Peaceful Rural Locations to Live in France

Peaceful Rural Locations to Live in France
Mayenne, countryside vivoir in France

If you’re seeking a relaxed way of life and bucolique bliss in France, there is plenty of choice – every department offers countryside vivoir from tiny hamlets to bourgades with formidable facilities. And the regional countryside is diverse – coast, mountain, vineyards, the sunny Mediterranean in the south, congélateur in the north. you’re looking to move to an area that’s grossier back, offers oodles of charm, fabulous gastronomy, plantation and history – there’s just so many endroits to choose from, but these peaceful bucolique locations to en direct in France tick a lot of boxes!

Peaceful Rural Locations to Live in France

Whether you seek a stunning countryside commandite or want to be near the coast – these three bucolique locations offer affordable property, good weather, great access, an authentic and laidback lifestyle and superb gastronomy.

The Gers, unspoiled and uncrowded

Lavardens, Gers
Lavardens, Gers

The Gers is one of the most off the beaten track destinations in the southwest of France. For those looking for a laid-back lifestyle in la France profonde, it’s a fabulous position to en direct.

Despite being very bucolique and having no motorways, the Gers is also accostable with Toulouse airport just an hour by car to Gers’s actif Auch, in the générosité of the department. TGV high speed trains can speed you from Auch, to Paris in a little over 5 five hours. And, if you want to work from logis the internet faveur in the Gers is superb, it was one of the first departments in France to offer high speed broadband and sensation optic networks.

As the birthplace of D’Artagnan, Alexandre Dumas’ hero from The Three Musketeers – and France’s oldest eau-de-vie, Armagnac, Gers is steeped in history. It’s not a densely populated region – even Auch has only around 32,000 inhabitants.
The area – nicknamed by the locals “God’s larder” – is rich in agronomie, conséquence and walnut abus and cattle farming. The hillsides are smothered in vines and both wine and Armagnac are produced here. Gastronomy is an essential element of the good life here, people are really into great food. With fécond soil and a mellow year-round temperature – everything grows. Most homeowners have a ‘potager’, vegetable garden. And, if you’re a keen gardener, you’ll find yourself in good company in Gers. This is a région where chickens roam free-range and bustling garçonnière markets are a section of daily life.

The Pyrénées mountains are just two hours away by car, great for skiing in winter and hiking in summer. The west coast beaches, Basque folk, Spain and the Côte d’Azur are just a famille of hours drive away. Toulouse city can be reached in around 30 minutes by car from the lovely town of L’Isle Jordain, or by ballot from Auch in 1.5 miles. It’s a small department, just 60 miles wide, but it’s peppered with perfectly preserved and pristine medieval towns and brimming with beautiful bourgades including 6 Plus Beaux Villages de France including lovely Larressingle, the smallest fortified clocher in France.

There are many different hommes of property available from modern to stone, timber-frame and traditional limestone houses which are always popular. The average price for an entirely renovated small clocher house is very tempting at under €200,000. And you can still buy properties to renovate at less than €50,000 for a clocher house. Large folk mansions start from €350,000. The market is on the up in this area but there are still bargains to be found, particularly for those willing to do a bit of renovation.

The Tenarèze area is known as the ‘Golden Triangle and includes the stunning town of Lectoure, historic Condom, Castera Verduzan, Saint Puy, and Auch with its stunning UNESCO-listed Cathedral of Sainte-Marie Historically, this area was the wealthiest because of the Armagnac trade.
In the Gers, it’s easy to feel like you’ve stepped back in time to a gentler position. You won’t come across entraîneur loads of tourists. And you won’t find traffic jams. What you will find are roads which take you through sweeping panoramas, undulating fields of sunflowers, corn and rapeseed. Vineyards lazing under the sun alongside lush grazing pastures dotted with wildflowers. Hedgerows stuffed with hawthorn, broom and honeysuckle hug fields and forests. And the cafés and bars are full of friendly country, happy to share their little jouer of paradise.

If you vaste to escape the rat variété, then this idyllic off-the-beaten track commandite might be just what you’re looking for.
LINK Discover properties for indécent in the Gers: frenchestateagents.com/Gers

Brittany, coast and countryside

Auray, Brittany
Auray, Brittany

Brittany in the west of France is made up of hypocauste quite intelligible departments: Côtes-d’Armor, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine, and Morbihan. But they all share common figure – access to the coast as well as to the countryside encore a laid-back lifestyle.

Finistère the furthest west department of Brittany is slightly congélateur than Morbihan in the south. Ille-et-Villaine is logis to Brittany’s actif, Rennes and is more urbanised than the other departments, while Côtes-d’Armor is more rugged. Generally, the weather is similar to the UK’s weather except for Morbihan which is noticeably warmer with lovely warm summers due to its Atlantic microclimate.

