Unusual stays: France is world champion with 2,947 listings, ahead of the United States and Italy

According to a Holafly study based on Airbnb listings, France has more unusual places to stay than any other country in the world: 2,947 of them, ahead of the United States (2,533) and Italy (1,050). Published on 22 September 2026, the study counted active listings in eight categories, from castles to domes, across 66 countries in August 2026. The French total is a floor, as its castles exceed Airbnb’s counter.

☰Contents

1. 2,947 listings put France top of the world
2. Over 1,000 castles and three world titles
3. Per capita, Costa Rica and Greece pull ahead
4. Why doesn’t the United States come out on top?
5. Where to stay off-beat in France: our picks
6. 66 countries, 8 categories: Holafly’s method

2,947 listings put France top of the world

The ranking adds up, country by country, the active listings across all eight categories. France leads the United States by 414 listings and posts nearly three times Italy’s total. Four Latin American countries make the top 10: Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Chile.

The United Kingdom, sixth with 696 listings, counts 242 castles, 107 houseboats and 23 lighthouses. Greece, in ninth place, nonetheless leads the cave category with 279 addresses, ahead of Turkey (221).

Over 1,000 castles and three world titles

France comes first in three of the eight categories. Its castles exceed the 1,000-listing cap, far ahead of Italy (338) and the United Kingdom (242). Its houseboats and boats (402) beat Italy (201), the United States (194) and the Netherlands (128), and its 30 windmills edge out Greece (27) and Portugal (20).

Elsewhere, France stays on the podium: 566 treehouses, in second place behind the United States, 343 earth houses (2nd) and 205 caves and cave dwellings (3rd). It ranks fourth for domes (394) and only eighth for lighthouses, with 7 listings. According to Holafly, it is the only country with a strong presence in almost every category.

Per capita, Costa Rica and Greece pull ahead

Measured against population, the ranking looks very different. Costa Rica comes out on top with 60 listings per million inhabitants, ahead of Greece (57.6). France is third (43.1), ahead of Croatia (41) and Uruguay (36.8), while Iceland, Malta, Portugal, Chile and Estonia complete the top 10.

Greece, ninth by volume with 599 listings, owes its place to 279 caves, the highest total in the world, 27 Cycladic windmills, second only to France, and 159 earth houses.

Why doesn’t the United States come out on top?

The United States leads in four categories: more than 1,000 treehouses, 773 domes, ahead of Colombia (502) and Chile (396), 441 earth houses and 34 lighthouses, ahead of the United Kingdom (23). But it has only 61 castles and almost no windmills, which, according to the study, costs it first place.

Italy, in third place, relies on 338 castles, including those of Tuscany, the trulli of Puglia, counted as earth houses (215), the cave dwellings of Matera and 201 boats.

Where to stay off-beat in France: our picks

The study covers Airbnb listings at every price point and names no specific addresses. For each category in which France shines, here are the places we recommend. For castles, Domaine des Étangs, in Massignac in Charente, occupies a 13th-century château surrounded by lakes, now part of the Auberge Resorts Collection.

For treehouses, Loire Valley Lodges, in Esvres-sur-Indre, in Touraine, open their terraces onto the forest canopy. In Haute-Saône, Cabanes des Grands Lacs, in Chassey-lès-Montbozon, adds a floating cabin on the lake to its treehouses.

For domes, the transparent bubbles of Attrap’Rêves sit in the pine forest of Allauch, near Marseille. And for lighthouses, a category in which France counts only 7 listings, Phare de Kerbel, in Riantec in Morbihan, can be rented in its entirety.

To go further, see our unusual hotels in France, from treehouses to bubbles, our unusual hotels for a summer stay and our unusual Airbnbs in France. Beyond France, discover the most unusual hotels in the world.

66 countries, 8 categories: Holafly’s method

Holafly, a travel eSIM card company, counted active Airbnb listings in August 2026 using the platform’s category search: caves, castles, treehouses, houseboats and boats, windmills, lighthouses, earth houses and domes. China is excluded. The study, written by Harry Deacon, was published on 22 September 2026.

Two figures hit Airbnb’s “1,000+” display cap, French castles and American treehouses, both counted as 1,000: the totals for France and the United States are therefore minimums. The study advises booking the flagship addresses of Cappadocia, Santorini and the Loire several months ahead in high season, and reading reviews for practical details.