The buzz of city life or a quiet rural retreat? Gillian Harvey speaks to expats who’ve chosen to live very different lives in France

SARAH DITUM

One thing Ellen Alpsten and husband Tobias always had in common was their passion for Provence and châteaux – and, after much hard work, they now have a baroque gem in Vaucluse

We loved holidays so much we decided we’d never come home

As we crossed the River Hérault on the D612 approaching Agde in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France, it felt as though we were going home, even though the last time we were here was in

Think of the Cote d’Azur and you think of refined opulence; F Scott Fitzgerald, Tender is the Night, Brigitte Bardot, Cannes Film Festival; glitz, glamour. The reality if you actually drive there is v