The Cheapest Homes in France’s Wine Country

Monday, Aug. 11, 2008

Read more about France in International Living Postcards —your daily escape

Dear International Living Reader,

One of France’s biggest draws is the food and wine. France tends to hold tight to tradition, both on the plate and in the glass, and there are thousands of wine appellations for you to work through. Some of the lesser-known French wines are made in the Loire valley, and I’ve been finding out how house prices downstream compare with those in my white wine village of Pouilly sur Loire.

Tours, 149 miles south of Paris, was my starting point. Why? Because it’s surrounded by wine: to the north are the vineyards of Vouvray, to the east the light Touraine wine producers, and to the south the pinot grapes of the smallest appellation of Touraine Noble Joué. The city’s most famous personality, St. Martin of Tours, didn’t just spread the word in the third century, but also the vine. Tours is 100 minutes by fast train from Roissy airport and offers a relaxed lifestyle on the Loire river. Homes here are much in demand and it’s hard to find much for less than €70,000 ($105,000) these days. The price per square foot is around €240 ($360).

For better value, try the nearby town of Amboise with its fairytale chateau, and Vouvray. A two-bedroom traditional stone house in Amboise town center with a wooden staircase and exposed stone walls is only €97,000 ($146,000). Vouvray is smaller, less touristy, but just as charming—with the advantage of a choice of still and sparkling white wines. A two-bedroom house—with a terrace on which to sip your neighbor’s Vouvray brut al fresco—is going for €107,000 ($161,000).

Along the banks of the Loire you’ll notice doors in rock faces and facades crammed up against the chalky hillsides that link the vineyards. These are the local troglodyte or cave homes, and many are perfectly habitable and fully modernized. They’ve been a vital part of winemaking here for centuries, as the local tufa rock rooms make the perfect cool space for storage.

Six miles west of Tours, carved into the hillside in Fondettes, you’ll find a 1,000-square-foot-home for €58,000 ($87,000). A few miles away you’ll see a larger 17th-century four-bedroom house with cellar, convertible attic, courtyard, and all modern comforts for €126,000 ($189,000). You can buy old cave houses that need fixing up from as little as €25,000 ($37,000 in the area—usually with a yard and outbuildings.

But it’s Angers that gets my vote for the best pick. Angers, 185 miles southwest of the capital and about 90 from the Atlantic, is on the Maine river, just a few of miles from the Loire. It’s had a stormy history as the Plantagenet capital of the old duchy of Anjou, and now hosts a major wine fair of more than 600 estates and wine sellers, covering 68 appellations. You can find all building styles here, from the medieval timbers of Adam’s House, to the renaissance stone of the art museum, the Art Deco Blue House, and sleek modern apartment blocks.

Prices in the city start at €24,000 ($36,000) for a studio through Foncia Initia Angers. For €59,000 ($89,000), I found a central one-bedroom apartment near the 19th-century public washhouse—one of those typical sheltered structures with stone basins and fresh spring water that women used for washing clothes. And I also found a beautiful 1,450-square-foot, three-bedroom stone house with a garden, attic, and stable for €139,000 ($209,000). It has a little cellar that would be just right for your stock of local Savennières white wine.

Leigh Fergus
Europe Editor, International Living

Editor’s Note: Would you like to travel around the wine country in France, sample fine wines and food, or maybe take a look at some homes like Leigh did here? How about earning a few dollars in the process and getting your airfare paid for? These are just some of the perks enjoyed by travel writers around the globe and you could join them. Learn more here.

Read related IL Postcards:

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- Your Own Home in a French Village…3 Hours From Paris—$54,000