About the region
With 1,309,000 inhabitants, Auvergne covers four departments of France: Allier, Cantal, Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme. It enjoys continental weather which means cold winters but warm summers.

An ancient land of fire and water
Auvergne is famous for its lakes, many of which have public beaches, and a chain of 80 extinct volcanoes which is the most important volcanic chain in Europe. The region has many natural parks, and it is famous pure water attracts thousands of people each year in thermal spas such as Vichy. Auvergne also has a noble history due to the Bourbon family who built many castles in the north-east of the region.

Getting there, and property prices
Except for the department of Puy-de-dôme, the three other regions are in the country’s lowest price bracket (source: figures released in January 2007). Please note that although there is a lack of flights into this region there are excellent motorways leading North, South and West.