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Property expert Louise Sayers offers this comprehensive comparison of the Tech and Tet Valleys. Both are popular areas with home hunters who are drawn to the different attributes of each valley.

Whether you’re hitting the sales or simply going to buy a new pair of shoes, here’s the vocabulary that you need to...

Pronouns are words that are used to replace nouns, for example ‘it’, ‘him’, ‘her’, ‘us’, ‘you’, and ‘them’. It may...

Love them or hate them, no Christmas table in Normandy is complete without them. Great value, great taste ........ Aphrodisiac? Let us know what YOU think!!!

The preposition ‘à‘ À can mean ‘to’, ‘at’ or ‘in’ a place, town or country. For example: “Je suis à...

Using the preposition ‘de‘ The French word de is a preposition with several meanings: ‘of’, ‘from’, ‘about’, or ‘some’. For...

When Jim Holloway took a game-keeping job in France he planned to stay just a few months. A couple of decades on, he is still here. Every winter he dons his tweeds and calls his Labradors to run a typical English shoot for the French aristocracy - with more than a little help from his wife Jane

Savoir is another very useful but irregular verb. It is important to distinguish between savoir and connaître: savoir means to...

Today there are over one million people a year moving between EU member states, and most of them take their...

House-hunters in France have a new flight of fancy by buying and restoring Pigeonniers. Pigeon towers can be the most elegant of farm buildings, often more appealing than the houses to which they belong. Wide interest is now taken in the pigeon houses themselves despite the fact that they were in reality only part of farming properties.

The Aveyron is the No.1 producer of meat in the south of France and is particularly renowned for the quality of it’s meat, the Label Rouge guarantees the superior quality. In the Aveyron, and especially in Segala, the veal farmers adhere to this label and look after their calves as well as on any other animal farm.

Whatever food or drink you like, you will never be hungry or thirsty in the Tarn. Tarn specialities are wide-ranging and full of flavour including specialities such as Truffles, Cepes, Wild Boar, Veal, Garlic, Echaudés Biscuits, Jambon de Lacaune,Pumpkin Pancakes which can all be accompanied by wines from Gaillac.

A short time after moving to France, Linda Shepherd discovered she had breast cancer. The following months were deeply traumatic - but today she is using her experience to help others through the association Cancer Support France

It can be a daunting step when moving one’s child from their ‘mother tongue’ educational system into an entirely new...

Knowing who to call in an emergency in France is essential – here’s some useful vocabulary to practice just in case....

Going back to school Having moved to France permanently and meeting new people – English, French and Dutch, we heard...

In the first in a series of delicious recipes using a seasonal star ingredient, for November British chef in France, Chris Lacey, rustles up a quick Menu Rapide and a slower A La Carte dish with the bumber crop of the season - cepe mushrooms

Traditional Aveyron dishes, which must be tasted if you are living here or just visiting, include aligot, le Laguiole, la fouace ,Aubrac beef,foie gras, tripous, confits, stuffed cabbage, Estofinado,thrush pâté with goose liver, lamb, feuilleté au roquefort, ewes' curds and the inevitable Roquefort accompanied by wines from Marcillac,Estaing or d'Entraygues.

Markets are a way of life for the French in the Tarn & Aveyron, and if you wish, you could visit one on most days. If you are on holiday in the Tarn or Aveyron do try and visit at least one while you are here as it is such a good way to immerse yourself and the family in French culture. Take the opportunity to sample the Tarn & Aveyron regional specialities on offer in the market with no obligation to buy, anything from local cheese, Gaillac Wine or Aligot.

Être is a very common and, unfortunately, very irregular French verb, that is worth learning thoroughly. Present tense Je suis – I...

Increase your retention of all those new words! There are four basic techniques that you can use in order to...

When learning a foreign language, we need to understand that we cannot always express what we want to say as...

The Lauragais encompasses the west of the Aude department of the Languedoc-Roussillon, west of Carcassonne, and extends into the eastern corner of the Midi-Pyrenees region south of Toulouse. Great transport links and rural charm make this a popular spot for home buyers.

Designer and TV presenter Mark Selwood and his wife Nicky, Business Director and former fashion executive at TopShop, bought Chateau de la Couronne in Marthon, Charente, in July 2003 for a price that was ‘under £1 million’.

A visit to the southern Languedoc department, Pyrenees Orientales (also known as Roussillon), could not be complete without tasting one of the exquisite sweet wines the department is famous for. Once you've tasted a Banyuls or a Maury it's easy to get hooked, so here is a little guide to which wine works with which food! "Sweet Wines of the Roussillon"

A visit to the Pyrenees Orientales (also known as Roussillon) could not be complete without tasting one of the exquisite sweet wines (vins doux naurels) the department is famous for. Once you've tasted a Banyuls or a Maury it's easy to get hooked, so here is a little guide to which wine works with which food - Santé! "Sweet Wines of the Roussillon"

The Languedoc-Roussillon coastline has always been a popular holiday destination amongst the French and we predict that more people who used to look to take long-haul summer vacations will start to look closer to home for their holidays in the years to come, so now might be a good time to invest in your perfect home by the sea. "Coastal Property"

This guide to some of the typical noun endings dictated by gender will prove useful to anyone keen to improve their skills...

