Place to stay in france with the bike..

[embee]

I'd second everything said about the Tarn gorge..............brill.
There was a visitors centre underneath the Millau viaduc when I went there a couple of years ago, assume it's still there, has the story of building it etc. It's on the Albi road, to the south side of the valley.

As for hotels etc, a good tip is have a close look on Google earth and you can often sort out whether it looks like a secure area. I know it's of no help, but in 30yrs of touring the continent I've never had any problems with anyone messing with the bike, whether on campsites or hotels. Just take the usual precautions and be aware of the surroundings. I've not heard of the sort of lifting bikes into white vans as being common like it is here in the "safe and law abiding" UK.

My experience of the Formule1 chain is as described, cheap and cheerful but smell of wee..................I'd still use them though. As said, other slightly more upmarket chains might be worth the small oncost.

The tourist information offices found in nearly every reasonable sized town are your friend, they invariably speak english and will happily book rooms for you in local hotels/B&B, it's what they are there for.

I usually use campsites, partly because I enjoy camping and it does save significant money if you're looking at 10days plus. Short breaks for a few days it's hardly worth the effort. "Your mileage may vary".