will stay visible max one month. You can create more than one meet up and can decide for each one the location (in case of a longer trip). One of our colleagues made this great video 8 about how to make a meet up itself.

Contacts

If you've met members and/or stayed with them, adding them as a contact is a convenient way to easily find them again. It also shows with whom you're connected which gives an idea about yourself. You might be going on a trip and see your friend has a friend in the area you're going to. That's great because since you have a common friend, you might have common interests too! We sometimes get reports about unknown members who add contacts randomly. There're different reasons for it. If you want to avoid misunderstanding, be sure to have contact with the member you want to add, before you add them.

Find People

You can find people through Trustroots by name or username. Some members only use aliases so that might make it more difficult to find them. The tool is selected in the menu on the right.

Experiences

Experiences is the feature we have build in to share your experience with another member. This feature isn't available on the mobile app yet so be sure to open the platform on a desk/laptop to see what it's about. Since it was only released in 2021, most members won't have much experiences collected yet. The longer term users most of the times have more contacts, since that was used before to stay in touch and to show who you know. There's a blog writing about the release of the experiences which explains how it works 9

When writing an experience try to stay respectful of others. Be sure your experience is written in the spirit of wanting to help other travellers to get an idea about this host and what they can offer. Try to describe things, not state them. A good standard is: would you understand it if someone wrote this about you? If you had a bad experience, it will also show the option to report a member. This very important in serious cases! Also do reach out if you're not sure how to describe your experience so we can help you out how to deal with the situation.

Experiences can't be changed or removed. Be sure you have given it some thought.

Safety

We like to prefer to invest in "trust features" instead of "safety features". We never claim safety, we encourage trust and we have developed some features and tools to help you to "measure" someone's trustworthiness. Of course you can always encounter someone who was very nice when messaging, but in real life, you don't really connect. No worries! Just as in life, you can be honest, talk about it and decide what to do next. Make sure you're prepared, have a back up plan or even have been in contact with other members around who might be able to help.

Check our page about safety to read more about examples you can encounter which demand taking action and possibly get in touch with our support team10.

Volunteers

This whole platform is designed and maintained by volunteers. You can be a part of it! We have a small team and work by the principle of do-ocracy. Therefore no one is told what to do and everyone works on the projects/tasks they like. This also means that sometimes it can take a while before we can fix things, get back to you or be active through social channels for example. Be patient, stay positive but even better: think about what you could do to push things forward yourself. Our team is open for everyone and even the smallest task or temporarily help is greatly appreciated. You can get in touch with support11 to get an invite to our slack channel.

Trustroots is completely based on volunteers. You can find [//team.trustroots.org/Volunteering.html more information here].

See

Part III — Places

Hospitality exchange happens somewhere. These country, regional, city, and rural pages collect local context: how hospitality networks are used in a place, how travellers meet hosts, and what a guest should know before arriving.

Some details come from older community pages and may have changed. Follow the source link at the end of a chapter for the live wiki version.

Eastern Europe is:

• Belarus
• Bulgaria
• Czech Republic
• Hungary
• Republic of Moldova
• Poland
• Romania
• Russian Federation
• Slovakia
• Ukraine

Countries of Northern Europe:

• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Norway
• Sweden
• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Autonomic Islands or Regions:

• Åland Islands
• Channel Islands
  • Guernsey
    • Alderney
    • Herm
    • Sark
  • Jersey
• Faeroe Islands
• Isle of Man
• Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands

Southern Europe is:

• Albania
• Andorra
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Croatia
• Greece
• Italy
• Kosovo
• Macedonia
• Malta
• Montenegro
• Portugal
• San Marino
• Serbia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Turkey

Autonomic Regions:

• Gibraltar
• Vatican

Belarus is a country in Central Eastern Europe with Minsk as the capital.

Transport

Getting there and away

One gets to Belarus as to any other country with no harbour towns by train, car, bus or plane. Unfortunately most border crossings are closed for pedestrians and bicycles. Two important towns, Minsk and Brest, are on the railway line Berlin-Moscow, so there are many trains one can take to get there.

When travelling by train from Berlin to Moscow Brest is the place where the gauge conversion takes place. Sometimes it is possible to use this break to leave the train and go for walk into the city. You have to talk to the sleeping car attendant to get to know whether you may leave and when and where to get back on the train. The "Brest Broadway", the ul. Sovetskaya is not far from the train station, after crossing the pedestrians bridge turn left and after some 50 meters right. The pedestrian zone starts after some 300 meters.

Travelling inside the country

Trains and buses are cheap, but slow and not very comfortable. It happens that there are no train tickets available and it's not possible to get on a train without a ticket. Therefore it is clever to buy tickets in advance.

Hitch-hiking is possible, but usually the driver would get a small amount of money. To avoid that and stupid situations at the end of the journey one should make clear when getting into the car that she or he is hitch hiking.

Bureaucracy

Visa

Most foreigners need a visa to come to Belarus. The exact conditions are to be found on the websites of the Belarusian embassies in the countries you are a citizen of. Travellers from the European Community do not need an invitation to get a visa (usually only for one entrance, multi-visas are hard to obtain) for a maximum of 30 days (costs 60 €). Usually one should get the visa within a week, if you pay more for a express visa it takes much less - in some cases only 5 minutes! One can't get the visa on the borders, neither can one on the airports!

In theory one has to register at every place one stays. In practice this is not necessary (nobody asks to proof how long one is in town) and hardly possible (the registration is made on the migration card where is place only for one entry - and it is made only for the one address given in the card).

Getting in

When entering Belarus the traveller has to fill in a migration card. Here it is important to know the name and exact address of the place she or he will be living at! This is important for the next step, the

Registration

Foreigners have to register on the OVIR of the rayon they live in within five working days after arrival. To get that registration one needs:

• Passport with visa.
• Health insurance from Belgosstrakh (no others are excepted!). Offices of this company are to be found at many places, even in supermarkets.
• A registration application (usually the is a "mashinopisnyj byuro" (typewriting office) near the OVIR where they type the application with your data for you).
• A document that proofs that one has paid the registration fee. The nearest bank will know everything what is necessary, including the sum (some 2 $).
• Your host with passport and registration (!!!).

The registration is stamped on the migration card, when leaving the country it is taken away from the traveller.

The registration process is much easier when the traveller lives in a hotel, because all the paperwork is done by the hotel in this case.

Brest (Belarus) (Брест) is a city on the Belarusian-Polish border, formerly also known as Brest-Litowsk and Brześć nad Bugiem. The city is located on the Bug and Mukhavets rivers and famous for its „Hero-Fortress”, a big Soviet propaganda complex with a gigantic concrete monument in the form of a Red army soldier's head. Brest is inhabitated by more than 300.000 people.

Places to visit

There are several museums in town worth visiting, the most famous is the “Museum of the heroic defense of the Brest fortress” on the western outskirts of the town. On the islands of the fortress territory one will find also the Art museum of the Oblast and Bereste, an archaeological museum. It is constructed around a digging site, where streets and houses from the middle-age beginning of the city were discovered. From the city centre the marshrutki 5 and 10 are going to the fortress (крепость), but only on request. From the centre it takes some 30 minutes by foot to reach the site.

Between fortress and centre on the prospekt Masherova an open air museum displays railway technology.

Another museum that is dedicated to rail-way history is located on the train station Brest Tsentral'nyj: The station's museum, consisting of one and a half rooms, tells the history of the famous station, but is hardly known and not easy to access. To get there you have to ask the "dezhurnyj" of the station, who than will call the museum's chief and guide. Entrance is free of charge. It's a perfect place to visit while the gauge conversion is being done (see below).

In the central part of the city are some more museums to be found: The Homeland museum (ul. Karla Marksa 60), the historical museum of the city (ul. Levanevskogo 3) and the museum of the saved art objects - the exhibition consists art objects that were found by the border guards in the luggage of people leaving Belarus and illegally taking them abroad.

Excursions

Not far away from Brest are the Beloveska primeval forests. A good area for rambling, biking and canoeing.

Administration

Brest is divided into two rayony, the Leninskij and the Moskovskij. This is important for those foreigner who want to stay more than five working days: You have to register on the Ovir of the rayon you are living in.

Food

Markets

Between ul. Pushkinskaya and Kujbysheva a big marked, the so called Kolkhoznyj rynok, is located. Inside the round building with its dome all kinds of food, despite of fresh vegetables and fruits, are sold. Outside, but still under a roof, one gets the fresh stuff. On the other side of the fence kind of black traders, often elderly women, sell fresh fruits and vegetables, sometimes also milk products an meat or fish from their own gardens or kitchens.

Restaurants, Pubs, and the like

One of the most famous and best restaurants is the Jules Verne (Russian: Жюль Верн) on ul. Gogolya 29. In a very pleasant, somewhat maritime atmosphere very different kinds of food are offered, mainly Indian, so also vegetarians will be happy there. Jules Verne is considered to be one of the more pricey restaurants in town.

Good food in a serious atmosphere can be found in the Café na Voznesenskoj (Кафе на Вознесенской) in the ulitsa Komsomolskaya 34. They offer business lunch from 12.00 h to 15.00 h and are opened from 12.00 h until 01.00 h in the night. If you never thought pizza could be made with flaky pastry, this Café, that looks more like a restaurant, will teach you something new! The biggest minus is the big TV-set in one of the rooms, but sitting in the second one you hardly will notice it.

On the ul. Gogolya the Pub-House (Russian Паб–Хаус) offered drinks and very meaty food in a rustic ambience. The place was much darker than usual pubs or cafés and there is no O.P. feeling - wooden chairs and so on. In summer one could visit the beer garden. Past tense? Yes, unfortunately the entire building was destroyed after a conflict with the owner in June 2012.

A big pizzeria with quite good food is the Venetsiya in ul. Internatsyonal'naya. One can sit inside and outside.

The pedestrian zone of Brest, the Sovietskaya street (ул. советская) is dotted with several cafés, pizzerias, bars, clubs and other places where one can get something to eat and drink. Some other places like the Magellan café are located in the side streets.

Internet

On the Ulitsa Sovietskaya you'll find the Beltelekom with a big and modern computer pool. They offer WiFi, one just has to buy a card to access the net. Another Beltelekom is near the crossing of Sovetskaya and prospekt Masherova, but it is much smaller. As it seems, open WiFi networks are not allowed in Belarus', because the Beltelekom has got a monopoly on this. But ones you've bought an access card (one hour costs about two US-Dollar, but you have to show your passport, internet is state controlled!) you can use it day and night near any Beltelekom building and many hotels in Belarus'.

Hospitality

As in most CIS countries Hospitality Club still is much more popular than CouchSurfing or BeWelcome. Especially in smaller towns it would be much easier to find a place to stay when you Geroičeskaja Oborona HC.

Transportation

The best way to get to Brest is by train. The city is located on the railway Berlin-Moscow. A ticket from Berlin costs about 120 Euro. The Main Station is called Brest Tsentralnyj (Brest Central).

When travelling by train from Berlin to Moscow Brest is the place where the gauge conversion takes place. Sometimes it is possible to use this break to leave the train and go for walk into the city. You have to talk to the sleeping car attendant to get to know whether you may leave and when and where to get back on the train. The ul. Sovetskaya is near by, after crossing the pedestrians bridge turn left and after some 50 meters right. The pedestrian zone starts after some 300 meters.

One also can get to Brest by bus from many European countries. The central bus station is located in ulitsa Mitskevicha in the central part of the city. From here buses to many towns and villages in the Brest oblast' are departing.

Public transport in Brest is cheap. There are buses, trolleybuses and so called “marshrutki”, minibuses, that are going on a certain route, one can stopp at bus-stops to get in or off. Tickets for buses are called "talony" and can be baught for some 20 Euro cents in kiosks near the bus-stops or from the driver. The marshrutka costs about 35 Cents. Of course there are taxis in Brest, too. If there is no counter in the cab one should agree on the price in advance to avoid stupid surprises. A trip from Central station to the city centre should cost not more than four Dollars.

Consulates

You'll find a Polish consulate in the ulitsa Kujbysheva 34 (+375-162/222071), a Russian one in Pushkinskaya 10 (+375-162/237842), and an Ukrainian in Vorovskogo 19 (+375-162-220455).

Foreigners

Usually one or two teachers for German language (native speakers) are in town via the DAAD or the Robert-Bosch-Stiftung, who work in the local universities.

Sofia (София) is the capital of Bulgaria.

For information about travelling to Sofia see also the Lonely Planet Tips about Sofia.

Couchsurfing community

Sofia has the biggest Couchsurfing community in Bulgaria. As of August 2009 there are 1,753 members. The monthly meeting is held on the 13th of every month and is announced in the couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=1325 Sofia Group.

Check the Sofia CS Google Calendar for more events.

Getting there and away

By plane

• Information about the Sofia Airport (SOF) on Wikipedia.

From the old airport (Terminal 1) take Bus 84 to the City Center. From the new airport (Terminal 2) Take Bus 284 to the City Center.

By train

• Information about the Central Train Station on Wikipedia.
• Timetable information of Bulgarian Railways

By Bus

• Information about the Central Bus Station on Wikipedia
• Official english website of the the Central Bus Station with Timetable.
• Many international Buses leave from the Bus Station Serdika, which is located between the train station and the central bus station.

Popular Destinations

Istanbul

There is one train leaving Sofia at 19h, but it takes 13 hours. Buses are much faster and more flexible. Bus ticket is between 40 and 50lv for a oneway trip, 75-95lv for a round trip.

Bus Companies serving Istanbul:

• Metro Plus 1 Going at 09:00, 12:00,17.00, 20:30, 23:00 from Central Bus Station
• Has Turizm 2 Going at 10:30, 22:30 from Bus Station Serdika (You can buy Tickets from Air Kona Office]

• Alpar Turizm 3 Going at 22:30? from Serdika Bus Station (Buy Tickets from MATPU-96 Office, they also have the exact timetable)
• Materik Going at 9:00, 21:00 from Central Bus Station

More Companies see Turkey Travel Planner

Wien

Possibilities i tried:

• By Bus with Air Kona. The Bus goes daily from Vienna-VIB/Erdberg to Sofia "Trafik Market" (The old bus stations between the rail station and the new bus station). The tickets can be bought via Eurolines.at or at the Air Konu office at Trafik Market (Attention Eurolines.bg is a different company, of which i have heard not so good reviews).

A two-way ticket is 98EUR/190lv, a one-way ticket is 61EUR/120lv.

• If you for some reasons can't take the Air Konu bus, there is the Union Ivkoni Bus. It starts daily in the Netherlands and goes via various german cities to Vienna. It arrives in Vienna at around 4.00am at the touris bus stop "Belvedere" at Landstrasser Guertel on the opposite site of Südbahnhof. One way ticket is 56EUR and in my case included a free lunch sandvich at a serbian restaurant (huge white bread with lots of hot, fat, spicy meat).
• Bulgaria Air. The flight goes to and from the new Airport in Sofia (Terminal 2). The included food is very basic, but you can get bulgarian wine if you like it. When i was there the bus stop at Terminal 2 was not where the signs say but in front of the entrance.

Possibilities i have not tried:

• Train. It is slower than the bus, 20hour versus approx 13hours.

Hitchhiking

• Information about Hitchhiking can be found in the Hitchwiki.
• A useful Bulgarian Site about hitchhiking in Bulgaria is http://www.stopbg.com/

Getting around in Sofia

• The Sofia Public Transport Company operates one metro line, ca. 20 Tramway lines, ca. 10 Trolleybuslines and ca. 100 buslines. Tickets can be bought on the vehicle and at kiosks near the stops.

Staying in Sofia

• If you don't find a couch, Hostelworld lists currently 17 Hostels in Sofia with Hostel Mostel being the most popular.

Sights

• Parliament
• Presidential Palace
• Sofia University
• National Palace of Culture (NDK)
• Ivan Vazov Theater
• National Library
• Mineral Baths

Religious Buildings

• Alexander Nevski Cathedral
• Hagia Sophia Church
• Sv. Nedelya
• Sv. Georgi
• Russian Church
• Boyana Church
• Banya Bashi Mosque
• Sofia Synagogue

Parks

• Borisova Gardina
• City Garden
• Vitosha

Eating

Typical Bulgarian food includes:

• Banitsa often consumed with Ayran
• Shopska salad
• Tarator soup
• Kebapche

Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark, and the most populous city in Denmark, with approximately 1.96 million people in the greater Copenhagen area (of approximately 5.63 million people in total in Denmark).

Copenhagen has a lot to offer a visitor. This page attempts to provide general information relevant to a couchsurfer visiting the city - for more in-depth tourism-related information, please refer to other sources, such as the Wikivoyage-page on Copenhagen. Or contribute an article yourself!

Hospitality Exchange

Check the How to write a couch request page before sending requests.

Couchsurfing

Ambassadors: Kirstine Desian, Rocain

There are now over 1000 people listed as being in Copenhagen - covering all areas of the capital. Be open to where you want to stay - not many people live in the centre! Most locations outside the center are only 30-40 minute train og bus ride into the City Centre or by Metro and most areas are covered overnight by the extensive Night Bus Network. Please remember, Couchsurfing is not intended to be a free Hostel Service! Find someone you think you will connect with and enjoy spending time with so that everyone benefits!

If you are unlucky and cant find a host - check the links at the end of this article for Hostels and Cheap Hotels - if you have stayed in a good one and would recommend it - add it to the list - if you would like to warn others against one - again add it in! In emergencies (last minute fall throughs and no hostel availability) try posting to a group. Although be warned that most Copenhagen Hosts do not tend to respond to generic post type requests.

Getting To Copenhagen

By plane

All major carriers and low cost airlines fly into Copenhagen to Copenhagen Airport, a few fly into Malmö Sturup Airport, some may even land in Roskilde Airport (although rarely).

Check out Momondo.com, Dohop.com or Travellink.dk to find the cheapest airline tickets to come.

The airport is located approximately 15 minutes by train or metro from the city.

Getting To and From the Airport

The easiest way of from the airport is the newly opened Metro, it takes 15 minutes to Nørreport station, You pass through 3 zones from the Airport to Central Copenhagen, a single ticket costs 30 DKK (4 €) or get a ten-trip discount card. See the chapter on getting around the city for more information on public transport

By bus

Long-distance busses also stop in Copenhagen, many stop near DGI-byen, just a few minutes walk from the central station.

• Eurolines operate bus services to most of Europe
• Swebus offers transport to many cities in Sweden and Norway. Please note that Swebus refers to Copenhagen with the Swedish spelling: Köbenhamn.

Hitchhiking

It should be possible to hitch a ride down Europe from Grønttorvet just where Holbækmotorvejen begins. Grønttorvet (the Vegetable Square) is where most fruit and vegetables are being sold to Supermarkets in Denmark so there are a lot of Trucks going in and out of there to all of Europe. (Do not confuse with the similarly named Grønttorvet near Nørreport station on Israels plads)

Getting Around Once you are Here

Driving a car in Copenhagen is an option, but as public transport is excellent and covers all parts of Copenhagen, try it out: See Rejseplanen to plan your trip.

Currency

In Denmark we're so romantic we couldn't let go of our beloved "krone" it's tied to the € and the exchange is so that you get around 750 DKK for 100 € depending on your exchange rate. There are yellow exchange places scattered around the inner city.

Only a few big shops on the main street take €, but virtually everyone including even the smallest little grocery shop accepts Visa(not electron, look for the Electron sign before you step into the store) some accept Mastercard too, a few bigger shops may accept American Express/Diners Club/Discover/JCB/EuroCard but you shouldn't rely on those cards alone. Føtex accepts almost all cards and nearly all Føtex have an ATM inside. Netto accepts €, SEK and NOK but only in notes and sometimesit it may seem impossible 2 pay with €, SEK and NOK in notes as the cashiers have little exåerience with this. Netto does accapt Electron.

Zoning system and Travelcards

Copenhagen is divided into zones. Zone 1 is central Copenhagen, zone 2 is the outer parts of the city, zone 3 is most of Amager, zone 4 is outer Amager including the Airport. All higher zones are in the suburbs. Tickets cost 10,5 DKK per zone with a minimum purchase of two zones. A much cheaper option is getting a Discount Card with 10 trips on it. They come in several different versions, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or all zones. Purchasing a 2 zone and a 3 zone 10 trip discount card, covers all possible combinations of zones(2 + 3 = 5, 3 + 3 = 6, etc). They are sold in vendor machines on all stations (therefore also at Copenhagen Airport Kastrup). Paying with any major credit card directly in the vendor machine is an easy possibility.

If you're only staying in the Copenhagen-area for a few days, buying a Citypass is an option. It's valid for zone 1-4 (that includes the airport and the city center), and 24 or 72-hour tickets are available. Current price for an adult is 190 DKK. The ticket is valid for one person only.

Read more on the Movia Tourist page about Zones and Discount Cards

All tickets are good for all forms of public transportation, metro, train, bus, ferrybus(but using this option costs dobbel ticket), and two zones is good for one hour (more zones longer time).

It is also possible for two people to share zones, so one stamp of a 4 zone card equals two 2-zone tickets. Note that you need at least two zones regardless whether you're only traveling in one zone.

Another option that at first hand may seem expensive is to get a monthly card or pendler card(you need a normal passport photo in order 2 purchase it) at any manned station therefore also at Copenhagen Airport Kastrup. As with the tickets, the min. purchase is for 2 zones and it should have a validity of min. 1 month. A zone 1+2(covers almost all the center and most suburbs in Copenhagen)month card for 1 month is 310kr(1/4-09)aprox 41 Euro.

With this month card or pendler card you also avoid to have to pay double in the night busses. Once you have purchased it, it is free rides, all day, all night(within the picked zones).

Metro

The Metro will take you from Vanløse, through Frederiksberg passing Nørreport (busiest station in Copenhagen) to Kongens Nytorv and Christianshavn and all the way through Amager to the Kastup Airport or to west Amager.

Opening hours The Metro runs all day from around 5 in the morning to about 1 at night, it also run every 15 minutes Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Google has the metro (mostly) plotted into their maps.

Bus

Copenhagen buses are yellow, with a red, blue stripe on the front, or lacking it. Normal busses are all yellow and don´t go very often(aprox every 20. min). The "A" buses are very frequent(aprox. 3. - 7. min.) and have a red stripe on the front. "S" buses are fast because they stop at fewer stops, they have a blue stripe on thr front. "N" buses are night buses and cost double the daytime fare. You enter all buses in the front and exit in the middle or behind, remember to go all the way to the back of the bus to allow others in (no fun standing in the rain all day watching half empty busses drive by). You can only buy normal tickets in the bus, and they only take coins and smaller notes, no credit card and no Euros.

S-trains

S-trains take you out to the greater Copenhagen area and all the suburbs, you cannot buy a ticket in the train and if you get caught as a foreigner, you will be asked to pay cash or you will be escorted to a ATM. If you refuse this, the police will be called and a report will be made (in other words arrested).

See the city pulse to see where the trains are in real time!

Not paying with public transport

The fee is 750.- DKK approx. 100 Euro (2013.12.30).

If you get caught as a foreigner, you will be asked to pay cash or you will be escorted to a ATM. If you refuse this, the police will be called and a report will be made (in other words arrested).

Now you may think you can spot they controllers but the new action is to have civilian controllers and also civilian police that escort the controllers.

Taxis

Taxi is also an option in Copenhagen, and it it very safe due 2 video cameras onboard and they accept all cards(even thougt there is a small fee for foreign cards) and the ride is always fixed price and not a bargain, like in some foreign countries. The tip is included in th ride as it is in all services in Denmark.

Richshaws

Rickshaws or Bike taxis are great for sightseeing they are the same price as taxis

Bikes!

Copenhagen is one of the most bike friendly cities in the world with green bike paths on most streets and even some dedicated bike paths, and from August it is possible to drive your bike by the lakes giving you a beautiful view and a fast way to get all the way from Østerbro through Nørrebro and Frederiksberg to Vesterbro

Warning watch out for those right turning trucks, assume that you're invisible to them and stay back until they passed even though you have the right to go first. You also have a right to be squished under a 20 ton truck but that doesn't mean you want to.

Bike rental There are several bike rental places scattered around Copenhagen.

1. Luca's Cykler have bikes from 50 DKK per day.
2. Cykelbørsen have bikes from 60 DKK per day and 270 DKK per week and 645 per month. Deposit from 200 DKK
3. Baisikeli have bikes from 80 DKK per day and 270 per Week and 625 DKK per month. Helmets can also be rented.
4. Copenhagen Bikes and Østerport Cykler have, apart from normal bikes, also Tandems (100DKK/day or 450DKK/week) and Christiania bikes (200DKK/day or 900DKK/week). Christiania bikes are great for transporting children and can carry up to 4 smaller kids plus driver or two small adults plus driver
5. Rent a Bike Copenhagen has bikes available from 95 DK (+20 DKK for insurance, +10 DKK for lights/helmet). Has two very central shops.

Walk!

Most of the main sight are located fairly close together and can easily be visited on foot - and you get to see more of the city. If you are only going a couple of tube stops - walk (or get a bus). By the time you have got to the platform, waited for the train, gone the distance and come back up - you could have been there!

