International Living
Posted by Greenfield Staff on July 6, 2009
With views of the valley, this townhouse has been reduced
in price by $70,000 to $258,000.
France’s “Lost Valley”–Where Homes Start at $78,000
International Living Postcards–your daily escape
Monday, July 6, 2009
Dear International Living Reader,
Unspoiled, definitely. Although tourists to France visit Saint Antonin Noble Val, thankfully it’s not in the same weight of numbers that has turned other regional beauty spot towns like Cordes-sur-Ciel into tourist traps. (In my book, anywhere with dinky trains and endless gift shops qualifies as a tourist trap.)
On the Aveyron River, Saint Antonin is in the luscious wooded countryside of the Tarn-et-Garonne departement of France’s sun-kissed Southwest.
This could be the perfect place to start your own B&B (I’ll have more on that in future postcards). Be aware that even though values have fallen, suitable B&B properties–large properties with a garden–aren’t exactly at fire sale prices. Although small stone-built houses here start at just 56,000 euros ($78,000), only around 20% of homes have gardens–and it’s unlikely you’ll get one at such a low price.
–Recommended By IL–
Extension Granted: Fourth of July Sale Ends Midnight Tonight
If you missed out on this huge sale over the weekend, this is your last chance.
For one more day only, you get 30% off all Owner’s Manuals (including Ecuador, Panama, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, Uruguay, France, and Italy).
But this extended offer is only good through midnight, tonight—Monday, July 6.
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Few foreign buyers want properties without a garden–the big demand is having somewhere to sit out to enjoy a glass of rosé as the sun goes down.
With views of the Gorge and valley beyond, I viewed a three-story townhouse (pictured above) with a garden that had been reduced in price by $70,000 to $258,000.
In hamlets within a 15-minute drive of Saint Antonin, some really attractive village properties can be had for under $150,000. I saw one with a converted pigeon tower and sunny patio for $139,000.
But gardens or not, this riverside town facing the white-cliffed Aveyron gorge and the lofty Roc d’Anglar really appeals to me. Long avenues of lofty plane trees flank the river, and there’s something very satisfying about sitting in the late afternoon sunshine, drinking pastis at the Cafe du Commerce.
The duck specialties at Le Festin de Babette restaurant are pretty satisfying too. From its terrace, you get a fabulous view of the town. A three-course gourmet dinner here costs 26 euros ($36), but you won’t pay anything like that in brasseries. (For example, quiche, fries and salad for around $12, and a small carafe of wine for $3.50.)
With both a local feel and a bohemian feel, Saint Antonin has struck the right balance. Hidden away in its medieval back streets are a handful of small ateliers for stained glass artists, potters, etc. But like I indicated, it’s still a living community, not a tourist stage set. I didn’t time my visit right for the Sunday market, but it’s reputedly one of the region’s best.
Saint Antonin has bags of history too. I can’t discover how old it is–I guess it came from the abbey ruins–but on rue d’Eglise I spotted an upside down stone carving of a fertility figure known in an Ireland as a sheela-na-gig. (They were used in Irish monasteries to warn monks against the sins of the flesh.)
Charlie Smallwood, my real estate contact, is an Englishman who has been in business here for the last 20 years. As a licensed chartered surveyor, it wasn’t difficult for him to obtain a carte professional and become part of France’s official real estate body, FNAIM.
I tell you about French farmhouses, mills, and other romantic countryside properties in the current issue of International Living Magazine. Charlie calls his adopted area “the Lost Valley of the Aveyron,” but it might not stay lost for long. No buyers in France? Charlie has sold six properties in the past two weeks.
To get instant access to my full report on France’s Secret Southwest, subscribe to the IL Magazine with this link.
Steenie Harvey
Roving Euro Editor, International Living
P.S. During the filming of Charlotte Gray, Charlie’s agency was turned into a wartime epicerie (grocery shop). Like many locals, Charlie was offered a part as an extra–but unlike his barber, turned it down. He thought potential British clients might be put off by a chap dressed as a Nazi officer trying to sell them property…
To read more IL articles on France, see:
France: The Owner’s Manual–30% Off for One More Day Only!
10 Tips to Find a Dream Home in France
The Affordable Romance of a Chateau, Mill House, or Medieval Church
