House Sitting France 2026: Nomador Has 12x More Listings

Home > Blog > House Sitting France

This is not immigration or legal advice. We are not immigration lawyers or licensed advisors. The information in this article is based on our own research and experience, and immigration and visa rules change frequently and vary by nationality, country, and individual circumstances. Always confirm current requirements directly with the relevant embassy, consulate, or a qualified immigration professional before you travel.

Nomador is the platform to use if France is a real part of your trip: it lists more than ten times as many French house sits as Trusted House Sitters, at a fraction of the annual cost. THS is still worth keeping alongside it if your travel covers other countries too, and after three sits of our own in France, from a month in the Alps to ten days in Provence, that combination is what we would recommend to anyone planning to house sit here.

France was never the country we built our house sitting life around, but it keeps pulling us back. Between a month in the French Alps, ten days in Provence, and five months in a Breton village before Caro and I even met, France has given us some of our most memorable sits and some of the clearest lessons about which platform actually works here.

If you are weighing up Trusted House Sitters for your France trip, our 25% discount code is worth grabbing before you commit, though as you'll see below, THS is not always the strongest option for France specifically. This guide covers the real numbers on both platforms, three of our own sits, and where in the country each region suits different kinds of house sitters. If anything here doesn't match what you're seeing on the ground, tell us in the comments and we'll look into it.

Which Housesitting Platform to Use In France?

For France-specific travel, Nomador has roughly twelve times more listings than Trusted House Sitters at a fraction of the cost. 1,000+ French sits against THS's approximately 85 is not a close comparison. The only reason to choose THS for France is if you are already using it for the rest of Europe or further afield in the same year, and even then it's worth checking our TrustedHouseSitters pricing breakdown and booking fee guide before you commit to a plan. For France-focused travel, Nomador wins outright, and our Nomador pricing guide breaks down exactly what the €34 plan includes.

A correction to an earlier version of this article: We previously listed 1,500 Nomador France listings. That figure was wrong: it included Nomador's "stopover" feature, which allows members to host each other for short stays, alongside actual house sits. When filtered to house sits only, the count in February 2026 was 627 France listings. As of July 2026, verified numbers on the platform show over 1,000 house sits in France. The count fluctuates through the year, typically somewhere between 800 and 1,000, and the overall trend has been upward as house sitting keeps growing. We correct these figures whenever we recheck them.

This article is part of our complete international house sitting platforms guide, which covers every major platform we've used across Europe and beyond.

Nomador vs TrustedHouseSitters for France

The comparison comes up often enough that it deserves its own section, separate from the wider platform breakdown below. Here is how the two stack up specifically for France, using our July 2026 numbers.

For France specifically, Nomador is the platform to have. THS remains worth keeping if your trip covers other countries too, since France on its own does not justify the higher annual cost when Nomador's three-month plan covers the same ground for a fraction of the price. Our full THS review goes into more detail on where THS does and doesn't earn its membership fee.

Nomador Beyond France

Nomador is often thought of as a France-only, French-speaking platform, but that undersells it. It operates worldwide, with meaningful and growing listings well outside France, and it is not exclusively French-speaking either. Many listings, especially outside France, are in English.

Across continental Europe, once you set aside the two biggest single markets (the UK, which is overwhelmingly THS territory, and France, which is overwhelmingly Nomador's), the two platforms come out close to even.

If your trip covers continental Europe without France or the UK, either platform will serve you reasonably well. The decision really comes down to the rest of your itinerary. If it includes the UK, USA, or Australia alongside Europe, THS's global reach makes more sense as your primary platform. If it stays within France and mainland Europe, Nomador is the stronger primary choice, with THS worth keeping only if you're already paying for it.

Platform Comparison: July 2026 Data

Nomador: The Clear Choice for France

Nomador was founded in France. French homeowners list here first, and often exclusively. The result is coverage across every region: the Alps, Provence, Brittany, the Loire Valley, Paris, Bordeaux, both coasts. No international platform comes close to matching that coverage, and our Nomador pricing guide has the full plan breakdown if you want the details before signing up.

The interface has an English option, and outside France a large share of listings are in English. Within France specifically, many listings are French-only, which has two effects: it reduces international competition (most English-speaking sitters filter to English listings only), and it means basic French is worth having before you arrive if you're sitting in France.

