Pension (lodging)

A pension (pronounced [pɑ̃ˈsjɔ̃]) is a type of guest house or boarding house. This term is typically used in Continental European countries, in areas of North Africa and the Middle East that formerly had large European expatriate populations, and in some parts of South America such as Brazil and Paraguay. Pensions can also be found in South Korea and Japan. In contrast to bed and breakfasts, pensions typically do not only offer breakfast, but also lunch, dinner and sometimes even tea. Rather than paying for the room and each meal separately, guests select a plan which either comprises overnight accommodation, breakfast, lunch and dinner (full pension) or the preceding minus the lunch (half pension).

These small businesses may offer special rates for travellers staying longer than a week.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, these family-run guesthouses may be located in historic old buildings, may have beautifully designed rooms with private bathrooms and usually have a restaurant for breakfast and dinner. They are less expensive than a full-service hotel, since they are family-run and offer limited services beyond lodging and food. A real advantage is ongoing interaction with the owners which may provide a more enjoyable experience.

In literature

Naguib Mahfouz's 1967 novel Miramar focuses on the lives of the long-term residents of the eponymous pensione in Alexandria in the 1960s.

E.M. Forster's 'Room with a View' opens with the main protagonist Lucy Honeychurch and her spinster counsin and chaperone Charlotte Bartlett complaining about the Pensione Bertolini, where they are staying in Florence, Italy. The first act of the book is based in Florence with many scenes taking place in the pension, as Lucy meets characters for the first time who feature throughout the book, most importantly a slightly eccentric young Englishman named George Emerson, and his father.

In Film

In Summertime (1955 film), an American/British romantic film starring Katharine Hepburn as Jane Hudson, a single, middle-aged elementary school secretary, who goes on her summer vacation to Venice, Italy. Arriving by water taxi, she stays at the Pensione Fiorini, owned by the Signora Fiorini (Isa Miranda), a widow who transformed her home into a pension after World War II.