2022 is going to be an interesting year in France. For a start, France has just taken over the presidency of the Council of the European Union. And in the spring, the country will be electing a president. There's a lot going on. And of course, there's still the pandemic to be accounted for, with Omicron currently ripping through the country. 

Buying real estate in mountains can be a great investment, and it's a good thing the real estate world has a lot of options in ski resorts and other mountain areas. But you do need to know what you want; the same resort that is a hit with young adults who love the nightlife might not be great for a family with young children - and of course, there's that little matter of your budget to think about, too.

The map of French property prices always looked like this: the city of Paris first, then greater Paris, then the other big cities - Lyon, Nice, Bordeaux - then the Ile de France, and then if you skipped the middle and went right down to the bottom, you'd find two big areas of cheapness, on the periphery in Brittany, and right in the middle of France where the whole of Limousin, Auvergne, and Berry were good value.