Neighbourhoods

Neighbourhood and their sights

• Inner city - Museums, Shops, Restaurants, the pedestrian street, Tivoli, Nyhavn, The Little Mermaid(only until 2010, then The Little Mermaid is going for some exposition abroad), Gefion, The Marble Chruch, The Queens Palace
  • Christianshavn - Christiania, Peder Skram(a museum frigate), Sælen(the uboat that participated in Operation Desert Storm - also a museum))
• Østerbro - Fælledparken a big busy park in the summer, also home for Parken(FCK)
• Nørrebro - Falafel and Kebab, green grocers, halal, second hand stores, the former place of Ungdomshuset and Assistens Kirkegård(Hans Christian Andersen)
• Vesterbro/Kongens Enghave - Carlsberg Breweries, many foreign restaurants and ethnical special stores
• Valby - Carlsberg Breweries and Spinderiet(Shopping mall, opened sept 2008)
• Vanløse - Damhussøen
• Brønshøj-Husum -
• Bispebjerg - Grundvigs Kirke(cathedal),
• Amager - beaches, skinny dipping at Helgoland
• Kastrup - The airport, some beaches
• Frederiksberg - The Zoo
• Klampenborg - Bakken(the eldest amusementpark in the world, opened 1583)

Looking for a room/apartment

Be advised that it is very difficult to find a room in Copenhagen and you will most likely have to look for something outside the city.

It is important to notice that according to danish legislation, it´s not permitted to take a large fee for apartment rental like 500 - 1.000 Kr as many online organisations do. It is permitted to take around 125 - 200 Kr pr year for this service.

Check out the Room & Apartment Rental group

Some places to look for apartments

• ledige-lejligheder.dk
• DBA Danish only use Gramtrans to translate
• 1 - you must pay to get access to contact details on Boligportalen. Very active page, though.

CS Guides and Organised Guided Tours

If you want to guide people, add a link to your profile and add some things you want to show to people Check the Couch Search for people willing to show you around the city. Some CS may add their profiles here for you to get in touch with them for a tour. If you cant secure a CS there are a number of options for organised tours - one that I know if is free and my surfers have recommended it.

Meetings

Meetings are held every 8th day to give everyone a chance to attend, check out Meeting page for details

If you are arranging a meet - add it to the meeting pages - this makes it a lot easier to keep in touch with everybody and makes your event easy to find for all.

Nightlife

• Vega is one of Copenhagens most popular concert venues, and you'll find Ideal Bar in the same building.
• Pumpehuset is another popular concert venue.
• Culture Box is a good place to go for electronic music.
• The Rock is a hard rock/heavy metal concert venue and night club.
• Stengade 30 is a popular place that caters to many different genres. RubA'Dub Sunday every Sunday is one of the places where you can usually find a party on a Sunday.

Eating and Drinking

City Centre

La Vecchia Signora on Grønnegade serves Pizza from the traditional Italian stone oven heated by real fire, as well as other Italian classics. A bit pricey (Pizzas 115 to 130 DKK, other main courses 200 to 230 DKK)

O's American Breakfast & Dinner on Gothersgade, close to Kongens Nytorv. Good if you're into heavy American-style brunch and for many locals the place to go the morning after a night of heavy drinking. Usually crowded. Less well known and less crowded is their restaurant on Øster Farimagsgade where you can also sit outside if the weather is good.

Christianshavn

Café Kejzer on Strandgade has won the Copenhagen "Sandwich of the Year" award two times, and of course both winning sandwiches are on their menu. The menu also includes other light to moderate meals, and a good brunch in the weekend. Strangely, the place is usually not crowded even though you get good food at reasonable (for Copenhagen) prices.

The bakery on the square is one of Copenhagens best, and they have tables by the window where you can sit and eat your breakfast or lunch - or go outside and sit by the canal.

Eating and Drinking on a Budget

There are several places where you can eat a buffet, try a search on AOK the price will probably go up to around 120 DKK per person as most restaurants who offer buffets require you to order something to drink too.

Picnic on Fælledvej, next to Skt Hans Torv, offers decent food at reasonable prices. Main courses from 65-85 DKK, or try the Mezes (salads, mix any one to five), even cheaper. Reasonable prices on soft drinks and beer too.

Blue House on Torvegade, right next to Christianshavn Metro Station, makes affordable sandwiches, and they have a couple of vegetarian choices on the menu. Eat in or take out and sit by the canal.

Also on Torvegade you'll find Spicy Kitchen Café - decent Indian food at reasonable prices.

There is a folk/peoples kitchen every week at the following places and times, A full plate full of food usually costs 20 kroner and there are usually many nice people to meet.

Tuesdays - 7pm Kfax - This is on Korsgade, near the lakes. Really freindly people and you can also help out there by turning up a couple of hours early

Thursdays at Den ´Økologiske Produktions Skole at 8pm on ravnsborggade Every last Friday of the month there is a feminist folk kitchen at The folk house on Stengade

On sunday there is brunch at the folk house at 11am Usually at the folk/people kitchens all food is vegetarian or vegan if you have any spare food to bring too add to the meal it is usually appreciated (eg lots of pastys your shop was going to throw out!)

For a really nice organic vegetable meal however, you should go to Christiania and try out Grønsagen (the Vegetable) or Morgenstedet (The morning place)

Also for excellent vegi and vegan food (some are also gluten and nut free) try Estin at Lille Strandstræde 13, just off Nyhavn (the harbour). 12 freshly made dishes to choose from and prices start at 45 DKK. Not open weekends.

Nørrebrogade is the street most packed with cheap Sharwarma places you can get a falaffel or Sharwarma for 20-50 DKK.

Dumpster diving

Check Trashwiki if you're on a really low budget or if you simply enjoy pro-active recycling.

Day Trips

It is possible to get all around Denmark in a day, it is also advisable to visit Sweden since it's very near.

Helsingør and Helsingborg is some nice cities to visit, Helsingør with Kronborg castle, the setting of Shakespeares Hamlet, and a very cheap ferry to Helsingborg.

Malmö in southern Sweden is about 30 minutes from Copenhagen by train. Train leaves every 20 minutes.

Roskilde with the Viking ship museum and cathedral is also about half an hour from Copenhagen by train, with several trains every hour.

Useful Links

Hostels and Cheap Hotels

1. Sleep-in-green (opens around June) an organic hostel with three dorms with 8, 20 and 38 beds, 85-120 DKK per night.
2. Sleep in Heaven 120-130 DKK per night
3. Danhostel 130-165 DKK per night

Working

• Jobs in Copenhagen - English speaking employment opportunities in Copenhagen and the rest of Denmark.

Introduction

Helsinki is the capital and biggest city of Finland, situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea in the southern part of the country. It is the northernmost capital city in the world. Finns often advise that the best time to visit Helsinki is in summer: when the weather is warmest and the sun shines at night, when outdoor bars, cafes, and terraces spring up, and when Helsinki's many public parks are filled with picnics, festivals, sunbathers, and revellers. (See Summer in Helsinki). However, an adventurous traveller is encourage to visit in Winter to get a taste of the real "Finnish experience".

CouchSurfing in Helsinki

The CouchSurfing situation in Helsinki is generally pretty good. There are a decent ratio of hosts to surfers, especially in the winter months; which means it is relatively easier to find a couch in Helsinki when compared to larger capital cities such as Paris or Berlin. Helsinki has a large and active community for it's size; with regular weekly events such as the Weekly Meeting, in addition various weekday and weekend meetups, multicultural dinners, large multi-day events, parties and excursions.

Other Hospitality Exchange Networks

Memberships of alternative hospitality networks such as BeWelcome are increasing, however there are still very few BeWelcome hosts in the Helsinki region.

Tips for Finding a Host in Helsinki

• You don't neccesarily need to find your host in the 'center' of the city. Many people, including hosts, live outside the city center. The 'city center' itself is rather small and the bulk of the residential buildings lie to the North, East, and West. Public transport in Helsinki is excellent and will likely be the main way your host travels around the city.
• Consider searching for hosts in the two other cities in the Helsinki metropolitan region: Espoo and Vantaa. In fact, many districts of Espoo (Otaniemi, Tapiola, Leppävaara) are actually closer to Helsinki city center that the furthermost districts in Helsinki itself.

Overview of the City

Where to Go

What to Do

Events and Meetups in Helsinki

Helsinki on a Budget

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

• I want the real Finnish sauna experince. Where do I go and what do I do?
• Where can I book a sauna in the Helsinki region?
• Where can I go camping in the Helsinki region?
• What's the coolest/hippest place to hang out?
• I've come for the legendary Finnish metal scene. What bars and clubs should I go to?
• Where can I find an apartment or room-mate?
• What's the cheapest way to get to Helsinki?
• How do I get to St. Petersburg from Helsinki?
• When is the best time to visit Helsinki?
• What is there to do in Summer?
• What is there to do in Winter?

As of March 2011, France is the 3rd biggest CS country, with 223 000 French CouchSurfers. French is also the 2nd most spoken language on CS, though far less spoken than English.

The France CouchSurfing group offers links to sub-groups about several French regions plus to its capital - Paris the so-called "City of Lights." Paris has the most CouchSurfers, which shouldn't be surprising if you consider that out of 65 millions French inhabitants, 11 millions live in Paris and its suburbs. That's more than 1 French person out of 6!

Other major French cities are (by decreasing size of population): Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Lille, Bordeaux, Nantes.

Check also Angers, Besançon, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Metz, Annecy, Cannes, Chambery, Beauvais, Rouen, Rennes, Le Mans, Orléans, Nice, Montpellier, Limoges, Caen, Reims, Mulhouse, Nancy, aix-en-provence, Avignon, Carcassonne..

MAP OF FRANCE

France is constituted of 22 different regions. Each region has its own culture, history and tradition. Here are below the followings french regions as shown on the map (from north to south), click on each region or city to show its CS local activity:

French Departments and Territories overseas

Islands of the West Indies

• Martinique
• Guadeloupe

Territory in South America

• French Guiana

Territory in North America

• Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon

Islands of the Indian Ocean

• La Reunion
• Mayotte

Islands of the Pacific Ocean

• French Polynesia
• New Caledonia
• Wallis and Futuna
• Clipperton

INSIDE OF FRANCE

French People

Before you go to a country it's good to know what its people are like. The purpose of this section is not to make generalizations or "cliches" about the people, but simply give a few general ideas which the traveler might find useful. If as a foreign person you'd like to add your views, they'll be more than welcome.

As a French person, when you've been living abroad for several years, you meet lots of people from different countries who have been visiting France. The first questions you ask them are: how they felt in France and if they have been warmly welcomed. Most of the time they liked the country very much, but some of them complain about some French people being rude to them because those foreigners didn't speak French! Also, they make these complaints when they have been to Paris. This kind of behavior might happen in some touristy places (restaurants/shops/cafes, etc.) like any other country in the world. If that's the case, just leave and find somewhere else to go. Just because you are a tourist who doesn't speak French doesn't give the right to a French person to treat you badly! In Paris or other French cities, you have many restaurants/bars/cafes and shops, so you won't have any problems finding a place where people respect you. Note that not all French people behave that way and lots of them are very nice to you! It is true as well that if you try to speak some French words, French people will appreciate and be very grateful to you. Indeed, not so many people can speak this language when they visit France. And not so many French people can speak English as well!;-). If you can learn some simple words & phrases before you go to France it will be very helpful to you.

Depending on the part of France you'll go, French people's behavior will be different. In general, in the south, the French are more communicative so you'll have less problems going to people, but relationships are more superficial. In the north, they are more reserved, but it doesn't mean they are less welcoming, in contrary, the people of the north of France "have in the heart the sun they don't have in the sky". What about the middle part?! Well again, this is a kind of generalization! People are different in each region you go! And somebody from the north can live in the south and vice versa... (hope you didn't get confused there...). Enjoy your trip in France that's all!

Oh and also: in France you don't have only Paris! All the other cities are nice and interesting as well... Be curious, travel around France! Just for information, the limit between North and South of France is the river "Loire". In the north of this limit, the regional culturs are more germanic and in the south, the culturs are more latin.

Tips

In France the service is ALWAYS included in the price of drinks/meals, etc. Which is why the French may forget to tip when traveling abroad. Unless the server is especially nice and helpful or fun, there is no reason why you would leave a tip if all you've had is an espresso. If you want to leave a little something, you are more than welcome to do so! For more expensive items/meals, the most common is to leave a few Euros, e.g. up to 10% of the price as a maximum. Now, if you go to a restaurant where you'll have "grande cuisine", it is part of the habit to leave minimum 10% from the bill.

Saying HI

The French way to greet people is usually to shake hands between guys; but when a guy and a girl or two girls meet, they usually kiss on the cheeks. The number of kisses varies from one region of France to another: from one on the Belgian border as an example, to two in Paris and in most places... and even three in Southern France or four in some cities of Northern and West France. (some of you guys might think it's too much, but that's the way to say hello to people in France. You'll get used to it and love it!) Ask people and they will tell you which is appropriate... and never be afraid to tell if this makes you uneasy, people will probably simply go back to shaking hands with you then! - One last thing: in the South, guys often kiss as well when they know each other well. It is spreading in the whole country, and you can see more and more guys doing it in Paris or any region as well. It probably started amongst artists but it is spreading fast amongst trendy people. So if you are a guy and another guy greats you with a kiss, don't recoil in horror...;-) ( it is a good idea not to initiate it yourself, though).

Money

In France, you'll pay with "euros", the european money (not accepted in all of Europe be careful!). Then, it's difficult to find some exchange office now. So I think it's easier to go to a bank and ask them for change. In France, I advise you not to have "big" bank-notes up to 100 euros because it's not really used. Creditcards as Mastercard, Visa or American Express are accepted (and ATMs are everywhere), but sometimes you can't pay with it when your bill is under 15 euros, so when you change money you should ask for smaller bills. Payment by check is possible maybe with your passport to verify your identity, no minimum demanding.

COUCHSURFING IN FRANCE

CS Meetings and Groups

Rural Couchsurfing

In France you have the chance to have the possibility to couchsurf everywhere, even in the countryside! The Rural CS concept in France is the first one in the world. Check the map of the Rural CSers in France, you can find them easilier on this way! There is also a couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=15039 CS group called "Rural CS France" where you can talk with all Rural CSers in France.

But not all Rural CSers appears on the map or are members of the group "Rural CS France". To find the others, join the Regional CS group where you are travelling through.

Family Welcome

In France, there is a very nice, active and developped CS Families network. If you travel with your children, if you would like to be hosted by a family, if you are searching for a host who accept a family, meeting other families making to your children more different cultural friendship, you are welcome to join the couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=16134 French Family's group!

A tool exists to localise easily where you can find the CS families in France, please check the Family Welcome Map for France.

CS Volunteering in France

We have in France one of the strongest CS volunteers team in the world, called simply the "France CS Organisation". If you want to have a complete introduction to this France CS Organisation, It's compose of about 80 CS Ambassadors, 60 greeters, plenty of active group moderators, location fixers, meeting organisers and CS Wiki contributors. If you are ready to help us to our mission to contribute to a better world and build this wonderful CS website, you have all the details here (in french).

Twice a year, the France CS Organisation organise its own collective somewhere in France..

TRANSPORTATIONS

The Motorways and roads

Taking the train

Usually in France you are expected to always buy your tickets before you get on board - even on smaller or suburban trains. If you forget and you tell the controller as soon as you see him he would usually sell you the tickets on board but he will charge some extra 10 to 20% of the price - if he is in bad mood you might as well get fined! You MUST not forget either to make sure you punch your tickets before getting on board - there are dedicated machines (orange colored for the elder ones otherwise bright yellow) that are usually located at the beginning of every platform - otherwise you might once again get fined.

If you are planning to take the TGV (French bullet-train) you will probably have to buy your ticket several days / weeks before departure and the sooner, the cheaper. However for smaller distances like regional trains (TER) you can buy your ticket directly at the train station just before leaving.

A useful website to find timetables, fares and buy tickets online is SNCF.com. For complete timetables for all Europe, look at Bahn.de.

The Airports

Hitchhiking in France

The Harbours

CULTURE

Museums

Every first Sunday of the month, the entrance to public sector owned museums is for free everywhere in France. The Louvre museum entrance is for free for people under 26 (ID required as a proof) every Friday evening between 6.30 and 9.30pm. The Louvre can always be free.. all you need is to ask ticket to the visitors leaving and get back in!! seriously it works out fine... cheap access to culture!

Music

The French government has agreed in the 80s that every year on the 21st of June - maybe so as to celebrate summer and the shortest night of the year? - EVERYONE has a right to freely come and play music in the streets all throughout the night. The event is called Fête de la Musique. So bands, chores, etc. usually blossom everywhere around cities, from unexperienced to sometimes pretty famous ones and you can just hang out, walk along the streets and pick up any music you want to listen to - all for free. Since nobody can't properly sleep in city centres, whole families and kids, the younger and the elder mix and celebrate altogether. The atmosphere on that day is pretty unique especially in bigger cities or those concentrating a lot of students and young people - a 'must-see'!

Festival

WORKS IN FRANCE

There is a specific CS group, where employer pst some job offers, check couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=10296 The Job Propositions in France Group! For paid and exclusively English Jobs in Paris region, check Jobs in Paris

CS MEDIA MENTIONS IN FRANCE

Updated: 25st August 2010

Updated: 25st August 2010

Aix-en-Provence is part of the French region of Provence Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It is often simply referred to as Aix. There are 300 members from couchsurfing living there and we would like you to come and visit us while you are passing through our region.

History

Aix en Provence was founded as Aquae Sextiae in the year 122 NC, by Sextius Calvanius, after first destroying the Ligurian oppidium at Entremont. In 102 BC, Marius, who defeated the Teutons on the plain of Pourrières (20km east), embellished the town with monuments. In 45 BC, Cesar declared Aix a colony. The thermal baths were developed around 15 BC from local mineral hot springs. When the Roman Empire was recognized at the end of the 3rd Century AD, Aix became the capital of the second Narbonnaise. Aix is on the Roman road Aurelian Way.

An archbishop was installed here from around 400 AD,, although the archbishopric was established definitely in the 8th century. The Roman colony was abandoned in 574, and the early Middle Ages became a time of invasion, principally by the Barbarians and the Saracens. During this period, regional power evolved to Arles.

From the 11th to 15th centuries, Aix came back to life in stature. In 1182, the Counts of Provence took Aix as their home, and the city was known for its refined and literate court. In 1409, a university was founded by Louis II.

In 1481, following the Anjou-Provence alliance, Provence was leagued to the crown by Charles III of Maine, Provence's last ruler. Good King René (Bon Roi René) (1409-80), who was one of the most literate and enlightened men of his time, ruled during Aixe's golden age, bringing art, theatre, literature and the Muscat grape to Aix and Provence. Aix became the seat of the new parliament in 1501.

Early in the 16th century, Aix was ravaged repeatedly by the Imperials. Aix sided with the Reform, against Richelieu and Mazarin, and lost.

Aix declined even further during the revolution, and was eventually supplanted politically by Marseille.

Arrival and departure

By Plane

En: Aéroport Marseille Provence (Mo-Su dép every 30min, journey time 30min, 7,00€). shuttle buses

The nearest airport is Marseille-Provence Airport near Marignane. Since late 2006, they also opened the MP2 LowCost terminal. It links Aix en Provence with all the major cities in Europe and North Africa (Agadir, Biarritz, Brest, Bruxelles Charleroi, Casablanca, Beauvais (Paris=80kms), Brest, Brussels, Cagliari, Casablanca, Cologne, Dublin, Edimbourg, Eindhoven, Fès, Göteborg, Lille, London, Madrid, Malaga, Marrakech, Nador, Nantes, Oslo, Porto, Stockholm, Tanger, Tours).

These companies offer good deals to get in Aix: Ryanair, Easy Jet, Jet4You, Germanwings, Atlas-blue.

By Train

En:You've got 2 train stations in Aix en Provence: ‘Aix en Provence (CENTER)’ et ‘Aix en Provence TGV’.

If you come from Paris, Lyon, Avignon or Europe (Brussel, London, Geneva, Amsterdam,...) with the TGV, you'll arrive at ‘Aix en Provence TGV’, 15km far from the down town, shuttles bring you in the down town (journey time 15 min, 3,60€)

REDUCTION CARD: if you are under 26, you can buy a reduction card for 15€/year which allow you to have a 50% reduction 7 days / 7 in all the TER in the PACA Region(Express Regional Train) and most of the regional LER (Express Regional Line), TER in PACA betsson poker

I would recommend you to buy online IDTGV or Prem's tickets.SNCF reservation

By Bus

En: Many lines exist in the area, (fr) lepilote.com is the website for your bus journey in the area. Map of buses in the area in pdf format

Arles (line 18, Mo-Sa 6 dep/d, Su 3 dep/d, Journey time 1:30, 9,00€)

Avignon (LER-line 23, Mo-Sa 4 dep/d, Su 1 dep/d, journey time 1:15, 13,3€)

Marseille (line car 50 or 51, Mo-Sa dep every 20min, Su dep every 30min, journey time 30min, 4,90€). Departure from porte d'Aix, take the boulevard Charles Nedelec (follow the signs in the station of Marseille St Charles, 5min walk),follow the map just after.

REDUCTION CARD: the 'Conseil Générale des Bouches du Rhône' offers for the young under 25 a card for 5€ (identity card is necessary) allows you to buy tickets for 1€ valid for all the lines around Aix and Marseille every weekend.

You have some bus companies like Eurolines which can get you to Aix easily. Or check this website which provides some information about bus to reach Aix Regional buses. Bus station's phone number is 08.91.024.025 (Watch out! Expensive number!!!)

By Car

Motorways A7 - A46 et A8 Paris (780 km) Lyon (300 km) Nice (175 km) Exits: Aix North Aix Ouest, Aix South - et Aix Center

Motorways A54 et A9 Montpellier (150 km) - Nîmes (120 km) - Arles (80 km) Exits: Aix Ouest et Aix Sud

Guidance

Free maps of the town are available in the Tourism office

You can also take a look at this map

Se déplacer dans Aix / Transfert in Aix

Bus: AIXENBUS (pages in French). The office is into the tourism office. 1€/Ticket, 7€/10 Tickets

Taxi: ATRA (04 42 27 71 11) are able to provide you an English speaking driver.

Location de voiture / Rent a car: ADA LOCATION (04 42 52 36 36), AVIS (04 42 21 64 16), EUROPCAR (08 25 89 69 76), HERTZ (04 42 27 91 32)

Location de vélo / Bicycle rent: the city provides you bicycles for 1€/hour (the first 30min are free), this service is called v’hello (pages in French).

Informations pratiques / Convenient information

Most of the websites I quote here are translated in English, just click on British flag for English

Office du tourisme / Tourism office website

Mairie d'Aix / Aix city Hall Website

Banques / Banks: Societe Generale, LCL, BNP... ont des bureaux de change et vous y trouverez de nombreux distributeurs sur le cours Mirabeau / have many change desk and you will find ATM on the cours Mirabeau.

Phone: Public phones do not use coins. Instead, you must buy a card from a newspaper vendor or shop vendor. They cost about €7. Keep this in mind when attempting to contact your host.

Internet: you've got several cybercafé in Aix (3€/hour)

Urgence / Emergency: 18, 17, 15 or 112

Location d'appartement / rent an apartment: Adele or Mairie

Préparer votre voyage / Prepare your Journey: Check these website Le voyageur; National Geographic; Travel guide

Meetings

There are regular meetings. Regular small local meet ups take place a few times a week (going for drinks, picnics and various events). Check out the Aix-En-Provence group for more info! The group is mainly used for you to find couches, get in touch with local hosts, organising meeting around the region.

Tips

When looking for a couch don't hesitate to request it from CSers that live in the suburbs!

CouchSurfers

You can reach the couchsurfers of Aix en Provence on the CS group, Aix en Provence

Emergency couches available

For an emergency, post in the Aix-en-Provence EMERGENCY group

What to do?

You will find here:Schedule of what to do in Aix.

In Case of Emergency

• Police Station: 04 42 93 97 00
• Health Urgency: 04 42 96 66 00
• Hospital: 04 42 33 50 00 website
• Fireman Station: 18 or 04 42 99 18 18
• Emergency Doctor: 04 42 26 24 00

• Other numbers: website

Gallery

External gallery

Image:Cathedrale.JPG|The cathedral of Aix en Provence by night Image:Espariatjour.JPG|The Albertas square Image:Espariatnight.JPG|The Albertas square with moonlight Image:Mairie.JPG|The City Hall Image:Etatdeprovence.JPG|the Etat de Provence room into the city hall Image:Fontaine.JPG|One the hundred foutain of Aix Image:Marche.JPG|On the weekly market Image:Ruelle.JPG|A Medieval street Image:Vendome.JPG|The MOST beautiful House in Aix: Pavillon Vendome

Local Media Mentions

Ajaccio is a city in France. It is the capital of the region of Corsica and the prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud. The geopolitical arrangements of the commune are slightly different from those typical of Corsica and France. Usually an arrondissement includes cantons and a canton includes one to several communes including the chef-lieu, "chief place", from which the canton takes its name. The city of Ajaccio is one commune, but it contains six cantons, Cantons 1-6, and a fraction of Canton 7. The latter contains five other communes: Bastelicaccia, Alata, Afa, Appietto and Villanova, making a total of six communes for the seven cantons of Ajaccio. Ajaccio is located on the west coast of the island of Corsica, 210 nautical miles (390 km) southeast of Marseille. It occupies a sheltered position at the foot of wooded hills on the northern shore of the Gulf of Ajaccio. The harbour lies to the east of the foundation site at the original citadel on a hill overlooking a peninsula protecting the harbor on the south, where now are located the Quai de la Citadelle and the Jettée de la Citadelle. The modern city not only encloses the entire harbor but takes up the better part of the Gulf of Ajaccio and in suburban form extends for some miles up the valley of the Gravona River. The flow from that river is nearly entirely consumed as the city's water supply.

