Looking down on Gourdon, from the Table d'orientation.

Table d'orientation

When we first starting looking to buy in France, we focused our search on the Aquitaine region near the border of Spain. Being from Newcastle and loving our local beaches, we knew the areas around Biarritz had a beautiful coastline and was only an hour from San Sebastian and the Basque region of Spain. This area was dearer than the Lot and Dordogne but we liked the idea of being near the coast. We then considered Brittany in the north east because of its proximity to Paris and the UK. A visit to Dinan confirmed how special this region was but we wanted somewhere more central to use as a base in the coming years. The deciding factor for us was just how beautiful the Lot and Dordogne regions were. On the drive south from Paris, the land gradually became more green and hilly, with numerous rivers and streams punctuating the landscape. As we began to drive between the nearby towns of Souillac, Sarlat, Domme and Gourdon, we were amazed by the natural beauty of the region and its medieval towns. In particular, Gourdon was perfect for us. It had a population of about 5000, with the old-town positioned on a hill overlooking the countryside. It had a ring-road around the old-town which was dotted by bars, bakeries, restaurants and cafes, as well as shops selling local delicacies and groceries. Just outside the old-town, were three good size supermarkets, a hospital and the Gare de Gourdon train station that had direct links to Paris and Toulouse. Italy and Spain are about 5-hours by car with the Mediterranean and Paris reachable in about 4-hours. There were also international airports at Bergerac and Toulouse with short flights to the rest of Europe and beyond for our future travels. But the icing on the cake was the actual house. A perfect base for the future, fully renovated with centuries of 'character' maintained. For us, this has never been about buying an investment property. Its about having a European base for our future, and hopefully for our children and theirs. We like the idea of the house being handed down from generation to generation, with family and friends using it as a base to expand their horizons and meet new and interesting people, from all walks of life.