Nomador also has a "stopover" feature where members host each other for short stays, separate from house sits. When you search, make sure you are filtering to sits specifically. The stopovers inflate the apparent listing count significantly, which is how the incorrect 1,500 figure appeared in our earlier version.

We have no Nomador affiliate partnership and earn no commission from recommending them. The recommendation is based on the listing numbers alone.

We used THS for both our Lullin and Manosque sits because we already had Premium membership for broader European travel. France is not our next confirmed stop after Portugal, since we are still weighing a few different directions, but it is genuinely on our minds. When we do plan a proper France return, we intend to look at Nomador and THS side by side rather than defaulting to one, to see which gives us the strongest options for wherever we end up.

Trusted House Sitters: Use If You Are Already Paying For It

Approximately 85 France listings against Nomador's 1,000+ makes the comparison simple. THS makes sense for France only if you are already using it for sits elsewhere in Europe, Australia, or the Americas in the same membership year.

Our Lullin and Manosque sits both came through THS precisely because we already had Premium coverage for Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Belgium. France was an addition to an existing subscription, not a reason to pay for one.

Use our 25% discount code if THS makes sense for your itinerary.

MindMyHouse: Skip for France

12 listings across the entire country is not practical for most travel plans. The €34 three-month Nomador plan gives you 1,000+ options for a similar price to MindMyHouse's annual fee. That is not a difficult decision.

The Most Reliable House Sitting Platforms in France

Reliability and listing volume are not quite the same question, so it is worth answering separately. For reliability specifically, Nomador is the stronger choice in France because it is a French company, moderated by French speakers, with a homeowner base that trusts the platform's local roots. THS remains reliable globally but has thin France-specific coverage, which limits its usefulness there regardless of how trustworthy the platform is as a whole. If safety and vetting are your main concern rather than listing count, our house sitting safety guide covers what actually matters beyond star ratings.

For sitters who want the strongest support infrastructure while in France, the most reliable setup is actually a combination: THS Premium for its dispute resolution and wider safety net, with Nomador as your primary search tool for the sheer number of France listings. We would use THS as backup and Nomador as the main search, rather than relying on either platform alone.

Our Lullin Sit: One Month in the French Alps

Location: Lullin, Haute-Savoie, 20 minutes from Lake Geneva
Duration: July to early August 2025
Pets: Two outdoor cats, Muscaton and Piton
Platform: Trusted House Sitters

Muscaton and Piton needed almost nothing from us. They came and went throughout the day, roamed the fields and forest around the house, and needed feeding twice a day in the morning and afternoon, though not at fixed times. They would appear when they were ready and disappear again when they were not. If the house had had a cat flap, we could have left food out and barely shaped the day around them at all. For a month in the mountains, that kind of animal is close to ideal.

The house was mid-renovation. Not the section we were living in. Those rooms were comfortable and finished. The owners were doing the work themselves, on holidays and weekends, and had left the project running while they travelled. It did not affect us. The living quarters were separate and complete.

What we remember most from Lullin is the bakery.

Every visit produced something we had not tried before. The mille-feuille became a habit quickly: layers of puff pastry with vanilla cream and a caramelised top. There were new things each time, and the woman behind the counter offered samples freely and with genuine warmth. She did not speak a word of English. Caro had studied French at school and had not used it in years. The bakery became the place where she started again.

Google Translate filled the gaps between her school French and the actual conversation. By the end of the month, the visits had become one of the things we looked forward to most.

The other thing we talk about from Lullin is the drive down to Lake Geneva.

The road drops steeply from the village to the lake. The car we used during the sit had a live fuel economy display on the dashboard. Driving down in neutral, the reading settled around 0.2 litres per 100 kilometres.

On the drive back up, the same road in the opposite direction, it read 20 litres per 100 kilometres. A hundred times the fuel consumption for the same distance, simply reversed. We made that drive often. The lake was worth it every time, and the numbers on the screen became a small ritual: watching the display drop toward zero on the descent and climb back on the return.

What the sit saved us: Lake Geneva region accommodation in summer runs €100–200 per night. Thirty nights at a conservative average of €150 is €4,500. We paid nothing for accommodation, having already covered THS membership for broader European travel. If you're curious how that adds up across a full year of sits, our full cost breakdown has the real numbers.