HISTORY OF AJACCIO

The first route is a historical walk which takes us back to the origins of the town. The starting point is in front of the citadel watchtower. Ajaccio works its magic on the visitor through its magnificent gulf, often compared with the bay of Naples. One can easily imagine that it was these harmonious curves which encouraged the first ancient inhabitants to settle here. In fact, in the Saint-Jean quarter, to the East of the modern-day town, there are remains dating from the third century AD which suggest Roman occupation, and the remains of a Paleochristian basilica have been also uncovered there. Moreover, the Bishop of Ajaccio is mentioned in the letters of Gregory the Great around the year 600.

The establishment of a Genoese colony in the 12th century brought properity to the town. The aim of the Genoese was to set up a new port providing protection on the sea route between Calvi and Bonifacio. Hence they chose Ajaccio as the site for a small strong hold, Castel Lombardo, of which nothing today remains. Because the site proved malarial, it was abandoned during the 15th century and, in 1492, the rocky promontary of Capo di Bollo on the tip of the Leccia was chosen as the site for a new town. About a hundred Genoese and Ligurian families, the Bonapartes among them, were sent there to colonise it. The broad outline of the plan of this old town can still be seen around the citadel. It was arranged around three roads spread out like a fan: the strada del Domo (rue Forcioli-Conti), the strada San Carlo (rue du roi de Rome) and the strada dritta (rue Bonaparte) on which stood the town gate.

The Citadel was built when the town was founded in 1492. At the time, ther citadel itself was merely a castello, in other words a keep and a lower precinct. In 1502, strong defensive walls were built around Ajaccio. The citadel was modified and extended during the occupation of the French between 1553 and 1559. In the latter year, in accordance with the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis, Corsica was returned to Genoa. The engineer Jacopo Frattini was sent to Ajaccio to fortify the citadel: he erected a solid bastion on the seaward side and dug a wide moat separating the citadel from the town on the landward side. It was not until the first quarter of the 18th century that the island tried to free itself from the yoke of its occupants. The nationalists tried four times to seize Ajaccio, namely in 1729, 1739 and 1763, but without success, and the town which one traveller of the time called the "prettiest little town in the Mediterranean" passed directly under French jurisdiction when Corsica was ceded by Genoa in 1768. And as the fortified part of Ajaccio, the citadel must have played a major role in these events. It certainly was an object of fascination for the young Napoleon. Many historians have recounted how Napoleon used to go to watch the changing of the guard there. And even though this has never been verified, it is not entirely surprising given that the Bonaparte family house was not far away. On the other had, much more than conjecture were Napoleon's repeated attempts in 1792 and 1793 to seize the castle. Having chosen to side with France and having been nominated Lieutenant-Colonel in the Corsican National Guard, he fought Paoli's forces several times, but never managed to take the citadel. It was on the final failed attempt in June 1793 that Napoleon and his family was forced into exile. Today it is unfortunately not possible to visit the citadel since it is occupied by the armed forces, but by taking a walk down the Boulevard Danielle Casanova and the Quai Napoléon the plan of the whole can be imagined.

More informations about the History of Ajaccio on the!

WHAT TO VISIT?

More informations about the places to visit in Ajaccio on the and even the Official Website of the Office of Tourism!

TIPS

Free Internet/Wifi Access

Here is a list of places where you can get some Internet/Wifi Access:

• PIJ Borgou - Adress: 52, rue Fech - Tel: 04 95 50 13 44
• EM@ Les Cannes - Adress: EM@ Les Cannes rue Simongiovanni
• CRIJ AJACCIO - Adress: 71 cours Napoléon - Tel: 0495226842
• ASSOCIATION INFORMATIQUE - Adress: 3, rue Ange moretti, Ajaccio - Tel: 04 95 10 74 65
• EM@ Les Jardins de l'empereur - Adress: EM@ Les Jardins de l'empereur (réouverture prochaine) Maison de quartier Tour Napoléon
• collectivite territoriale de corse - Adress: 22 Cours Grandval - Hôtel de Région 20000 AJACCIO - Tel: 04.95.10.50.83
• Ajaccio MDE - Adress: Quartier St Joseph Immeuble Castellani - Tel: 0495501476
• EM@ Les Salines - Adress: EM@ Les Salines 2 rue Andria Fazi - Tel: 04 95 21 11 49
• EM@ Saint Jean - Adress: EM@ Saint Jean (ouverture prochaine) Groupe scolaire St Jean II Avenue Kennedy
• P@M FALEP PREVENTION - Adress: P@m FALEP PREVENTION 6,Résidence Constellation Rue P.Poggionovo - BP 27 - Tel: 0495223534

Nice & Cheap Places to Eat

Nighlife

COUCHSURFERS

There are about 30 Couchsurfers in Ajaccio and its area. You can check the Regional CS Group of Corsica or simply a couchsearch to find and contact them.

Meetings

There are sometimes some meetings organised in Ajaccio, just check the Regional CS Group of Corsica to see if there is any event in the area.

Coffee or a Drink

Here is a list of persons who are ready to have a drink with you and/or show you the city:

TRANSPORTATIONS

How to get to Ajaccio

• By Car:
• By Train:
• By boot:
• By Plane:

Bus

Bicycles

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

• Police Station:

Tel: 17

• Health Urgency:

Tel: 15

• Hospital:
• Fireman Station:

Tel: 18

• Embassy:
• Emergency Doctor:

LOCAL MEDIA MENTIONS

INTERESTED LINKS

• Regional CS Group: Corse/Corsica

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

• Ajaccio on Wikivoyage
• Ajaccio on Hitchwiki
• Ajaccio on Wikipedia

== CS-Groups and Meetings ==

Couch Surfing in the Region

The CS Activity in the Region

Family Welcome

In the region, there is a very nice, active and developped CS Families network. If you travel with your children, if you would like to be hosted by a family, if you are searching for a host who accept a family, meeting other families making to your children more different cultural friendship, you are welcome to join the French Family's group!

A tool exists to localise easily where you can find the CS families' in the region, please check the Family Welcome Map of the area.

Rural Couchsurfing

In Alsace you have the chance to have the possibility to couchsurf a bit everywhere, even in the countryside! Check the map of the Rural CSers in Alsace, you can find them easilier on this way! There is also a CS group called "Rural CS France" where you can talk with all Rural CSers in France.

But not all Rural CSers appears on the map or are members of the group "Rural CS France". To find the others, join the Regional CS group of Alsace!

Regional Contacts on CS

What to visit in the Region

Places to see

• The cathedral of Strasbourg
• Cité de l'Automobile National Museum, the most prestigious car collection in the world Mulhouse
• The road of wines (Colmar-Marlenheim-Thann)
• Colmar,Unterlieden Museum (Isenheim Altarpiece)
• Big archaeological enigmae of the Mont St Odile
• Obernai
• Riquewihr
• Eguisheim
• The Castel of the Haut-Koenigsbourg
• Humanist library of Sélestat
• Kaysersberg (where was born Albert Schweitzer)
• Turkheim (Houses of the revival)
• Parc of Orangerie in Strasbourg
• "Petite France" in Strasbourg
• Must go in a typical restaurant, there are many food specialities in Alsace!!!!

The Main Events

• Market of Christmas of Strasbourg
• Market of Christmas of Colmar
• International festival of classical music of Colmar (July)
• Jazzdor in Strasbourg (November)
• International festival of music of Strasbourg (June)
• Musica in Strasbourg (September-October)
• Wines fests in Summer

SUMMER 10' EVENTS

AUGUST

7 to 15, Foire aux vins, Colmar http://www.foire-colmar.com/

Map of the Region

Regional Media Mentions

Amiens is the capital of Picardy. With pratically 136 600 inhabitants, the main city of Picardy (a region situated in the north of France) is historically and culturally rich and attractive regroups many students as well. The couchsurfing community is increasing and being developed. Today, we could count around 70 actives couchsurfers in the city the metropole of Amiens count even more Couchsurfers (Cs) around. Consequently, it is usually simple to find a couchsurfer who to host you,to show you the city around or for a drink or an event!

Meetings

There is a regular meeting between CS members and friends on Mondays, 8.30 p.m., at the Bissap, rue St Leu, a student neighbourhood. Furthermore, it is possible to participate to some special events or meetings. The meeting list is only accessible to the cs members or to the people registered in the Amiens' group.

Check couchsurfing.com/meetings.html the List of the CS Meetings.

CS group in Amiens

The CS members in Amiens have an active group where the CS can subscribe to see any news or inform the other Cs from Amiens about anything. It can be informations relating some events, organisations, or to help a couchsurfer finding a couch in the city. Link to the CS Group of Amiens

The Cs members are also active around the city.

CouchSurfers

There are many couchsurfers who can host you. There is even a special Kitchen Party group for the ones fond of cooking and eating! Some others Cs members located in Amiens, can join you for a drink, a chat, or a visit around the city. To contact couchsurfers, it is needed to join the couchsurfing project. Then, it is possible to see the list of Csers living in Amiens on http://www.couchsurfing.org/ check couchsurfing.com/mapsurf.html

Meeting Organisers

Any one, even you, your journey is one of the reasons for a CS meeting, as talking foreign languages, sharing food, going out, watching a movie...

Coffee or a drink

Cs members who would be glad to join you for a coffee or a drink in Amiens if the city is on your way. In order to be part of this family, you need to become a member, then you'll be able to search for couchsurfers! (the registration will take about a week) chose your options, select: France- Picardy- Amiens, and click on "list surfers on next page".

The CS travel guide of Amiens

Presentation of Amiens

If you are interested about the history of Amiens or what to see, you can find a page on wikipedia here.

What to do in the Main City of the Picardie?

To have a simple look on what to visit in Amiens, just check the Map of the City of Amiens.

Amiens and Picardy's spirit

Travelling an area will never show you the complete face of it. The photo on the right gives an idea of one of the face: Couchsurfing, Hitch Hiking, Meeting people help, but details can help:

1- In the stats, Northern France (Picardy + Nord) is the higher rate of alcoholism, within it Amiens is just at the national average for medium student city. Alcoholism follows the line of unemployment, Picardy's economy is mainly about agriculture: Beetroot (for sugar), potatoes. Cattles are in the west (Bay the Somme). Large industries are still in but, as elsewhere, they tend to go away.

2- Health: Amiens, main city of Picardy got everything needed. The first complete face transplant some years ago happened here. But for a larger population: as Alcoholism follows unemployment, cancers follow alcohol.

3- Education: Worst results of France at the A Level are shared between Corsica and... Picardy but at Uni the level is good: as many places Medical, economy and Law are a priority, but Sociology is getting reknown as well.

4- Sport: Amiens is mainly about Ice-Hockey with its team called " Les Gothiques". Usually one of the best team of France with Rouen and Grenoble, in 2011-2012 the team didn't do what was expected from her. But in 2011 two of the Amiens' swimmers became world champions. In rowing Picardy is usually good. But far from all those entertainments, the first sport in Picardy is hunting. If wild boars and deers have better to hide themselves the main targets of Picardy hunters are birds. Here that's the hunters who hide themselves in huts around pounds and rivers (from Peronne to Baie de Somme via Amiens and Abbeville).

5-environment: Amiens has developped a large pedestrian area and tracks for bikes. there are 2 mains park: La Hotoie and St Pierre where birds like to live. Both park are irrigated by natural rivers. Amiens has dedelopped on either banks of the Somme River. So it results that you can cross the city from west to East along the river and mostly with no car to interfere. East Side, the hortillonages are specifics to Amiens. They are "floating gardens", created by roman they used to, in Middle Age, to feed, roughly, the northern part of Europe. These days there are mainly private garden while four allotment still sell their vegetables at the St Leu Market on saturday mornings. To visit the area a boat is most needed, following which CS members will host you, you may have a more or less nice sightseeing. Natural zones are getting more protection these days around Amiens

How to come to Amiens

• By Car: 1h30from Paris, 1h15 from Lille, 1h20 from Rouen, 40 min from Beauvais and its airport (it's Paris airport for many cheap fly), 15 min from Villers-Bretonneux and its Australian and New-Zealand memorial for WWI (ANZAC day on 25th April).

• By Carpooling: You can find a driver or passenger to share the ride and cut on travel cost. In France carpooling is very popular and is called "covoiturage". Try Covoiturage.fr to get to Amiens.

• By Train: The main train in Picardy is Paris-Amiens = 1h05 (if stop at Longeau) or 1h30 if more stops (Creil, St Just, Clermont) (no TGV, fast trains, only trains called "TER" or "Intercités"), you will arrive in Amiens' city center. But WARNING if you take the TGV (fast train in France), you won't stop in Amiens but in a train station 45 min away called "Gare TGV Haute-Picardie" where coaches are available for Amiens.

In case of Emergency

• Police Station: 03 22 71 53 00 or 17
• Health Urgency: 15 or 112
• Hospital: 03 22 66 80 00 or 15
• Fireman Station:03 22 71 34 34 or 18
• Emergency Doctor: 03 22 52 00 00 or 15

Local Media Mentions

Angers is a city in France, on the Maine river, an affluent of the Loire. The city has 150 000 inhabitants and offers a very mild and quiet setting to its visitors. Things to see in Angers include the medieval castle, some museums (Musée des beaux-arts, Galérie David d'Angers, Jean Lurçat,...), the enjoyable pedestrian "centre ville", and the surroundings (beautiful landscapes, vineyards, etc.). The Angers CS group enconters 260 members of which the majority are very active. You will most likely have no trouble having your questions answered. For travelers who are tired of making the same old trip (Paris-Provence), Angers is a good place to stop on the way to the Atlantic coast.

History of Angers

More informations about the History of Angers on the!

What to visit?

More informations about the places to visit in Angers on the!

Meetings

For the moment, no regular meeting is organized in Angers. The CS group is used to meeting randomly, so you have to check the group page to learn about the forthcoming meetings. A sub-group named "agenda culturel" also provides information about cultural events programmed in the city and the nearby area. Once a member of the Angers group posts a message in this agenda, you will probably be able to meet him / her at the point of interest.

Mailing List

Tips

When making a CS search about Angers don't forget to ask for a search within 15 or 20 miles around the city because a lot of CS are located in several villages around Angers (but often well connected to the city)

CouchSurfers

City ambassador: couchsurfing.com/people/el_baz el_baz

Hélène: couchsurfing.com/people/alexel Alexel

Pauline: couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=1I4IEJF *pOp*

Alex: couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=3GLMGW0 *Alex*

Meeting Organisers

Coffee or a drink

Romain couchsurfing.com/profile.html *Kormin*

In Case of Emergency

• Police Station:***

call 17

• Health Urgency: ***

Samu - Centre 15

en appelant du Maine et Loire / when calling from inside the county maine et Loire

tél. 15

à partir d'un autre département/ from any other county

tel./dial 02 41 42 26 78

pour les urgences non immédiatement vitales (week-end et nuit)/ For non life-threatening emergencies (week end and night)

tel./dial 02 41 33 16 33

centre anti-poison régional/regional anti poisoning centre

tel./dial 02 41 48 21 21

• Hospital: ***

A link to the university hospital website: http://www.chu-angers.fr/urgences/

• Fireman Station: ***

call 18

• Emergency Doctor: ***

Pour connaître le médecin de garde quand vous en avez besoin, appelez le centre départemental de référence à ce numéro: 02 41 33 16 33 To ask for the name of the Emergency doctor on duty when you need one, call the county center of reference at this number: 02 41 33 16 33

• Other Emergency ***

Pour n'importe quelle autre urgence, visitez cette page: http://www.angersloiremetropole.fr/index.php?id=5921

For any other emergency, check this webpage: http://www.angersloiremetropole.fr/index.php?id=5921

Local Media Mentions

Annecy is a city in France- région Rhônes-Alpes- département Haute-Savoie.

Close to Geneva, Lyon and Grenoble, the town is located between its lake and mountains.

Annecy has a preserved medieval old town often known as the Venice of Alps. It's a quiet and peacefull city with 52000 inhabitants during most of the year (140 000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area). However, in summer and winter, population is growing a lot because of the tourism.

Annecy's interactive map for couchsurfers (Open it in a new window)

Image:annecyvieux3.jpg|Old town Image:annecylac.jpg|Annecy's lake Image:annecybynight.jpg|by night

History of Annecy

More informations about the History of Annecy on the!

How to come

• Hitch Hiking

Hitch Hiking is pretty easy on every main ways. Just don't forget that the weather could be bad during the autumn and winter.

• By car

Road Network is quite important in the region. You can use the Motorway A41 but it's quite ewpensive. Check it on Viamichelin.com

• By plane

There is a little airport in Annecy (Meythet). The only available route is Annecy/Paris-Orly with Air France.

Geneva's airoport is the closest international airport (40 km)

• By bus

Sibra is the city bus company

Voyages Frossard and Voyages Crolard have routes from/to Geneva and main cities around Annecy

• By train

Annecy's station could be the easiest way to come (especially from Lyon, Grenoble and Geneva). You can book on www.voyages-sncf.com

• By monkey

Never seen it yet. But why not???

Best places to have a drink or a meal

Of course it is very subjective. But here are places we like... and why

• Pubs
  • Le Comptoir de la Folie Ordinaire is a small pub with casual atmosphere, art exhibitions and sometimes free concerts. It opens everyday from 6pm to 2:30am
  • Le Munich is one of the biggest pub in Annecy.
• Restaurants
• Fast foods
  • Quick is the only burger restaurant in the city center
  • There are a lot of kebabs restaurants in town. Best are Ali Baba and Istambul Doner Kebab
  • You can buy sandwiches in most of bakeries and many sandwich shops are open during the summer in the old town

Entertainment, sports and activities

• Cinemas
• Concerts
• Ski resorts
• Mountain biking
• Kite surfing and kite skiing (Check out the Semnoz ski resort website)

Cultural places to go

• Theatres
• Libraries

More informations about the places to visit in Annecy on the!

Tips

CouchSurfers

There are about 30 active couchsurfers in the City.

Here is a list couchsurfers who are and/or want to get involved.

couchsurfing.com/people/zoobab2 Baptiste

In Case of Emergency

• Police Station: 04 50 52 32 00
• Gendarmerie (another kind of police, better): 04 50 09 47 47
• Hospital: 04 50 63 63 63
• Fireman Station: 18 or 112
• Emergency Doctor: 0 800 21 17 76
• Youth hostel 1 (nearby the city center): 04 50 45 34 81
• Youth hostel 2 (in the mountain over the old town): 04 50 45 33 19

Media Mentions

Liens externes

Annecy on Wikipedia

Annecy's city official website

Website of Annecy's lake tourism office

Official website of International Animation Film Festival

Weather forecast www.annecy-meteo.com

Map of the Region

The Main CS Cities of the Region

How to get there?

Couch Surfing in the Region

The CS Activity in the Region

Family Welcome

In the region, there is a very nice, active and developped CS Families network. If you travel with your children, if you would like to be hosted by a family, if you are searching for a host who accept a family, meeting other families making to your children more different cultural friendship, you are welcome to join the French Family's group!

A tool exists to localise easily where you can find the CS families' in the region, please check the Family Welcome Map of the area.

Rural Couchsurfing

In Aquitaine you have the chance to have the possibility to couchsurf a bit everywhere, even in the countryside! Check the map of the Rural CSers in Aquitaine, you can find them easilier on this way! There is also a CS group called "Rural CS France" where you can talk with all Rural CSers in France.

But not all Rural CSers appears on the map or are members of the group "Rural CS France". To find the others, join the Regional CS group of Aquitaine!

Regional Contacts on CS

What to visit in the Region

Regional Media Mentions

Links

Welcome to Auvergne!

Auvergne is situated right in the middle of France: 350 km south of Paris, 350 km north of Montpellier, 300 km east of Bordeaux, 200km west of Lyon. It is quite easy to get to Clermont-Ferrand, the capital of Auvergne, by car as two major highways (north-south and east-west) cross there. It takes more time to get there by train, except from Paris (3h30). But Auvergne is really worth the trip! It is a country of very open spaces, of volcanoes and lakes where you can hike for days. A country of marvelous romanesc churches and castles. A country of old traditions and good food (try the local cheeses, like saint-nectaire, the ham, the "truffade" a mixture of potatoes and melted cheese).

Map of the Region

The Main CS Cities of the Region

Clermont Ferrand

The Main City of the Auvergne is the most active CS community of the Region.

To have more information about Clermont-Ferrand, you can check CS group of Clermont.

Le Puy

Vichy

How to get there?

You can easily come to Clermont by train from Lyon or Paris.

Couch Surfing in the Region

The CS Activity in the Region

Family Welcome

In the region, there is a very nice, active and developped CS Families network. If you travel with your children, if you would like to be hosted by a family, if you are searching for a host who accept a family, meeting other families making to your children more different cultural friendship, you are welcome to join the French Family's group!

A tool exists to localise easily where you can find the CS families' in the region, please check the Family Welcome Map of the area.

Rural Couchsurfing

In Auvergne you have the chance to have the possibility to couchsurf a bit everywhere, even in the countryside! Check the map of the Rural CSers in Auvergne, you can find them easilier on this way! There is also a CS group called "Rural CS France" where you can talk with all Rural CSers in France.

But not all Rural CSers appears on the map or are members of the group "Rural CS France". To find the others, join the Regional CS group of Auvergne!

Regional Contacts on CS

Clermont: couchsurfing.com/people/hervo Maxime

What to visit in the Region

Old city of Clermont-Ferrand with the cathedral (see picture above) and Notre Dame du port.

If you are courageaous you can climb the Puy de dome, The biggest volcano Around Clermont Ferrand.

Links

What to do in Clermont tonight: Agenda Cyberbougnat Programme oukonva63 CE week end a clermont

Avignon is a commune in the Vaucluse department in southeastern France in the Region Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur with an estimated mid-2005 population of 90,800 in the city itself and a population of 290,466 in the metropolitan area at the 1999 census. The city is well known for its Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes), where several popes and antipopes lived from the early 14th to early 15th centuries. Avignon is situated on the left bank of the Rhône, a few miles above its confluence with the Durance, about 580 km (360.4 mi) south-south-east of Paris, 229 km (142.3 mi) south of Lyon and 85 km (52.8 mi) north-north-west of Marseille. Avignon occupies a large oval-shaped area, not fully populated and covered in great part by parks and gardens.

HISTORY OF AVIGNON

The era of the Popes somewhat eclipses other events in what is a long and tumultuous history. At the crossroads of the big trade and migratory routes between northern and southern Europe and between Italy and Spain, the city played a major role in European history. A Phoenician trading post during the High Antiquity, Avignon then became a flourishing Roman town. It suffered greatly from the barbarian invasions, followed by those of the Moors and the Francs in the High Middle Ages. With the expansion of trade, and benefiting from its strategic position and its bridge over the Rhône, it had the status of a free town, strong and arrogant enough to defy the King of France. The presence of the Popes made Avignon the capital of the Medieval western world in the 15th century. A papal territory up until the French Revolution, the city actually benefited little from the first Industrial Revolution. It entered into relative anonymity in the 19th century only to come back as a cultural capital in the 20th century. Avignon is the cradle of the Félibrige, a revival of Provençal literature and its Theatre Festival, started in 1946 by Jean Vilar, gives it international prestige.

More informations about the History of Avignon on the!

WHAT TO VISIT?

Main Sights

People in Avignon also have the chance to have plenty of theaters nearby, and an excellent independent cinema called Utopia. There can be sometimes rock concerts on the place Pie, next to les Halles.

More informations about the places to visit in Avignon: Tourism office (fr/en) and

Orientation

The orientation is not so complicated in the city center. The center is delimited by city walls all around. Just beside the city walls on the North and at the West lies the river Rhône on which is the famous Ile de la Barthelasse island. South of the city walls lies the train station Avignon centre. Inside the walls, the main orientation marks are the huge building of Palais des papes, which is just next to the place de l'horloge square which is quite easy to recognize, with all its cafés on terrace. The street going straight from this square to the train station is also a good mark for orientation, it's called la rue de la république. On this street you will find the tourist office. After the tourist office the street changes its name to Cours Jean Jaurès, named after a famous early XXth French politician.

Another mark to know is les Halles and the place Pie square just next to it. Les Halles is a covered market with a car parking on higher levels. You can follow the street rue de la bonneterie to go from the place de l'horloge to les Halles. Continuing on this street after les Halles, you will reach the paved street rue des teinturiers which is very active and refreshing in summer because of the cool river Sorgue running next to it, but also a bit dead and cold in winter.

TIPS

Free Internet/Wifi Access

• Maison pour Tous Montclar - Adress: 1 place Jean-Philippe Rameau - Tel: 04 90 88 45 07
• MJC Croix-des-Oiseaux - Adress: Rue du Tambour d Arcole - Tel: 04 90 87 56 46
• Agence de développement social urbain - Adress: 30 avenue Monclar - Tel: 04 90 82 60 89
• formatic - Adress: 14 rue Bancasse 84000 AVIGNON - Tel: 04 32 74 08 36
• Association Repères - Adress: 10 rue de rateau - Tel: 04 90 16 08 55
• Ecole d Art d Avignon - Adress: 7 rue Violette - Tel: 04 90 27 04 23
• Maison pour Tous Champfleury - Adress: 2 rue Marie Madeleine - Tel: 04 90 82 62 07
• Atelier Multimedia du Centre Social Villemarie - Adress: 7 allée des Acacias - Tel: 04 90 60 44 50
• Centre social de la Reine-Jeanne - Adress: 3 rue Péniscola - Tel: 04 90 89 17 19
• Foyer 77 - Adress: 77 et 81 rue Guillaume Puy - Tel: 04 90 16 77 77
• Avenir 84 - Adress: 27 bis avenue de la Trillade - Tel: 04 90 86 59 91
• Grenier à Sel - Adress: 2 rue du Rempart Saint-Lazare - Tel: 04 90 16 05 31
• Centre social la fenêtre - Adress: 6 avenue François Mauriac - Tel: 04 90 87 31 27
• Vie Associative - Adress: 66 Boulevard Jules Ferry - Tel: 04 90 85 22 58
• ATELIER WOUEB - Adress: 6 avenue françois mauriac 84000 Avignon - Tel: 04 90 87 31 27

hotspots list in Avignon

Nice & Cheap Places to eat and have a drink

• Pub Z ---> 58 Rue de la Bonneterie, MAP

• Gambrinus ---> 62, Rue Carreterie, MAP

• Red sky ---> rue Saint-Jean le Vieux, MAP

• AOC ---> 5, Rue de Trémoulet, MAP

• La Vache à Carreaux ---> 14, rue Peyrolerie, MAP

• Les filles au piano ---> 10,Rue Galante, MAP

• Le fenouil à vapeur ---> 4, rue du portail Magnanen, MAP

Nightlife

soon

COUCHSURFERS

There are about 300 Couchsurfers in Avignon and its area. You can check the CS Group of Avignon or simply a couchsearch to find and contact them.

