A Place in the Sun

Hot Properties in Dordogne

 

Property in Dordogne

When the British picture rural France, it’s probably images of the Dordogne that pop up in their head. Pretty little villages with cobblestones and medieval houses, maybe beside a river carved through towering limestone cliffs or in an elevated position looking out over a patchwork of green fields and vineyards, with geese around the pond.

The many British people who come here to buy homes are normally more interested in the villages. France has prepared a handy list called the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, the most beautiful villages in France, and 10 of the 152 are in the Dordogne. 

Choosing between villages will be your hardest job. You will have a huge choice of property from large but ramshackle farmhouses to nicely restored cottages. Your home could also be your castle here – the Dordogne is known as the “valley of the 1000 castles”. The villages of Eymet and Montignac are very popular among Brits, however.

The joy of looking to buy property here is the many house-hunting trips you can make. The drive from the channel ports is anything from 600km depending on your port, or you can fly into Bergerac, Bordeaux, Limoges or Brive.

And what will you do there? You’ll probably shop in local markets and patisseries and boutiques selling everyday objects that just look a lot nicer than the ones at home. You’ll flit between brightly-coloured cafés that make you want to sit down in the sunshine and eat and drink the local wine and people-watch and never move.

The Dordogne is a department of central south-west France named after the Dordogne River. You may see it called Périgord, which was the area’s original name, and the Dordogne is divided into four communes, Périgord Vert, Blanc, Pourpre and Noir. (You see another charm of living here? Using that French that’s been sitting idly in your brain since you were 16). The weather can hit extremes of heat and cold, with winters occasionally getting below -10ºC and summers well over 30ºC.

It’s a rural area – the population is only 400,000 – about an hour’s drive from the Atlantic Ocean at its closest point. The main towns are Perigeux and Bergerac, neither of which are very large, with Bordeaux the closest large city, 50 kilometres outside the department.