Despite its long and rich history, not many people know of Aquitaine, although many will be familiar with place names such as Biarritz, St.Emilion and Arcachon, or have probably consumed its most famous exports, wine, cognac, and foie gras.
France has adopted a new map reducing the number of regions from 22 down to 13. The move is aimed to simplify bureaucracy and save costs and is not without controversy.
Stéphane Bern, the author of The Best Loved Villages of France, dedicated to France’s best loved villages, reveals his passion for village life and gives us a tour of Vézelay in Burgundy.
Is it possible to buy a bottle of good quality French wine for under 5 Euros? Here’s one suggestion, but tell us about your favourites
It’s not a French Christmas or Réveillon without oysters, and these two weeks account for 69% of annual revenue for oyster farmers. Despite reports earlier this year of a mystery disease killing off oysters in droves, and an expected increase…
Perched on the cliffside village of Beynac-et-Cazenac, Aquitaine, “La Maisonnette” sits quietly elbow to elbow with the chateau commanding a view of the Dordogne river and the surrounding countryside. Ben and Stephanie Brubaker tells us about the road that took…
“Renovating and owning a house in France has been an incredible adventure that allowed us to feel like we’re a small part of a village and opened up a whole new way to experience France.”
French Moments runs an intensive French course in Alsace. Compared to more southerly regions, such as Provence or Périgord, it receives fewer visitors from English speaking countries. But Alsace has lots to offer…
Sally Stone of Les Bons Voisins explains how her successful franchise business looking after people’s French property started, and provides invaluable advice to those wishing to start their own business in France
The joys of life in South West France are known to millions of regular visitors. The region boasts such scope, such diversity of topography – from the Biarritz beaches to the rolling hills of Périgord and the inviting peaks of…
The Association Saint Hippolyte Aquitaine (ASHA for short) is a horse charity in France named after an Italian priest who since the Middle Ages has been considered a patron saint of horses. ASHA aims to eradicate psychological problems so that horses can be re-introduced to society and fulfil a useful life as a working animal.
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..
If you miss the opportunity to play cricket or are just looking to make some new friends, expats around the country have set up clubs to help make sure you are enjoying life in France.
AVF AVF is a national association (registered under the French law of 1901) with 350 local branches throughout France (local A.V.F) non confessional, non political, run by trained volunteers. Its purpose is to provide a service for those who move…
The recent dramatic shift in the GB pound to euro exchange rate has contributed to a slowing of the French property market. The shift in the rate from around 1.45 to 1.25 has effectively reduced the purchasing power of the pound by about 15%. In response to this shift we are seeing increasing numbers of properties with reductions in the asking price.
Glorious Aquitaine, fabled land of many rivers, once stretched from the Loire valley to the Pyrenees, that was many years ago when it was a rich, medieval dukedom, when Eleanor was its Duchess and her court attracted the greatest troubadours of the age…
Please select a Rhone-Alpes food and drink company or business from our Aquitaine business directory. You can also search via the departments of Ain, Ardeche, Drome, Haute Savoie, Isere, Loire, Rhone and Savoie.
Please select a Rhone-Alpes restaurant from the FrenchEntrée Rhone-Alpes business directory. Make sure that you find the perfect venue when you eat out in the Aquitaine region. You can search via the departments of the Ain, Ardeche, Drome, Haute Savoie,…
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.
An introduction to the different areas to look for your ideal property in the Aude: Narbonne and its surrounds, the Littoral Audois, the Corbieres and Minervois, Carcassonne and its surrounds, the Lauragais and Haute Vallée.
“Guide to the Aude”
In recent years, the vineyards of South West France have benefited, not only from increased consumer awareness, but also from much improved production techniques. Greater dedication on the part of the growers and significant investment in new equipment has been well supported by the banks…
Cahors features amongst the oldest vineyards in France, dating back to the Gallo Roman era. Much appreciated by the French from early days, the wines rapidly gained an excellent reputation…
Situated in the far south west, nestled between the Quercy to the north, Languedoc-Roussillon to the south and Aquitaine to the west, the Midi-Pyrénées is France’s largest geographical region (it comprises eight départements) and boasts a wide variety of property styles at vastly different prices.
Just some of the unusual sights jostling for space in this region are: bullfighting at Mont de Marson (the “course landaise” involves vaulting over the horns and the back of the charging animal); an eco-museum at Marquèze that shows how fishermen used to cross marshy ground on stilts; and Lourdes, a site of modern pilgrimage and miracles that is visited by about four million people annually.
Then there are oysters from the Bassin d’Arcachon, the enormous Dune du Pyla, world surf championships, the city of Borbeaux and medieval villages, all in the immediate area
This isn’t really a regional recipe, it’s my own. However there’s a good reason for the name. The black walnut is ubiquitous in this area and was supposedly introduced to England – and widely planted in the Quercy – by that most adventurous of Queens, Eleanor of Aquitaine.
A look at the life of an oyster and a visit to an oyster farmer at Gujan-Mestras, on the Arcachon Basin, to find out, among other things, how the oyster parks prepared for the huge French Christmas rush…
