Spread your wings this spring

Ask any estate agent in French property and they'll tell you one of the reasons so many Brits are rushing to buy second homes in France is "increased accessibility". France's expanding network of motorways and TGV lines is impressive, but it is low-cost airlines such as buzz that have stolen the march on the high-price ferries and the Channel Tunnel to provide us with "instant", inexpensive access.

Suddenly, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Poitiers and Toulouse are gateways for short get-aways to a second home that were not possible before. And more French destinations are being introduced next month when buzz adds Rouen, Brest, Caen, Dijon, Bergerac, Grenoble, Limoges, Toulon and Tours to the list of daily flights.

It used to be generally accepted that if you wanted to visit your second home more than once or twice a year, then you bought something close to the ferry ports in Nord/Pas-de-Calais, Brittany or Normandy. If you wanted a better climate and the company of British expats, you gritted your teeth for the seven-hour drive down to the Dordogne. And if you had buckets of money you bought a place near Nice and paid the skyhigh air fares. Now these demarcation lines have blurred. Here we look at some of the new routes.

FLY TO DIJON FOR BURGANDY

There is much to see, eat and drink in Burgundy, and the area around Dijon is particularly blessed with pretty villages, wooded hills and river valleys. Only a couple of hours from Paris, Burgundy's Morvan National Park is a rural idyll characterised by peaceful canals and white Charolais cows grazing in lush pastures. Dijon is capital of the Côte d'Or département famous for its gastronomy and superb wines. The seat of the Dukes of Burgundy in the 14th and 15th centuries, it is a historic city worth exploring before you embark on viewing trips into the surrounding countryside.

Most British buyers looking in this region have budgets of £40,000-£50,000, says Nigel Paige of Authentic France. "Surprisingly, there are still lots of 'holiday habitable' properties: two-or threebedroom cottages with a shower and WC but probably no bathroom, with small garden and possibly an outbuilding to convert." Even a substantial three-bedroom home might cost you no more than £80,000.

FLY TO LIMOGES TO LIMOUSIN

Further inland from the Atlantic beaches of Charente-Maritime, Vendée and Vienne is the sparsely populated Limousin, made up of the Haute-Vienne, Creuse and Corrèze departments. Here you can still find amazing bargains and local authorities look kindly (and in many cases will lend money) on tourist ventures to help revive the region's economy. If you want to run a fishing or equestrian centre, perhaps you should try here first. Linda Wilding of La Grange Properties was drawn here from Scotland by the beauty of the seasons and abundance of lakes and streams. Here, too, are the old barns and crumbling "shells" of properties so beloved of British buyers who want to renovate from scratch.

FLY TO BERGERAC FOR THE DORDOGNE

In and around Bergerac the locals are congratulating themselves on the success of their high-profile campaign to persuade buzz to fly there. "Although the drive here from St Malo ferry port has been reduced to six hours by improved roads, these low-cost flights mean people can visit their holiday homes for short breaks," says Jon Coshall of Eymet Immobilier.

The wooded hills and deep valleys of the Dordogne are found south of Charente and bordering on the Limousin. The Dordogne has been and remains one of the most popular retirement areas in France - and not just for British expats. Jon describes it as "Cotswolds with vines and a much better climate". But younger people, too, are coming here to live and work, observes Jon, who has four nationalities working in his Eymet office.

Says Liz Oliver, whose UK-based company Francophiles caters for clients looking to buy in the Dordogne and Burgundy areas particularly, many people are buying now for family holidays but with future retirement in mind. "People shouldn't get the impression that the Dordogne is teeming with English people," she says. "It's a huge area, but I always point out to buyers looking for a permanent home that being able to socialise with fellow Brits when you want to is a positive advantage."

Dordogne prices have risen, with estimates putting the increase at 40 per cent over the past two years. Budgets of buyers have had to rise, too, with most looking in the £90,000 to £100,000 and upwards price range.

FLY TO TOURS FOR THE LOIRE VALLEY

The Loire Valley has already benefited from daily flights into Poitiers in neighbouring Vienne, but now the north will be served by a daily flight from the UK into Tours. Situated on the banks of the Loire, Tours is a centre for the wonderful gastronomy and worldclass wines of the area.