French buyers are choosing Brittany over the French Riviera as real estate prices rise with rising temperatures.

For those visiting Brittany, a coastal region in northwestern France, the weather is often the subject of jokes. "In one day you'll see all four seasons," as they say. Bretonians joke about tourists who complain about the weather, "It only rains on fools in Brittany." But now Brittany's climate, instead of being a complaint, has become a major attraction for buyers looking for a French home away from the sun. With climate change making staying in the south of France unbearable, more buyers are turning their eyes northward in search of cooler weather.

The past few years have been some of the hottest in French history. Last summer was the second hottest of the 20th century. As a result''mosquitoes have multiplied, the government is imposing strict restrictions on water use, banning watering gardens or filling swimming pools. Air pollution has gotten so bad in Nice that local authorities have asked people to limit the use of cars. There have been prolonged droughts, and tourism in southern lake towns has also dried up.

But in August in Brittany, the average temperature was 73 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to 80 degrees in Nice. Summer nights are cool, with temperatures dropping to 60 degrees, and you won't find any Mediterranean humidity in the air. Even in the winter, daytime temperatures are around 50 degrees. "You never have to change your bedding between winter and summer," jokes Christophe Martin, a real estate agent''Sotheby's International Realty Côte d'Émeraude.

Tourist growth in Brittany

Martin says he sees more and more tourists coming to Brittany every summer, and the statistics back that up. Over the past five years, tourism has grown twice as fast in the northern coastal regions of France than in the southern regions, which suffer from constant hot waves.

Rise in real estate prices in Brittany

In the past two decades, real estate prices in the region have risen from 5,000 euros ($5,300) per square foot to 8,000 euros per square foot, Bilder said.

Bretagne and climate change

But that doesn't mean Brittany is immune to the effects of climate change. "Brittany, of course, thanks to its climate, remains attractive - we are lucky," Laurence Fortin, vice president of Brittany's regional council, told Le Monde. "But we won't escape everything. We don't live in a parallel universe." Many coastal towns are building new protective dikes to slow erosion as sea levels rise.

The potential for winemaking in Brittany

Unlike the rest of France, Brittany has never been known for its wine. The preferred wine here is apple''cider, which is drunk from a bowl along with a hot buckwheat galette. Coastal winds and rainy weather kept grapes from growing. But now, with the advent of warmth in the north, some investors with a long-term view foresee that Brittany could become a major wine region, as heat in the southern regions causes the loss of fertile land.

Building restrictions and real estate prices

The French 2021 Climate and Sustainability Law requires regions to reduce by half the amount of construction on soils not previously used by 2031 and stop building on agricultural land entirely by 2050. This means that any new construction cannot take place on agricultural''land, but should replace existing developed areas. This will make single-family homes even more valuable as they become increasingly rare. Already this trend can be seen on the Côte d'Émeraude, where new construction is not allowed.