On paper, the Aveyron is not short of the ingredients that typically help a French property market mature into something irresistible to house-hungry Brits. For example, the department – which makes up the eastern corner of the Midi-Pyrénées region – features the greatest concentration of Plus Beaux Villages de France in the country.

Gathered together by l'association of beautiful villages, established in 1982, there are 146 of these 'most beautiful villages of France'. Truly overrepresented in this respect, Aveyron has nine of them, more than any other department. Among them are such gems as the UNESCO-listed Conques, with its narrow, cobbled streets and lauze-roofed stone houses, and Najac, set breathtakingly atop a conical hill on a sweeping bend of the Aveyron valley. Although not one of the 'most beautiful', let's not forget Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, home to the roi des fromages, made using the creamy milk from the ewes that graze on the department's southern pastures. But the Aveyron's charms don't stop as soon as you leave its villages. Says Linda Rano of Couleurs de France, which offers free property searches in the Aveyron, and beyond: "The landscape in the Aveyron is magnificent, dramatic and varied, stretching from the moors, deep valleys, towering escarpments, plunging canyons, and forests of the south to the vast, open, isolated, quiet mountain pastures of the limestone plateaux [known locally as 'causses'] where you feel a million miles from the rest of the world. "In between, there are the rolling vineyards of Marcillac, the open farmland of Ségala and the five Lévezou lakes, including lake Pareloup – the second-largest man-made lake in France." Unsurprisingly, the lakes are a haven for water sports enthusiasts.

So, what type of homebuyer would such attractions appeal to? "Homebuyers here are looking for a quieter, relaxed, life, away from the stresses of modern living. The locals are very attached to their land, roots and way of life. This is La France Profonde, the real thing", Rano explains. And when it comes to property, the Aveyron also has much to distinguish it. Traditional architectural styles include attractive red-stone houses around Marcillac, and – in the south – brown stone village houses and spacious Larzac barns with interior arches. What's more, it's comparatively cheap, says Rano. "Aveyron is one of the cheapest parts of France so in recent years has increasingly attracted those looking for a good deal, in particular those looking for rural properties suitable for renovation."

Yet, despite these many and varied riches, we are sometimes led to believe that scarcely a British key rattles in an Aveyronaise lock. This is even more surprising when one considers that buying property in the neighbouring departments of Tarn and Tarn-et-Garonne – which share geographical features with the Aveyron – comes with a virtual guarantee of British neighbours.

So, how has such neglect been possible? The short answer is that it hasn't. But this is – quite literally – only half an answer. The eastern half of the Aveyron, especially the south-east – think glorious isolation upon the causses – has been neglected, while the western half has not. Why? The two main reasons are called Villefrance-de-Rouergue, a refreshingly provincial and impressively medieval town, and Rodez, the departmental capital some 45 kilometres to the east, its historic centre perched on a hill. Says Gillie Pearce, who runs the VEF office in neighbouring Tarn-et-Garonne but also sells property in western Aveyron, "Half of the time we show clients around we end up in Villefrance-de-Rouergue, and everybody we show round the town says that they love it".

Rodez, served by Ryanair from Stansted once a day in summer, ensures that nearby Villefrance and indeed areas surrounding the capital are now firmly on the British property buyers' route map. Indeed, they may be more deeply engrained than certain areas of Tarn-et-Garonne, which conventional wisdom says has a stronger pull on British property buyers – if only because everyone has heard of it. "We have sold more properties in the western side of the Aveyron than we have in the northern area of the Tarn-et-Garonne", Pearce reveals. However, she cautions that if you move further east into the Aveyron the 'character property near village amenities' that everyone seems to be searching for "is not so easy to deliver up in the hills". But the opening of the Sir Norman Foster-designed Millau Viaduct last year has increased interest in eastern and southern Aveyron, and interest in its property market could soon follow.

The focal point, Rano believes, will be Millau itself, "a bustling place surrounded by cliffs, known for the production of luxury leather goods and now, its viaduct, the highest bridge in the world." She adds, "Once British buyers know about the viaduct they become more interested in the area, particularly with regard to easier access to the Mediterranean".

The new stretches of the A75 and the viaduct bring the Languedocienne coast – and the Ryanair served Montpellier airport – to within one hour by road from Millau, some 100 kilometres. Not that Millau itself is without leisure appeal, having become a focal point for those who like hang-gliding, pot-holing, climbing and canoeing; it also affords easy access to the Parc Naturel Regional des Grands Causses, an ideal place to make the best of the Aveyron's dramatic plunges and desolate plateaux.

Of those nearby towns and villages that could soon be welcoming homebuying Brits as a result of the improved infrastructure, Rano picks out Séverac-le-Chateau, about 20 minutes north. But this is just one option among many that have been opened up. Nant, a friendly, relaxed, and of course very French town surrounded by verdant farmland is only a few miles south-east of Millau, while Roquefort-sur-Soulzon is a little to the south-west, on the opposite side of the E11 motorway. And let's not forget Camares, further south-west again, a place of narrow alleyways and old houses, and Cornus, as famous for being a hotbed of French farming protests as its landscape. Ancient villages also abound, such as the 12th-century Knights Templar village of La Couvertoirade, the medieval village of St Jean d'Alcas and the precariously perched Cantobre.

So, there are plenty of significantly new property destinations to explore, but what could one buy in the Aveyron, and for how much? "Barns or old properties of about 100 square metres set in a village or hamlet and requiring complete renovation start at under 30,000 euros", says Rano. "Habitable village houses of approximately 100 square metres needing some work start at about 90,000 euros, while farmhouse complexes including outbuildings and requiring at least some renovation start at under 100 000 euros."

Further up the property ladder, "sizeable maisons de maîtres, in good condition, with large gardens are available from about 400,000 euros, while period castles with land and other buildings are on the market for 600,000 euros or more." For those in search of gîte businesses, the word is that Brits are beginning to consider the southern reaches of the Aveyron as a suitable location, due to its Easter-to-October short-term rental window. Pearce, covering the area as far east as Rodez (some 40 kilometres west of Millau), says that "Even for less than 100,000 euros you could find a renovation project – but it would need extensive work. But, once your budget exceeds 150,000 euros the market opens up to you. "For 180,000 euros, for example, an old, three-floor townhouse in need of modernisation is available in Villefranche. It has a large garden with vegetable patches, and two big garages. "For 240,000 euros, a secluded barn, full of mangers and carts, is available. It's large enough to be converted into two four-bedroom houses, but you will need a large budget – at least as much as the asking price – to stand a chance of completing the renovations." Something of a tale of two halves, then, the Aveyron nonetheless offers a whole department of potential for those in search of la France profonde.

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Article first published in July 2005

Image courtesy of Tourisme Aveyron