For a place with personality, consider a riverside Petite Cité de Caractère – Carolyn Reynier explores three charismatic locations Sauve
Have you set your heart on buying a property in a lively little French town with lots of character? Then let me tell you about three riverside Petites Cités de Caractère that might fit the bill.
We start in the southwest and trace a diagonal line across the Hexagon up to the northeast. Firstly, medieval Sauveterre-de-Béarn in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques (Nouvelle-Aquitaine).
Strategically built on a terrace overlooking the Gave d’Oloron, it lies at the junction of the Béarn, Pays Basque and Landes regions, in the Béarn des Gaves area (gave is the name in these parts for a mountain stream). The town is a stopping point on the Via Lemovicensis, one of the pilgrimage routes of Santiago de Compostela.
Moving on to Cher (Centre-Val de Loire region), Aubigny-sur-Nère lies at the Sologne–Berry crossroads north of Bourges. The town, with medieval half-timbered houses and 12th-century church, is twinned with Haddington, East Lothian, and has strong Auld Alliance links with Scotland. In 1423, Charles VII gave the town to John Stewart of Darnley, Constable of the Scottish army, for services rendered in ousting the English during the Hundred Years’ War. The Loire river and Sancerre vineyards are nearby.
Finally, for Europhiles hankering for a home near the heart of Europe, Mouzon – the Gallo-Roman name was Mosomagus¸ market on the Meuse – is in Ardennes in the Grand Est region. Gateway to Lorraine, Luxembourg, Belgium, and near the Parc Naturel Régional des Ardennes, the town has the Flavier GalloRoman site and a circuit of fortifications. Later it became an important 19th-century feltmaking centre. Its felt museumworkshop is unique in France.
SAUVETERRE-DE-BEARN
“Sauveterre-de-Béarn is a lively little place with shops and restaurants,” says Sophie Folley of Sophie Folley Immobilier. She originally came to France on a two-year project to improve her French – and married a Frenchman. That was 19 years ago.
“Towns called Sauveterre are usually in a high position, so that in medieval times inhabitants could see the enemy approaching and thus had an advantage,” she explains. Thanks to its raised position, the historic centre has beautiful views of the Gave d’Oloron, which runs through the lower parts of Sauveterre. “You also have the most amazing views of the Pyrénées from the town itself,” she adds.
Sophie is currently marketing a terraced townhouse in the heart of the old town, next to the Gothic church. There’s no garden, but lovey mountain views and a price tag of €299,000. Another property, this one with a private rear courtyard garden, is priced at €350,000. You can still find town centre propert
