Highly varied landscapes, an impressive tourism offer and a wide range of properties for sale make Rhône-Alpes a region of good living, which its inhabitants and an ever-growing number of visitors appreciate with great ease. The most extensive ski slopes with chalet and ski properties to buy and rent are here and, if all of the region's ski-lifts were joined end to end, they would cover the distance from Lyon to Cairo. The fact that the Winter Olympics have been held three times in the region has solidly underlined its sporting identity and is the reason why so many people have bought property in the Rhône-Alpes region. Rhône-Alpes has a wealth of museums, including Lyon's Saint-Pierre Museum, the leading French museum after the Louvre, the National centre of Contemporary Art of Grenoble, or Saint-Etienne's Museum of Modern Art. The Rhône Alpes region has eight departments: Rhône (department 69), Ain (department 01), Haute Savoie (department 74), Savoie (department 73), Loire (department 42), Isère (department 38), Ardèche, (department 07) and Drôme (department 26).
Everything about Brittany is distinctive, from its geography and its granite looks to its traditions and its language. Brittany is divided into four departments which are: Finistère (department 56) in the west, Côtes d'Armor (department 22) in the north, Morbihan (department 56) in the south, and Ille et Vilaine (department 35) in the east. You can buy property in Brittany with spectacular sea views, set in ancient towns with houses and gites on beautiful islands and in remote woodlands. The region stands apart from the rest of France, its long peninsula dotted with rural properties for sale or rent reaching out 300 kilometres into the Atlantic, however, Brittany isn't isolated, but open to the world. While it celebrates its traditions, it's also forward-looking and fun-loving. Brittany boasts a staggering 1,700 miles of coastline and is one of France's very top destinations for tourism and seaside holidays and for English to buy or rent property.
With its 350 miles of coastline and richly varied landscapes, Normandy gives you a wonderful choice of scenery, culture and properties to buy or rent of all kinds: the stunning beauty of the cliffs in Etretat or the long sandy beaches, steeped in history, from Caen to Arromanches, the Seine Valley winding between wooded hills and chalk escarpments, the craggy hills of the Suisse Normande, and the patchwork of fields and hedges of the Calvados county with its orchards and timber-framed cottages, farm-houses, gites and houses. It is made up of the following five departments: Calvados (department 14), Eure (department 27), Manche (department 50), Orne (department 61), Seine-Maritime (department 76).
Poitiers is the capital of the Poitou-Charentes Region and the region's coastline is said to be the second sunniest region of France (after Provence) with properties for sale or rent with fantastic sea views. There are four departments in the region: Charente (department 16), Charente-Maritime, (department 17), Deux-Sevrés (department 79) and Vienne (department 86). The region boasts miles of coastline with fine sandy beaches, backed by fragrant pine forests and lively resorts such as La Rochelle, Royan and the islands of Oléron, Aix and Ré. Inland, there are wooded valleys, the Poitou fens and Marais Poitevin, the tranquility of the Canals, the valley of Vienne and the Cognac vineyards.
Bordered along the whole of its west coast by the Atlantic Ocean, Aquitaine is bathed in a mild oceanic climate with the influence of the Gulf Stream. There are four departments in Aquitaine: Dordogne (department 24), Lot et Garonne, (department 47), Landes (department 40) and Gironde (department 33). The 2,200 sunshine hours per year make the Bordeaux region similar to the Mediterranean. Along with rainfall that is well distributed over the year, this sunshine is one of the elements which favour vine-growing in Aquitaine. The towns and villages of Aquitaine impress visitors with their marvellously well-preserved heritage, notably their architecture, influenced in past times by the Romans and then by the English. Alongside sites officially accredited as the "Loveliest Villages in France", a thousand and one other places are also a delight for the eyes and the mind. The region is very popular for these reasons with visitors who have bought gites, houses and farm houses as holiday homes or to emigrate to.
The Region of Languedoc-Roussillon is located in the central region of the south of France and is one of France's major wine-growing areas. The Region has five departments: four are Mediterranean coastal departments: Gard (department 30), Hérault (department 34), Aude (department 11) and the Pyrénées Orientales (department 66). The upland department of Lozère (48) forms the southern bastion of the Massif Central. The Region's capital is the city of Montpellier - a thriving modern city in the Hérault Department which also boasts a historic centre. Languedoc has a considerable coastal plain – which is characterised by long sandy beaches with resorts such as Cap d'Agde, Palavas and Narbonne Plage, all with prestige apartment, flats and holiday homes with fantastic sea views. The Pyrenees mountain range forms a natural land barrier between France and Spain – housing a magnificent range of high mountains. The coastline where they meet the sea has many pretty coastal villages such as Banyuls and Collioure.
The region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur was previously called Provence-Côte d'Azur and is the direct descendent of the French province of Provence. Today, it is comprised of the departments of Alpes-Maritimes (department 06), Hautes-Alpes (department 05), Bouches-du-Rhône (department 13), Vaucluse (department 84), Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (department 04) and Var (department 83). The capital of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is Marseille. The other main cities are Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Cannes, Nice and Toulon. The cities of Marseille and Toulon are located along the western coast of the region. To the east, the area from Cannes to the Italian border, is known as the French Riviera with famously beautiful and prestige flats and apartments to rent and buy.
Poised on the frontier between northern and southern France, and within easy reach of Paris, this region was once of immense strategic importance. Kings, queens, dukes and nobles built feudal castles and sumptuous pleasure palaces and estates – this fertile and dramatic river valley is sprinkled with France's most opulent aristocratic estates. With soaring cupolas, crenellated towers and regal banquet halls, the region's châteaux, and the estates, villages and vineyards around them, are the product of over a thousand years of rich architectural and artistic creativity. The Loire Valley is also known for its wines (red, white, rosé and sparkling) and lively, sophisticated cities such as Orléans, Blois, Tours and Angers – just some of the reasons why the entire area is an enormous Unesco World Heritage Site. These attractions make the region very popular for visitors to go on to buy holiday homes and apartments. Holidays in the Loire Valley combine visits to Châteaux, attractions and plenty of other things to do on the way.
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