However: Le Grand Bois is available for let throughout Winter 2009/2010, with just a few remaining weeks for Summer 2009
Also: Maison Bishop has a few weeks available during the 2009 Summer season, and are accepting reservations for 2010.
Lantogne is in the beautiful hamlet of Puysserampion, near Miramont-de-Guyenne in the Lot-et-Garonne, adjacent to the Dordorgne.
Agriculture is one of the Lot-et-Garonne’s main activities. There are some sheep and cattle, but the land is mainly devoted to food crops. Cereals, particularly maize, figure prominently, as do plums, tomatoes, melons, kiwis and hazelnuts. Of these the best known is the plum, used for making the famous Agen prunes. English speakers should remember that ‘prune’ in French means ‘plum’, the French for ‘prune’ being pruneau.
Along the river Garonne many acres are devoted to vineyards, producing excellent AOC wines as well as vins de pays.
The area is rich with historical architecture. With the outstanding medieval Château de Bonaguil, and other fine châteaux such as Duras, Poudenas and Gavaudun, over 40 examples of bastides, often with Romanesque churches, arcades and timber-framed houses, exceptional examples of fortified mills, numerous windmills, many substantial farmhouses with wooden tobacco drying sheds.
Horse racing and trotting tracks are popular venues. The bastide towns in the Lot and Dropt valley present an easy way to unwind and relax.
Goya, Rembrandt and Monet set a precedent for art. Don’t miss the five masterpieces of Goya in the Musée des Beaux Arts in Agen, Rembrandt’s Christ en Croix tucked away in the church in the Mas d’Agenais and the Latour Marliac’s gardens in the Temple sur Lot where Monet got his supplies of lilies for Giverny.
In all, there’s plenty to explore in the Lot-et-Garonne and Dordogne. At Lantogne, simply relax.
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