The recipe for a perfect Audois cassoulet is a subject of much debate - some of it bordering on the fanatical! Gemma Driver takes her life in her hands by asking what all the fuss is about, and gives you her definitive recipe ... "Cassoulet Recipe"

Buying a new pool can be as simple as buying your weekly shopping at the supermarket or investing your hard-earned...

Within an hour from the beautiful Roman city of Nimes and the picturesque town of Uzes, lies a seemingly untouched beauty spot nestled between the Gardon and the Ardeche rivers: the valley of the Ceze river, an area which straddles Provence and Languedoc and retains much of the Provencal culture and regional specialities. This is the land of lavender, olives and Cotes du Rhone wine trails. "Ceze Property Guide"

French mispronounciations and other humourous mistakes. 1) Death by food: Je suis fini/J’ai fini An American in Paris, I was...

As if the department of the Pyrenees Orientales didn’t have enough going for it already, for those with a passion for shopping there is an added bonus to be found on its south-west border ... Andorra! "Duty Free Shopping"

Doing well in school when you don’t speak the language is difficult enough. If you suffer from dyslexia, then the...

[IMAGE-MISSING]King Henri IV of France is reputed to have promised “A chicken in every peasant’s pot every Sunday.” He supposedly made the statement during his coronation address around the end of the 16th century. Four hundred years later, the French come close to his ideal. Today, each person in France ...

Survival tips for the new child Over the first few weeks of our children’s being thrown into the deep end...

[IMAGE-MISSING]Bill and Rosalind spent 3 years trying to find their dream home in France. They couldn't find what they wanted and decided to build their own. In the first of a series of articles they describe finding their perfect plot and why they ended up much further south than they first expected...

There are all sorts of places to buy in the Dordogne but the classic target for British buyers has been the dilapidated old farmhouse with exposed beams and a few hectares of land, needing wholescale restoration to make it a dream home. But there are some indications that things may be changing...

"Pélou goats cheese"After sampling some extremely good goats’ cheese one day at one of the local fairs where you find tempting examples of locally made honey, jams, olive oils and more, I decided to investigate into how the cheese is made. The producer, or ‘fromagerie’ I discovered, is situated between Alès and Nîmes, and receives his milk from farms in the Cévennes.

There are three kinds of dogs in France. Firstly there are the upper classes, the pampered and protected pooches, coiffured within an inch of their lives that trot obediently beside their mistresses in the elegant city streets. Then there are their country cousins, farm dogs and family pets living the outdoor, rough and tumble life on vast tracts of agricultural land in and around the little villages and hamlets. But it’s the third kind that are probably the most vulnerable...

"Damp on upper floor"The town square in front of our house slopes gently down to where a stream flows underground. Under the slightly raised ground floor there is a cellar with open vents to the pavement outside...

The true gourmet visiting the Languedoc-Roussillon will want to know all about the local delicacies and culinary traditions. This gourmet tour of the region highlights the delicious treats and hidden secrets to look out for.

"truffle dog at Uzès market"This year it was my pleasure to attend my first truffle market in the Languedoc. Mingling among serious culinary connoisseurs searching for the best truffle at prices of 700 euros per kg, it was plain to see that a special breed of person is attracted to these events. Many sporting leather hats, the type worn by local horsemen, it was down to serious money making as the stalls under the mediaeval arches of Uzes town centre buzzed, customers seeking out the best deal and the best quality dealer.

"Cottage near Rouffignac"Choosing an area to buy into will depend on particular wishes and needs, as well as your own personal taste. I recently met a couple at Bergerac airport who had been looking for a holiday home around Sarlat. I asked them if they liked woods...

It's confusing enough when you look at estate agents' particulars in a foreign language. You'll soon find out that "renovated" may mean little more than the installation of a ...

The passionate region of the Languedoc Roussillon delights in its strong culinary traditions, attributed to the unique and diverse blend of its multi-cultural peoples. From hearty Cassoulet stews to traditional Spanish paella, there is a rich mix of cuisine to suit every palate - made sweeter by the excellent local produce! "Languedoc Specilaities & Recipes"

The elegant charm, excellent amenities and ideal location of Pezenas continues to draw interest from property investors looking to have the best of everything the Languedoc-Roussillon has to offer and accounts for why the local property market has weathered the recent economic crisis better than other areas of France. "Pezenas Property Report"

If you're renovating an old house, you will have to use older style materials that work with the methods and original materials

The separation of church and state has an impact on school and public administration. France is a secular state, but what are the implications of "laïcité" in everyday life?

With all the fuss over school dinners in the UK, and headlines such as “Not fit for a dog” in...