Have you ever thought about house sitting in Europe? Imagine that you’re peering out over a gorgeous Greek beach from your own balcony. Next to you is a very cute border collie, patiently waiting for breakfast. You have six weeks to explore this new little village, beaches and all its delicious local food (and to think the accommodation is costing you nothing).
We, The Travelling House Sitters recently spent that time in the Greek seaside village. With a month of 28°C days, it allowed for a lovely slow exploration of the Greek coastal village! House sitting in Europe is a lot of fun.
Over the last three years, we have cared for over 29 homes, in places such as Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Ireland, The UK, France, Italy, Montenegro & Greece and The Caribbean.
Below are some of our favourite places for house sitting in Europe
House sitting in France: Amongst the Vines
Our first house in Europe was 30 mins east of Bordeaux. We had travelled from India to Turkey then onto Manchester to pick up our new campervan. It was a long drive and we couldn’t wait to arrive and relax!
This home was set along a beautiful river that stretched to Bordeaux, France and was nestled within dozens of rows of vines. The homeowners informed us that as long as you stayed a set of vines away from the farmhouse you could walk through any vineyard in the area. This made walking the dog each morning a dream come true.
True to form the wine of the area was incredible. Our little town had a just a supermarket, boulangerie and a local wine association. The baguettes were known as the best in the region ( we couldn’t agree more).
House sitting in France: Travelling to Rome
Following the home in the vines we looked after an apartment in Barcelona, and then back to France for a house sit in Provence. After Provence, it was on to Italy! We were booked to care for a lakeside villa in Lake Como and three cats. We then braved the heatwave and made our way down to Rome for a month-long housesit.
As we journeyed south, we ticked off bucket list locations such as the Tuscan Hills, Florence, the Parmigiano cheese factories & Bologna (one of the most surprisingly beautiful cities in Europe!)
House Sitting in Europe: The Unexpected Views of Montenegro
We didn’t know much about Montenegro but it absolutely blew us away. We cared for two cats who until just recently had spent their entire lives living on a sailboat in the Caribbean. We think they enjoyed the views of The Bay of Kotor almost as much as we did. However, one of them preferred the sights and sounds of his favourite YouTube videos, one was a 14-hour long video of an aquamarine and the other a 10-hour video of tropical birds (it’s a tough life for a cat).
Next, it was on to Greece for the final leg of our journey. However, between Montenegro & Greece our campervan broke down in the middle of the Albanian countryside (but that is a story for another time). We sadly left the camper behind and journeyed on by bus to our next sit.
House Sitting in Greece
Our next sit was in a Greek seaside village. Here we learnt the true meaning of Greek hospitality. The homeowners insisted we stay for two nights when they returned. They wanted us to experience a Sunday feast with the whole family.
It was an incredible experience in which we spend the morning in the kitchen learning Greek recipes then the afternoon eating, drinking and chatting with the whole extended family.
Our final house sit of this journey is in Athens at the base of the Pantheon, we look forward to experiencing the city before we head off to the Caribbean! Our next house sit involves a catamaran and another sailing cat!
This house sitting lifestyle is very enriching and can be suited to anyone. Whether you’re an adventurous traveller or someone who just needs to save some money on rent. If you’re interested in experiencing this for yourself, we are here to help you get started house sitting in Europe! Take our online course which takes you through how to become a housesitter!
