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This is a region where there really is property to suit every taste and every budget and it is well located with a great climate, summer and winter. Much of the Ariège is within an hour of Toulouse.
In 2002 Patrick and Nicky Hilyer swapped a settled family life in Saffron Walden, North Essex for an exciting but unpredictable future: running a restaurant in Lower Normandy. Patrick explains how they became restaurateurs.
If you are heading to France for a holiday, here are ten things that you might not already know.
When sisters Judi and Gail from Australia made their first trip to Europe, tour organiser Carolyn suggested they spend time in Paris (Île-de-France) and Beaune (Burgundy) on their way to Avignon (Provence).
We all look forward to trying the local delicacies when on holiday in France and Nice on the French Riviera has plenty for foodies to get their teeth into!
No place in France excites culinary legend Raymond Blanc quite like the eastern region where he was born. Here we reveal where to visit, stay and eat in Franche-Comté, Burgundy and Alsace
Languedoc-Roussillon is a real culinary crossroads. From Catalan cuisine to the specialities of the Cévennes, there’s a wide array of choices on offer. Travel agency Océanides Réceptif has sought out the best local restaurants and chosen hotels and B&Bs where gastronomic cuisine is a priority.
Chris and Marian Blake from Wiltshire have a gîte complex, La Petite Auberge, just outside of Eymet in the Dordogne. FrenchEntrée went to meet them in the run up to the start of their seventh season, to find out what they've learned about running a business in France and living like the locals.
Local fruit and vegetables vary according to season, but confit de canard and foie gras are in constant supply. Obvious accompaniments are truffles and walnuts - both readily available here. The Bergerac wine region ensures there is something good to drink as well.
Stephen Spencer lives with his partner Valerie Faure near Bergerac (Dordogne) and less than six months after his arrival, he opened a shop, So British, in Bergerac’s old town. But prior to that, he had been more used to selling properties than clothes.
Based in Miramont de Quercy, (Tarn et Garonne, Midi-Pyrénées) Chats du Quercy is a charity on a mission to find permanent homes for homeless cats and kittens with responsible and caring owners.
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Busy mum of three, Deborah Baldwin, shares some top tips on getting the most out of your vegetable garden, with some delicious recipes ideas that even picky children will enjoy.
Tasty tomato soup, brilliant BBQs and marvelous marrows.....
Mairead Molloy was living in Ireland when she decided to sell up, move to Cannes and open a hotel. That was in 2000. Mairead is still in the south of France but she’s got a new project now, an introduction agency for cash rich but time poor individuals. From buying abroad to establishing a business in France, Mairead tells it like it is.
"Approaching retirement from our university teaching careers, we were ready for new challenges, making a product that we both enjoy - red wine! " - British couple describe their steep learning curve since buying a vineyard in 2005...
In 2008, Yasmeen and Jonathan Moore set up a gîte complex in the Mayenne with a restaurant for guests. Due to the popularity of the restaurant and also due to the pleading from local British people they decided to open the restaurant to non-residents on Friday evenings for curry nights. Here's their story..
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French entrée-Limousin receives around 13,000 unique visitors each month. Predominantly from the UK and France, but we also from all over the English speaking world. So we thought it would be interesting to find out what a young Australian currently travelling through Europe thinks of the Limousin. Sean Whelan is a 19 year old civil engineering student....
My love affair with France began nearly 20 years ago, when I was 18 years old. I was drawn to France, why - I don’t know. I had never been to France, never experience the French culture or food; I just knew I wanted to be there someday. I used to dream and believe by the time I was 35, I would live 6 months in Australia and 6 months in France...
We asked regular readers to share their house buying experiences with others looking to buy a house in France. Here is a selection of what they had to say...
Penny and Ken Smith have been running their property management company Complete Property Care for the last six years. Situated in a small village called Neuvy Bouin roughly 20 minutes from Parthenay, in Deux Sèvres, they look after properties within a 50 minute radius, and are currently managing 10 properties...
Buying a house in France is a big step to take. Beryl Brennan discusses the different types of properties and important points to consider before you sign on the dotted line.
We talked to Christine LaCroix, Project Manager of UCCIMAC, to find out how the organisation can assist expats looking to take-over a business in the Massif-Central.
Like a good many of us who plunge straight into moving lock, stock and barrel to France, never having had a holiday home here, we underestimated the challenge of living in a foreign country...
Vegetarian Topic Host Trevor Bridge explains how he and his wife Jocelyn came to be running a luxury vegetarian cottage in France...
We were invited to the kind of French meal you see in films. A couple from a neighbouring village asked us over...
Mark and Fiona Vallance have been running their thriving Bed and Breakfast business in the Lot Valley for the last three years. We caught up with them recently as they were planning a new business venture and they gave us an update on their experiences of running a B&B in France…
Nowhere in the world can match the variety and quality of the Loire Valley’s white, red, rose, sparkling, sweet, and dry wines. You can taste wines of every colour and flavour, with unforgettable fragrances that reflect the region’s unique soil...
It was the summer of 2005.
My husband, Tony, and I were somewhat disillusioned with England and wanted very much to do something different with our lives.
We also still had a mortgage and were approaching the dreaded middle age.
If you’re newly settling into the Pays de la Loire, chances are that you’re going to want to meet people, make some friends, or just get out of the house for a while. There are a variety of different organisations for you to check out, all with different aspects and objectives.
It was thirty odd years ago as a married couple with a mortgage, little money and a very young family, and after spending many years camping in England, We decided to take what was then a massive decision.......
When FrenchEntrée-Limousin discovered there was a new mobile fish and chip shop opening in the Limousin, we didn't need asking twice to go and found out for ourselves ...
No, we're not in South America but in south-west France! When Margaret and Brian Venables arrived here they needed to earn a small income until the day their pensions kicked in. After a disastrous foray into renewable energy, they found success with an exotic animal
A little history lesson on the most famous French appéritif...
If you thought truffles could only be found in the exotic south of France you're most definitely mistaken...
Do you know your Chablis from your Aligoté? Marc Ragaine advises French Entrée Burgundy which vinyards to look out for...
All Saint’s Day, November 1st, a public holiday in France, is the eve of All Soul’s Day, a time when our dead are remembered. In the past, a wake was held all night, prayers were said and chestnuts were roasted in the fire then eaten, the belief being that for each one a soul was saved from purgatory...
Having first written an article for FrenchEntrée-LotandQuercy two years ago, Tessa Collier gives us an update on what's has been happening recently - changes in the rental market, sheep farming and her talent for sculpture...
Linette and Stuart Smith had never run a restaurant until they moved to Brittany. Over the past year they have learned the hard way what makes a restaurant work - but they have no regrets
Is the Tarn the hidden treasure of the south-west France? Phil Frogham, from agency Abitasud in Realmont, explores why the department might appeal to house-hunters. Discover the many advantages of owning a property in the Tarn.
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Steve Hanson and his wife Fiona arrived in France with the dream of having a small-holding that would make them as self-sufficient as possible while providing an income. Here's how they did it...
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After foot and mouth destroyed their equestrian business, Corrine and Donald Dingley left England for France where they started a chambre d'hote. But one summer morning they woke up to see flames raging...