Charente-Maritime Property For Sale

Charente-Maritime property affords the buyer an unbeatable combination of climate and accessibility. There is an average of 300 days of sunshine a year and not only is there an international airport at La Rochelle but the area is just a morning’s drive from St. Malo.

Coastal Charente-Maritime property is expensive – with Ile de Ré property the most expensive of all. Known as ‘Paris by the Sea’ this enchanting island is the summer haunt of the Paris glitterati and as a result prices have gone through the roof. La Rochelle property offers chic low-maintenance apartments in a vibrant yet historic and beautiful old port town.

Inland, Charente-Maritime property is more affordable and the traditional ‘charentais’ is much sought after; this is a stone ‘longère’ type property with a low roof level, mansarded first-floor rooms, shutters and more exposed beams than you can shake a stick at. In the 80s and 90s Brits snaffled up many of these picturesque but dilapidated ‘charentais’ – with large amounts of land – for renovation.

Nowadays the choice is largely confined to the already restored versions with more manageable amounts of land (French succession laws have seen much of the land divided into parcels). In the very south of the département, around Jonzac, opportunities still exist to acquire Charente-Maritime property with more generous acreage.