lot-et-garonne

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.

IT's for reasons like this we all move to France. An article in today's local paper, Sudouest, brought it all back to me. Dozens of french school kids decked out in their luminous cycling jerseys parked their bicycles against the wall of the Maison des Vins de Duras in the Lot-et-Garonne, their teacher led them to the tasting room.

THIS weekend the proud inhabitants of the Lot-et-Garonne pay homage to the historic monuments and buildings of the department such as houses, windmills and water mills (moulins), pigeonniers and churches. All of which were built painstakingly by hand by ancient artisans of the area.

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.

THE Lot-et-Garonne area, located just south of the Dordogne, is one of France’s best kept secrets. Blessed with abundant natural beauty, it is home to many charming medieval towns, and boasts unspoilt countryside, tranquil rivers and mysterious caves. Lot-et-Garonne is often referred to as “the garden of France.”

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: Monflanquin Office de TourismeMonflanquin is one of the prettiest villages in the Lot-et-Garonne region of France.