Meetings

There are sometimes some meetings organised in Avignon, just check the CS Group of Avignon to see what happen in the city and/or the Regional CS Group of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur to see if there is any event in the area.

Coffee or a Drink

Here is a list of persons who are ready to have a drink with you and/or show you the city:

TRANSPORTATIONS

How to get to Avignon

• By train: 1. Avignon is at the crossroad of Paris-Marseilles/Nice and Spain/Montpellier-Marseilles or Spain-Montpellier/Lyon ways. In other words, there are plenty of trains stopping in Avignon. Note that there are two big train stations in Avignon: the first and old one is called "Avignon Centre" and is really next to the historical city center. The second one is newer and farther, called "Avignon TGV" and as its name suggests it is mainly used by french fast trains TGV. A shuttle links the two stations. timetable/shuttle pdf
• By coach: The regional coach station is just next to the train station "Avignon centre", a few steps from the historical city thus.
• By car: There are 2 highway. The first one the highway A7 (Paris-Marseilles) has two exits to Avignon. n°23 Avignon-Nord and n°24 Avignon-Sud. The second the highway A9 (Orange-le Perthus close to spain) Remoulins exits n°23 about 25 min of Avignon.
• By carpooling: You can find a driver or passenger to share the ride and cut on travel cost. In France carpooling is very popular and is called "covoiturage". Try Envoiture.fr to get to Avignon.

Bus / Transports inside the city

Buses are the main public transports in the city. They are convenient when you have to go outside the city center, however all the distances inside the center are easily done walking. There is also a free shuttle-boat which crosses the river Rhône, on the north side, to reach the island de la Barthelasse.

website

Bicycles

velopop

Shuttle between cities

• Timetables / shuttles (pdf):

Avignon-->Carpentras

Avignon-->Cavaillon

Avignon-->Orange

Avignon-->Apt

Avignon-->l'Isle sur la Sorgue

Avignon - Châteauneuf du Pape

• More information and other Shuttles:

TransVaucluse

TER Provence

LER

Bus station

Boulevard Saint-Roch

84000 Avignon

tél: 04 90 27 81 83

IN CASEOF EMERGENCY

• Police Station:

Tel: 17 or 04 90 16 81 00

Gendarmerie: 04 90 80 50 00

• Health Urgency:

SAMU Tel: 15

• Hospital:

Hôpital Henri Duffaut: 04 32 75 33 33

• Fireman Station:

Tel: 18 or 04 90 88 33 18

• Emergency Doctor:

SOS Médecins (24h/24): 04 90 82 65 00

WEBSITES

• official

Avignon

Tourism office

• Festival D'avignon

Festival In

Festival Off

• News paper

La Provence

Le Dauphine

INTERESTED LINKS

• Regional CS Group: Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur
• City CS Group: Avignon

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

• Avignon on Wikivoyage
• Avignon on Hitchwiki
• Avignon on Wikipedia

Besançon est une ville aussi sympathique que méconnue située dans l'est de la France. C'est la préfecture du département du Doubs (25) et de la région Franche-Comté. Une fois à Besançon, on n'est plus très loin de la Suisse et de l'Allemagne!

La ville est surnommée "Besac", et ses habitant sont des Bisontin(e)s.

Les Canapeurs locaux sont proches de leurs camarades de Belfort, Neuchatel (Suisse) et de Bourgogne.

Besançon is a nice city in the East of France (département: Doubs - 25; région: Franche-Comté). It's close to Switzerland and Germany.

Its nickname is "Besac"; the inhabitants are called "Bisontin(e)s".

The CouchSurfers are strongly connected with fellows from Belfort, Neuchatel and Bourgogne.

History of Besançon

More informations about the History of Besançon on the!

What to visit?

More informations about the places to visit in Besançon on the!

Groupe CS Franche-Comté

Pour être au courant de ce qui se trame à Besançon et en Franche-Comté, inscrivez-vous sur le groupe Franche-Comté.

Vous pouvez également consulter le calendrier.

Vous pouvez enfin nous contacter par courriel à l'adresse suivante: Cancoillotte.Superstar<at>gmail.com.

To know what is going on in Franche-Comté, please feel free to register in the Franche-Comté group.

You can also check out our calendar.

And you can contact us by mail with this adress: Cancoillotte.Superstar<at>gmail.com.

Meetings

Les Canapeurs Bisontins ont l'habitude de se réunir relativement régulièrement le jeudi soir.

Les lieux de RV, thèmes et modalités sont discutées sur le groupe Franche-Comté.

Ce groupe regroupe aussi d'autres RV festifs, notamment à Belfort.

CouchSurfers fellows from Besançon usually meet on Thursday evenings.

All issues about these meetings are discussed in the Franche-Comté group.

You can also find the events taking place in other places of the région Franche-Comté (Jura, Territoire de Belfort, Haute-Saône... ah non pas la Haute-Saône!;-) Most of the messages in this group are in French, as a convenience for usual members, but don't hesitate to ask for informations/translations!!! We are lazy, but could type in English! =)

Next meetings:

- couchsurfing.com/meetings.html?mid=15702 Happy birthday CS Franche-Comté! One year of great adventure! Pontarlier, 29-30/11/2008

- couchsurfing.com/meetings.html?mid=16618 Stockholm invasion Departure from Geneva, 3-7/12/2008

Tips

How could I reach Besançon?

Hitch-hikking

Good spots available under the Citadelle, close from the "tunnel".

N57 (East): to Pontarlier, Switzerland (Lausanne, Geneva)...

N83 (West): to Lons-le-Saunier, Lyon...

Carsharing

A nice carsharing databaseavailable on the town's official website - in French only I guess!

Related topic in the Franche-Comté group: couchsurfing.com/group_read.html?gid=186&post=879709 here.

Train

Besançon-Viotte is the main railway station. It's close to the city center (10 mn by foot).

Besançon-Mouillère is a small station in the eastern part of Besançon, on the road to Morteau and Switzerland. It's also 10 mn by foot from the city center.

Check out the timetables on die Bahn (better than the French website, even for French trains! =)

You can book your ticket in advance (often cheaper) on SNCF website.

CouchSurfers

Account of the CouchSurfing group "Franche-Comté": Cancoillotte.Superstar@gmail.com

Here are some nice people around Besançon... but no doubt, others are great, too!

couchsurfing.com/people/artmicia Claire

couchsurfing.com/people/virrginie Virginie

couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=4YGUITA Julie

couchsurfing.com/people/constant Constant

couchsurfing.com/people/yeca Yannick & Stéphanie

couchsurfing.com/people/erwanl Erwan

couchsurfing.com/people/litchi_et_pacotille Marie

couchsurfing.com/people/Jé Jérémie

couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=4MXPIFP Céline

couchsurfing.com/people/pedrobis Pierre

couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=3MTU415 Ely et Eric

couchsurfing.com/people/jgrammont Julie

In Case of Emergency

• Police Station:
• Health Urgency:
• Hospital:
• Fireman Station:
• Embassy:
• Emergency Doctor:

Local Media Mentions

Links

Wikipédia: tout sur Besançon!

Le site officiel de la ville (in French )

Un site général pour découvrir la Franche-Comté (in French)

PageWikivoyage (in French)

Bordeaux is one of the most famous cities in France (region: Aquitaine, department: Gironde).

Known also to be one of the best wine regions of the world The city will, for sure, make you appreciate the french way of life.

With more than 235 200 inhabitants intra muros (over 809 000 with suburbs), Bordeaux is the sixth biggest french city with a dynamic student life, tonnes of nice places and well-preserved architectures amongst which the Port de la Lune (Harbor of the Moon) classifed World Heritage Site of UNESCO in the 28th june 2007.

There are more than 1200 (July 2010)Couchsurfers in Bordeaux. Bordeaux is the 5th busiest CS city in France!. couchsurfing.org/statistics.html?show_all=1&country_id=84" Here are the French statistics

You’ll find more information here(available in english, italian, spanish, german, chinese and japanese).

We wish you a nice reading and a great time in Bordeaux!

History of Bordeaux

More informations about the History of Bordeaux on the!

What to visit

Image:250px-MiroirBourse.jpg|Place de la Bourse Image:250px-Palaisgalien.jpg|Palais Gallien Image:250px-Bordeaux_Saint_Pierre.jpg|The church of Saint Pierre Image:250px-Bordeaux_Pont_de_Pierre.jpg|Pont de pierre

More informations about the places to visit in Bordeaux on the!

Our neighbours

Bordeaux is right between Paris and Spain. A lot of travellers stop by to have a break and visit the Atlantic coast near by and vineyards of course. The city is perfect for a short break as well as a great base for exploring the beautiful surrounding regions like:

COUCHSURFERS

We are 1200 Cs in Bordeaux. Our ambassadors are couchsurfing.org/people/jerome_cnc/ Jéröme (Jerome_CNC) and couchsurfing.org/people/kittye33/ Farah (Kitty Space).

'VERY IMPORTANT':

Please use the "EMERGENCY COUCH IN BORDEAUX" sub-group on the "Bordeaux" group. You'll be welcome!

However, if you are not lucky try the "Auberge de jeunesse" (22 cours Barbey, Tél: 05 56 33 00 70) One night costs 22 € including package for night and breakfast.

• Monthly meeting:

There’s a monthly meeting each first Thursday of the month. Look at the group for the location.

• Spontaneous meetings:

The Bordeaux couchsurfing community is getting bigger and bigger (300 in 2007 and 1200 in 2010). One meeting a month not being enough to party together, we very regularly organize special nights, events, outdoor activities etc. We invite you to check out the Bordeaux couchsurfing groupto know if something is planned during your stay here. And if there is nothing planned, you could let us know about your arrival and propose a meeting.

Here you are some pictures of our parties:

Rally Photo

Image:rallyphoto1.JPG|The Departure Image:rallyphoto2.jpg|Mission Pyramid Image:rallyphoto3.jpg Image:rallyphoto5.jpg Image:Rally7.jpg|The biggest friendship link

Wine Festival

Image:fêteduvin4.jpg Image:fêteduvin2.jpg Image:fêteduvin3.jpg Image:fêteduvin5.jpg Image:feuduvin.jpg

Chinese New Year

Image:HNYC2.JPG|Happy New Year Image:HNYC3.JPG|Origami Image:HNYC5.JPG Image:HNYC1.JPG Image:HNYC6.JPG|Chinese fondue

Disco Party

Image:disco1.jpg Image:disco2.jpg Image:disco3.jpg Image:disco4.jpg Image:disco5.jpg

Halloween

Image:hallo1.jpg Image:Hallo5.jpg Image:hallo3.jpg Image:hallo2.jpg Image:hallo4.jpg

TRANSPORT

• How to get to Bordeaux

By Carpooling

You can find a driver or passenger to share the ride and cut on travel cost. In France carpooling is very popular and is called "covoiturage". Try envoiture.fr to get to BordeauxEnvoiture.fr.

By Car

Bordeaux is at 2 h 30 from Toulouse. 2 h from Biarritz and La Rochelle. 1 h 30 from Angoulême and Agen.

Although you might need a car to tour around Bordeaux, it is not a good idea at all for the city centre. Bordeaux is one of the few cities in France to have free parking bays. But, like in most cities, it's not easy to have one. Generally, if you're lucky, you could find a parking spot near the centre for free in a small street.

Instead, we advise you to leave your car at one of the many "Parc relai" and use the tram and bus system. You will be charged 3 euros (2010) to leave your car at the car park and get a daily tram tickets for each and every person in the car! That's 3 euros for the car parking and up to 5 people to travel! You can not get a better deal (a regular one way ticket valid for one hour is 1€40).

By Train

The main railway station, "Gare St-Jean" near the centre of the city, has 4 million passengers a year. It is served by the French national (SNCF) railway's high speed train, the TGV. It gets to Paris within 3 hours (about 50 € for a one way trip). You can connect to major European cities such as Lille direct, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne, Geneva and London. The TGV also serves Toulouse (about 30€ for a one way trip)and Irun. A regular train service is provided to Nantes, Nice, Marseille and Lyon. The Gare St-Jean is the major hub for regional trains (TER)to Arcachon, Limoges, Agen, Périgueux, Pau, Sarlat and Bayonne. The Sarlat line stop at Saint-Emilion.

By Plane

Bordeaux is served by an international airport, Aéroport de Bordeaux Mérignac, 8 km away from the city centre in the suburban city of Mérignac.

A private shuttle bus takes you to the main train station close to the city center within 45 min for an 8euro fee.

However, regular bus Liane 1 will also take you to the very centre of Bordeaux within the same time...for 1€40!

By Hitch-hiking

In France, hitch-hiking is a great experience. Althoug it is illegal on motorways, French drivers generally accept hitch-hikers. Getting to Bordeaux is easy. Gettin out is a little bit more tricky: you first have to get passed the ring road. Towards Paris: Go by foot until Aquitaine bridge or take tram A eastbound towards La Gardette or Floirac and stop at "buttinière"

http://membres.lycos.fr/bpierret/hitchike.htm

• Transports inside Bordeaux

Tramway & Bus The city is very accessible thanks to its very easy tram and bus system. - Ticket of 1 trip = 1€40 (valid for up to an hour after validation) - Ticket of 5 trips = 5€05 (can be used by several people at a time) - Ticket of 10 trips = 10€10 (idem)

More details: TBC network

TIPS - Each trip is valid 1hour (Unlimited access to the whole tram and bus network during 1 hour). - It's the same ticket for tram and bus. - You can use one a 5 or 10 trip ticket for several people and save money! - If you do not use all your tickets, leave them in your "left items box" for the next couchsurfer to use;-)

Bicycles

There are many beautiful biking paths around Bordeaux and we now (2009) have a great daily rental system available at each street corner: V3 (pronounce V cube - CUB=Communauté urbaine de Bordeaux). Using your credit card, you can use a bike and pay by the hour (first 30 mins are free of charge). Grab one somewhere, leave it at another V3 spot. More info here

If you need a bike for a long period (months) get one for free!

TIPS: Every first Sunday of the month is car-free day in the centre of Bordeaux. Bicycles can be borrowed for free at Allées de Tourny (ID card and caution required). You can take your bike in most local and regional trains (on the timetables, look for the bike symbol).

MAILING LIST

You can be informed of local events by registering to the Bordeaux group (mailing). Regularly, activities are been proposed by local couchsurfers such as: photographic rally, jogging, world diner, happening, disco or super hero parties... everybody can propose something to do.

If you want informations on concerts and happenings in Bordeaux don't forget to check out this website

TIPS

FREE WIFI

You can get a wifi spot in most streets. The warehouses by the docks were the first ones to get equipped.

END YOUR NIGHT

After the party, let's go to "the Marché des Capucins" (market) for a glass of crisp white wine and oysters by the dozen.

Open from 6 am (5.30 on Saturdays).

Coffee and drink

PUBS & BARS

Nightlife: be aware that most bars close at 2.00 am and that nightclubs open at 11.00 pm and close at 5.00 am... but if you are lucky, you might be able to stay all night in a nice bar with good music.

"Place de la Victoire" is the student district: a lot of partying on Thursday nights and a lot of live rugby and football games are been shot on large screens.

EL CHE (Cuban spirit and rhums) 34, cours de l’Argonne BYRON BAY (Australian Bar) 11, cours de l’Argonne

If you fancy a cosier atmosphere, with live music and wooden furniture, then L’AVANT-SCENE (42 cours de l’Yser) might be attractive.

If you are a “beer-lover”, you may find it worth walking to LE LUCIFER, 35 rue de Pessac (where you can taste more than 250 different beers from all over the world) TITI TWISTER, 76 rue Leyteire (a lot of Belgian beers).

"Saint-Pierre" is the tourist and yuppies district: terrace cafes and wine bars… but not only. For a drink before dinner (l’apéro!) or after dinner:

LA COMTESSE (cosy) 25, rue du Parlement Saint-Pierre LE MILO’S 21, rue du Parlement Saint-Pierre

Around the majestic "Grosse Cloche", enjoy a drink in typicall old-stones houses:

L’APOLLO 19, place Fernand Laffargue L’INCA (live music almost every night) 28, rue Sainte Colombe (Ask to meet Martin. He's couchsurfer) LA PETITE CLOCHE (salsa classes and live music) 3, rue Bouquière

At "Saint-Michel", the picturesque and colourful district of the old city, you will discover a more popular Bordeaux with a lot of Mediterranean accents. This is the realm of home-made mint teas and tapas.

LE CAFE DES JOURS HEUREUX (come and play the guitar!) 54, rue Camille Sauvageau LE BLUEBERRY'S (live jazz & blues sessions) 61, rue Camille Sauvageau EL CHUCHUMBE (salsa dancing bar) 6, rue Causserouge

North Bordeaux and its wet docks & old maritime warehouses is the new trendy area, with nightclubs such as THE DAME DE SHANGAI (Bassins à Flots N1, 1 quai Armand Lalan).

But it is in South Bordeaux, quai de Paludate, that you will find most of the nightclubs and a very good place for live jazz, swing & blues sessions:

LE COMPTOIR DU JAZZ 59 quai de Paludate.

ENGLISH/ IRISH PUBS

THE FROG AND ROSBIF (the only pub brewing its own beers) 23, rue Ausone THE HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT (quizz on Sunday night) 11, rue du Parlement Sainte Catherine THE O’ROWLANDS (live Irish music) 50, rue de Pessac

WINE BARS

LE PETIT BOIS (to drink wine in a magical grove decor) 18, rue du Chai des Farines LE CHABROT (so typically French / with good food also) 32, rue du Chai des Farines LE WINE BAR 19, rue des Bahutiers LE BO BAR (so small!) 8, place Saint-Pierre

FOR LIVE MUSIC SESSIONS

LA DIBITERI (jam sessions on Tues., slam on Wed. and open funk on Thur.) 27, rue Arnaud Miqueu

MORE TRENDY

ABSOLUT LOUNGE 14, rue de la Devise AZULI (electro, house) 55, cours Alsace Lorraine

WANNA DANCE?

LA CALLE OCHO (“THE” cuban/latino bar) 24, rue des Piliers de Tutelle BODEGA BODEGA (Spanish ambiance) 4, rue des Piliers de Tutelle

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

• Police Station:

Tél: 05 57 85 77 77

23 rue François de Sourdis

• Health Urgency:

SAMU (French Health Urgency Service Tel: 15

European Tel number for Urgency: 112

Urgency number for the homeless: 115

• Hospital:

Tél: 05 56 79 56 79

www.chu-bordeaux.fr

• Fireman Station:

Urgency number: 18

• Embassy:

Click here to have the list of the differents Consulats and Embassies in Bordeaux

http://www.lepressbook.fr/bordeaux/consulats-de-bordeaux/consulat.html

• Emergency Doctor:

SOS Médecins

45 rue Pelouse de Douet

Tel: 05 56 44 74 74 (24h/24)

MEDIA MENTIONS

Brest is a city in France, a city in the Finistère department in Bretagne (Brittany) in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, Brest is an important seaport and naval base. The 1999 census recorded 303,484 inhabitants of the Brest metropolitan area, while the population of the city itself was estimated in 2004 to number some 146,000. Although Brest is by far the largest city in Finistère, the préfecture (capital) of the department is the much smaller commune of Quimper.

HISTORY OF BREST

Nothing definite is known of Brest before about 1240, when a count of Léon ceded it to John I, duke of Brittany. In 1342 John de Montfort surrendered it to the English, in whose hands it was to remain until 1397. The importance of Brest in medieval times was great enough to give rise to the saying, "He is not duke of Brittany who is not lord of Brest". With the marriage of Francis I to Claude, daughter of Anne of Brittany, the definitive overlordship of Brest – together with the rest of the duchy – passed to the French crown.

The advantages of Brest's situation as a seaport town were first recognized by Richelieu, who in 1631 constructed a wooden-wharved harbour, which soon became a base for the French navy. Colbert rebuilt the wharves in masonry and otherwise improved the base, and fortifications by Vauban (1633–1707) followed in 1680-1688. These fortifications, and with them the naval importance of the town, were to continue to develop throughout the 18th century.

In 1694 an English squadron under John Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley of Stratton, was miserably defeated in the Attack on Brest; but in 1794, during the revolutionary war, the French fleet, under Villaret de Joyeuse, was equally thoroughly beaten in the same place by the English admiral Howe.

In World War II, the Germans maintained a large submarine base in Brest. Almost totally destroyed during the Battle for Brest (barely more than three buildings were left standing), the city has since been rebuilt. After the war, the West German government paid several billion dollars' worth of reparations to the homeless and destitute civilians of Brest in compensation for the destruction of, or damage to, their homes and property during the course of the war. Large parts of today's rebuilt city consist of the utilitarian granite and concrete buildings erected in the war's aftermath. The naval base now also houses the Brest Naval Training Centre.

In 1972, France opened its submarine nuclear deterrence base at Île Longue in the Rade de Brest (Brest roadstead).

More informations about the History of Brest on the!

PLACES TO VISIT!

Great beaches (from the closest to the farest one):

• Moulin-Blanc (interêt pour centre nautique, piscine, et bars/restos du port de plaisance, baignade pas top)

• Maison Blanche (pittoresque, cabanes de pêcheurs et vieux brestois, donc bar)

• St Anne du Portzic (mi-sable surtout galet, restaurant)

• Le Petit Minou (mi-sable mi-galt, vagues, cadre exceptionnel)

• Plougonvelin - le Trez-hir (station banéaire de brest, restos, piscine, bars)

• Treganna (mi sable mi galets, qq restos, un peu de vagues, joli)

• Blancs Sablons (superbe cadre, sable, vagues, bonasses... bars/restos du conquet)

MUSEE/CULTURE

• musée de la marine, chateau de brest (attention, on visite qu'une toute pêtite parte du chateau!!!)

• musée de la tour tanguy, (histoire de brest, maquettes de brest avant-guerre assez saisissantes)

• musée de la maison de la fontaine à Recouvrance (connait pas)

• musée des beaux-arts d brest (à chier)

• Le fort Montbarrey (avant le technopôle) (brest durant la lbération, véhicule et équipements militaires exposées, témoignages, vidéos... assez émouvant)

LOISIR et PARCS

• Océanopolis (panoramas actifs de la vie marine à travers tous les climats, spectacle assuré)

• Piscine du Moulin-Blanc (ludique, face à la mer)

• Centre nautique du moulin-Blanc (grand pannel d'activités)

• Vallon du Stangalar (grande variétés de plantes, conservatoire botanique, parcours sportifs, créperie... belle ballade)

• Jardin des explorateurs > Recouvrance (beaux panoramas sur le chatau et la rade)

• Sentiers côtiers à partir de maison blanche (ou recouvrance en longeant arsenal)

• Bois de Kéroual (ballade, crêperie)

• Rives de la Penfeld

Want to discover more?

Wiki-Brest in French, (in english), Official Website of the Office of Tourism.

