Happy New Year and welcome to 2026 in southwest France

As a new year begins, it is the perfect moment to reflect, re-set and perhaps take a step closer to those long-held dreams. For many, that dream involves buying a property in southwest France, either as a holiday home or to move permanently.

This year, in particular, feels like an especially good . . . → Read More: Happy New Year and welcome to 2026 in southwest France

Christmas in the Foothills of the Pyrénées, a quiet magic all its own

One of the loveliest things about Christmas here in the foothills of the Pyrénées is how gently the season arrives. There’s no frantic countdown or overwhelming commercial frenzy, just a slow, steady build-up of lights, flavours, and traditions.

Christmas in rural France leans heavily toward the time-honoured rather than the trendy, with . . . → Read More: Christmas in the Foothills of the Pyrénées, a quiet magic all its own

Happy New Year

It has been a perfect start to 2025 here in the foothills; we had a big snow fall up in the mountains and ski resorts just before the Christmas holidays and, since then, it has been wall-to-wall sunshine and blue skies with frosty mornings and clear, bright days.

The property market is . . . → Read More: Happy New Year

Christmas in the Foothills

 

Christmas in rural France is a more low-key and less commercial than in many parts of the world and is based mainly around food, family and festive traditions.

The main Christmas meal is Le Réveillon de Noël and this is eaten on Christmas Eve around midnight to celebrate the . . . → Read More: Christmas in the Foothills

 
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