Reality Check: Language Is a Real Barrier in France

Every time we have been to France (Lullin, Manosque, Brittany, passing through), the language situation has been the same. French people are not unfriendly, but they operate in French, and the difference between arriving somewhere with zero French versus a handful of basic phrases is noticeable.

When you try, people respond differently. They slow down, they help more, the interaction becomes warmer. The woman at the Lullin bakery who gave Caro free samples did not do so because Caro was fluent. She did it because Caro was clearly making an effort and clearly enjoying the attempt. That is the dynamic that plays out across France consistently.

For house sitting specifically, this matters beyond the social dimension. Vet contact details, neighbour introductions, and messages from homeowners checking in all require at least some capacity to engage in the language. Nomador listings are often French-only, which is an advantage for sitters who can read them. You are competing against fewer people.

If you have any prior French at all, use it before you arrive. Apps, podcasts, a week of practice: whatever gets you to the point of basic conversation. The investment is small and the return in France is higher than almost anywhere else in Europe.

Got a language question specific to a region you're heading to? Drop it in the comments below, we read and reply to all of them.

Brittany: Five Months in Montanel

Montanel is a village near Saint-Malo in Brittany. Population around one hundred. I spent five months there before meeting Caro, in a small cottage that belonged to a single homeowner who needed the property watched for an extended period. It's one of the longer long-term sits I've done, and a good example of what that kind of stay actually looks like day to day.

There were no pets. The sit was house-only: maintaining the property, keeping it secure while the owner was away. Without the daily rhythm of animal care, the structure came from other things: the Atlantic coast, Mont-Saint-Michel, Saint-Malo itself with its walled city and corsair history, and a considerable amount of local red wine.

Brittany red wine is not what gets exported. It is full-bodied, affordable, and consistently better than what reaches the rest of the world under the French label. I drank too much of it and do not fully regret it. Caro and I have since developed a preference for bio wine (lower sulphites, fewer hangover effects, and less of the allergic reaction that ordinary wine can cause) but Brittany was where I first started paying real attention to what was in the glass rather than just what was on the label.

Five months in a village of one hundred people is a specific kind of experience. The quiet is either restorative or claustrophobic depending on what you need from it, and over five months it was both at different points. The Atlantic coast in Brittany is dramatic in a way that the Mediterranean is not. Rougher, more elemental, greyer, and more compelling for it. I drove to the coast regularly. I visited Saint-Malo every few weeks. I covered the whole of the surrounding area slowly over the five months and saw parts of France I would never have found from a hotel or a fixed itinerary.

I would not have stayed five months in Montanel any other way. The sit made the duration affordable. The duration made the experience real.

Manosque: Ten Days in the South of France

Location: Manosque, Provence
Duration: 10 days, April 2026
Pets: One dog, May, working through separation anxiety, and one cat, Gabby
Platform: Trusted House Sitters

Ten days is a different rhythm from a month in Lullin or five months in Montanel, closer to what we cover in our cleaning and etiquette guide for shorter sits than a long-stay routine. Manosque came at the end of a two-month non-stop drive in our VW T4 campervan, working our way down from the Dolomites toward Portugal. By the time we arrived we were ready to stop moving for a while, and ten days in one place felt like exactly what we needed.

May had separation anxiety, so the first couple of days were about building trust before we left her alone for even short stretches. With an anxious dog we were also more careful than usual about knowing what to do if a pet runs away during a house sit, though thankfully it never came to that. Gabby mostly kept to her own routine around the house and needed far less from us.

The homeowners met us with a pizza on the evening we arrived, and it turned out to be one of the nicer parts of the sit. After two months of driving and eating however we could manage on the road, sitting down to a proper meal with people who were genuinely happy to have us there made the whole stop feel less like a pit stop and more like a welcome.

Ten days was short compared to Lullin or Montanel, but it did exactly what we needed at that point in the trip: rest, a settled routine for a dog that needed patience, and a reminder that not every sit has to be dramatic to be worthwhile.

Regional Guide: Where to Sit in France

French Alps (Haute-Savoie, Savoie, Isère)

Our Lullin sit was in Haute-Savoie. Mountains, lakes, hiking, authentic villages, and easy access to Switzerland and Italy. Sits here are typically traditional chalets with gardens, cats or dogs, and durations of one to four weeks.