EVENTS

LA FOIRE AUX CROUTES

BREST 2010

FESTIVAL DU FILM COURT DE BREST

CARNET DE VOYAGE

FESTIVAL DE CORNOUAILLE

MUSICAL EVENTS IN BREST AND AROUND

FESTIVAL ASTROPOLIS

FESTIVAL DES VIELLES CHARRUES

FESTIVAL DU BOUT DU MONDE

FESTIVAL AU PONT DU ROCK

FESTIVAL DE BOBITAL

FESTIVAL ART ROCK

FESTIVAL DE LA MER

FESTIVAL DES FILETS BLEU

FESTIVAL KANN-AL-LOAR

FESTIVAL ROCK N SOLEX

FESTIVAL LA ROUTE DU ROCK

FESTIVAL BAR EN TRANS

FESTIVAL LES TRANS MUSICALE

FESTIVAL INTERCELTIQUE

FESTIVAL LES PERCUSSIONS DU MONDE

FESTIVAL ROCHANFEU

TIPS

Free Wifi Access

Here is a list of places where you can get some free Internet and/or Wifi Access (map of free access):

• MAISON DE QUARTIER DE BELLEVUE - Adress: 1 RUE DU QUERCY 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 03 37 37
• GRETA DE BREST-LANDERNEAU - Adress - RUE PRINCE DE JOINVILLE 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 80 41 51
• PATRONAGE LAIQUE MUNICIPAL DE RECOUVRANCE - Adress: 2 RUE LEGENDRE 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 45 06 90
• VIVRE LA RUE - Adress 17 RUE DE SAINT MALO 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 05 04 40
• Mairie de Betton - Adress: Place charles de Gaulle - Tel: 02 99 55 81 01
• C.C.A.S. - LOCAL SOCIAL - Adress: 10 RUE DE MAISSIN 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 05 43 22
• CULTURE ET LIBERTE - Adress: 25 RUE DU DOCTEUR POULIQUEN 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 46 24 15
• MAISON POUR TOUS DE PEN AR CREAC'H - Adress: RUE DU PROFESSEUR CHRETIEN 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 02 29 75
• BIBLIOTHEQUE NEPTUNE - Adress: 16 BIS RUE TRAVERSE 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 00 88 31
• PATRONAGE LAIQUE MUNICIPAL GUERIN - Adress: 1 RUE ALEXANDRE RIBOT 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 80 08 42
• INFINI - Adress: 25 RUE FAUTRAS 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 80 47 51
• CENTRE SOCIAL DE KEROURIEN - Adress: RUE PERE RICARD 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 34 16 40
• AR STYVEL - Adress: 7 RUE COMMANDANT DROGOU 29200 BREST
• MAISON DE QUARTIER DE LAMBEZELLEC - Adress: 12 RUE CLAUDE GOASDOUE 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 01 18 13
• AMIB - Adress: 28 RUE FRANCHEY D'ESPEREY 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 49 74 41
• LE FOURNEAU - Adress: 11 QUAI DE LA DOUANE 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 46 19 46
• BIBLIOTHEQUE MUNICIPALE DES QUATRE MOULINS - Adress: 186 RUE ANATOLE France 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 45 96 35
• CONSOMMATION, LOGEMENT ET CADRE DE VIE (CLCV) - Adress: 27 RUE DE SAINT BRIEUC 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 01 08 51
• ENER'GENCE (AGENCE DE MAÎTRISE DE L'ENERGIE DE BREST ET SA RÉGION) - Adress: 78 RUE JEAN JAURES 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 33 15 14
• TI AR BED - Adress: 17 RUE DANTON 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 44 31 16
• BUREAU INFORMATION JEUNESSE - Adress: 4 RUE AUGUSTIN MORVAN 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 43 01 08
• BIBLIOTHEQUE MUNICIPALE DE PONTANEZEN - Adress: 5 RUE SISLEY 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 02 52 40
• MAISON DE L'EUROPE - Adress: 16 RUE DE L'HARTELOIRE 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 46 60 09
• RIEN SANS ELLES - Adress: 16 RUE DE LA REPUBLIQUE 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 46 60 53
• ASSOCIATION DES PARALYSES DE FRANCE - Adress: 87 ROUTE DE GOUESNOU 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 42 07 70
• RESIDENCE LOUISE ROUX - Adress: 20 RUE DE MAISSIN 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 05 64 00
• CENTRE SOCIOCULTUREL DE PONTANEZEN - Adress: 5 RUE SISLEY 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 02 22 00
• CFDT DU PAYS DE BREST - Adress: 9 RUE DE L'OBSERVATOIRE 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 33 29 29
• MAISON POUR TOUS DU VALY HIR - Adress: 1 RUE DES FRERES GONCOURT 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 45 10 95
• AILE, FOYER DES JEUNES TRAVAILLEURS MICHELET - Adress: 8, RUE MICHELET 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 44 45 18
• MAIRIE DE SAINT-PIERRE - Adress: 200 RUE ANATOLE France 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 34 83 00
• BIBLIOTHEQUE MUNICIPALE DE SAINT-MARC - Adress: PLACE VINET 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 02 87 20
• DIVERS CITE - Adress: 2 RUE DES ARCHIVES 29287 BREST CEDEX
• FOYER LAIQUE DE SAINT MARC - Adress: 12 RUE DU DOCTEUR FLOCH 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 02 14 80
• DISCOTHEQUE ARPEGE - Adress: 11 RUE NEPTUNE 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 00 87 77
• MAISON POUR TOUS DE L'HARTELOIRE - Adress: 39 AVENUE CLEMENCEAU 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 46 07 46
• AGEHB, LE PHARE - Adress: 20 RUE GASTON RAMON 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 05 10 91
• OFFICE DE RETRAITES BRESTOIS - Adress: 12-14 RUE FAUTRAS 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 80 30 03
• Point Inter Net du Centre Ville - Adress: 2 Bd Joffre, Parvis de Cinéville - Tel: 02 97 35 11 91
• BIBLIOTHEQUE MUNICIPALE DE BELLEVUE - Adress: PLACE NAPOLEON III 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 03 85 20
• SKED - Adress: 18 RUE DUGUAY TROUIN 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 80 26 71
• PATRONAGE LAIQUE MUNICIPAL DU PILIER ROUGE - Adress: 2 RUE FLEURUS 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 41 89 76
• BIBLIOTHEQUE D'ETUDE - Adress: 22 RUE TRAVERSE 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 00 87 60
• CONFEDERATION SYNDICALE DES FAMILLES - Adress: 44 AVENUE DE TARENTE 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 47 38 72
• CENTRE D'INFORMATION DES DROITS DES FEMMES - Adress: 26 RUE FAUTRAS 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 44 97 47
• MAIRIE DE LAMBEZELLEC - Adress: 25 RUE ROBESPIERRE 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 03 84 60
• BIBLIOTHEQUEMUNICIPALE DE LAMBEZELLEC - Adress: 8 RUE PIERRE CORRE 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 03 84 90
• METAL ARMOR - Adress: 142 RUE ANATOLE FRANCE 29200 BREST - Tel: 06 80 61 93 40
• FEDERATION SPORTIVE ET GYMNIQUE DU TRAVAIL (FSGT) - Adress: 31 RUE DU COMMANDANT DROGOU 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 47 07 07
• BIBLIOTHEQUE MUNICIPALE DE LA CAVALE BLANCHE - Adress: PLACE JACK LONDON 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 05 54 00
• OFFICE DES SPORTS - Adress: AVENUE FOCH 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 44 31 05
• AILE, FOYER DES JEUNES TRAVAILLEURS KERABECAM - Adress: 7 RUE KERABECAM 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 43 14 06
• PATRONAGE LAIQUE MUNICIPAL DE LA CAVALE BLANCHE - Adress: 10 RUE HEGEL 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 45 86 43
• CENTRE DE CREATION MUSICALE - Adress: AVANCEE DE LA PORTE DE LANDERNEAU, PLACE DE LA LIBERTE 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 44 07 97
• MAIRIE DE BELLEVUE - Adress: 25 PLACE NAPOLEON III 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 03 85 00
• BIBLIOTHEQUE MUNICIPALE DE SAINT-MARTIN - Adress: 1 PLACE GUERIN 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 44 95 66
• CONFEDERATION SYNDICALE DES FAMILLES - Adress: 19 RUE BRUAT 29200 BREST - Tel: 02 98 80 46 77

Where to drink a beer or eat something?

Centre-ville

• Le Dubliners - 28 rue Mathieu-Donnart

• La Gentil'Hommiere- 33 avenue Georges-Clemenceau

• Le Tom Café - 8, rue Augustin-Morvan

• L'Happy Café - 193 rue Jean-Jaurès

• Le Hemingway - 11 avenue Georges-Clemenceau

• Le Mix-up Café - 29 rue Brossolette

• Le Baikal - 54 rue de Glasgow

• Le X-TREME - 8 rue Louis-Pasteur

• La Maison Blanche - 2840 route Sainte-Anne-du-Portzic

• Le Hamilton - 2 rue de la 2e-D.B

• Le Baobab - 2 rue du Château

Siam

• Au bureau - 10, Rue Siam

• La flibuste - 14 Rue de Siam

• Le blind Piper - 95, Rue Siam

• Le Tir Na Nog - 21 Rue de Siam

• La Sampdoria - 19 Rue de Siam

• Le Thalassa - 6, Rue Siam

• Le Mary Stuart - 11, Rue de Siam

• Le Locus Solus - 5 rue de Siam

• La QV - 3 rue de Siam

• Le Casa Havana - 2 rue de Siam

Port de commerce / Commercial port

• Taverne Mc Guigan's - Pub - Bar à bières - 9, Rue Jean Marie Le Bris

• Les Quatre Vents Bar - 18, Quai Douane

• Le crabe-marteau (restaurant de fruits de mer où l'on mange sans manières)

• Le Tara Inn ( Pub - Bar à bières - 1, Rue Blaveau

Port de plaisance

• Le tour du monde - Port de Plaisance, du Moulin Blanc

• A L'Aise Breizh Café - Port de Plaisance du Moulin Blanc

St Martin

• le Comics

• le Café de la Plage - 32 Rue Massillon

• Chez Kim-l'Horizon - 21 Rue Danton -(avec participation musicale de kim tous les soirs)

• marché St Martin >> quasi tous les jours

• Les Fauvettes - Pub - Bar à bières - 27, Rue Conseil

Salles de concerts et spectacles

• Le fourneau - 11 quai de la Douane, 29200 Brest- http://www.lefourneau.com/

• La Carène - 30, Rue Jea n-Marie Le Bris 29200 Brest- http://www.lacarene.fr/

• Le quartz - 60, rue du Château - 29200 Brest http://www.lequartz.com/

• Le parc des expositions de Penfeld - http://www.penfeld.com/

• La salle de conférence de la Mairie - 2 Rue Frézier - 29200 Brest

• Le soul food café - 77 rue Auguste Kervern 29200 Brest

Bar de nuit

• Le Cube à ressort -7 Rue de l'Harteloire

• Le Red Dragon - 26 Rue Magenta

• L'Arizona - 228 Rue Jean Jaurès

• Le Black Label - 40 Quai de la Douane

To understand Brest spirit!

Music to listen before to come!

• Les Goristes, "800 Kg" of Brest Spirit genuine singers, spokesman of Brest spirit and accent

• Territoires Sonores (sur Wiki-Brest) (ballades sonores, guides audios en libre service sur internet)

• Bagad Plougastell (

• Electric Bazar Cie (Brest c'est byzance)

To read before to come!

- L'ancre de Miséricorde, les Clients du bon chien jaune, Brest

PIERRE MAC ORLAN

- Remorques: ROGER VERCEL

COUCHSURFERS

There are about 200 Couchsurfers in Brest and the area, feel free to contact them by searching them on a couchsurf or by posting some messages on the CS Group of Brest.

Meetings

There are some meetings organised in Brest, you can check on the CS Group of Brest if there is something happened or check on the Regional CS Group of Brittany (Bretagne) to see if there is an event organised in the area.

Coffee or a Drink

Here is a list of local couchsurfers who could be ready to show you the city or/and have a drink with you:

TRANSPORTATIONS

How to get to Brest

• By Car:

-http://www.viamichelin.fr/ -http://fr.mappy.com/

• By Train:

-http://www.voyages-sncf.com/

• By Ferry:

-http://www.brittany-ferries.fr/

• By Covoiturage:

-http://www.covoiturage.fr/ -http://www.covoiturage.com/ -http://www.easycovoiturage.com/ -http://www.envoiture.fr/ -http://www.tribu-covoiturage.com/

Bus

Brest est l'une des villes de France le mieux desservie niveau bus. Hé oui, quand on y vit ça parait dur à croire! Et pourtant! Et tout ça grace a qui?? ==> http://www.bibus.fr/

Bicycles

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

• Police Station: 17
• Health Urgency: 15
• Hospital: La Cavale Blanche(CHU) Standard: 02 98 22 33 33
• Fireman Station: 18
• Embassy:

Denmark Embassy: 38 quai de la Douane 29283 Brest

Tél: 02.98.44.49.95 Fax: 02.98.43.30.20

Spain Vice-Embassy: 34, quai du Commandant Malbert 29000 Brest

Tél: 02.98.80.33.46 Fax: 02.98.46.28.15

Sweden Embassy: 38 quai de la Douane 29283 Brest

Tél: 02.98.44.49.95 Fax: 02.98.43.30.20

Holland Embassy: 6, cours d'Ajot - B.P 117 29268 Brest

Tél: 02.98.80.32.70 Fax: 02.98.80.74.00

LOCAL MEDIA MENTIONS

INTERESTED LINKS

• Regional CS Group: Bretagne (Brittany)
• Local CS Group: Brest

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

• Brest on Wikivoyage
• Brest on Hitchwiki
• Brest on Wikipedia

Carte de la région - Map of the region - Kartenn ar vro

Les principales villes CS de la région - The main CS cities of the region - Kêrioù CS ar vro

La Bretagne (historique et touristique) est constituée de 5 départements: les Côtes d'Armor (22), le Finistère (29), l'Ile et Vilaine (35), la Loire-Atlantique (44) et le Morbihan (56). Les principales villes CS sont Brest (29), Quimper (29), Rennes (35), Nantes (44), Saint-Nazaire (44), Lorient (56), Vannes (56). Pour plus de détails sur ces villes et leurs régions, consultez la rubrique "A voir, à visiter, à faire". Mais n'oubliez pas qu'il y a des membres de CS en dehors des villes, dans de jolis coins de campagne bretonne.

Brittany (historical and touristic) is made up of 5 "departments": the Côtes d'Armor (22), Finistère (29), Ile et Vilaine (35), the Loire-Atlantique (44) and the Morbihan (56). The main CS cities are Brest (29), Quimper (29), Rennes (35), Nantes (44), Saint-Nazaire (44), Lorient(56), Vannes (56). For more details on those cities and the surrounding areas, have a look at the "what to see, what to do, what to visit in the region" section. But don't forget that there are CS members out of cities, in stunning areas thoughout the Breton countryside!

Comment venir - How to get there - Penaos dont

En voiture / By car: Avec votre voiture ou en covoiturage.

With your own car or carsharing.

Pour trouver votre chemin / To find your way: ViaMichelin 1

Covoiturage / Carsharing: Covoiturage 2 and Roadsharing 3

En train / By train: La Bretagne est bien desservie par le train.

Brittany is well served by rail.

SNCF 4

En avion / By plane: Il y a différents aéroports en Bretagne, au moins un pour chaque point cardinal.

There are a number of airports in Brittany, on all points of the compass.

Nord / North: Aéroport de Saint-Malo 5, Aéroport de Lannion 6

Sud / South: Aéroport de Lorient 7, Aéroport de Nantes 8

Est / East: Aéroport de Rennes 9

Ouest / West: Aéroport de Brest 10

En bateau / By boat: Depuis le Royaume Uni, l'Irlande et l'Espagne vers la Bretagne Nord.

From the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain to northern Brittany.

Brittany Ferries 11

Un fois en Bretagne, vous pouvez aussi voyager en bus.

Once in Brittany you can also travel by bus.

Côtes d'Armor (22): Ti'Bus 12

Finistère (29): Penn-Ar-Bed 13

Ille-Et-Vilaine (35): Illenoo 14

Loire-Atlantique (44): Lila 15

Morbihan (56): TIM 16

Les principales villes ont également leurs propres réseaux de bus. Trouvez le lien ici: 17

The major cities also have their own networks. Find the links here: 18 (select the department then the city).

CouchSurfing in the region - CS e Breizh

The CS activity in the Region - Abadennoù CS er vro

Family Welcome

In the region, there is a very nice, active and developped CS Families network. If you travel with your children, if you would like to be hosted by a family, if you are searching for a host who accept a family, meeting other families making to your children more different cultural friendship, you are welcome to join the French Family's group!

A tool exists to localise easily where you can find the CS families' in the region, please check the Family Welcome Map of the area.

Rural Couchsurfing

In Brittany you have the chance to have the possibility to couchsurf a bit everywhere, even in the countryside! Check the map of the Rural CSers in Brittany, you can find them easilier on this way! There is also a CS group called "Rural CS France" where you can talk with all Rural CSers in France.

But not all Rural CSers appears on the map or are members of the group "Rural CS France". To find the others, join the Regional CS group of Brittany!

Regional contacts on CS - Dont e darempred gant CSerien ar vro

En Bretagne

Image:Img l 1020288.jpg|couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=1P7QEKA Eric, Ambassadeur de Nantes Image:Img l 546952.jpg|couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=1KGXGLK Pierrick, Ambassadeur de Guérande

• Moderateurs du groupe Bretagne: couchsurfing.com/people/enorad/ Enora, couchsurfing.com/people/ocbd/ Olivier,couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=1C55KUU Baptou

Saint Brieuc - 22

• Moderateur du groupe de St Brieuc: couchsurfing.com/people/klx Nicolas

Brest - 29

• Moderateur du groupe de Brest: couchsurfing.com/people/christounet Christophe
• Contributeur au Wiki CS: Guillaume Danteur

Quimper - 29

• Moderatrice du groupe de Quimper: couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=22A0K6U Fanny,couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=2YD5S05 Nicolas

Rennes - 35

• Moderateur du groupe de Rennes: couchsurfing.com/people/gdcondor Florian,couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=287XKFU Vincent
• Contributeurs au Wiki CS: Arnaud, Pierre, Lucien

Saint Malo - 35

• Moderateur du groupe de Saint Malo: couchsurfing.com/people/supergalette Supergalette,couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=O64QF5 Yohann,couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=5QEYOI5 Benoit

Guérande - 44

• City Ambassadeur: couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=1KGXGLK Pierrick

Nantes - 44

• City Ambassadeur: couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=1P7QEKA Eric, couchsurfing.com/people/moshika Cyril
• Moderateurs du groupe de Nantes: couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=1P7QEKA Eric,couchsurfing.com/people/moshika Cyril,couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=1C55KUU Baptou
• Contributeur au Wiki CS: Sebastien Marin, Baptou
• Location fixer: couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=1C55KUU Baptou

Saint-Nazaire - 44

• Moderateurs du groupe de St nazaire: couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=1KGXGLK Pierrick, couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=20D7UJK Emeline, couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=21R8WQP Dan

Lorient - 56

• Moderateur du groupe de Lorient: couchsurfing.com/people/klx Nicolas
• Greeter: couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=20RBXMA Xavier

Vannes - 56

• Moderateur du groupe de Vannes: couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=4YITCD0 Alienor et Thomas,couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=5G8AW4U Aurelien

Fougères- 35

• Moderateur du groupe de Fougères: couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=2LV5395 Sammyman / Samuel

A voir, à visiter, à faire - What to see, what to visit, what to do in the region - Petra gwelet, gweladenniñ pe ober

Partout en Bretagne, il y a quelque chose à voir, un joli coin pour se reposer, des choses à faire et une culture à découvrir.

Throughout Brittany, there is always something to see, a great place to stay, hundreds of things to do and a unique culture to discover.

E pep lec'h e Breizh ez eus un dra bennak d'ober, ul lec'hig brav evit diskuizhañ, a bep seurt lec'hioù da weladenniñ hag ur sevenadur da zizoleiñ.

Carantec - Pointe du Raz - Chapelle Saint Herbot - Huelgoat - Menhir à Plouharnel

Santec - Morlaix - Marais salants de Guérande - Beg Ar Fri - Le Dourduff-en-Mer Locmariaquer - Monts d'Arrée ‎

Links - Liammoù

Regional Media Mentions

Map of the Region

The Main CS Cities of the Region

How to get there?

Couch Surfing in the Region

The CS Activity in the Region

Family Welcome

In the region, there is a very nice, active and developped CS Families network. If you travel with your children, if you would like to be hosted by a family, if you are searching for a host who accept a family, meeting other families making to your children more different cultural friendship, you are welcome to join the couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=16134 French Family's group!

A tool exists to localise easily where you can find the CS families' in the region, please check the Family Welcome Map of the area.

Rural Couchsurfing

In Burgundy you have the chance to have the possibility to couchsurf a bit everywhere, even in the countryside! Check the map of the Rural CSers in Burgundy, you can find them easilier on this way! There is also a couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=15039 CS group called "Rural CS France" where you can talk with all Rural CSers in France.

But not all Rural CSers appears on the map or are members of the group "Rural CS France". To find the others, join couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=181 the Regional CS group of Burgundy!

Regional Contacts on CS

What to visit in the Region

Regional Media Mentions

Links

Caen is a city in France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie (Lower-Normandy) region. It is located 15 km (6 mi) inland from the English Channel. Caen is known for its historical buildings built during the reign of William the Conqueror, who was buried here, and for the Battle for Caen—heavy fighting that took place in and around Caen during the Battle of Normandy in 1944, destroying much of the town. Situated between land and sea, with beaches just 10 minutes away and 2 hours from Paris, on the Mont Saint-Michel road, Caen is a thriving and dynamic city offering a rare wealth of heritage and culture.

HISTORY OF CAEN

A ducal estate founded by William the Conqueror in the 11th century, the city has retained through the ages the splendour and radiance desired by the Duke-King. On 26 July 1346 his English troops stormed the town and sacked it, killing 3,000 of its citizens and burning much of the merchant's quarter. Whilst sacking the town, English officials searching the archives of the city, found a copy of the 1339 Franco-Norman plan to invade England, made between Philip VI of France and Normandy. This was subsequently sent back to England and used for propaganda purposes to justify the continuation of the war, and also the supplying/financing of the conflict. Only the castle of Caen held out, despite attempts at besieging it by the English soldiers. A few days later the English left, marching to the east and to their victory at the Battle of Crécy.

Abbeys, a château then private houses, universities and other academies bear witness to the city's development over the centuries and following the terrible bombings of l944. Rising from its ashes like a phoenix, the symbol of its university, Caen has also been able to preserve its magnificent architectural heritage, which emerged unscathed from World War II.

Enriched with 1000 years of history, the soul of the city is today found nestled in the ancient quarters of its centre and reveals itself to those who take the time to pause there. Narrow streets lined with lively shops, a marina right in the heart of the city and an array of parks and gardens that have long charmed experts are waiting to welcome you today.

Let Caen conquer you!

More informations about the History of Caen on the!

WHAT TO VISIT?

More informations about the places to visit in Caen on the and/or check the Official Website of the Office of Tourism.

TIPS

Free Internet/Wifi Access

Here are some places where you can get some free Internet/Wifi access:

• Bibliothèque de Caen - Adress: place Louis-Guillouard - Tel: 02 31 30 47 00
• CyberTandem - Adress: 8 rue Nicolas Oresme - Tel: 02 31 29 54 54
• EPN de la Pierre Heuzé - AMVD - Adress: 1, rue Montcalm - Tel: 02 31 93 23 91
• MJC Venoix - Adress: Allée de Livermead 19 bis, rue Galliéni - Tel: 02 31 73 72 51
• Centre d'animation de La Prairie - Adress: 11, avenue Albert Sorel - Tel: 02 31 85 25 16

Nice & Cheap Places to Eat

Very Nice & cheap restaurants

• La part du colibri: it is a bio-restaurant, very good and healthy near the river "Orne", 51 quai Juillet
• Comme Un Dimanche: it is a small restaurant where you can buy the furnitures: chairs, the tables, and even somme books. Rue guillaume le conquérant

Very Cheap restaurants

• La corne d'or: good kebab, boulevard alliés, near the "Tour Leroy"
• Le Belem: good and cheap restaurant, near the river "Orne", 11 rd-pt Orne

Nightlife

For Nightlife, you have following areas of interest: -- Port (harbour) with: Pubs (O'Donnels, London Café), Restaurants (bois & charbon, bistrot basque).

...It's nice to start there or in the rue écuyère.

-- Rue écuyère: Vertigo

Some nightclubs or bars nice to go in the Center of Caen:

• Ché (close to the castle)
• L'excuse near place saint sauveur
• Farniente
• What's café
• L'îcône

Pools: -- L'Orient-Express (close to the canal/channel)

COUCHSURFERS

There are about 250 Couchsurfers in Caen and its area. You can check the couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=4390 CS Group of Caen or simply a couchsearch to find and contact them.

Meetings

There are sometimes some meetings organised in Caen, just check the couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=4390 CS Group of Caen to see what happen in the city and/or the couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=180 Regional CS Group of Basse Normandie (Lower Normandy) to see if there is any event in the area.

Coffee or a Drink

Here is a list of persons who are ready to have a drink with you and/or show you the city:

TRANSPORTATIONS

How to get to Caen

• By Car: 2h30 from Paris, 1h15 from Cherbourg, 1h30 from Rouen, 1h15 from Rennes, 15 min from the nearest beaches (Luc-sur-Mer and Ouistreham), 30 min from the D-Day's beaches, 45mn from Deauville-Trouville, 45 min from Lisieux, 1h30 from Evreux, 1h30 from the Mont-Saint-Michel, 30mn from the "Norman Switzerland".

• By Carpooling: You can find a driver or passenger to share the ride and cut on travel cost. In France carpooling is very popular and is called "covoiturage". Try Envoiture.fr to get to Caen.

• By Train: The main train in Lower-Normandy is Paris-Evreux-Lisieux-Caen-Cherbourg. Paris-Caen = 1h45 without stops (no TGV, fast trains, only trains called "Corail").

• By Boat: Caen-Portsmouth = 4h, from the Harbour of Ouistreham (the nearest coast from Caen) with the company Brittany Ferries. Here is the Official Website of the Company.

• By Plane:
  • 3 flights Air France by Britair per day from Monday to Friday and 2 flights per day on saturday and sunday. These flights go to Lyon with some correpodances to France, Europe and the Maghreb.
  • Flight to Brighton/UK, 3 flight a week with Skysouth

Here is the Website of the Airport of Caen with a list of all cities desserved from Caen.

Bus and Tramway

There is a good bus' and tramway's network inside the city. You can check on the Official Website of Twisto, the company which share the common transportations, to have more informations. There are some bus called "Bus Verts" (Green Bus) which help you to reach the countryside around Caen and the nearest coast. Check the Official Website of "Les Bus Verts" if you need more informations about that.

Bicycles

There are many bicycles everywhere to rent in the city, called the "Veol". It's with the same system of bicycles as in Paris or Lyon. You can check the Official Website of the "Veol" if you need some more informations.