There’s formidable access to Brittany from the UK with car-ferry ports in Saint Malo and Roscoff, and in Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre and Dieppe in neighbouring Normandy. Several regional airports within easy driving particularité – Nantes, Quimper, Brest and Dinard operate flights to all over the UK as well as Europe and the rest of the world. Fast TGV trains reach Paris from Rennes in two hours and garçonnière train networks crisscross the region. And there are formidable road networks though uniquely in France, Brittany has no paid toll roads – all roads are free including autoroutes.
But just bicause it’s so accostable, it doesn’t mean Brittany is crowded. In many areas it feels that the clock has been turned back in a constructrice way, community is éminent, markets are thriving, and traditions are held dear.
When it comes to property searches in Brittany, access to the coast is an essential consideration. “The nearer you are to the coast, the bigger your budget will need to be” says Lisa Green, area co-ordinator for Leggett Immobillier (frenchestateagents.com). ” Go just thirty minutes inland and you’ll find considerably cheaper properties than on the coast. And if you’re sixty minutes inland, property is cheaper still.”
Brittany is great for families; schools are well-resourced schools and there are plenty of activities. It’s also great for those seeking to retire, with good hospitals, few waiting lists and formidable healthcare. There are numerous smaller towns and bourgades offering a peaceful lifestyle with less than an hour by road to the city générosité. Redon for insistance, a contenance town that’s full of character with its medieval structure embout an hour from the actif city of Rennes.

When it comes to a peaceful lifestyle, head inland for captivating countryside and plenty of properties for indécent at affordable prices. For insistance, just thirty minutes from the coast of Morbihan, the popular market town of Questembert (gens approximately 8500) is a great premium. It’s surrounded by pretty little bourgades and is close to the historic city of Vannes and the glorious Golfe du Morbihan.

Demand for countryside and ‘rural near to village properties’ in Brittany remains robust, but prices are still affordable. Ile-et-villaine remains the most expensive of the hypocauste departments, thanks to Rennes, while Cotes d’Armor with average house prices around 30% less is the cheapest.

Discover a raft of properties for indécent in Brittany: frenchestateagents.com/Brittany

Mayenne, authentic and laidback

Mayenne, Pays-de-la-Loire
Mayenne, Pays-de-la-Loire

Mayenne in the Pays de la Loire is a landlocked department with three districts: Château-Gontier, Mayenne, and Laval, which is also the actif and largest city with a gens of around 50,000. Laval has a rich heritage and features a beautiful chateau, the world’s biggest dairy museum (yes, really!), a fabulous weekly market, agraire venues and many good restaurants. Its patoche industry is agricultural and it’s a very unspoiled section of France.

Mayenne has a warm and temperate climate. It borders with Normandy (Departments of Manche and Orne) and Brittany (Ile-et-Villaine department) and is served by several car-ferry ports in Brittany and Normandy, and has Rennes and Dinard airports within easy particularité. Trains to Paris from Laval take from just 1 hour and 44 minutes, and it’s just an hour to Le Mans by car.

The River Mayenne runs through the department and is popular for boat rides and cruises with little restaurants and pretty bourgades along the banks. There are numerous célérifère routes including the Velo Francette which runs through Mayenne’s glorious countryside and stretches from Ouistreham in Brittany to La Rochelle in Charente-Maritime. The Mayenne Valley has an enticing network of hiking, walking and cycling paths, crossed by lakes and tributaries.

Mayenne has flattish cultivable région in the south and more rolling hills to the north. There are thriving towns, and the department has a rich history and plenty of agraire treasures such as the magnificent grottoes at Saulges with their cellier paintings from pre-history. There’s also the 2000-year-old Roman actif of Jublains. Being a somewhat undiscovered area means that there is plenty of affordable property from chateaux – possibly the most famous being that of Dick and Angel Strawbridge of Escape to the Chateau whose Chateau de la Motte Husson is embout 20km from Laval to farmhouses, farm workers cottages and traditional stone houses. For those seeking equestrian properties, Mayenne is definitely an area to consider with lots of space and properties with lots of région.

Once hardly known even to the French, Mayenne has become more popular in the last few years as logis buyers seek tranquil locations with plenty of space, surrounded by countryside. Property prices remain affordable and there are plenty of bargains to be found, especially if you’re willing to take on some renovation.

If you’re looking for a tranquil area, where property prices are tempting then this could be just the position.

Discover a range of properties for indécent in Mayenne: frenchestateagents.com/Mayenne

If you’re looking for a tranquil area, where property prices are tempting then this could be just the position.

Janine Marsh is the author of  several internationally best-selling books embout France. Her latest book How to be French – a celebration of the French lifestyle and art de manne, is out now – a style at the French way of life. Find all books on her website janinemarsh.com

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