dordogne

ARE departments in France about to be consigned to history? Probably. According to a recent article in the French daily, Le Figaro, no more will you go to Bergerac in the Dordogne on your summer holidays. Gone are the visits to your second home in Villereal in the Lot-et-Garonne. In the future, you'll smply travel to Eymet in Aquitaine.

Some government policy makers believe that departments no longer have a place in Mr. Sarkozy's reform plans on the "liberation of growth" for the stagnant French economy.

THE Wealth Report 2008 is out. Published last week, the report looks at where the rich are spending their money on real estate.

Of particular interest in this years report is that there are two French towns in the top five most expensive places to buy property in the world. It looks at prestige property purchases by buyers whose personal assets exceed $10 million.

DON'T miss one of the highlights of the festival season in southwest France if you happen to be in or around Bordeaux at the end of June.

The 6th Bordeaux Wine Festival promises four unforgettable days of french wine, food and culture from the 26th to 29th June.

This year the festival is in honour of the beautiful Russian city of Saint Petersburg.

FRENCH property buyers are increasingly savvy about the buying process in France.

Before they travel to France on any house hunting trip it is not uncommon for them to have exhaustively researched the geopgraphy of the Dordogne and Lot-et-Garonne.

THIS development of 30 perigourdine style properties will go on sale in the next few days.

Well situated, with full planning permission, the property will be marketed exclusively by Premier French Property.

The site is situated 20 minutes from Bergerac and the airport, close to the market town of Eymet in the Dordogne.

Each new property will have  its own private swimming pool.

IF you're thinking about buying property in Dordogne then we thought you may like to know more about our beautiful region.

Photo: Laguna poolsAS FRENCH estate agents here in the Dordogne and Lot-et-Garonne, it's not uncommon for us to meet people looking to buy french property with a swimming pool at the top of their wish list.

The summers here are usually long and hot and it's a long way to the coast.

Photo: Monpazier office de tourismeIf you find the idea of owning real estate in France in an area rich in medieval history, appealing then the south west of the country is a great place to start looking for hidden property treasures.