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

• Police Station:

Police Secours: 17 or 112

Hotel de Police: 02 31 29 22 22

Gendarmerie: 02 31 35 53 53

Police Municipale de Caen: 02 31 30 45 00

• Health Urgency:

Samu: 15 or 112

Hospital Urgency: 02 31 06 48 39 or 02 31 06 48 25

• Hospital:

Hospital of the City: 02 31 06 31 06

Regional Hospital: 02 31 27 27 27

• Fireman Station:

Pompiers: 18 or 112

• Embassy:
• Emergency Doctor:

SOS Médecins: 08 20 33 24 24

LOCAL MEDIA MENTIONS

INTERESTED LINKS

• couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=180 Regional CS Group: Basse-Normandie (Lower Normandie)
• couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=4390 City CS Group: Caen

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

• Caen on Wikivoyage
• Caen on Hitchwiki
• Caen on Wikipedia

Cannes is a city in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur in southeastern France is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. The population was 70,400 as of the 2007 census. Cannes is the home of numerous luxurious houses and mansions as well as many high-end gated communities. The city is also famous for its various luxury stores, fancy restaurants, and prestigious hotels.

HISTORY OF CANNES

A former Lord Chancellor of England, Lord Brougham, is credited with having "invented" Cannes when he was detained there while on a trip to Italy in 1834, because a quarantine order prevented him from crossing the River Var into Nice. Milord Brougham, a former Chancellor of all England, so liked the place that he built himself an Italianate villa on a hill just outside the town and persuaded those friends who would listen to live there too, especially during the winters as the climate was so mild. Others also built themselves palatial homes, and the village became a town and prospered. Lord Brougham placed it on record when he wrote that he had "been enjoying the delightful climate of Provence, its clear skies and refreshing breezes, while the deep blue of the The Mediterranean stretched before us. The orange groves perfumed the air while the forest behind, ending in the Alps, protected us from the cold winds of the north."

Forty-five years later, such was his influence on his friends and others, that Cannes had acquired many spacious villas, almost fifty hotels and a thriving market in house-and-estate-building. On the centenary of his birth the citizens of Cannes unveiled a statue of him and celebrated with a week of festivities including flower shows and regattas. Fashionable gentry from Queen Victoria's court visited for holidays, and not wishing to offend them, the citizens discontinued some of their long- established customs, such as carrying the dead, uncovered, through the streets before burial. Thus the formerly poor fishing village of Cannes, happy at the resulting prosperity, and needing a symbol of its new fame as a resort for aristos, adopted Lord Brougham, and built their statue of him in bronze. By this time, people were coming to the Côte d'Azur for their health because the climate was so friendly all the year round. But as the word got out people started to arrive purely for pleasure - and as their numbers grew, so the local builders and entrepreneurs saw their opportunity and built fabulous hotels that were very ornate with palm courts and an endless menu. For those who could afford it, opulent villas were built in the style of Russian Trianons and Indian palaces. Plants were introduced which seemed appropriate for the area. From Africa came eucalyptus, from Australia mimosa, and in 1864 the Phoenix Canariensis was introduced better known as the palm tree - without which any Film Festival interview would not be complete.

More informations about the History of Cannes on the!

WHAT TO VISIT?

'''A General Overview of the Cannes area

(couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=7191&post=12211247#post12230474 Thanks to this post)

1. The Suquet: known as old town, is the historic area of Cannes, it is where the bus station is and also has many restaurants, which most are not cheap. It has one street near the bus station that goes up the hill, no cars allowed with restaurant after restaurant. Also the Forville outdoor Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Market is open most mornings. Be advised the prices even here are not cheap. The best place in the Suquet to shop is Rue Meynadier. The best Italian Restaurant in Cannes is in the Suquet and is called La Piazza.
2. The Croisette: Is along the beach and has The Palais where most of the Festivals take place. It also has very expensive shops and restaurants, some in luxury hotels whose menus do not have prices, because if you saw them you would faint. Also many of the beaches in this area are private, owned by the hotels and often there are private parties held on these beaches.
3. Cannes Centre: Where the Rue d'Antibes, the main shopping boulevard of Cannes is located. This street has more shops, stores and restaurants than almost any shopping boulevard I know. Many of them are not cheap, but it is nowheres as expensive as the Croisette and can't compete for the bargains you find on Meynadier. Gambetta Square near the train station has some good prices at its morning fresh fruit and vegetable market, but the better prices are in the flea market next to it that sells everything from clothing to flowers and cheeses. The best deal as far a restaurant food in Cannes can be found at Saveurs du Chef at the end of the Rue d'Antibes.
4. The Californie: Is a beautiful hilly region just after the Fountain separating the Banane region from the expensive villas in the northest of Cannes.
5. The Palm Beach: Area is a Pennisula jutting out south at the end of the Banane and has some very nice views and a large Casino which holds late night events during some of the festivals.
6. La Bocca: Is west of Suguet and has a lot of public beaches, including volleyball courts and other recreation. La Bocca is an area that is cheaper to live, but does not have the feel and influence of Cannes Centre.
7. Le Cannet: North of Cannes Centre and the Banane has the Boulevard Carnot as its main street which moves north into a very highly populated part of Cannes. This is where most of the people live and where most of the schools and other facilities for the public are. Like in La Bocca things are cheaper in Le Cannet.

More informations about the places to visit in Cannes on the and even the Official Website of the Office of Tourism!

TIPS

Free Internet/Wifi Access

Here are some places where you can get some Internet/Wifi Access:

• Association Cannes Jeunesse-BIJ - Adress: 5 quai Saint-Pierre - Tel: 04 93 06 31 21
• espace mimont - Adress: 5 rue mimont - Tel: 04.92.99.77.77
• Association Logis des Jeunes de Provence - Adress: 5 rue Mimont 06400 Cannes - Tel: 04.92.99.77.77

Nice & Cheap Places to Eat

Nightlife

COUCHSURFERS

There are about 250 Couchsurfers in Cannes and its area. You can check the couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=7191 CS Group of Cannes or simply a couchsearch to find and contact them.

Meetings

There are sometimes some meetings organised in Cannes, just check the couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=7191 CS Group of Cannes to see what happen in the city and/or the couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=197 Regional CS Group of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur to see if there is any event in the area.

In the summer (actually May onwards until September) keep a lookout for weekly Beach Volley/Picnic meetings. These are generally held on Fridays evenings at the Boulevard du Midi. (Map link)

Coffee or a Drink

Here is a list of persons who are ready to have a drink with you and/or show you the city:

TRANSPORTATIONS

How to get to Cannes

• By Car:
• By carpooling: You can find a driver or passenger to share the ride and cut on travel cost. In France carpooling is very popular and is called "covoiturage". Try Envoiture.fr''' to get to Cannes.
• By Train:
• By Plane:
• By boot:

Bus

Bicycles

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

• Police Station:

Tel: 17

• Health Urgency:

Tel: 15

• Hospital:

Urgences Hôpital - Tel:+33 (0)4 93 69 71 50

• Fireman Station:

Tel: 18

• Embassy:
• Emergency Doctor:

SOS médecins / Emergency medical service - Tel:+33 (0)8 25 00 50 04

LOCAL MEDIA MENTIONS

INTERESTED LINKS

• couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=197 Regional CS Group: Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur
• couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=7191 City CS Group: Cannes

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

• Cannes on Wikivoyage
• Cannes on Hitchwiki
• Cannes on Wikipedia

Carcassonne is a city in the South of France. It is in the centre of the AUDE department (Languedoc Roussillon). It is close to the Mediterranean coast (under 1hrs by car), to the skiing slops (1h15) and the large city of Toulouse (1hrs by train or by car). It also benefits of the "international" airport with the Ryanair flights.

Mainly known for its fortified castle called “The Cité”, it also has many attractions all around the area.

We are 53 couchsurfers (on the 20th of Decembre 2008) for about 45000 habitants.

HISTORY OF CARCASSONNE

First signs of settlement in this region have been dated to about 3500 BC, but the hill site of Carsac – a Celtic place-name that has been retained at other sites in the south – became an important trading place in the 6th century BC. The Volcae Tectosages fortified the oppidum.

Carcassonne became strategically identified when Romans fortified the hilltop around 100 BC and eventually made it the colonia of Julia Carsaco, later Carcasum (the process of swapping consonant is a metathesis). The main part of the lower courses of the northern ramparts dates from Gallo-Roman times. In 462 the Romans officially ceded Septimania to the Visigothic king Theodoric II who had held Carcassonne since 453; he built more fortifications at Carcassonne, which was a frontier post on the northern marches: traces of them still stand. Theodoric is thought to have begun the predecessor of the basilica that is now dedicated to Saint Nazaire. In 508 the Visigoths successfully foiled attacks by the Frankish king Clovis. Saracens from Barcelona took Carcassonne in 725, but King Pippin the Younger drove them away in 759-60; though he took most of the south of France, he was unable to penetrate the impregnable fortress of Carcassonne. Main article: County of Carcassonne

A medieval fiefdom, the county of Carcassonne, controlled the city and its environs. It was often united with the County of Razès. The origins of Carcassonne as a county probably lie in local representatives of the Visigoths, but the first count known by name is Bello of the time of Charlemagne. Bello founded a dynasty, the Bellonids, which would rule many honores in Septimania and Catalonia for three centuries. In 1067 Carcassonne became the property of Raimond Bernard Trencavel, viscount of Albi and Nîmes, through his marriage with Ermengard, sister of the last count of Carcassonne. In the following centuries the Trencavel family allied in succession either with the counts of Barcelona or of Toulouse. They built the Château Comtal and the Basilica of Saint-Nazaire. In 1096 Pope Urban II blessed the foundation stones of the new cathedral, a Catholic bastion against the Cathars.

Carcassonne became famous in its role in the Albigensian Crusades, when the city was a stronghold of occitan cathars. In August 1209 the crusading army of Simon de Montfort forced its citizens to surrender. After capturing Raymond-Roger de Trencavel and imprisoning and allowing him to die, Montfort made himself the new viscount. He added to the fortifications. Carcassonne became a border citadel between France and the kingdom of Aragon (Spain). In 1240 Trencavel's son tried to reconquer his old domain but in vain. The city submitted to the rule of kingdom of France in 1247, and King Louis IX founded the new part of the town across the river. He and his successor Philip III built the outer ramparts. Contemporary opinion still considered the fortress impregnable. During the Hundred Years' War, Edward the Black Prince failed to take the city in 1355, although his troops destroyed the Lower Town.

In 1659, the Treaty of Pyrenees transferred the border province of Roussillon to France, and Carcassonne's military significance was reduced. Fortifications were abandoned, and the city became mainly an economic center that concentrated on the woollen textile industry, for which a 1723 source quoted by Fernand Braudel found it “the manufacturing center of Languedoc”.

More informations about the History of Carcassonne on the!

WHAT TO VISIT?

Carcassonne is small enough to walk around, but if you wish to visit the area you will need a car. A 15 minute walk is needed to get from the bottom part of Carcassonne (The Bastide St Louis) to the Cité. In summer there is a bus service. You are planning to come to Carcassonne... Of course the main thing to visit is "The Cité". I do recommend that you visit it during the day, but don't forget to there one the night has fallen. At that time, most tourists have gone (ok, not in summer) the lights have come on and there is that special night feeling...!!! With a little imagination you will be able to attack the old wall and pretend to be a "night". Have fun, the castle is a great play ground;)

You also have the new part of town: The Bastide Saint Louis. Pass by the tourist office situated "Rue de Verdun", they will be able to give you all the details of things to see. THE CANAL DU MIDI passes through Carcassonne. You can go to the lock to watch boats go through or go for a long walk along the Canals banks in the shade of the old trees. To find the Canal, you must go towards the train station. It is just in front of the station. You can also take a boat ride up the canal. I have never done it but it must be nice:).

More informations about the places to visit in Carcassonne on the and even the Official Website of the Office of Tourism!

TIPS

Free Internet/Wifi Access

Internet access is possible at the cyber café called ALERTE ROUGE at 73 Rue de Verdun - Carcassonne. There is also a Wifi spot there. You also have a place near the Cité de Carcassonne, at the video club Univers Vidéo at 103 av Gén Leclerc - CARCASSONNE. Speaks English and very friendly. A good place to have a coffee or a drink is Place Carnot, the main square where there is the market on Saturday mornings. It is great to sit there and soak up the sun.

Here are some places where you can get some Internet/wifi Access:

• Centre d'Information et d'Initiatives des Jeunes Audois (CIJA) - Adress: 48 rue Antoine MARTY BP 855 - Tel: 04 68 25 12 25
• Espace Culturel Multimédia - Adress: La Roseraie - 25,avenue du Général Leclerc - Tel: 04.68.77.71.99

Nice & Cheap Places to Eat

You are in Carcassonne but have not yet meet up with your host, you are hungry. A nice place to go is "Place Carnot" in the Bastide. You have a few Coffees shops:

• Le Ptit Moka for a drink; coffee, coke, or beer.
• Arpin (next to the Petit Moka, to the right) for a croissant, pain au chocolate or sandwich.
• Le Florian, nice restaurant if you want good quality for a good price. They serve between 12 and 13H30. Afterwards it’s too late, so Be on time.;)

AVOID: La Mie Calin; rip off and unfriendly. The use pre prepared croissant and food. Not good quality and not traditional.

Nightlife

In the Cité:

• Bar à vin (6, rue du Plô): Wine and tapas in a warm and friendly atmosphere, with a garden! Open 11 am – 2 am.

In the city center (Bastide):

• Café de nuit (31 boulevard Omer Sarraut): Drink upstairs, dance downstairs; if you’re lucky, you’ll see the transformist show on Monday, or why not, some Chippendales. Open 9 pm – 4 am
• The Celt (5 rue Armagnac): Irish pub, concerts mostly on Thursdays (lively music) and Sundays (more relaxed and english-speaking atmosphere –free mike on last Sunday of the month); free internet, darts, air conditioning, outdoor seating. Open until 2 am
• O’Sheridan (13 rue Victor Hugo): The other irish pub, darts too, concerts too, a bit smaller, different atmosphere. Anyway both are not very far so you can try both in the evening. Open 5 pm – 2 am
• Métronome (3 avenue du Maréchal Foch): Near the train station (where you see the lights and all the people outside). There, you can eat till 11 pm, sing on karaoke nights (Thursdays), drink, and even dance; lovely warm owners and atmosphere (maybe slightly too warm in the summer though…). Open until 2 am.
• Carpe Diem (29 rue du pont Vieux): Between the city center and the Cité, in fact. This bar, opened on two different streets, offers wine and tapas, open mike on Fridays, and 2 concerts per month. Feels like family, there…
• Opera bouffe (7 place Davilla): Half of it is a restaurant, the other half is a bar with dance music (tango, salsa, jazz, or more recent rythms), and salsa dancing groups every week from september to june.

What to do with your bags?

It is often a problem when you arrive in a town early, and your host can't pick you up immediately. How can you avoid dragging your luggage around all day? Before, there used to be "consigns" in the train stations. Since the terrorist attacks, these consigns have been taken away. In Carcassonne you can:

- leave your bags at some hotels in exchange of about 3 Euros; ask the tourist office for the hotel name.

- be brave, buy a baguette and explain your situation to the "baker" and ask if you can leave your bags at his place. Of course it does not always have to be a baker, try the shoe shop or any other place... It does work!!!

Tourist Office

The main one is situated "Rue de Verdun" in the bottom part of Carcassonne. you will also find a small office after the main entrance of the Cité and another office towards the train station just before the Canal du Midi.

Buying a plane ticket

The best travel agency I have found to buy a plane ticket from is "NOUVELLES FRONTIÈRES":72 rue de Verdun, Tel 04 68 71 23 01 in the "Bastide" part of Carcassonne. They have good prices (often better than on internet), speak English and are very helpful. The also sell trips with hotels, car rental etc...

COUCHSURFERS IN CARCASSONNE

There are about 100 Couchsurfers in Carcassonne and its area. You can check the couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=11506 CS Group of Carcassonne or simply a couchsearch to find and contact them.

Meetings

There are sometimes some meetings organised in Carcassonne, just check the couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=11506 CS Group of Carcassonne to see what happen in the city and/or the couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=189 Regional CS Group of Languedoc-Roussillon to see if there is any event in the area.

Coffee or a Drink

Here is a list of persons who are ready to have a drink with you and/or show you the city:

couchsurfing.com/owen Owen, couchsurfing.com/people/chalp Chalp, couchsurfing.com/coco & dewi Coco & Dewi, couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=49FSKCA

TRANSPORTATIONS

How to get to Carcassonne

By Train

From Paris, the fastest train is from the Gare de Lyon to Montpellier. You change at Montpellier and take another train to Carcassonne. Sometimes, you might have to change again at Narbonne. Of course, the fastest is when you only change at Montpellier, and then the trip lasts about 5h06. If you want to save a day, why not take the Night Train from Paris Austerlitz to Carcassonne. The train leaves just after 9pm and arrives in the morning before 6am. From Montpellier, the trip lasts about 1,5 hours. Toulouse is under an hour away, there is a train almost every hour.

By Plane

Carcassonne has an International Airport. 466 305 passengers passed through Carcassonne's airport in 2007. Ryanair is the only company landing in Carcassonne. Do not look for a flight to Paris, it does not exist!!! You can fly to or from the following destinations: - London Stansted - Charleroi - Dublin - Liverpool - East Midland - Shannon (will start again on the 1st of April 2008) - Cork (New flight from 28/05/2008) The prices are really affordable, from about 10 euros onwards.

By bicycle

Either you are mad, crazy or just full of lots of courage. The best way is to peddle hard and fast. The nicest and safest is to peddle along the Canal du Midi. The Canal du Midi joins the 2 seas; the Mediterranean and Atlantic. It starts in Sète to finish near Bordeaux. If you follow the Canal, you will be protected from the hot summer sun by the trees that are over 100 years old for some of them. You will be able to enjoy the tranquillity and calm along the Canal. The good thing is that the canal is almost flat so easy to peddle long distances.

Bus

Bicycles

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

• '''The European general emergency phone n° is 112 This number can normally be used even on a mobile phone that has no more credit. So if you need the police, firemen or an emergency doctor, dial the 112.

• Police Station:

Tel: 17 or 04.68.26.11.00

• Health Urgency:
• Hospital:

Tel: 04.68.24.24.24 or in emergency 04.68.24.27.73

• Fireman Station:

Tel: 18

• Embassy:
• Emergency Doctor(SAMU):

Tel: 115

LOCAL MEDIA MENTIONS

INTERESTED LINKS

• couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=189 Regional CS Group: Languedoc-Roussillon
• couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=11506 City CS Group: Carcassonne

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

• Carcassonne on Wikivoyage
• Carcassonne on Hitchwiki
• Carcassonne on Wikipedia

Clermont-Ferrand is a city of France, in the Auvergne region. Its suburban area has more than 400,000 inhabitants. The local CS group has been settled recently, and counts around 300 members. The city is situated in the middle of nowhere, because it's in the middle of a wonderful green and mountained area called the "Massif-Central".

This CS Wiki page will show you what to do in this wonderful city, and gives you some tips.

HISTORY OF CLERMONT-FERRAND

Clermont ranks among the oldest cities of France. The first known mention was by the Greek geographer Strabo. The city was at that time called Nemessos—a Gaulish word for a sacred forest. It witnessed the famous Battle of Gergovia won by the Gauls led by Vercingetorix over the Romans led by Julius Caesar, in 52 BC. After the Roman conquest, the city was called Augustonemetum, a name which combined its original Gallic name with that of the Emperor Augustus. Its population was estimated at 15000–30000 inhabitants in the 2nd century, making it one of the largest cities of Roman Gaul.

In 848, the city was renamed Clairmont, after the castle Clarus Mons. During this era, it was an episcopal city ruled by its bishop, and it was the starting point of the First Crusade from the Christian world to free Jerusalem from Muslim domination—Pope Urban II preached the crusade there in 1095 at the Council of Clermont. In 1120, to counteract the power of the clergy, the counts of Auvergne founded the city of Montferrand on the model of the new cities of the Midi. In 1551, Clermont became a royal city, and in 1610, the inseparable property of the Crown.

On 15 April, 1630, the Edict of Troyes (the First Edict of Union) forcibly joined the two cities of Clermont and Ferrand. This union was confirmed in 1731 by Louis XV with the Second Edict of Union. At this time Montferrand was no more than a satellite city of Clermont, in which condition it remained until the beginning of the 20th century. Wishing to retain its independence, Montferrand made three demands for independence, in 1789, 1848, and 1863.

In the 20th century, the construction of the Michelin factories and city gardens, which shaped the modern Clermont-Ferrand, definitively reunited Clermont and Montferrand. Today, although the two cities are amalgamated, one may find in Clermont-Ferrand two distinct downtowns, and Montferrand retains a strong identity.

More informations about the History of Clermont-Ferrand on the!

WHAT TO VISIT?

More informations about the places to visit in Clermont-Ferrand on the!

TIPS

Free Internet/Wifi Access

You can go to the Jardin Lecoq, situated in the very center and always wonderful. There's a bar in the middle, but you can get the wifi for free almost everywhere in the Park. Near the universities (Gergovia, la Rotonde) you also can log on for free.

Other places where you can get some free Internet Access:

• Espace Info Jeunes - Adresse: 5 rue Saint Genès - Tel: 04 73 92 30 50
• GRETA Clermont-Ferrand - Adress: Lycée Lafayette, 21 Boulevard Robert Schuman - Tel: 04 73 26 35 06
• PRATIC - Adress: 14 rue Jean Claret - Tel: 04 73 15 06 10
• ADMIRA As des Ass - Adress: 8 allée Evariste Galois - Tel: 04 73 44 50 80
• Association Vidéoformes - Adress: 64 rue Lamartine
• Cyber-base Home Dôme - Adress: 12 Place de Régensburg - Tel: 04 73 29 40 77
• ADMIRA CARTIC - Adress: 8 allée Evariste Galois - Tel: 04 73 44 50 80

Nice & Cheap Places to Eat

Some of the restaurants that Couch surfers will recommend:

- Los Dos Hermanos, tapas restaurant and bar, 21 rue Georges Clemenceau (see here).

Nightlife

COUCHSURFERS

There are about 350 Couchsurfers in Clermont-Ferrand and the area, feel free to contact them by searching them on a couchsurf or by posting some messages on couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=9973 the CS Group of Clermont-Ferrand.

Meeting Organisers

Some organisers of the meetings in Clermont-Ferrand:

couchsurfing.com/people/tsunamivinz Vincent

couchsurfing.org/people/laukko Clément

couchsurfing.org/people/innervisionary Alexandre

Meetings

There are some meetings organised in Clermont-Ferrand, you can check on couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=9973 the CS Group of Clermont-Ferrand if there is something happened or check on the couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=179 Regional CS Group of Auvergne to see if there is an event organised in the area.

Coffee or a drink

Here is a list of local couchsurfers who could be ready to show you the city or/and have a drink with you:

See some places to have drinkk:

- The Still Irish bar, Irish bar, 7 boulevard Léon Malfreyt (see here)

- The Baker Street, 1 place Louis Aragon (see here)

TRANSPORTATIONS

How to get to Clermont-Ferrand

• By Car:
• By Bus:
• By Train:

Bus and Tramway

Bicycles

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

• Police Station:

Tel: 17

• Health Urgency:

SAMU Tél. 15

• Hospital:

SAMU Tél. 15

Accueil des urgences:

- Children, à l'Hôtel Dieu - Tél. 04 73 75 00 50

- Adults, à l'hôpital Gabriel Montpied, St. Jacques - Tél. 04 73 75 07 50

• Fireman Station:

Tel: 18

• Embassy:

Consulat du Portugal: 1 rue Phillippe Glangeaud - 63007 Clermont-Ferrand - Tel: 04.73.93.81.92

• Emergency Doctor:

Médecine de garde AMUAC (24h/24), Tél. 04 73 44 10 00 (pour Clermont-Ferrand, Chamalières, Durtol et Royat)

S.O.S Médecins (24h/24), Tél. 04 73 42 22 22
Pharmacie DUCHER, 1 Place Delille à Clermont-Ferrand - Tél. 04 73 91 31 77 (24h/24)

LOCAL MEDIA MENTIONS

INTERESTED LINKS

• couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=179 Regional CS Group: Auvergne
• couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=9973 Local CS Group: Clermont-Ferrand

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

• Clermont-Ferrand on Wikivoyage
• Clermont-Ferrand on Hitchwiki
• Clermont-Ferrand on Wikipedia

Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of France, and north of the island of Sardinia. Corsica is one a the 26 regions of France with the special status of "territorial collectivity". The island can be seen as a mountain in the sea, and it is well known for is diversity in terms of landscape, nature and ecology. It offers around 1,000km of coastline and more than 200 beaches, beside a very mountainous area (with an highest peak at 2706m) with various paths and trails. With the mountains providing plenty of fresh water, Corsica is a green and foresty island despite is long exposition to the sun all over the year.

Cosica was named « Kallisté » (the most beautiful) by Ancient Greece, and nowaday she is commonly named « L´île de Beauté » (the beauty island).

Map of the Region

Transport

How to get to Corsica

By Boat

Night boats are the most common. They are leaving from France or Italy at around 6 or 7 PM and are arriving in Corsica at 6 or 7 AM the next day. Sometimes, and especially during summer, you can find a day cruise. In all cases, It is better to reserve your tickets long before, in order to get the cheapest prices. The main advantage of the boat compared to the plane is that you can bring your own vehicle in Corsica.

There is two main Ferry companies to go in and out of Corsica:

- Corsica Ferries: departing from Nice (FR), Toulon (FR), Livorno(IT) or Savone (IT) and arriving in Ajaccio, Bastia, Calvi or Ile Rousse.

