The Alps

The ultimate destination for winter-sports enthusiasts, this area offers some of the best skiing in the world. Roman Abramovich, the flamboyant owner of Chelsea football club, once tried to snap up all the best chalets at Courchevel 1850 for more than £150m, but failed to secure a deal. Méribel is the most child-friendly resort in Les Trois Vallées, while serious skiers go to Val d’Isère and Tignes, where the nightlife is as lively as the mogul fields. Meg ève is the property choice for sophisticates — it’s St Tropez in snow boots.

Stuart Law, managing director of Assetz France, says the Alps are increasing in popularity: “We have seen an increase in buyers as part of the overall trend for moving abroad, but developers are also moving to the Alps to build because land is so expensive in the south.” For a chalet in a top resort, you’ll pay at least €500,000 (£340,000). A one-bedroom flat will set you back about £100,000.

Aquitaine

This region includes the Dordogne and Bordeaux, so there are plenty of links with home. Bordeaux is such a rich and beautiful city because of all the money Brits spend (and have spent for centuries) on the region’s wines. The centre has recently had a revamp and a new tramway put in. It’s a nice place to live in, though the locals have a reputation for being a bit unfriendly.

The Dordogne is synonymous with Brits abroad. Some villages, such as Eymet, are practically English-speaking. There are cricket teams and lots of grocery stores where you can stock up on Marmite. There is a fox hunt outside Pau, one of the most beautiful cities in France, with views over the Pyrenees. They say it rains as much in Pau as in London, but in half the time. The Victorians built mainland Europe’s first golf course there.

Closer to Spain, the region is less developed, and you will be hard-pushed to find a tin of baked beans. But you will find lots of mountains to climb and a rich local diet: foie gras, truffles, snails and pâté.

According to Daniel Taylor, of Vialex International, the market has slowed down. “We have had almost 40 vendors call us this year to reduce the asking price of their properties,” he says. You can pick up a small country house for renovation from £35,000 and a four-bedroom village house for upwards of £55,000. A farmhouse with views of the mountains will start at about £240,000.

Auvergne

A sparsely populated region, much of it above 3,000ft, the Auvergne is a place for hikers and foodies: notable local cheeses include Cantal, Salers, Sainte-Nectaire and Bleu d’Auvergne. The area has wonderful Romanesque churches and medieval castles, but apart from that, culture is a little thin on the ground.

Aurillac, a lovely city at the foot of the Cantal mountains, has the dubious distinction of being the prefecture in France furthest from a motorway. But connections are improving, so property prices may pick up. Clermont-Ferrand, the capital, is linked to the A72 eastwards to Lyon, the A71 north to Paris, and there will soon be the A89 west to Bordeaux.

Heidi Hilpert, from Heima Immobilier, says the region is gaining in popularity with Brits. “They are discovering the charm of the Auvergne,” she says, “but prices are still way below the national average.” You can find a stone wreck to renovate in a remote area from about £17,000. A habitable four-bed farmhouse with land near Aurillac will cost you more than £110,000.

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