• What are the benefits of buying in the Aquitaine region?
• How do I find a property in Aquitaine?
• What do I need to know about living in Aquitaine?
• What's the difference between Périgord and Dordogne?

Aquitaine Invest is a rapidly expanding direct property sales network that will answer most of the questions you have about finding and buying a home in the region. We are based in Bergerac, one of the liveliest towns of the Dordogne and our agents focus on giving you the benefit of their local knowledge to enable you to make the right decisions.

For this reason most of our agents and properties for sale are in the Dordogne. We plan to expand the network gradually to the rest of the Aquitaine region, so that we can offer a larger choice of properties.

Our hard-working English/French team will go that extra kilometre to find the right property for you. Our state-of-the-art management systems allow us to keep our vendor clients informed of progress of the sales with which they have entrusted us.

Quality of life is key for most buyers looking to find a French home. There have to be very good reasons before you invest in a foreign property, or indeed make the life-changing decision to move abroad. In Aquitaine, you will find a temperate climate, magnificent countryside, majestic mountains and invigorating coastline, good food and wine and, not least of all, peace and ample space to breathe. All these benefits make the Aquitaine way of life particularly attractive and Aquitaine Invest helps you reap the dividends of this special region.

Aquitaine is the third largest region of France at 41,834 km2 in area (which is about twice as big as Wales!) and comprises the following five departments, each with its own departmental number:

Dordogne (24)

It's no surprise that many English people and other ‘incomers' have bought homes here. They love the timeless charm of its towns, villages and countryside. It is a department with space to spare and property is not as expensive as you might think, because there are still bargains to be had in the rural environment. Our network of negotiators is especially strong in this department. Flying is easy thanks to the low cost lines to Bergerac airport, with improved passenger facilities to be delivered in the next few months. There are 10 direct UK destinations with Flybe and Ryanair: London Stansted, London Gatwick, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Exeter, East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool and Southampton. With this sort of service, there's no problem getting back quickly when you're on business or when you want to visit family and friends.

Gironde (33)

Bordeaux, the capital of Aquitaine and recently named by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, is located alongside the river Garonne in the department of the Gironde. If you love Paris, you'll love Bordeaux. Its beautiful buildings, restaurant terraces, prestige shopping and new tramways make for a varied and exciting cityscape. You will find magnificent city-centre houses and apartments for sale, and old properties to do up in the up-coming areas of town. Further out in the Gironde department, in the alluring towns and villages of the vineyards of the Médoc, St Emilion and the other prestigious wine appellation areas, you can find a wide variety of homes for sale, from simple holiday homes to splendid chateaux. The Atlantic coast and the Bassin d'Arcachon deserve special mention – here the endless beaches, inland seas and sandy coves somehow resist the onslaught of urbanisation. You can fly direct to Bordeaux from many UK and international airports, including Gatwick, Luton, Birmingham, Bristol, Dublin, Manchester, Norwich and Southampton.

Landes (40)

A huge department of pine forests, straight roads, secluded farmsteads, sweeping Atlantic beaches and slightly old fashioned lakeside resorts. Highlights include the busy préfecture, Mont-de-Marsan, famed for its annual Flamenco festival, the spa town of Dax and summer resorts like Mimizan, Soustons and Biscarosse.

Lot-et-Garonne (47)

The Lot-et-Garonne département, just south of the Dordogne, is dotted with historic bastide towns such as Monflanquin and Villeréal, and enjoys easy access by motorway to Toulouse and Bordeaux. Agen is the bustling commercial centre. The varied landscape of Lot-et-Garonne goes from rolling farmland to hillside forests, making it a favourite area for people looking for a home to buy.

Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64)

Next to the Spanish border, the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département is in the heart of the Basque country with its proud culture and traditions. On the coast, Biarritz and St Jean de Luz come high on the list of best resorts in France. In the mountains of the Pyrenees, ski, walk or just enjoy the freshest air this side of the Eiffel Tower.

 

Aquitaine holds the key to real quality of life. If you are looking for a French home in a very special 'place in the sun', then you need look no further.

On the following pages, we give some more details of the five departments to help you choose where you want to be. Have a browse through our regularly updated property for sale pages to see the range on offer. If the sort of property you are looking for is not shown, send us an email or call us and we will be happy to advise you further. You can also use the Aquitaine map pages to locate our negotiators in the areas that interest you. Our agents will be pleased to answer your queries and find the right Aquitaine home for you. Finally, if you just fancy a general chat about living in this fabulous region, please feel free to contact us here at the Bergerac head office.

We also deal with sales of commercial, industrial, and investment property; and of vineyards (it's hard to avoid the grape when you live in Aquitaine!).

On our information pages, you will find useful notes and links to service providers associated with the fascinating business of buying and living in France – Aquitaine Langues- language school; French Liaison – advice and assistance of all sorts; Blake Lapthorn Tarlo Lyons – UK solicitors with a specialised French property department.

Hopefully we'll be able to answer all your questions on finding and buying a home in Aquitaine, and just to prove we haven't forgotten the last question at the top of the page...

• The Dordogne is the official name of the administrative area, or département
• Périgord was the area inhabited by the Petrocorii people in gallo-roman times, and this name is now used mainly for tourism and marketing.
  It just so happens that the two areas are pretty well co-extensive, and so they can get confused...

Happy hunting !