Buying Beautiful French Houses in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
There is certainly a lot of property for sale in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, which is the new region formed by the amalgamation of Poitou-Charentes, Limousin and Aquitaine. Not only is this new French region particularly large, it has also offered a huge amount of rural houses for sale. British buyers have been drawn to all of the departements in Nouvelle-Aquitaine for years attracted by the landscape, climate and amazingly good value properties. The landscape ranges from the Atlantic coastline of Charente-Maritime, Gironde and Les Landes down to the mountains of Pyrénées-Atlantiques through to the river valleys of Lot-et-Garonne, Dordogne and Corrèze and up to the sunflower fields, wooded hills and lakes of Charente, Haute-Vienne and Vienne. Finally the departements of Creuse and Deux Sevres not only have beautiful countryside but also some of the very cheapest houses in all of France. Each departement of Nouvelle-Aquitaine has its charms and with Bergerac airport in the centre of the region, Limoges, Poitiers and La Rochelle in the north and Bordeaux, Toulouse, Pau and Biarritz in the south, access from all over Britain is really easy. No wonder Nouvelle-Aquitaine is such a popular region of France for anyone searching for beautiful French houses and amongst all the departements Dordogne and Charente remain the most popular.
Dordogne, a popular place to find beautiful French houses
Dordogne has been attracting British property buyers for more than 50 years. Other than the Riviera, which attracted a different kind of clientele, Dordogne was probably the first departement of France where the British chose to buy, not only holiday homes but also to settle and live the French way of life. Those early settlers found that Dordogne was a very good place to find true beautiful French houses. These early owners of French property didn’t have the ease of access that today’s owners of houses in Dordogne enjoy but they talked about the beautiful landscape with the languid River Dordogne threading its way through the valleys and the medieval hill top villages oozing with character properties. The climate is always a draw. Spring comes earlier, summer stays longer and winters are short and cold. Throughout the year there is much more sunshine than we have in the U.K. and the certainty of being able to enjoy months of living outside whether in the garden, the countryside or at pavement cafés. Luckily everything that attracted those first property buyers to the Dordogne remains unchanged, the only difference that a newcomer to Dordogne will find today is that many expats have moved into the area over the last 50 years making it an easy destination for anyone who is worried about coping with the language and getting used to owning a home in a new country.
Charente, the favourite place for Brits to buy beautiful French houses
Charente is now one of the most sought after destinations for British buyers of French property. Often Charente has become the favourite place for Brits to buy the best French property almost accidentally. As potential buyers browse through French houses for sale the quantity of charming cottages and farmhouses at such bargain prices cannot fail to attract. Situated in the north of Nouvelle-Aquitaine the area not only enjoys access via Poitiers, Limoges or Bergerac airports but is also only roughly a 6 hour drive from the channel ports. This easy of access is certainly appealing as are the large sweeping landscapes with wide blue skies and a multitude of sunflower fields. The river Charente and the multitude of leisure lakes offer swimming, boating and fishing opportunities for all the family and the pretty market towns are a good place to start the days with fresh coffee and croissants. Much of Charente is very rural making it a peaceful and relaxing place for holidays or living but for those in search of a little more life Angoulême, Confolens, Poitiers and Cognac are a few of the interesting towns to visit.