A car is essential. Public transport connects major Alpine towns but not the villages where most sits are. We used our car daily and could not have managed the month without it.

Competition is moderate. Summer Alpine sits are popular and should be applied for well in advance, but the region is less contested than Paris or the Riviera.

Brittany

Rugged Atlantic coastline, a Celtic character that sets it apart from the rest of France, excellent seafood, and dramatically different landscapes. Sits here tend toward longer durations because homeowners leave for extended periods. Competition is lower than major tourist areas, which makes Brittany a practical region for building early reviews.

The weather is not the Mediterranean. Beautiful in summer, rainy and windswept outside it. Plan around it rather than against it.

Paris and Major Cities

Paris is the most competitive house sitting market in France. Applications arrive within hours of a listing going up. An exceptional profile is the minimum requirement. Read our profile creation guide before applying, and build your first few reviews elsewhere before targeting Paris.

A car is not needed; the public transport is among the best in Europe. Lyon and Bordeaux offer genuine city experiences with significantly lower competition and serious food and wine cultures worth experiencing in their own right.

Provence and the Côte d'Azur

Mediterranean climate, lavender, wine, and some of the most desirable luxury properties in France. Competition is high in summer and moderate in the shoulder seasons. Pool sits and Côte d'Azur villas typically run two to four weeks and involve multiple pets with higher responsibility. Good profile and solid reviews are the entry requirement. Our own Manosque sit sat comfortably in this region, and ten days was enough to get a feel for the pace of life there.

Loire Valley and Southwest France

Less competition than the coast or Paris, extraordinary food and wine, and a pace of life that suits longer sits well. A strong target for building your first France reviews before applying to the more competitive regions.

Have a region we haven't covered here? Let us know in the comments and we'll do our best to help.

Practical Considerations

Language: Basic French before you arrive. Not fluent. Functional. The effort matters more than the level. Google Translate handles the gaps.

Transport: Essential in the Alps and rural areas. Ask during the video call whether the homeowner's car is available. In Paris and major cities, leave the car behind. Parking is expensive and public transport is excellent.

Money: We use N26 for all France travel. No foreign transaction fees, real exchange rates, and travel insurance included. Revolut works equally well. Carry €50–100 cash for markets and small shops that do not take cards, and it's worth reading up on who pays for utilities and other hidden costs before you agree to a longer sit.

Markets: Local produce markets are worth building the week around. Cheese, seasonal vegetables, regional wine, and bread at 30–50% below supermarket prices with better quality. In France, the market is not a tourist attraction. It is where people actually shop.

Bio wine: If wine affects you badly (headaches, congestion, allergic reactions), look for bio wine at markets and independent shops. Lower sulphite content makes a real difference. We buy bio wine consistently in France and find it sits considerably better than standard supermarket alternatives.

Visas: Caro holds a German passport and I have Polish and Australian passports. As EU citizens we enter France without any visa considerations. Non-EU visitors enter on a Schengen tourist visa allowing 90 days within a 180-day period, and it's worth checking our digital nomad visa guide if you're hoping to stay longer. House sitting is an unpaid exchange and generally falls under tourism rather than work, and knowing what to tell customs when you arrive helps avoid confusion at the border. Check our house sitting legal issues guide and current requirements for your specific nationality before travelling.

Does Nomador Cover House Sitting in the US?

Nomador is a worldwide platform, not a France-only or French-speaking one, and its US presence is real and growing. As of July 2026, Nomador lists approximately 45 active sits in the US, including cities like Los Angeles, and that number has been climbing steadily rather than sitting still.

That's still well behind Trusted House Sitters or House Sitters America for a purely US-focused trip, so if the US is your main destination, those platforms remain the stronger primary choice. But Nomador is no longer a platform to overlook for the US the way it might have been a year or two ago, and it's worth adding to your search if you're already comparing options.

For house sitting in the US specifically, House Sitters America or Trusted House Sitters will serve you far better than Nomador. Nomador's strength is genuinely France and Europe. If you saw the name and assumed wider US coverage, it is worth redirecting your search toward a platform built for that market.

If/Then Framework

If you are spending one month or more in France only: Nomador at €34 ($44) for three months. 1,000+ listings, full regional coverage, the lowest cost entry point for France-focused travel.

