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Deep down in the south of France, Languedoc-Roussillon is right next door to Provence, but light years away in style.
If Provence is Primrose Hill, then Languedoc is Kensal Rise - authentic, gentrified in parts but still gritty in others, it’s the real France.
Which is possibly why no A-list celebs own houses here. La famille Beckham, Elton John, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson et al bought homes in pretty, pricey Provence, but over to the west in Languedoc, it’s mainly more sussed, less prolific Brits who have bagged the best bricks and mortar.
Like who, exactly?
- Author and former Labour spin doctor Lance Price (now running a guest house in the village of Montclus). Says Price: "Languedoc is said to be the new Provence, but I hope not. The unhurried way of life is too precious to sacrifice. If that means putting up with three-hour lunch breaks and a far smaller range of retailers than in the UK, we can live with that.”
- Journalist-author couple Rupert Wright and Helena Frith-Powell (in a large, traditional stone-built house in the village of Gabian)
- Homes and Garden journalist Virginia Fraser and former Spectator editor Frank Johnson (in the hamlet of Mas Roland, near Pézenas)
- Travel memoirs author Rosemary Bailey (in a converted monastry in Mosset, in the Pyrénées Orientales)
- Tom Haran, founder of Ireland’s first-ever burger bar, Captain America’s.
If you’re not bothered about bling and don’t want to join the jet-set, skip Provence and head straight to Languedoc, where character properties can be picked up at a fraction of Provence prices.
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