ABERGAVENNY and Monmouthshire were promoted by the council's tourism section during a recent twinning visit to the west of France.

The tourism section was invited by Abergavenny & Beaupreau Twinning Association to take part in its twentieth anniversary visit to the French town of Beaupreau, which is situated in the west of the country, just south of the Loire.

Mark Jones and Mark Lloyd both took part in the exchange, which included a 'Marche des Passions' at which they provided and manned a stand to promote the places to visit, accommodation and culture of Abergavenny and Monmouthshire.

"This was a fantastic opportunity to promote Monmouthshire in an area where there is already a great amount of similarity and understanding between the two regions," said Mr Jones.

"Abergavenny and Beaupreau are brilliantly matched and the people whom we met in Beaupreau have a great enthusiasm for our culture and countryside. The 'Marche des Passions' was particularly interesting as many people we spoke to had visited Wales, if not Abergavenny itself, and already knew plenty about the area.

"Our neighbours on the stand were Abergavenny Local History Society and the contrast between the town's past and present worked well, with many bagfuls of tourist information being handed out to the people of Beaupreau. We were also able to give plenty of suggestions for new places to visit, and events around which to base a holiday, such as the food festival and its fringe week."

Preparations for the visit included the sourcing of a variety of French language guides from Visit Wales and finding out which Monmouthshire accommodation operators are able to communicate in French.

"Providing tourist information in French was a great priority so that organising their next visit to Abergavenny is made as easy as possible for our French hosts," added Mr Jones.

"There are now many guides to 'Pays de Galles' circulating around Beaupreau, and in the next few months we look forward to welcoming some of those whom we met into Monmouthshire."