- SNCM: departing from Marseille (FR), Toulon (FR) or Nice (FR), and arriving in Ajaccio, Bastia, Propriano, Porto-Vecchio or Ile Rousse. SNCM also provide the NGV service (High speed boat), from April to October, departing from Nice and reaching Corsica in less than 3 hours.

By Plane

Obvioulsy the quickest way to go in Corsica. Air Corsica and Air France are the two main airlines, and you can take a plane from some major cities in France (Clermont-Ferrand, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nice, and Paris). Prices are more (to much more) expansive compared to the boat, especially during the high season (Mid-June to Mid-September).

You can book your tickets online and try to get discount prices here: Air Corsica.

Important: Starting the 28th of May 2008, for the first time, a low cost company will open a connection between Paris and Figari (3 flights per week: Monday, Wednesday and Friday). You can check on: XL airways or call them.

Some other low cost companies are now available on the island. Have a look at German Wings or Ryanair (from Belgium mainly)

Moving in Corsica

Public transport is very poor in Corsica. So, except if you're planning a lazy holiday on a beach or beat some Corsica's long-distance trail, it is essential to bring or to rent (at the airport or harbor) your own vehicle. If you can't afford it, hitchhiking is a good option. On the road, be very careful, except for few main routes, Corsica's roads are narrow and full of hairpin bends, watch out also for wild and domestic animals... In addition be also ready for parking problems and traffic jams in majors towns, especially in high season. Travelling is a slow process and can be uncomfortable.

About the Train: The corsican train is named the U trinighellu (the trembler). It can be considered as a tourist attraction (because it offers stunning views hidden to road travellers) as well as a slow and unconvenient transport to link few cities: Ajaccio, Corte, Bastia, Ille rousse and Calvi. Here for the Timeables and prices: U trinighellu.

About buses: There are many bus companies that operate routes between the main towns, but the timeables and the directions are not always easy to find out... Fortunately there is this unofficial website, which provide accurate information: Corsican Buses. Be aware, by using the bus, you loose a lot of flexibility and miss the wild part of Corsica.

About boat renting: If you want to avoid the mountains, another way to discover Corsica, is to rent a boat and go along the coastline. Note that this become an expansive trip and it's not given to everyone!

The Main CS Cities of the Region

With around 280,000 unhabitants and less than 30 couches available, we can say that the CS community is so far close to unexistant in Corsica... There is few people who can offer you a couch in the main cities: Ajaccio and Bastia and Corte. Apart of this, we live in the hope that the community will grow in the near future.

Couch Surfing in the Region

The CS Activity in the Region

Family Welcome

In the region, there is a very nice, active and developped CS Families network. If you travel with your children, if you would like to be hosted by a family, if you are searching for a host who accept a family, meeting other families making to your children more different cultural friendship, you are welcome to join the couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=16134 French Family's group!

A tool exists to localise easily where you can find the CS families' in the region, please check the Family Welcome Map of the area.

Rural Couchsurfing

In Corsica you have the chance to have the possibility to couchsurf a bit everywhere, even in the countryside! Check the map of the Rural CSers in Corsica, you can find them easilier on this way! There is also a couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=15039 CS group called "Rural CS France" where you can talk with all Rural CSers in France.

But not all Rural CSers appears on the map or are members of the group "Rural CS France". To find the others, join couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=185 the Regional CS group of Corsica!

Regional Contacts on CS

What to visit in the Region

Corsica offers a large diversity of landscape and generally you cannot be wrong wherever you go even if you move only with the wind. It's the island where you enjoy nature and small towns all around it.

Outdoor activities include: Beaches activities, coastal sailing, diving, kayaking, trekking, biking, horse riding, climbing, canyoning, skiing, hunting and fishing...

The GR20 (or fra li monte) is the famous GR footpath of Corsica, reputed to be the most diffcult in Europe (but some parts are accesible to everyone).

Links

Dijon is a city in France.

When you look up Dijon in the encyclopedia, you’ll find; Dijon, city in France, “capital” of the Burgundy region, 150.000 citizens, 18th most populated city in France......, well known for it’s mustard and wine! Yes, this is the mustard city, come and discover all the varieties. And yes, our region is also world famous for our burgundy wine, and talking about drinks, don’t forget to taste the speciality of Dijon, the Kir, a drink of white wine mixed with créme de cassis (a blackcurrant liquor).

Dijon is not just a gastronomical city, the city also has beautiful monuments and a historical center with charming houses, churches, museums, squares, gardens, cafes, restaurants, shops.….

History of Dijon

More informations about the History of Dijon on the!

What to visit?

More informations about the places to visit in Dijon on the!

Meetings

We meet up for a drink or other on Wednesday's evening mainly, at the Flannery's (4 Place Saint-Bénigne, in Dijon). Meeting will be announced on the local couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=7508 group of Dijon If you're not a member of the group, but you want to participate in a meeting, don't hesitate to contact one of us.

Mailing List

Tips

The museums in Dijon has FREE ENTRANCE!!!!

Here is a list of some interesting museums:

• Musée des Beaux-Arts - Art museum
• Musée de la Vie Bourguignonne
• Musée archéologique - museum of archaeology
• Muséum Jardin des sciences - Botanical garden and science museum
• Musée Magnin - Art museum in an old house

CouchSurfers

Meeting Organisers

See the site of the group couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=7508 groupe Dijon

Coffee or a drink

Look up the profiles on the counchsearch list.

Transport

How to get there

All roads leads to Dijon, or almost!

By train Dijon is easily accessible by train; TGV or TER. For example Dijon is 1 hour and 42 minutes from Paris (by TGV, 3 hours by TER), 3 hours from Lille (TGV), 1 hour and 45 minutes from Lyon (by TGV, 2 hours by TER), 3,5 – 5 hours from Marseille. For more information and reservation of tickets go to SNCF(for language options see the buttom of the page to the left)

By bus You can go to Dijon by bus as well, many of Eurolines buses passes by Dijon.

By plane There is an airport in Dijon, but it is very small The best deal is probably to fly to Paris or Lyon and then jump on the train to Dijon

Getting around in Dijon

In the center of Dijon, most things can be done by feet. But the city has a great bus system, easy and cheap. If you want to go further away, there are other buses, tranco, that takes you outside Dijon, and the train.

You can rent a bike at the tourist office.

In Case of Emergency

• Police Station:
• Health Urgency:
• Hospital:
• Fireman Station:
• Embassy:
• Emergency Doctor:

Local Media Mentions

Franche-Comté is a French region including 4 départements: Doubs (25), Jura (39), Haute-Saône (70), Territoire de Belfort (90).

Map of the Region

The Main CS Cities of the Region

Besançon

Belfort

Montbéliard, Lons-le-Saunier, Pontarlier, Vesoul

How to get there?

Couch Surfing in the Region

The CS Activity in the Region

The tribe is strongly connected with our neighbours from Bourgogne and Neuchatel (CH).

All the informations are to be found on the couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=186 regional CS group of Franche-Comté!

CS Meetings

Please check out the couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=186 Franche-Comté group.

You can also check out the events calendar.

You can find some pics there.

Drafts:

- invasion à Mâcon

- invasion à Auxerre avec soirée à thème "serial killers" ^^

- invasion à Cork

- invasion à Dijon

- tournoi de foot avec les voisins

- session à Tournus

- percée du vin jaune 2010

- festival musiques de rue

- tournoi "blind test"

- visite de caves (Jura, Bugey, Bourgogne...)

- sports d'extérieur (canoë, raft, via ferrata...) - Constant

- shiatsu (Mouthe?)- Claire

- découvertes des plantes & de leurs utilisations - Claire

- visite de tourbièèèèère! - Jérémie

- rando-refuge - Jérémie

- création du logo/ t-shirt CS Franche-Comté

- invasion à Bourg

- pêche à la ligne

Regional Contacts on CS

The Franche-Comté group can be mailed by using the following adresse: cancoillotte.superstar<at>gmail.com.

You can also contact these fellows directly through CouchSurfing:

Besançon: check out the Wiki.

Belfort: couchsurfing.com/people/fabienv Fabien, couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=3KUB8HA Jérémy, couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=3OIDPSA Ianis

Montbéliard: couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=5J3CPB0 Pierre, couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=4YGXYQU Elsa, couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=31KJCIF Virginie

Pontarlier: couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=4S6P8HA François, couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=25I5GQF Mike

Fougerolles: couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=2WW31H5 Thomas

What to visit in the Region

Besançon: Citadelle, old city center... check out the town's website

Belfort: Citadelle, the Lion, old city, music festivals: "Eurockéennes" and "FIMU"

Montbéliard: castle

Franche-Comté remains a green countryside with amazing landscapes, especially in the eastern (and higher) part: Haut-Doubs and Haut-Jura.

Lot of stuff for those who like hikking, fishing, cycling...

Annual events

January

February

- "Percée du vin jaune", yellow wine opening (Jura - 39)

March

April

May

- Transhumance, the herds are moved up to the Ballon d’Alsace (Giromagny - 90)

June

- Pentecost WE: FIMU “Festival International de Musique Universitaire” (Belfort -90)

- annual music festival organized on June 21st throughout France (everywhere)

July

- 1st WE: Eurockéennes de Belfort (Belfort - 90)

- 14 july: national day, fireworks (everywhere)

September

- Semi-marathon du Lion (Belfort 90, Montbéliard 25)

October

- Livres 90: biggest book fair in the east of France (Belfort - 90)

- Transhumance, the herds are moved down (Giromagny - 90)

November

- Entrevues: Belfort movie festival (Belfort - 90)

December

- Christmas market of Montbéliard (Montbéliard - 25)

Next Festivals

Regional Media Mentions

Links

France

Franche-Comté sur Wikipédia en français

Franche-Comté on Wikipédia in english

GENERAL INFORMATION

Grenoble is in the Rhone-Alpes region, and is the prefecture of the Isère departement.

• Official Grenoble tourism office

WELCOME KIT

Finding a couch in Grenoble

Make sure to read this simple HOW-TO find a couch!

• Fill in your profile,
• Make a couch search couchsurfing.org/search/in/city/6181936/mode/H by clicking HERE (use the filters for better results),
• Send personalized couch requests to the persons that you've selected.

In Grenoble, there are more than 4500 CSers (couchsurfing.org/statistics.html?show_all=1&country_id= statistics), including 1 city ambassador (couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=2X3L2VU Gil Cantinelli).

By searching people who say "yes or definitely" have a couch and have been logged-in during the last 2 weeks, you can find couchsurfing.org/search#location={%22city_id%22%3A%226181936%22%2C%22city%22%3A%22Grenoble%22%2C%22latitude%22%3A%2245.194279%22%2C%22longitude%22%3A%225.731634%22%2C%22type%22%3A%22city%22%2C%22state_id%22%3A%22949%22%2C%22state%22%3A%22Rhone-Alpes%22%2C%22country_id%22%3A%2284%22%2C%22country%22%3A%22France%22%2C%22region_id%22%3A%226%22%2C%22region%22%3A%22Europe%22}&order_by=default&map_edges={%22northEast%22%3A{%22lat%22%3A45.31029232246915%2C%22lng%22%3A5.8950556308593605}%2C%22southWest%22%3A{%22lat%22%3A45.078028690575096%2C%22lng%22%3A5.5682123691406105}}&couchstatus_all=1&max_surfers=0&last_login_days=14&male=1&female=1&several_people=1&which_groups=A&username=Name%20%28or%20Username%29&keyword=Keyword around 500 potential active hosts (information accurate as of June 2011).

Please make personal requests before using the couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=10055 Grenoble Emergency Requests sub-group. This group is for emergency in time only.

Safety Tips

• couchsurfing.org/safety.html Safety features on CS
• couchsurfing.org/read_profile_tips.html How to read a profile
• Writing a good couchrequest
• Being a good guest
• Tips for solo women
• couchsurfing.org/family_tips.html Family couchsurfing
• couchsurfing.org/references.html Writing and reading references

couchsurfing.org/tips.html All basic infos to know

CS Guidelines

What's acceptable to do on CS? Read our couchsurfing.org/guidelines.html guidelines and couchsurfing.org/terms.html terms of use.

COUCHSURFING GROUPS OF GRENOBLE

Main group

couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=2796 Grenoble CS group has about 185 active members, but the ~1400 subscriptions put this city to the couchsurfing.org/statistics.html?show_all=1&country_id=84 11^th rank in France for number of members.

The Grenoble CS Group is very active, about one local meeting per week with very original themes each time... (See the list below)

You can join this amazing band on: couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=2796 GRENOBLE

Sub-groups

couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=10428 Sports & mountains couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=9382 Gastronomy couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=9807 Concerts, Spectacles, Expos, Ciné couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=9213 Photography couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=15276 Language exchange, couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=63437 Paragliding, couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=62794 Vegeta*ians in Grenoble...

COUCHSURFING ACTIVITIES

Next meetings

Picnic, or bar meeting, every wednesday night!

Grenoble weekly meetings happen on wednesday, 8pm in park Mistral (summer) or in a bar (winter). Check out the couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=2796 Grenoble group about next one.

Check out our collaborative Grenoble Calendar!

- To embed it into your own Google Calendar: <http://www.google.com/calendar/render?cid=cs38grenoble@gmail.com>

- To be able to add/edit events from your very own calendar, log on <https://www.google.com/calendar/> with "cs38grenoble" / "couchsurfing", and add your email in Settings / Calendars / Shared: Edit settings / Share this calendar.

NB: when you create an event, make sure to include a link to the dedicated CS thread, and the precise location.

More help on the Google Help center.

Previous meetings

15 March 2008 - 14:00 A COUCH IN THE CITY, SEVERAL COUCHSURFERS AND A GOOD DOSE OF FUN! The CS group of Grenoble propose a "sofa promenade " through the city and to take pictures in typical places of Grenoble... Before concluding with a regional Couchsurfing big fiesta! During this day, also the realization of a video film, a photo essay and plenty of other surprises! Subscribe quickly on this meeting by clicking on the link and "Join the meeting"!

UN CANAPE DANS LA VILLE, DES COUCHSURFERS SURVOLTES ET UNE BONNE DOSE DE FUN! Le CS group de Grenoble vous propose une "promenade de canapé" à travers la ville et de se prendre en photo dans des lieux pittoresques de Grenoble... avant de terminer avec une grosse fiesta Couchsurfing régionale! Lors de cette journée, réalisation aussi d'un film video, d'un reportage photo et plein d'autres surprises! Inscrivez vous vite sur ce meeting en cliquant sur le lien proposé et "Join the meeting"!

LINK: couchsurfing.com/meetings.html?mid=8159 couchsurfing.com/meetings.html?mid=8159

Since 1st of January 2008:

Open House, Open minded 31st of December - 1st January 2008

For all the people who wanted to take part of the new year's eve in a different way, a couchsurfer opened his flat for all Cs during all eve, for 5 min or all night...

O'Callaghan night 5th of January 2008

First meeting of the year in the famous bar...

Ideas to suggest future meetings

• Photo rally, picnic, BBQ, concert, movie, impro theater, debate on a theme at home, ephemeral photo exhibition in a bar...

• Pimp my CS profile, contribute to this Wiki...

• Hike, via-ferrata, rock-climbing, geocaching walk, accrobranche...

• Wine & cheese dinner, beer tasting, foreign cuisine, cooking lesson, clothe exchanges...

• Give-blood meeting, free hug session, free hugs disguised for Haloween, photo shooting to make a calendar, pillow fight, water fight, giant bubble battle, cardboard boat making, dahu hunting...

• Invade another city

• "Couch crawl" at Grenoble CSers, hitchhiking race

• International book exchanges

• ...

How to create a meeting

A meeting page (couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=109629 example) makes it possible for the interested people to subscribe to the meeting, without spamming the whole group (numerous messages like "I'll be in!"). And it allows everybody to know at a glance who'll participate in that meeting. So:

1. Start on couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?new=1 "Community" / "Create event"

   Warning: for a sub-meeting of an existing meeting, see the next paragraph.

2. Set a maximum of information, especially the times and location.

4. Validate with the button "Save event"

5. You can send invitations:

    5.1 On the page of you rnew meeting, click on "Send out meeting invitations"

    5.2 Select the appropriate group(s) that you want to inform,

    5.3 And/or select a recent couch search that you previously did, in order to invite those resulting people.

    5.4 Send invitations by clicking "Save and send Message ASAP"

6. Go to couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?show_my_meetings=1 "Community" / "My events" and copy the link to your meeting

7. Then don't forget to post that meeting link on the appropriate groups!

For a sub-meeting of an existing parent meeting:

a. In the web adress of the existing meeting, find the "meeting ID" (e.g: couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=94807...meetings.html?mid=94807 -> 94807)

b. Start on couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?newsubmeeting=94807 meetings.html?newsubmeeting=94807 with the parent meeting ID (94807). The form is then auto-filled with the parent meeting data.

c. The rest is all the same: see step 2 above.

More information here (fr).

To find a date/time which fits most people: you can use Doodle polling tool, very easy to use.

Weekly meetings: example of description for the meeting page, and to post on the group:

Hi!

Next wednesday, our Grenoble CS meeting will take place at......
Here are the address and directions:.....
The weekly theme is:...You can choose an original theme...

Meeting link: couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=....
Please, do subscribe before coming! It is not mandatory but very handy to keep in touch afterwards.
Hope to find you there next Wedensday;-)

NEW CSers: If you just arrived on CS, do not hesitate to join us for questions about CS, to meet the community of Grenoble, and above all,
to spend some good time:-)

ORIGIN OF THIS MEETING: This meeting was originally on tuesdays (based on answers to a survey in September 2010), it then moved to wednesday picnics
in Park Mistral, to take advantage of the free open-air movies in that park.

WHAT TO DO?

Check out the following spots (and much more!) on that map

Tourism

The Bastille: It's a nice good walk (45 minutes), and there are beautiful forests and mountains surrounding the city. The mountains never look the same one day to another!

Look at this map of different acess routes and opening times of the doors.

.

Around Grenoble:

More information about the places to visit in Grenoble on the!

Sports

About all sports at Grenoble

      - Office Municipal des Sports à Grenoble

      - Grenoble Université Club (GUC)

Hiking

      - Get lots of advices and rent maps at the Maison de la Montagne, 3 rue Raoul Blanchard, Grenoble (04.76.44.67.03). And search for hikes by criterias: public transportations, duration, etc

      - With "Transisère" coach network (PDF map), you can go to a lot of mountains around Grenoble, starting from the coach station (next to the train station: see map).

      - The Sipavag lists some hikes and bike rides, accessible by public transportations.

      - Map of parks and easy hikes in or near Grenoble, accessible via public transportations (PDF, 5 Mo) (from the Sipavag)

      - Bivouak.net: community about all mountain sports

      - Isere.rando.free.fr: good lists of hikes in the different mountains

      - GeoPportail: online IGN maps

      - Refuges.info: all refuges in France, with IGN maps

      - Trace de Trail: very handy map search, with technical characteristics of hikes in France

      - CampToCamp: a community with topos (and much more) about mountaineering, trekking, climbing, etc.

Roller

      - Grenoble-roller organizes some free rides downtown on every friday night, from April to December.

Skiing

      - Communications are on couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=10428 "sports and moutains" CS sub-group.

      - List of skiing resorts around Grenoble (closest ones: Chamrousse and Les 7 laux)

      - To drive to a station, share a car: coriding.com

      - Standard coaches to get to the resorts: Trans'Isère

      - Coach + skipass are sometimes cheaper than skipass alone:

            - Transaltitude coaches (departure from "Grenoble road station")

            - SkiMania

      - Where skis can be rented? some examples:

            - snowrental.net (possibly 50% off!)

            - Ski Service, 84 rue Nicolas Chorier

            - La Boite à Skis, 18 rue Marceau Leyssieux SMH

            - Espace Montagne, avenue Gabriel Péri, SMH

            - Adrénaline, 1-3 Cours Jean Jaurès, Grenoble

Snow-shoeing

      - You can rent some for 6€ at Borel Sport.

      - List of shops to rent snow-shoes, recommended by Grenoble-Montagne.

      - Suggestions of itinerary for snow-shoeing on Grenoble-Montagne's website

Rock climbing

      - Check out our couchsurfing.com/groups/42924 "Grenoble climbing" CS sub-group

      - collaborative map of spots and shops around the city

      - Camp-to-camp: descriptions of all spots

Slacklining

      - Very often some slackers in Parc Mistral

      - "C’est Slack…er Bon", slackline club at Grenoble. Weekly trainings on thursdays, Parc Mistral. Based at 4 bis, rue Augereau, Grenoble.

Via-ferratas

      - Where to rent equipment at Grenoble (~7€/day): Clavel Sport, Adrenaline, or Espace Montagne

      - List of via-ferratas in Isère

      - couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=10428&post=10547818 CS thread about different via-ferratas done.

      - About the via-ferrata of La Bastille:

            - location: 22 route de Lyon

            - 2 parts: 1h (OK for beginners) + 1h (more difficult).

            - Read this full description.

            - Look at this map of different acess routes and opening times of the doors.

Volley-ball

      - ASPTT Grenoble volley-ball

      - Grenoble Volley University Club

      - ESSM Saint-Martin d'Hères

      - ALE Echirolles

      - ESMT Meylan-La Tronche

Swimming

      - List of Grenoble pools, namely "Le Clos d'Or"

      - Larger list of pools in Isère

      - Olympic pool at the campus

      - couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=2796&post=9638149 Lessons in pools at Grenoble (CS thread)

   Lakes:

      - Lac de la Taillat (free, unsupervised, bikeable distance)

      - Lac du Bois Français (bikeable distance)

      - Lac de Laffrey (33 minutes driving, see location)

      - Lake of Paladru (40 minutes driving, see location)

      - Lake of Monteynard (1h driving)

      A bit further away:

            - List of waterbodies (by car)

            - List of torrents (by car)

            - List of lakes (by car)

Running

      - Check out our couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=32490 "Grenoble Running" CS sub-group.

Cycling

      - Check out our couchsurfing.org/n/o/group/35803 "Grenoble Bike" CS sub-group.

      - Opening dates of the passes in the Alps: cols-cyclisme.com

      - Where to buy a cheap bike: Vivravelo (map), "Un P'tit Velo dans la Tete" (associations, 2 places), Repérages (association), or Le Bon Coin (online classifieds)

Paragliding

      - Check our couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=63437 dedicated "CS Grenoble Paragliding" sub-group

      - Prevol at Saint Hilaire du Touvet (good comment from a CSer couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=10428&post=13307593#post13457390 here),

      - Corol at Chamrousse,

      - Obiou at St Jean d'Hérans,

      - Alto at Lans en Vercors

And couchsurfing.org/people/damien.mien/ Damien is a CS expert-paraglider!

Read couchsurfing.org/n/threads/grenoble-rhone-alpes-france-salut-je-viens-de-revenir-sur-grenoble-apres-un-long-voyage-qui-m-a-amene-en-bolivie-ou-j-ai-appris-a-faire-du-parap this thread by local paragliders and next sessions.

Yoga / pilates

      - Check our couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=78077 dedicated "CS Grenoble Yoga" sub-group

      - Some classes recommended by CSers couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=2796&post=11082650 in this thread and couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=2796&post=11534803#post11540845 in that one:

         - Vie en yoga

         - Pilates et yoga

         - Pila'Fit

         - PhilippeFrequelin-Yoga: more kundalini yoga than purely hatha yoga

      - CSer couchsurfing.org/people/b.escamez/ Benjamin E. is a kundalini yoga teacher: couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=2796&post=11130213 his post on CS

Culture

Where can I play music with my small band?

• At the association "Le 102" (concerts, experimental movies, exhibitions, theatre, debates...)
• At the Café Bayard: live bands every night (except sundays), see the usual planning (couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=26288&post=13294080#post13296302 source):
  • Monday: free Jamp (the owner often plays the guitar because not many musicians)
  • Tuesday: Irish Jam (how it works? <http://sessionsgrenoble.free.fr> (FR)")
  • Wednesday: Ukulele Jam
  • Thursday: Theatre / impro / gipsy jazz
  • Friday: Jam rock / jazz / songs / blues / world /... depending on the musicians who are there
  • Saturday: A bit like on friday but with less poeple.
• at the couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=26288&post=14034371 Family's Pub,
• at the O'brothers Kfé,
• at "Le Grenier" (above the 'Café de la table ronde", place Saint André),
• at l'Art Scène,
• at "the Druid's" pub on Sundays,
• at La Passoire on Fridays

And contact couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=HBX8MT0 Arthur or couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=4CGY12F Miguel for weekly live concerts at their homes.

Grenoble music: the very best of This CS local project aims to create a music compilation of the most famous (or the best-but-not-famous) music bands from Grenoble. (Started on 16/06/11)

For all cultural events, check out the Petit Bulletin (free weekly newspaper).

Games:

• Jeux en Societe: association to play games every tuesday night (~free)
• Joute et Jeux: shop which organizes game tournaments (it also sells games)
• Le Kfée des Jeux: bar/restaurant where you can rent games there (commercial).

Museums:

• Grenoble Museum: Fine Arts and antiques
• Museum of WW2 resistance and deportation: specificity of the French Resistance in the Isère department
• Musée Dauphinois: ethnographic, archaeological and historical museum, covering the territory of the former province of "Dauphiné".
• Contemporary Art Museum
• Museum of the old bishopric: heritage of the Isere department, through the history of its bishopric
• Natural History Museum: the alpîne botanic, zoologic, geologic and ethnologic heritage
• Archaeological museum of Saint-Laurent church: the old church of Saint-Laurent, built on the remains of a Gallo-Roman necropolis, has become an archaeological site and museum.
• Museum "Hébert" (paintings): paintings and sculptures by Ernest Hébert or his friends
• ...

