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France: Languedoc-Roussillon

Overview

The Mediterranean coast of France is one of the most popular areas for foreign (and French) homebuyers. The western part of the coast is in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon (population 2.3 million), which comprises the departments of Aude (11), Gard (30), Hérault (34), Lozère (48) and Pyrénées-Orientales (66). The popularity and spiralling prices of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur has prompted many to look instead towards Languedoc-Roussillon, which currently has only half as many British residents, for example, as PACA.

Languedoc-Roussillon is often referred to as ‘the Languedoc’ (after one of the two ancient languages of France, the langue d’Oc, the Roussillon part corresponding roughly to the Pyrénées-Orientales department) or by the French, confusingly, as le Midi, although a new name, Septimanie, has recently been proposed. It has a population of 2.3 million and an area of 27,376km2 (17,010mi2), containing the coastal departments (from east to west) of Gard, Hérault, Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales, as well as Lozère, inland, which is France’s most sparsely populated and highest department, with an average altitude of 1,000m (3,280ft). The region resembles a hammock stretched between Mount Lozère 1,700m (5,580ft) in the north and Mount Canigou 2,784m (9,135ft) in the south. Bordered by the Pyrenees, Andorra and Spain in the south, Languedoc-Roussillon extends north as far as the Massif Central. It has a long Mediterranean coastline of virtually uninterrupted sandy beaches, stretching some 180km (110mi) from the Petite Camargue nature reserve in Gard, through Hérault, Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales, with its beautiful beaches and cliff inlets (calanques) of pink rock, to the Spanish border. Overall, the region is 30 per cent woodland, 15 per cent grassland, 10 per cent arable land and 45 per cent other uses (including urban areas – the second-highest proportion in France).

Few French regions are more steeped in history than Languedoc (home of the heretical Cathars), which also offers an abundance of excellent (but under-rated) wines such as Corbières, Minervois and Côtes du Roussillon. It encompasses the largest wine production area in Europe (Béziers claims to be France’s wine capital!). The region has a vast range of scenery and landscape, including the beautiful Cévennes national park and Tarn valley areas (famously written about by Robert Louis Stevenson in his Travels with a Donkey), the tranquil Canal du Midi, the gentle rolling hills of the Pyrenees, home to a handful of protected bears living in the wild, and the dramatic beauty (not always appreciated by the Tour de France cyclists) of the high Pyrenees peaks.

Languedoc is noted for its relaxed pace of life and is a popular hideaway for those seeking peace and tranquillity. It has its own ancient language (Occitan) and many towns close to the Spanish border have a Catalan feel (Catalan is also spoken here).

A number of purpose-built resorts have been created on the Côte vermeille (Vermillion Coast) in the last few decades, including Argelès-sur-Mer, Gruissan, Saint-Cyprien, Port Bacarès, Port Leucate and Cap d’Agde, where apartment blocks are mostly unattractive if you’re looking for a home with character. Collioure, on the other hand, known as the ‘jewel of the Vermilion Coast’, is a most attractive (and expensive) port.

© Survival Books Limited 2005

“Buying a Home in France 2006” 6th Edition, David Hampshire.

Reproduced with the permission of Survival Books Limited.

Further information on this topic can be found in “Buying a Home in France 2006” 6th edition, by David Hampshire.

For extensive, annually updated information about buying a property in France, you can purchase this book at www.survivalbooks.net

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