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The Southwest
On our website: 54 properties
53 with private pools 14 heated 1 indoors 27 fenced-off 1 near the sea (37km) 4 with private tennis courts 8 with pianos 9 with billiards 14 with bikes 2 with saunas 5 with fitness rooms
View from Domme, Dordogne
Charentes
The Charente département is cognac country, where the great houses of Courvoisier, Hennessey, Martell and Rémy Martin distil their magnificent brandies. Cognac itself has grand houses and narrow winding streets, and more festivals than there are months in the calendar. To the east stands Angoûlème, with a prodigious cathedral the strongest hint of its affluent past. To the west, Saintes has a frenetic market in its narrow lanes flanked by medieval houses, and ruins that are a reminder that Roman rule reached furthest Gaul. The Charente River is a quiet waterway for those who delight in messing about in boats. Sleepy little towns like Jarnac seem to float by, followed by proud Romanesque abbeys and priories silhouetted against the lush undulating countryside. Restaurants serve snails and marrons glacés, though usually not together, and Pineau des Charentes, a delicious fortified wine. The river runs on towards the unspoilt coast, the CharenteMaritime. North of Royan you will find splendid solitude upon pale yellow sand, and to the south, jostling crowds at Talmont, a hypnotic little village on the banks of the river Gironde. La Rochelle keeps the motorist out of its inner streets, allowing pedestrians to visit the grand buildings that mark its past and some fine marine museums that enhance its present.
between the 8th and 16th centuries to construct summer houses for the judiciary, who vied with one another to build increasingly exotic upper stories.
Aquitaine & Dordogne
For three centuries in the Middle Ages the Dordogne was a bloody battlefield. Coveted with ferocious intensity by the English and the French, its castles were built high above the river, like the nests of eagles. The Dordogne has a temperate climate. In the crescentshaped north, forests of beech, oak and spruce still give way to patchwork fields and rolling meadows. In the south, the Lot and the Tarn join the Dordogne in an epic journey through fierce gorges, past caves that were the home of prehistoric man. The region has the most succulent gastronomy in France. This is the land of truffles and foie gras, walnuts and crêpes, prunes and asparagus, of mouth-watering wild mushrooms turned into exotic dishes. Bergerac wine, especially the rosé, appeals to almost every palate. For wine in abundance, however, visit the Gironde, where vineyards stretch as far as the eye can see and wine shippers ply their trade along the banks of the Garonne. Bordeaux is an elegant city with many fine restaurants. Agen, on the Garonne, with its charming seventeenthcentury houses, has an exceptional museum, with no fewer than five pictures by Goya. Its river banks are jammed stem to stern with pleasure craft. The finest Agen prunes are often bottled in Armagnac, France's oldest brandy.
Limousin
Famous for its Limoges porcelain and lack of people - this is one of the least inhabited areas of France -Limousin is where langour begins: the clunk of boules in the village square and the chirping of the crickets in the fields are all that break the silence. The medieval perched village of Turenne is among the most exquisite anywhere. It has many fine buildings, including the 12th century collegiate church and chapter of St-Pantaléon and Notre-Dame and the chapel of the Capucins. The meandering road to the castle is so steep, that in the past many coach and horses failed to make it to the top, leaving their passengers to walk. The view through almost 360 degrees from the keep is quite superb. Also in plain sight from the César tower is the legendary village of Collonges-la-Rouge, whose houses seem to have escaped from a fairy tale, all red brick with tiny turrets made of thatch or slate. The local red sandstone was used
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Lot & Tarn
The valley of the Lot leaves the Dordogne crowds behind. This wild and beautiful region embraces medieval villages with a handful of dwellings and inhabitants, who tend the
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