France is a huge country with many different types of property.  Traditionally, it is the Brits who love renovating property in France and it is not hard to find places which require at least a little “TLC”!  The following are the main types of property, many of which you will find in various parts of France and some of which are particular to certain areas.

Bastide
The name bastide is used both for a certain type of village and for property.  Bastide villages go back to the 13th and 14th centuries and were an early form of town planning often with the market place as the central square and small roads radiating out from it.  Many bastides are in the Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrenees regions but when it comes to property, a bastide is a style of stone built property, sometimes with timber in between (called “colombages”) which can be found in both town and countryside.

Charentaise
This is a style of house peculiar to the Charente region.  It is similar to the bastide style of property generally with square shaped rooms.

Domaine
A domaine is a large plot of land or property, probably loosely translated as an estate in English.  Often the land will be there for a specific reason such as for a vineyard or golf, hunting etc.

Fermette
Fermette means small farm usually in the countryside or on the outskirts of a village.  Often stone built, a fermette will consist of a farmhouse and outbuildings with some land.

Longere
A longere is again a rural property, similar to a large barn found in various regions of France.  Normally rectangular in shape, it is usually built with materials from the region and often just one storey with perhaps an attic.

Mas
A mas is a largish property, again in the countryside and mostly in the southern areas of France, particularly Provence.

Maison a colombages
Often found in bastide villages, this is a type of house built of wood and stone, roughly similar to English Tudor houses.  My previous house in France was a maison a colombages!

Maison de maître
Meaning “Master’s house”, a maison de maître is found in a town or village.  They usually have practical, square layouts with an imposing front door, double fronted, high ceilings, a grand staircase and at least 2 rooms at either side.

Pavillon
A pavillon is a more modern detached house with a cellar and garage on the ground floor.  Note that bungalows are also called pavillons and are more often found in the north of France.

Villa d’architecte
Again, a modern property, built in the last 50 years or so with varying designs from one storey houses to more extensive properties.  They are normally built to resemble the style of older properties of the region.  For example, there are several villas in the Languedoc Roussillon of this type with the typical “languedocienne” roof of curved slates in earthy colours.

So you see the choice is yours.  You have a huge variety of types of houses to choose from in France, almost always with a lot more space for your money!