The Lot-et-Garonne lies immediately south of the Dordogne, apx.
ninety minutes from the
Atlantic coast and a little over two hours from the Spanish
border.
Because it carries two of France's
principal rivers, Le Lot and La Garonne, the landscape
is beautifully verdant and incredibly varied.
Broad, fertile valleys wind past picturesque
ranges of hills with the two rivers meeting at Aiguillon.
The economy of the Lot-et-Garonne is
heavily reliant on agriculture, with tourism still in its relative infancy.
Consequently the roads are very quiet and, unlike the Dordogne and Provence, few places are crowded even in the height of summer.
You will see growing in abundance, vines, maize, all
kinds of fruit, fields of sunflowers, vegetables
and many varieties of trees. This is also the
centre of the French prune industry. Agen prunes are world-famous! Of course, with the
agriculture comes the wildlife; you will find many birds of prey
here (look out for magnificent Black Kites riding the thermals high
above).
Our summers are significantly warmer and sunnier than further north,
with long settled spells. Rain is not usually a problem as, when it
does come, it tends to be very heavy and of short duration.
In June 2004, the celebrated
English chef,
Rick Stein, visited
the area to film the
cookery series, "A French Odyssey".
The series followed Rick on a journey down Le Canal des
deux Mers from Bordeaux to the Mediterranean and
was broadcast by the BBC in September 2005.
The Lot-et-Garonne is France as most people imagine France to be.
Warm, verdant, colourful,
picturesque, historic, and very peaceful. With just
305,000 people in a Department of almost 6,000 sq. kms, the
Lot-et-Garonne has one of the lowest population densities in all
France. It also has some of the best wine, the most beautiful
scenery, and the loveliest and friendliest of people - as you will
see in the following pages:....
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