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Midi-Pyrenees |
The holiday homes rented out by Villagrande are mainly located in rural, non urban areas.
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Sometimes you see in the summer during the Tour de France TV images taken from a helicopter which you think of
'Gosh, I sure would like to go there!' These are often areas that are not exactly known as holiday destinations and that is precisely so attractive and has its advantages.
The center of southern France, the Midi-Pyrenees region which is so not top the list of favorite vacation destinations has a lot to offer. In this area there's no pressure
for this or that to see, and in so doing: if you're not really fond on beach life or strolling on a promenade then you're lucky with this special part of France.
A region without sea and known city names with a capital like Toulouse where the Airbus factories are cannot be of much value, most people think.
But who drives in a 80 kilometer radius of a circle to the capital finds an impressive variety. You pass up 4 climatic zones, you see a piece of the Massif Central,
the foothills of the Pyrenees, the border with Andorra, beautiful rivers, wine, fruit and vegetable fields, and of course the famous pilgrimage site Lourdes.
Maybe the place doesn't have a sounding name but is that necessary? We see with our own eyes a real phenomenon in a strange setting, even unbelievers will say amen.
We'll drive through deteriorated areas, of which some have been hit by a population decline but also trendy new areas with growth and prosperity.
One of the nice sides of France is that the French honor their own history. If somewhere in a town or city a famous person has been born or lived a longer time, than your attention will
certainly be drawn to that fact. For instance a visit to the pretty town of Albi in the Tarnvallei can involve an encounter to a museum dedicated to Toulouse-Lautrec (3-0 kidding)
or in full Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa because the very popular painter of the Parisian Belle Epoque was a man of nobility and was born there.
This decadent aristocratic dwarf escaped frequently from Paris to his home region because he loved hunting, horses and good food. That region is still exactly the same as it was in his days.
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