French property dreams
In the Auvergne, Ruth Wood finds a beautiful mansion with a show-stopping indoor pool and gîte near a resort known as the Queen of Spa Towns
The Auvergne is not exactly an undiscovered gem.
The French have long prized this dramatic region in the heart of France with its expansive forests and dormant volcanoes. Even if they’re not into hiking, skiing, cycling, wildlife watching or paragliding off lava domes, they will almost definitely love the Auvergne for its cheeses.
This is where Coco Chanel started her fashion career and where Michelin makes tyres and world-famous restaurant guides. It is home to the largest oak forest in Europe, France’s largest regional park, nine of the country’s Plus Beaux Villages, and spa towns galore thanks to the wealth of natural volcanic springs. And yet the Auvergne is often overlooked by international property buyers. Or should that be ‘Auver-looked’?
One thing’s for sure. This beautiful Auvergnat mansion is not overlooked. It sits in more than eight hectares of meadows off a private road near the town of Vichy in Allier, one of the four departments that made up the Auvergne before it was subsumed into the greater Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes administrative region in 2016.
There’s plenty of scope here for a luxury chambres d’hôtes, perhaps even an equestrian centre. Dating back to the 17th century, the house has two wings that can be accessed independently, so it could easily be split into two separate dwellings.
A dovecote in the grounds has been converted into an idyllic one-bedroom gîte and there are numerous outbuildings including stables attached to the house.
But the real show-stopper is the indoor heated pool, housed in a handsome stone and brick converted carriage house with floor-to-ceiling patio doors.
From the house’s main entrance hall, you enter a large dining room with stunning terracotta floor tiles and herringbone brickwork on a feature wall known as pisé. Close inspection of the tiles reveals hidden dog and cat paw prints! Beyond is a large kitchen with a traditional bread oven, and with access to two utility rooms, a boiler room and cellar as well as the pool
