Real estate trends

In spite of increasing demand, the Lot-et-Garonne remains an affordable department with a stable real estate market. According to the scale prepared by La Vie immobilière (http://www.lavieimmo.com), apartments can be had for around 1,200 € per m², and the average purchase price of a home is approximately 130,000 € (100,000 € in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, 135,000 € in Agen). You can also find farmsteads starting at 100,000 € out in the country, to be completely renovated. Executive homes and spacious properties sell for 350,000 € and up.

Traditional housing

From the tall, narrow buildings of Query to the low houses typical of Languedoc or the Gironde, the department, heavily influenced by its neighbors, offers considerable architectural variety. Preferred building materials include wood frames and river rocks from the Lot and the Garonne, as well as fired and unfired bricks.

Location

An hour by road from Toulouse or Bordeaux, Agen has regular air service provided by the Aerocondor company. The prefecture of Lot-et-Garonne is 4 hours from Paris by TGV.

Scenery and activities

"New cities," founded in the Middle Ages, at the height of the war between England and France over Aquitaine, the fortified towns are a distinguishing feature of the region. The Lot-et-Garonne has some forty of them, perfect examples of medieval urban planning and Monflanquin has a museum devoted to them. Also spread around the department's fertile lands are castles from every period, notably Duras and Bonaguil, a striking fortress in a state of perfect preservation, and for good reason: built in its current form at the beginning of the Renaissance, a period when peace reigned, this imposing military structure has never been attacked!
Outdoor activities include fishing and water sports (canoeing, kayaking, water skiing, rowing…) on rivers and lakes, as well as golf, bicycle touring, horseback riding and hiking. There are 200 km of developed navigable waterways, so you can go with flow and explore the department from a houseboat. The Lot-et-Garonne, with a large rural, intensely picturesque, cultural heritage, has over 500 mills and 6,000 dovecotes to show anyone willing to take the time to seek them out.

Weather

The Lot-et-Garonne enjoys mild winters and hot summers that usually last into early October. In spite of high rainfall totals, spring is also a very pleasant season. As a general rule, the region is spared by the wind, and has few sunless days.

In town

• Agen: the Lot-et-Garonne prefecture, founded in the Gallo-Roman period, is located in the heart of a metropolitan area of 80,000 inhabitants, and has become a thriving modern city. As an agro-food technocity, with cutting edge industry and development of handicrafts to give it a dense economic fabric.
• Villeneuve-sur-Lot: Villeneuve, a fortified town founded in the 13th Century, now boasts 22,000 inhabitants, and sees itself as city of history. This can be seen in its medieval streets with their half-timbered buildings with corbels. It is also a cultural show case: there are numerous events succeed one another throughout the year.