Cinema: "Le Méliès" screens lots of independant, alternative or arthouse movies, from all over the world. Map | Program of this week

Yearly festivals in/near Grenoble:

• Music (check out all the dates and details for 2011 on this pdf program):

     - Rocktambule (Grenoble)

     - Cabaret Frappé (Grenoble)

     - Jazz Grenoble (Grenoble)

     - Les 38e Rugissants (Grenoble)

     - Les Détours de Babel (Grenoble)

     - Fête de la bastille (Grenoble)

     - Fort en son (fanfare music) (Grenoble)

     - Festival de la cour du Vieux Temple (Grenoble)

     - Rencontres Brel (Saint Pierre de Chartreuse)

     - Jazz à Vienne (Vienne)

     - Musiques en Stock (Cluses)

     - Col des 1000 (Miribel les Echelles)

     - Guitare en scene (Saint Julien en Genevois)

     - Démon d'Or (Poleymieux au Mont d’Or)

     - Musilac (Aix les Bains)

     - Musique au Parc (Bourg de Péage)

     -...

• Movies:

     - Mountain movie festival (Grenoble)

     - Outdoor short movie festival (Grenoble)

Culinary specialties from the area (dauphiné):

• Chartreuse liqueur
• Nuts from Grenoble
• Gratin dauphinois
• Ravioles from the dauphiné
• Tasty cheeses (Saint Marcellin, Bleu de Sassenage,...)
• (and much more...)

Nightlife

For the following places, see the Grenoble Google Map!

Bars-Concerts:

• Le 1900: Place Notre Dame, Grenoble.
• La Bifurk: 2, rue Gustave-Flaubert, Grenoble. Open monday-friday 9.00-12.00, 14.00-18.00 (and 20.00-... on saturdays)/
• Le Subway: 2, rue Lakanal, Grenoble. Tél: 04.76.87.31.67. Open monday-friday 8.00am-1.00am, saturday 14.00-1.00am, sunday 16.00-1.00am.
• Loco Mosquito: 56, rue Thiers, Grenoble. Tél: 04.76.85.03.16. Open monday-saturday 18.00-1.00am.
• London Pub: 11, rue Brocherie, Grenoble. Tél: 04.76.44.41.90. Open monday-saturday 18.00-1.00am.
• Tago Mago Salsa: 61, cours Jean-Jaurès, Grenoble. Tél: 04.76.46.39.74. Open thursday-saturday 20.30-2.00am.
• No Name: 35, rue Antoine-Polotti, Saint-Martin-d'Hères. Tél: 04.76.01.19.82. Open monday 9.00-15.00, tuesday-friday 9.00-1.00am, saturday 10.00-15.00 and 19.00-1.00am.
• Bar MC2: 4, rue Paul-Claudel, Grenoble. Tél: 04.76.00.79.54. Open tuesday-saturday 19.00-1.00am, after the last show.
• l'Amperage: concerts, etc. 163 cours Berriat, 38000 Grenoble
• Mark XIII: electro/dark bar. 8 Rue Lakanal, 38000 Grenoble

Dancing:

DoTheDance is a community of dancers listing local events, lessons, etc, for all dances. (Startup by 2 Grenoble persons)

• Salsa:
  • in short: "Le Théatro" on tuesdays; "Ambiance Café" on wednesdays; "Da Vinci Club" on thursdays; "Ambiance Café" and "No Name" on fridays.
  • All salsa nights at Grenoble
  • couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=2796&post=11809004#post11892433 CS message about bars for salsa, bachata, merengue, reggaeton, kuduro...
  • Forum about salsa bars and free lessons

• • Lists of dancing bars

• • Read couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=2796&post=11640187#post11640597 this CS thread and couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=2796&post=11640187#post11640597 that other one for advises.
• Lindy Hop:
  • The Youth Hostel of Echirolles, on thursdays 8:30 pm for free training (but no live band)
  • The Shag Café (Seyssinet) on tuesday nights, often with live bands (5€ + a drink).
• Folk, traditional dances, balleti:
  • Association Terre A Pied (thursday nights, outdoors at the campus if the weather is fine)
  • Calendar of folk bals and activities near Grenoble

Original Fast food

Fed up with chips, sponge bread, and dripping ketchup? If the smell of fat makes you sick, try the new shops which propose quickly-made fresh products, vegetables and cracking round loaf.

Pastas

Mezzo di Pasta: 3, avenue d'Alsace Lorraine 09.62.50.46.86 / 7, rue Saint-Jacques Tél. 09.77.80.17.81.

Pasta Via: 3, rue Philis de la Charce 04 76 41 86 79 / Centre commercial Grand'Place Tél. 04 76 41 86 79.

Soups

Naturel Délice: 4 rue Lafayette Tél. 04 76 03 28 13

Wok

Le Buffet de l'Etoile: place de l'Etoile Tél.04 76 43 05 04

Le Wok Bar: place Notre Dame Tél.04 76 15 23 02.

Nems

Thaï Express: Centre Commercial, 55, Grand'Place Tél.04 76 22 00 00.

Le ChinaMoon: 52 avenue Alsace-Lorraine Tél. 04 76 43 14 15.

Sandwiches

Naturel Délice: 4 rue Lafayette Tél. 04 76 03 28 13

Le Subway: 5, rue de Sault / Place Notre-Dame / 1 rue Président Carnot Tél. 04 76 86 28 84.

HOW TO SETTLE

Accomodation

Short term: Youth hostel

Check out this main website for students who need to find a flat in Grenoble: neutral and sincere advices (not a commercial agency).

• CROUS dormitories (see this dorms list)

• CROUS for short term rentings

• Homes for young workers

• LC-Mobility searches flats for students, PhDs, researchers, teachers and their families.

thumb|right|upright=1.0|[WikiMapia](http://wikimapia.org/#lat=45.1912772&lon=5.7229543&z=16&l=2&m=s&v=9): interactive map of districts and places of interest. Online ads:

• CRIJ 16, bd Agutte Sembat: paper ads from owners (june / september).

• FNAIM: adds from agencies

• ADIIJ

• ADELE

• Le bon Coin'''

• VivaStreet'''

• IntEGre forum (association of students)

• Appartager (shared flat)

• Colocation.fr (shared flat)

• Sub-rentings

• AnnonceEtudiant.com

• Among individuals

• Intergenerational housing: free accomodation at an elderly or handicaped person's.

• Facebook Group for Erasmus students

Check out our ads and offers on the couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=12012 CS sub-group dedicated to flat search and share-rentings.

Roommate dating: in "the Subway" bar, 2 rue Lakanal, Grenoble (04.76.87.31.67), on tuesdays and thursdays, 6.30pm-8pm, from 16/08 to 20/10. More info on their Facebook page.

Advices:

• New flats may be taken quickly, so check very often on those sites.
• Call the landlord by phone (insist until he replies).
• Always try to book a visit for the same day.

Average prices:

• 350€ for a studio,
• 250€ for a share-renting (roughly speaking)

Need money for the bail, or miss a guarantor? Actionlogement.fr can help you! thumb|right|upright=1.0|Map of Grenoble districts. Grenoble districts:

City life mainly happens around the "hyper-center": "Victor Hugo", "Notre-Dame", etc. (But very expensive.) Not so far but more quiet is "Europole" (near the station).

• Saint Bruno: a "village" atmosphere, with its own identity. Lots of different populations (maghrebi, chinese, students, families, associations, lots of small groceries...).

• Grand Boulevards: high buildings, lots of flats to rent, but not really lively identity. 10-15 minutes walking from the city-center.

• Saint Martin d'Hères: one of the "suburbs", with big (and sad) buildings

• Villeneuve-Village olympique, Fontaine...: hem, not recommended if you wanna walk by night safely.

• ...

More info about Grenoble districts on Wikipedia

And check WikiMapia Grenoble for interactive info about districts and places of interstes.

Transportation:

• Full details in the paragraph below
• Is this flat near a tram station? Check out on this Google Map of the trams network.

Keep in mind that bicycling is easy in Grenoble (flattest city in France), so you can afford living a bit further away (and it will obviously be less expensive).

Need to leave your stuff for a few days or months?

You can rent a 1-2 m² box:

- Homebox at St Egrève (~35€/month)

- Boxmax: 35 rue des allies, Grenoble (students -10%)

- Boxland: 96 avenue leon blum, Grenoble

Boot fairs / flea markets for cheap products:

Check this updated list on vide-greniers.org.

Administration

Financial helps:

• Caisse d'allocations familiales ( CAF )

3, rue des Alliés

38051 Grenoble Cedex 9

Tél: 0820 25 38 10

• Loca-Pass: free advance of the security deposit (usually 1 or 2 month rents), and/or to be your "guarantor".

• CCAS (Social help)

28 Galerie Arlequin

38100 Grenoble

Tél: 04 76 69 45 00

Jobs

First off: informations about working in France for a "non EU resident".

And ADATE is a local association which helps immigrants, it can give you tips. E.g. it's easier for immigrants to work in the countryside (fruit picking,...). French law is more "liberal" with illegal immigrants in the case of farming.

Online ads:

• ADIIJ-CRIJ (association for Information and Initiatives for the Youth)

• Pole-emploi (official national agency)

• Le bon coin (jobs)

• AnnonceEtudiant.com

• JobEtudiant.net

• JobAviz.fr (student jobs)

• StudentJob.fr

• VivaStreet

• jobs-stages

• RhoneAlpesJob.com
• KelJob
• ManPower (interim)
• Adecco (interim)

Jobs about environment (from couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=2796&post=11527222 this CS thread):

• Paper ads at the Institut de Géographie Alpine

• ProjetDeTerritoire.com

• CapRural.org: regional platform of rural development

• Maison de la Nature et de l'Environnement de l'Isère (MNEI): group of associations about nature

• Alpes Solidaires

Integration help

• "Espace Accueil Information"

1025, avenue Centrale

38400 St Martin d'Hères

Tél: 04 56 52 85 22

• IntEGre: an association of students that organizes activities, outings, etc, to help students with integrating Grenoble.

• Guide for foreign students (pdf)

TRANSPORT

Airports

• Lyon Saint-Exupéry: 100km, accessible by the coach "Navette aéroport" (Faure Vercors), 22€.
• Saint Geoirs: the nearest one, but little traffic.

Train and Railway

SNCF: French train company

NB: there's no official left-luggage at Grenoble, but you can ask the Bar Continental (just at the corner in front of the station) to leave your bag there for the day (for a couple of €).

Railway stations around Grenoble:

• Gare de Grenoble (Tram A / B, bus 34, "Transisère" coaches)

• Gare Universités-Gières (Tram B, bus 6051, 6010, 6070. Park & Ride)

• Gare de Pont de Claix (Buses 1, 18, 17. Park & Ride)

• Gare de Saint Egrève (Bus 30)

• Gare d'Echirolles (Tram A, bus 18. Park & Ride)

Seat61: tips for traveling worldwide from France.

Car and Parking

• The 15 "Park and Ride" (parking relais) allow you to park your car and use the buses/trams during the whole day, for a few euros.

• Alpes-AutoPartage.fr: vehicle sharing.

• Check out this map of all covered parking lots in the city, and this map of paid parking lot zones downtown.

• Car-sharing:

    - couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=8181 CS Grenoble dedicated sub-group (or in couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=2891 France and other cities)

    - covoiturage-libre (open, and no fees)

    - vadrouille-covoiturage (open, and no fees)

    - Student car-sharing: from/to the campus

    - 123envoiture

    - co-voiturage.fr

    - EasyCovoiturage

    - Comove

    - Tribu-covoiturage

    - Vivastreet

    - Carstops.org

    - Covoiturage.fr: online payment, with fees for every passenger. (Forget this site.)

Hitchhiking

• Information on hitchwiki.org: English; Français
• Best hitchhiking spots from Grenoble: see the Grenoble Google Map

Buses and Tramways

• "Tag" company: see full map of buses & trams (pdf, 3.7Mo), or trams on a Google Map

• Interactive tools to build your itinerary
• Schedule: last trams around 01:30 a.m. See all schedules
• Mobile app: tag.mobitrans.fr
• "TransIsère" coaches network: to get to any surrounding mountain in the department.

Bicycle

Grenoble is flat, and full of specific ways for bicycle!

Where are nice paths to ride?

• This OpenCycleMap shows all the bikable routes and related shops at Grenoble.
• "Les voies vertes" are beautiful FLAT tracks for bicylcles along the rivers: see this map for north-west Grenoble (36 km), and that one for the west (14 km).

Looking for a bicycle in Grenoble? Check the following links and organisations:

• You can rent a bike at Metrovélo (long or short rentals): see the 2 places on this map (station and campus).
• Try the TrocsAthlon, organized by the Decathlon shop in the Espace Comboire, in the south of Grenoble. It takes place twice a year, in March and October. Check that page for more information

• Suscribe to the association Le p'tit vélo dans la tête and visit one of their workshops in Grenoble. The subscription is about 13 € for students and jobless, 20 € for other people. In that way, you'll have access to spare parts and to workshops to repair your own bicycle. They can provide you with an old bicycle to repair for a few euros.

• Try Trocsport, 96 Avenue Gabriel Peri in Saint Martin D'hères (phone: 04 76 54 00 89)

• Try the Association Repérages: buy second hand bikes, or have yours repaired. If you give it back, they'll send it to Africa.
• Where to buy a cheap bike: Vivravelo (map), "Un P'tit Velo dans la Tete" (associations, 2 places), Repérages (association), or Le Bon Coin (online classifieds)
• At least, try the "Marché aux puces" on the Esplanade, close to the Porte de France (sunday mornings).

• If you surf during a couple of days, try couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=35803 our Bike-surfing CS sub-group.

• Other platforms to borrow/lend bikes: borrowmybike.org or bike-sharing.org.

You want to give an old one? Contact the association Repérages, they collect bicycles to send them to Africa

Find all the adresses on that map!

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

More emergency numbers...

LOCAL MEDIA MENTIONS

TIPS

Wifi

There are at least 5 places where you can get Wifi access for free downtown: check them on that map.

Alternative ways of living

• Free food / Dumpster Diving:

Go to the end of the markets (~13:00), you'll get lots of fruits and vegetables. (Map of the markets)

Read here for good ways to get free food: bakeries, the sandwich-shops at the university, supermarkets (namely Lidl (SMH)), organic veggies from Satoriz (their bin is inside the parking garage), and from Chez Coco, etc. A few coordinates of some interesting bins are couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=2439&post=14868675#post15132666 given here (just copy-paste them into Google Maps).

This CS Group couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=2439&post=14868675 "Dumpster Diving" will bring you some advice.

• Squats:

There are several political squats in town... but its best to find contact through other people. Or if you are involved in other political projects it should be possible for you to get free accomodation there! also there is an 'espace local autogéré' (local self-run and organised space) where there are often events, food included! There is another 'ancient' squat that's called '102' but I have never been there! I know that they have cool events and stuff too!

• Mini guide of local alternatives:

Les-renseignements-genereux.org publishes this guide for local alternatives (pdf) in Grenoble: places and self-managed groups for mutual support, re-usage, cultural activities, etc.

• Community-Supported Agriculture (or "AMAP" in French)

You can subscribe to a farmer and get a basket of fresh local vegetables/fruits/etc regularly: see on AlliancePEC of Isère the map of all distribution points.

(CSA on wikipedia)

• Vegetable gardens (association):

The "Jardin des Cairns" is an association that has grown trees and organic vegetables near the Musée Dauphinois since 2011. The location is ideal: great view on Grenoble, sunshine, with an enthusiastic and welcoming team. They even have some concerts on their terasse sometimes!

Add information to this page

1. Create an account by clicking on "Log in / create account" in the upper right corner of this page.

2. Then come back to this page and click "edit" on top of this page or for any specific paragraph.

More info about the Wiki syntax

And read this Guide Wiki CS (Fr)

Customize your CS profile

Read here.

Map of the Region

The Main CS Cities of the Region

Paris

How to get there?

Couch Surfing in the Region

The CS Activity in the Region

Family Welcome

In the region, there is a very nice, active and developped CS Families network. If you travel with your children, if you would like to be hosted by a family, if you are searching for a host who accept a family, meeting other families making to your children more different cultural friendship, you are welcome to join the couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=16134 French Family's group!

A tool exists to localise easily where you can find the CS families' in the region, please check the Family Welcome Map of the area.

Rural Couchsurfing

In Ile-de-France you have the chance to have the possibility to couchsurf a bit everywhere, even in the countryside! Check the map of the Rural CSers in Ile-de-France, you can find them easilier on this way! There is also a couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=15039 CS group called "Rural CS France" where you can talk with all Rural CSers in France.

But not all Rural CSers appears on the map or are members of the group "Rural CS France". To find the others, join couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=188 the Regional CS group of Ile-de-France!

Regional Contacts on CS

What to visit in the Region

Links

Map of the Region

The Main CS Cities of the Region

How to get there?

Couch Surfing in the Region

The CS Activity in the Region

Family Welcome

In the region, there is a very nice, active and developped CS Families network. If you travel with your children, if you would like to be hosted by a family, if you are searching for a host who accept a family, meeting other families making to your children more different cultural friendship, you are welcome to join the couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=16134 French Family's group!

A tool exists to localise easily where you can find the CS families' in the region, please check the Family Welcome Map of the area.

Rural Couchsurfing

In Languedoc-Roussillon you have the chance to have the possibility to couchsurf a bit everywhere, even in the countryside! Check the map of the Rural CSers in Languedoc-Roussillon, you can find them easilier on this way! There is also a couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=15039 CS group called "Rural CS France" where you can talk with all Rural CSers in France.

But not all Rural CSers appears on the map or are members of the group "Rural CS France". To find the others, join couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=189 the Regional CS group of Languedoc-Roussillon!

Regional Contacts on CS

What to visit in the Region (Villages and Natural/Historic Sites)

Aude

Gard

• Aigues-Mortes: This medieval town, meaning "Dead Waters", is surrounded by well-preserved city walls. Aigues-Mortes, located in the Petite Camargue, is about 35 km (22 mi) from Nîmes and 30 km (19 mi) from Montpellier by road.

• Gorges de la Vis:

• Gorges du Gardon:

• Nimes:

• Pont du Gard:

• Uzès:

Hérault

• Cirque de Mourèze:

• Cirque de Navacelles:

• Curiosité de Lauriole:

• Gorges de Colombières:

• Gorges de l'Hérault:

• Gorges de l'Orb:

• Gorges d'Héric:

• Gorges du Brian:

• Gorges du Lamalou / Ravin des Arcs:

• Lac du Crès:

• Lac du Salagou:

• Minerve:

• Pic St. Loup:

• St. Guilhem le Désert:

• Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone:

Lozere

Pyrenees-Orientales

Links

Le Havre is a city in France, at the mouth of the Seine River. It is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department and the Upper-Normandy region.

There are 183,900 inhabitants in Le Havre, named the Havrais and Havraise (s) and 258,514 inhabitants in its agglomeration.

See all localisations of this wiki article on Google Maps

Page disponible en français

History of Le Havre

More informations about the History of Le Havre on the!

Transport

To get to le Havre

Train

The train costs 28€ for one way from Paris (Saint-Lazare Station) if you have no reductions. You can save money if you take a return and spend the night of Saturday before returning (around 36-42 € with the return).

The station is close to the town center.

SNCF website

All trains go by Rouen, so you can make a stop at that beautiful city.

If you are in Lower-Normandy, it's very difficult to go by train because you must go to Rouen or Paris before arriving to Le Havre. Prefer the coach (see down)

Boat

Ferries from Portsmouth (25€ - one way) and Newhaven (25€ - one way)

Shuttle to the station

LD Lines website

Plane

Le Havre-Octeveille Airport (Airport website)

Flights from Lyon, Toulouse and Brighton

Bus to the town center

Car

- From Paris: motorways A13 then A131 (via the Bridge of Tancarville - 2 hours)

- From Western France: motorways A84 then A13 and A131 (via the Bridge of Normandy - 1 hour from Caen / 2 hours from Mont Saint Michel)

- From Nothern and Eastern France: motorway A29

Hitchhiking

Good spots to leave Le Havre:

- traffic lights near the station (Quai Colbert / Cours de la République)

- gas stations (Esso - BP) on Boulevard Winston Churchill

- toll booths of Bridge of Normandy (to Western France, you must go by bus #20 and #50) or Bridge of Tancarville (to Rouen and Paris. But there are no bus!)

Coach

From Caen, Lisieux and the Lower-Normandy: Bus Verts (14€ - one way)

Bus Verts web site

The bus station is near the station.

How to circulate in the City?

Bus

- In Le Havre and its agglomeration (website of the agglomeration), Bus Océane is in charge of the bus. But it's very difficult to have a bus after 10:00 PM!

Prefer the "1-week ticket" (a day to the Sunday of the same week - 11,50€) or the "1-day ticket" (3,30€): if you buy your ticket on the bus, it costs 1,50€ for 1 hour.

Bus Océane website

- It's possible to go to cities like Fécamp or Étretat with CNA or Autocars Gris (ACG)

CNA Website

No website for Autocars Gris (?)

Train

There is an urbain train called LER. It's between Le Havre Station and Harfleur, Montivilliers and Rolleville. Bus Océane is in charge of this train too. So it's the same prices.

Bicycle

You can rent a bicycle or a twin with Vélocéane

Bicycle: 2€ for 2 hours, 3€ for half a day, 5€ for a day

Twin: 3€ for 2 hours, 4€ for half a day, 7€ for a day

Vélocéane website

'''Informations about segregated cycle facilities in Le Havre

Foot

The best for seeing the city! Only one car-free zone (arround rue Victor Hugo) but large sidewalks and walk on the seefront.

What to see / to do?

In Le Havre

- The city center that was rebuilt between 1945 and 1964 by Auguste Perret after being destroyed at the end of World War II. Since 2005, it is registered on the list of world inheritance of humanity by UNESCO.

- Town Hall, designed by Auguste Perret - 20th century

- Cultural Centre (Le Volcan), designed by Oscar Niemeyer - 20th century

- St Joseph's Church, designed by Auguste Perret - 20th century

- Notre Dame Cathedral, 15th century

- Priory of Graville, 13th century

- Pasino - Casino, old "Palais de la Bourse", designed by Otello Zavaroni - 20th century

- Villa Maritime, old house of the French dramaturge Armand Salacrou - 19th century

- Château des Gadelles, also named "Porte de Burgos", désigned by Pierre-Édouard Dumont, Henri Toutain and Gustave Eiffel - 19th century

- University Library, designed by René and Phine Weeke Dottelonde - 21th century

- Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Le Havre, designed by René and Phine Weeke Dottelonde - 21th century - Novotel, designed by Jean-Paul Viguier - 21th century

- Japanese Garden, created thanks to the link between the harbours of Le Havre and Osaka

- Les Jardins Suspendus, gardens in an old fort, from where you have a nice point of view on the city

- Go to the beach: between April and October, bars and restaurants are open on the sea front, very pleasant to see the sunset!

- Walk to the "End of the World" from the beach to the cliffs

Museums

- Musée Malraux: large Impressionist painting collection (5€ - free the first Saturday of the month - website)

- Museum d'Histoire Naturelle: natural history museum and its large collection of French naturalist Charles Alexandre Lesueur's pictures (free - website)

- Appartement témoin (showflat) shows how was an apartment in the 50's (reservation at the Tourism Office)

- Maison de l'Armateur 18th century house shows haw was life in Le Havre at this century (3€ - free the first Saturday of the month - website)

- Prieuré de Graville: Christian art collection (2€ - free the first Saturday of the month - website)

Near Le Havre

- Sainte-Adresse Belgian capital during WWI (Nice Havrais - 20th century): close to Le Havre by car - you can go by bus #1 and #9

- Montivilliers and its abbey (13th century): close to Le Havre by car - you can go by bus #1 and #9 and the LER

- Harfleur and its medieval streets: close to Le Havre by car - you can go by bus #9 and the LER

- Étretat and its famous cliffs: 20 min from Le Havre by car - you can go by bus #24

- Pont de Normandie - Bridge of Normandy, famous cable-stayed road bridge: 20 min by car or by bus #20 and #50

- Honfleur and its medieval village and old harbour: 30 min by car or by bus #20 and #50 (Wikivoyage)

- Marais Vernier, this old meander of the Seine River is a very beautiful place to walk and see animals (birds...): 30 min by car or by bus #20

- Deauville and its famous casino and American Film Festival: 40 min by car or by bus #20

More informations about the places to visit in Le Havre on the!

2010-2009-2008 Events

2010

Eté: spectacles les Zestivales 1

27 juillet: départ de la course du Figaro en solitaire à la voile

1er-30 octobre: Biennale d'art contemporain 2

2009

- May 8-10: "week end de la glisse", au Skate Park (competition de skate, bike, roller, wakeboard,freestyle..)

- May 16th: La Nuit des Musées, - free museums

- May 20 - Septembre 30: exhibition at the beach "visitors at le Havre" about personalities that came here: Salvador Dali, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Bourvil, David Niven, Alfred Hitchock, Jane Fonda, André Malraux..

- May 23-24: fêtes bretonne, at St François (http://www.saintyves-gouelerwan.com/?q=node/211)

- May 29-31: Dixie Days, jazz festival

- June 14-16: Festival Polar à la Plage (www.lesancresnoires.com), about detective novels