If you are combining France with the rest of Europe: THS with our 25% discount for one platform across the continent. Add Nomador's three-month plan if France makes up a significant portion of the trip.

If you are doing global travel that includes France: THS Premium covers Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the Americas under one membership. Check our TrustedHouseSitters pricing guide for the full plan breakdown. The roughly 85 France listings are a real limitation, but the international coverage justifies the cost when France is one stop among many.

If you are targeting Paris or the Côte d'Azur: Build three to five reviews in lower-competition regions first: Loire Valley, Brittany, rural Alps. Profile quality and review history are the deciding factors for competitive sits, not platform choice.

If you have no French at all: Spend a week on Duolingo or a similar app before arrival. The goal is not fluency. It is demonstrating effort. In France more than most countries, the attempt changes everything.

Our France Plans

One month together in Lullin, July–August 2025, and ten days in Manosque in April 2026, sandwiched between the Dolomites and our move into Portugal. Five months in Brittany before Caro and I met.

What comes after our current Portugal sit, which runs through November 2026, is still open. We might stay around Portugal and Spain a while longer, we might look at the islands, or we might fly back to Australia for a stretch.

If you're weighing similar options, our look at the best countries for van life and house sitting covers a lot of the same ground we're currently thinking through. France is not our confirmed next stop, but Caro and I are genuinely excited about the idea of getting back there properly. When we do, we plan to check Nomador and THS at the same time rather than committing to one in advance, to make sure we get the best listings on either platform.

Bottom Line

The platform decision is clear: Nomador for France-focused travel, THS if you are already paying for international coverage elsewhere. 1,000+ listings versus roughly 85 is not a decision that requires much analysis.

What France offers beyond that is harder to summarise. A month in the Alps with two cats who needed almost nothing from us, a bakery that became part of the daily routine, a lake twenty minutes away with a hundred-times fuel economy swing on the road there and back. Ten days in Provence with a dog working through separation anxiety, a cat who barely noticed us, and a pizza dinner that felt like the first proper meal after two months on the road.

Five months in a Breton village of one hundred people, with the Atlantic coast an hour in one direction and a walled medieval city in the other. None of the three sits was dramatic. All three were only possible because we were not paying for accommodation, and our full cost breakdown shows exactly what that has added up to over three years.

Build a strong profile. Apply specifically. Learn some French.

Caro and I have completed 20 house sits across 12 countries, driven 19,000km across Europe in our 1998 VW T4, and saved over $26,500 in accommodation costs over three years of house sitting. If you have questions about house sitting in France, drop them in the comments below or send us a message on Instagram, we read and reply to everyone. And if you haven't already grabbed Trusted House Sitters with our discount, this is a good place to start.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the best house sitting website for France?

  Nomador: 1,000+ active France listings as of July 2026, founded in France, covers every region at €34 for a three-month plan. THS has approximately 85 France listings and makes more sense if you are combining France with other international destinations in the same year. Nomador's count fluctuates between roughly 800 and 1,000 across the year and also includes "stopovers" (short-term member hosting that is separate from house sits). Filter to sits specifically when searching.

• Do house sitters in France get paid?

  No. The standard arrangement is an unpaid exchange: pet care and home security in return for free accommodation. Professional paid pet sitting operates through different channels.

• Can I house sit in France without a visa?

  EU citizens enter freely. Non-EU visitors typically use a Schengen tourist visa allowing 90 days within a 180-day period. House sitting is an unpaid exchange and generally falls under tourism. Check current requirements for your nationality before travelling. Visa rules change.

• Do I need to speak French to house sit in France?

  Not fluently, but basic French is strongly advisable. In rural areas and on Nomador sits specifically, some French is close to essential for daily life. More importantly, the effort to speak even a little French changes how people treat you. It is one of the higher-return investments you can make before a France trip.

• Is a car necessary for house sitting in France?

  Depends entirely on location. Paris, Lyon, and Bordeaux have excellent public transport and do not require a car. The Alps, Brittany, Provence, and most rural sits require one. Confirm with the homeowner during the video call whether their vehicle is available.

• How competitive is house sitting in France?

  Variable by region. Paris and the Côte d'Azur are highly competitive. Brittany, the Loire Valley, and smaller Alpine villages are manageable for newer sitters. Build your first reviews in lower-competition regions before applying to Paris.

Related Guides