FPN LOCATION Lot or Dordogne? Those after a south-western rural paradise may struggle to choose between these two popular departments. Solange Hando lists their various virtues eep in rural France, the dotted with ‘secret gardens’, Fact file: neighbouring departments medieval arcades and Renaissance Dof Dordogne and Lot share houses, while St Stephen’s Lot Dordogne everything we love about the cathedral keeps watch over the Region: Region: country – from quaint villages city’s true icon, the 14th-century Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes bathed in sunshine to heritage, fortified Pont Valentré. Land area: 5,217km2 Land area: 9,060km2 gorgeous food and wine and Heading west along the Population: 173,758 Population: 416,909 pristine scenery where rivers meandering Lot river you come to meander through lush countryside Luzech, a pretty village in the fold Average house price: €124,800 Average house price: €110,700 or carve their way below of the hills, almost enclosed by the spectacular cliffs. For decades water, and Puy-l’Evêque draped in Dordogne delights it’s purple for the vineyards, be it Dordogne has attracted British old merchants’ houses and North-west of the old Quercy the sweet Monbazillac or the red expats, but Lot is just beginning to winding lanes named after ancient province, the Dordogne AOCs from Bergerac, a historic reveal its charm, at least on this trades. East of Cahors, the cliff-top department boasts a long and town on the Dordogne river with side of the Channel, for the French village of St-Cirq-Lapopie rises like often turbulent history, including a number of half-timbered houses. have long discovered it. a mirage high above the river in a 300 years of English rule in the But best known is the Périgord tangle of steep cobbled lanes and Middle Ages. It’s a scenic land of Noir in the south-east, where dark Lovely Lot flower-filled balconies. It’s listed Plus Beaux Villages and castles, oak forests hide truffles and cèpes, In the ancient province of Quercy, among France’s Plus Beaux Villages prehistoric caves and picturesque perfect accompaniments to duck character and variety are the and a favourite haunt for artists towns of history and art. The and goose dishes. Sarlat, the main mainstay of this small department, and craftsmen. Périgord, as it was formerly town, is all medieval and rich in traditions and landscapes. It may be tempting to venture no known, enjoys a mild climate year Renaissance buildings in ochre- Here you’ll find the sparsely further than this stunning valley, round and a diversity symbolised coloured stone while the nearby inhabited plateau of the Causses but Rocamadour beckons with by four main colours. Vézère valley contains numerous du Quercy, a parc naturel régional monastic buildings and churches At the heart of the province, the prehistoric sites listed by sprinkled with dovecotes and clinging to ochre-coloured cliffs Périgord Blanc is an area of UNESCO, most famous the shepherds’ huts; then there’s the above the gorge of the Adour. It’s a limestone plateaux, wide valleys painted caves of Lascaux (closed dramatic chasm of Padirac or the breathtaking sight for pilgrims on and rolling grasslands. There, on to the public, but you can see prehistoric caves of Pech Merle; their way to Compostela and the banks of the River Isle, the reproductions in Lascaux II). the granite hills of Ségala and their tourists keen to enjoy the view and préfecture Périgueux has three Meanwhile, the Dordogne river fast flowing streams; or the the local goat’s cheese. The Adour museums, a cathedral and an gently follows its course from east vineyards of Cahors down south in is a tributary of the Dordogne enticing mix of medieval and to west, past Domme, a medieval the bucolic Lot Valley. which flows across the northern Renaissance architecture. The bastide with sturdy fortifications, Cahors is a modest capital reaches of the department, taking Périgord Vert to the north and two of France’s Plus Beaux (around 20,000 inhabitants) with in a few castles: Castelnau- encompasses part of the Périgord- Villages: La Roque-Gageac, surprising attractions such as its vin Bretenoux, Belcastel, La Treyne, Limousin nature reserve, the squeezing precariously below the Clockwise from top: Stunning Puy-l’Evêque on the River Lot; Cahors’ majestic Pont Clockwise from top: The town centre of Sarlat-la-Canéda, a picturesque tangle of noir, the most powerful of the and a scattering of villages like Dronne valley and the lovely town cliffs, and Beynac-et-Cazenac with Valentré, the city’s main icon; fresh local produce at the market in Cahors; the ‘Plus Beau ochre-coloured buildings, alleyways and secret squares; the dramatically positioned Village’ of St-Cirq-Lapopie, perched high above the river; tasting the area’s famous black wines produced in Lot. Nestling in Carennac, Loubressac or Autoire of Brantôme with its abbey and its eagle’s nest castle looking Beynac-et-Cazenac on the River Dordogne; eating al fresco in Sarlat; a traditional wine, made from the Malbec grape a beautiful river loop, the town is with its waterfall. stone bridge. In the south-west, across the peaceful valley. flower-adorned cottage in Dordogne 52 French Property News July 2016 www.completefrance.com www.completefrance.com July 2016 French Property News 53 FPN LOCATION St-Michel-de-Bannières, Lot: This character farmhouse with large garden Prayssac, Lot: Built in the 19th century and sitting by a lock on the Lot river, this and three barns is ready for immediate occupation, but offers scope for additional charming four-bedroom house has a beautiful waterside terrace and is just half an accommodation on the first floor. €155,150 (allez-francais.com) hour’s drive from Cahors. €162,000 (sextantproperties.com) You’ll find plenty of opportunities on the market, either ready for you to move into or awaiting renovation and possible extension. Both departments offer the best of rural France at affordable prices Market matters Trélissa priced at €230,000. Near In the department of Lot, new Périgueux, a farm to restore is just developments are limited to offers €135,000 while a bungalow in of individual maisons à construire Bergerac town centre is on sale for from builders such as Maisons €139,000. Larger, fully renovated Marcel Millot, who are proposing properties start at around a three-bedroom bungalow in €400,000, from a country house Mayrac for €164,000. near Sarlat priced at €434,600 to Monplaisant, Dordogne: This historic and deceptively spacious village house has But in the older property an old vicarage for €630,000. two bedrooms, a lovely garden and a two-storey garage for conversion into further market, buyers are spoilt for Besides maisons à construire as accommodation. €73,700 (properties-in-france-dordogne.com) choice with a wide range of in Lot, Dordogne has some new renovated character houses with developments such as the Allées stone walls and country views. We Riviera in Périgueux with spotted a three-bedroom village apartments from €115,000, and house near Albas for €114,450 Le Carré du Royal in Bergerac and, at the other end of the where three-room apartments spectrum, a nine-bedroom maison close to the town centre are on de maître with riverside gardens sale for €215,000. near Vire-sur-Lot for €901,000. Whether you decide to head for A holiday home at Souillac Golf ‘secret’ Lot and all things French, Club is just €100,000 while a or well-known Dordogne and its converted barn in a medieval buzzing expat communities, you’ll village near Cahors is priced at find plenty of properties on the €487,600. Bargains include a market, either ready for you to 10-bedroom, eight-bathroom move straight into or awaiting property with gîte and pool in renovation and possible Gramat for €604,800 – but if extension. Both departments offer you’re dreaming of a château, the best of rural France at expect to pay over a million. affordable prices. n Bargains are also found in Dordogne with a renovated mill tourisme-lot.com Thiviers, Dordogne: This restored ‘fermette’ in a tranquil hamlet location has three near Brantôme on 5ha of land uk.france.fr/en/dordogne bedrooms in the main house plus a one-bedroom ‘grange’, with plenty of character costing just €265,000, or an immobilierneuf.com beams and exposed stone walls. €245,000 (immobilier-dordogne.com) eight-room Périgourdine house in selogerneuf.com 54 French Property News July 2016 www.completefrance.com.